Episode 24. Run by Feel: Why RPE Is the Ultimate Metric for Ultrarunners

Ever felt like you were flying on a run — only to check your watch and discover you were barely moving?That's exactly what happened to host and ultrarunning coach Erin Quinn at mile 189 of the Bigfoot 200. She felt like she was running a 9-minute mile. She was running a 14. And that moment perfectly illustrates why RPE — Rate of Perceived Exertion — might be the most powerful training tool you're not fully using.In this episode, Erin breaks down what RPE is, where it came from (shoutout to Swedish researcher Gunnar Borg and his 1960s effort scale), and why it outperforms heart rate and pace for trail runners and ultramarathoners. Because when you're 80 miles into a race, climbing at altitude in the heat, with your quads breaking down and your stomach turning — your watch can't tell you what your body already knows.You'll learn:Why heart rate monitors and pace data fall apart on trails and in ultrasThe 1–10 RPE scale and what each zone actually feels like (including Erin's "ugly running" zone 10)How heat, altitude, fatigue, and even an annoying text message can throw off your data — but not your perceived effortWhy RPE gives athletes a sense of autonomy and body awareness that no metric can replaceHow to apply RPE to summer training when heat and humidity are tanking your pace and spiking your heart rateErin also draws a surprising parallel between RPE and ditching the scale — and shares why she hasn't known her own weight in 15 years.Whether you're coming back from injury, deep in ultramarathon training, or just trying to survive August runs in the humidity, this episode will help you tune into the metric that matters most: how hard you are actually working, on that day, in that body.Start where you are — and trust what you feel.Interested in one-on-one coaching with Erin? Reach out at erinmaryquinn@gmail.com or find her on Instagram @ErinQuinnUltrarunCoach.