Fast Talk 401: The Further Initiative — What Female Ultra Research Is Teaching Us About Fueling, Recovery, and Performance
Dec 11, 2025
Dr. Trent Stellingworth, Chief Performance Officer at the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, and Dr. Hannah Caldwell, a postdoctoral fellow at UBC, dive into groundbreaking research on female ultra-endurance athletes. They explore the unique fueling and recovery needs of these athletes, revealing caloric burn levels that reach 11,000 kcal/day and emphasizing the importance of individualized nutrition strategies. The discussion highlights embracing psychological resilience, real food preferences, and the critical gaps in female-specific sports research. Their insights challenge traditional practices, paving the way for better support in women's athletics.
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Mobile Lab In The Desert
- The Further Initiative moved an entire lab to a hotel and ran 24/7 data collection during a six-day ultra in the California desert. 10 women started and all 10 finished, with one setting multiple world records.
Value Of Real-World Integration
- Real-world ultra events integrate multiple stressors (sleep loss, terrain, heat, caloric deficit) giving higher ecological validity than isolated lab studies. This lets researchers observe how bodies prioritize energy and recovery under combined demands.
Quality Gap In Female Research
- Most female studies are low quality because they fail to rigorously track menstrual status and hormone measures. Without gold-standard cycle tracking, nearly all female-specific supplement studies are unusable for true female guidance.