Chris Case

Chris Case

Cofounder and Content Director of Fast Talk Labs, Founder of Alter Exploration
Chris is a lifelong endurance athlete, journalist, editor, explorer, and photographer. He cofounded Fast Talk Laboratories and founded Alter Exploration.

Chris is a lifelong endurance athlete with a diverse academic and professional background. He has degrees and experience in neuroscience, clinical psychology, art, documentary photography, and journalism, and has decades of professional experience in the cycling and travel industries. Most recently, he founded Alter Exploration, which crafts challenging, transformative cycling journeys in some of the world’s most stunning destinations.

Chris was born and raised in southeastern Connecticut. He took up running in elementary school, and it quickly became his sole competitive outlet. Ultimately, he won multiple state championships in cross-country and track.

Chris attended Colgate University and graduated with degrees in neuroscience and art. He spent the next three years at the National Institute of Mental Health conducting research on patients with schizophrenia. After another year researching a stem cell treatment for Parkinson’s disease, he decided to pursue his second passion. This led him to the graduate journalism program at the University of Texas at Austin, where he concentrated in documentary photography. This is where Chris rediscovered his love of cycling, joining the collegiate team before expanding into categorized racing.

In 2012, Chris became the managing editor of VeloNews magazine, a position he held for nearly eight years. It was during that time that he became co-host of Fast Talk.

His cycling pursuits took him around the world to race on the road, mountain, and in cyclocross, to places like Taiwan, Costa Rica, Israel, and throughout Europe. He has stood on the podium at several cyclocross national championships, and is a silver medalist at master’s cyclocross worlds.

Chris is the author of The Haywire Heart, a groundbreaking and critically important guide to heart care for athletes, and the first book to delve into the relationship between long-term endurance athletics and heart health.

He is a cofounder of Fast Talk Labs, with Trevor Connor, and was the COO of Fast Talk Labs and The Paleo Diet until January 2022.

Latest: Page 15

We Answer Your Questions About Training

Trevor and Chris field listener questions on importance of aerobic threshold, FTP, muscle soreness, and training in extreme cold.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 41
Ned Overend Mountain Bike Fast Talk Podcast

The Secrets to Staying Strong as You Age, with Ned Overend

Maintaining strong training on the bike while aging isn’t as difficult as it may seem, as guest MTB champion Ned Overend illustrates.
We will delineate what age effects truly exist — for example, a drop in maximum heart rate — and others that have been traditionally attributed to aging that now appear to be trainable, such as a loss in fast-twitch muscle fiber strength.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 39
Wide shot of a cyclist rounding a paved mountain switchback

Inside the New Science of Climbing

We turned ourselves into mad scientists and rode several time trials up Boulder climbs with Sepp Kuss to learn the new science of climbing.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 36
fat biking in the snow

How to Train in the Cold

We explore the physiological effects of training in the cold, from muscle damage to the increased caloric demands and how to stay warm.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 35
Voltage-Meter-at-High-Volts-for-FTP

Is FTP Dead?

We take on a controversial subject: FTP or functional threshold power. Is FTP dead?

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 33
Cyclists guide to the weight room athlete in gym putting weight on the barbell

A Cyclist’s Guide to the Weight Room

Cyclists can get a little lost in the weight room. Strength expert Jess Elliott helps us understand the fundamentals of strength workouts and how cyclists will benefit from time spent in the gym.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 32
Bearded cyclist resting inside a velodrome

Who Can You Trust for Training Advice?

We are joined by pro cyclist Sepp Kuss and the founder of FasCat coaching, Frank Overton, to dig into dealing with contradictory advice.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 27
Runner Holding Leg Muscle Cramped on Beach

Cramping Myths Debunked

Why do athletes cramp? New science suggests that it isn’t about electrolyte imbalances or dehydration as we’ve been told for decades. We explore.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 26

A Deep Dive on Tires and Pressures

The science behind fast tires has evolved rapidly in recent years, so Trevor Connor and Caley Fretz called in tech writer Kristen Legan to dig into the latest research.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 25

Surviving a Long Season Like a Pro

Is it possible to stay fit and fast all year round? We talk to former pro and team director Mike Creed about the toll that cycling takes on a body.

Fast Talk Podcast Episode 24