Top 10 Blog Articles of 2024

Full Circle Endurance posted 88 new articles on our blog in 2024, and we have over 586 blog posts in our archives from almost a decade of writing.  These are the blog posts that readers connected with the most in 2024!

#1 - Don’t Pull Up on Your Bicycle Pedals

We knew that writing an article about not pulling up on bicycle pedals would likely catch people’s attention because “Push down, pull up” is such common advice doled out to cyclists, both by coaches and fellow cyclists alike.  So, we are not surprised that Don’t Pull Up on Your Bicycle Pedals was the post that readers viewed the most this year.

Unfortunately, “Push down, pull up” is poor advice.  This article dives into why, and provides alternative ways to approach pedaling mechanics that will serve cyclists and multisport athletes well.

#2 - The Law of Diminishing Returns

Our second most popular post of the year was actually first published back in 2021.  The Law of Diminishing Returns discusses how this principle applies to endurance sports training.  The longer an athlete remains in endurance sports, the harder they will have to work for gains, and those gains will not be as large as they might have been when the athlete was new to sport.

#3 - Why You Shouldn't Wear a Wetsuit in Triathlons and Open Water Swimming

The discussion about whether or not to wear a wetsuit in triathlons and open water swimming is always ongoing among the athletes who train and race in these sports.  Our third most popular post of the year, Why You Shouldn't Wear a Wetsuit in Triathlons and Open Water Swimming, dives into the nuances of how to make this decision by exploring the pros and cons of utilizing a wetsuit.

#4 - How to Handle Training When You Get Sick

Every endurance athlete will get sick at one point or another.  What is the best way to manage this?  The true answer is frustrating for a lot of athletes: It depends.  A lot of factors should be considered when deciding what and how to manage training when an athlete gets sick.  We shared some best practices on How to Handle Training When You Get Sick, which ended up becoming our fourth most popular article of the year.

#5 - Negative Splits are Positive Things

A negative split is a race strategy that involves completing the second half of a race faster than the first half.  For instance, if an athlete runs a marathon in 4:00 and runs the first half marathon in 2:02 and the second half marathon in 1:58, that is a negative split.  Despite its name, a negative split is actually a positive thing, and this is the theme we explored in our fifth most popular article of 2024: Negative Splits are Positive Things.

#6 - How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Marathon?

We wrote a series of four articles that dove into the financial cost of training for four of the most common long-course endurance events: a marathon, a half marathon, an IRONMAN, and an IRONMAN 70.3.  How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Marathon? was our most popular of these four articles, and it was our sixth most popular blog article of the entire year.

When asked the question “How much does it cost to train for a marathon?”, most athletes probably can’t give an accurate answer.  This is most likely because they do not know how much it costs, even if they’ve trained for one.  Or, they might be afraid to face how much it actually costs.  However, hiding from this reality isn’t going to ever do anyone any good, and the financial cost of training for a marathon is something that all athletes should be aware of if they set their sights on one so they can make the best choices possible for themselves over the course of their training journey.  This article dives into all of the costs associated with training for a marathon, from race registration, to gear, to fueling and hydration, and more.  

#7 - How Much Does it Cost to Train for an IRONMAN 70.3?

Given the popularity of our article on how much it costs to train for a marathon, it’s not surprising that our article How Much Does it Cost to Train for an IRONMAN 70.3? also appears on our Top 10 list of the year.

Because of its multidisciplinary nature, triathlon can be an expensive sport.  Long course triathlons, such as IRONMAN 70.3 races, can be particularly expensive to train for.  This article dives into all of the costs an athlete can expect to incur when they decide to train for this distance of triathlon. 

#8 - Pace & Effort are NOT the Same Thing

Pace and effort.  Out of all of the things that I talk about with athletes, these two concepts and the interplay between them is what sparks the most confusion for athletes.  What’s interesting (and deceptive!) about it is that athletes often don’t even realize that they are confused about or that they misunderstand the concepts of effort and pace.

Our eighth most popular article of the year, Pace & Effort are NOT the Same Thing, outlines the differences between pace and effort and why it’s so important to understand the difference between the two.

#9 - All About Pace-Based Training

All About Pace-Based Training was first published in 2023, but it likely got bumped into the Top 10 Blog Articles of 2024 because of #8 - Pace & Effort are NOT the Same Thing.

Pace is - by far - the best that athletes obsess the most over.  I do understand why athletes have this tendency; the time on a finish clock is how athletes are measured and ranked in races.  That being said, there’s a lot to understand and be willing to undertake if an athlete wants to truly train by pace.  This article goes into detail about everything athletes need to know if they want to leverage pace-based training.

#10 - How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Half Marathon?

Perhaps unsurprisingly since two out of the four articles we wrote on this topic already appears in our Top 10 Blog Articles of 2024, How Much Does it Cost to Train for a Half Marathon? rounds out our list.

Out of the four different types of races we dove into in this series, the half marathon is the least expensive to train for.  That being said, it’s still not inexpensive to train for one, and this article explores all of the costs athletes can expect to encounter if they decide to do so.

The Bottom Line

Is there a topic you would like us to cover in 2025?  Send us an email at Hello@FullCircleEndurance.com to share your suggestions!