I came across this video about Ironman athletes training using Crossfit Endurance methods. It looks like they have viable alternatives for endurance training that doesn't need to take the traditionally huge amounts of time. This sounds great for serious athletes who have limited time in which to train, or even just the average person who wants to be fitter and healthier. I'm curious to try their methods for marathon/ultramarathon distance running and to improve my parkour.
One dude lost about 40kg during the year prior to his first Ironman and came in under 14 hours. They also claim minimal recovery time which sounds nice. The video is on the right of the page:
http://journal.crossfit.com/2010/09/lakeplacid-ironman.tpl
I'll be including more strength work and sprints as part of my parkour training to experiment with some of their claims. The science seems pretty sound and there are a growing number of adherents to the Crossfit Endurance methods that are producing great results. Besides that, from my brief trials and the cross over with parkour, it's great fun!
More information:
http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ-trial.pdf
http://www.crossfitendurance.com/about-2/
http://www.crossfitendurance.com/faq/
http://crossfit.com/