The Trail Running Briefing

Episode 38 - WHEN THE ENGINE OUTLASTS THE CHASSIS

Why do your legs sometimes give up during an ultramarathon when your breathing feels comfortable and your aerobic fitness suggests you could keep going? In this episode

Episode 37 - ULTRA BURNOUT: WHEN MORE IS NO LONGER BETTER

Can too much training take away your love of running? In this episode of The Trail Running Briefing, we explore athlete burnout, why trail and ultra runners are particul

Episode 36 - ARC100 by UTMB: What You Need to Know Before You Race It

In Episode 36 of The Trail Running Briefing, I take you through the ARC100 by UTMB from the perspective of someone who has raced it twice, in 2025 and 2026. This episode

Episode 35 - Cross-training for ultras: Specificity still wins

Cross-training can be a valuable tool for ultrarunners, but it should always serve a clear purpose. In this episode of The Trail Running Briefing, I explore why specific

Episode 34 - Mental Toughness for Ultrarunners

Mental toughness in ultrarunning is often misunderstood. It isn’t about ignoring pain, refusing to walk, or proving how much suffering you can tolerate. Current research

Episode 33 - The Older You Get, the More Expensive an Injury Becomes

Episode 33 explores running injuries through a simple risk-management lens: Risk = Probability × Impact. The central idea is that ageing does not automatically make runne

Episode 32 - Cardiac Drift: Why Your Heart Rate Rises When Your Pace Doesn’t

In this episode of The Trail Running Briefing, we explore cardiac drift: why heart rate can gradually rise during long runs even when pace or effort appears unchanged. W

Episode 31 - Peak Form: How to Reach It and Why You Can’t Stay There Forever

Peak form is not simply about being as fit as possible. It is the point where high fitness meets low fatigue, allowing an athlete to fully express the adaptations built o

Episode 30 - The Plateau Problem: Why Ultrarunners Stop Improving and How to Move Forward

In Episode 30 of The Trail Running Briefing, we explore why ultrarunners sometimes stop improving even when they are training consistently and working harder. A plateau

Episode 29 - When More Becomes Too Much: Burnout in Ultrarunning

Ultra running demands far more than just mileage. Long runs, back-to-backs, strength work, fuelling, recovery, work, family and everyday stress all contribute to the tota

Episode 28 - Older, Wiser, Stronger: How Ultra Training Should Change With Age

Episode 28 explores how ultra training should evolve with age without lowering ambition. The central idea is the recovery budget: every long run, hard session, strength w

Episode 27 - The Race You Didn’t Finish: Recovering from a DNF

After a DNF, remember this sequence: Feel it. Separate it. Learn from it. Then move forward. Feel the disappointment without shame. Separate the facts from the story yo

Episode 26 - The fitness that survives: How to Build Durability for 100K and 100-Mile Races

Durability is the ability to preserve your performance as fatigue accumulates during prolonged exercise. While fitness describes what you can do when fresh, durability de

Episode 25 - Carb Loading: Don’t Start Empty

In this episode, we cover why carb loading is not about eating a huge bowl of pasta the night before a race, but about arriving at the start line with full fuel stores. F

Episode 24 - The Low Point Is Not the End: How to Survive the Dark Miles

In this episode, we look at one of the most important skills in ultrarunning: managing the low points. Every runner will face dark moments during an ultra, but a low poin

Episode 23 - Heat Acclimation: Train the Body Before the Weather Tests You

In this episode, we explain the difference between heat acclimatisation and heat acclimation. Acclimatisation usually refers to adapting naturally to a hot environment, w

Episode 22 - The Minimum Intensity for the Right Adaptation. No More.

In this episode, we explore one of the most important principles for sustainable ultrarunning progress: using the minimum intensity needed to create the right adaptation.

Episode 21 - Why Elites Descend Faster With Less Damage

Elite trail runners do not descend faster simply because they are braver. They descend faster because they brake less. Downhill running creates a lot of muscle damage be

Episode 20 - Caffeine for Ultrarunners. Don’t Take More, Take It Smarter

Caffeine is one of the most evidence-supported supplements for endurance performance, but ultrarunners need to use it strategically rather than simply taking more. The k

Episode 19 - Why Your Legs Die Before Your Lungs

In this episode, we explore why many trail and ultra runners feel that their breathing is still under control, but their legs simply stop working. The main idea is that