The Trail Running Briefing started from a simple idea: trail and ultrarunners deserve clear, practical information that helps them train better, prepare properly and make better decisions.
There is no shortage of advice in endurance sport, but much of it is fragmented, overly complicated or disconnected from the reality of long-distance trail running. The podcast gives me a way to take training principles, research, coaching experience and lessons from racing, then turn them into short, useful episodes that runners can actually apply.
That is why the podcast is important to me. Coaching is not only about prescribing sessions. It is also about helping athletes understand why they are doing something. When runners understand the purpose behind training, recovery, fuelling or race strategy, they become more confident, more independent and better able to make good decisions when things do not go to plan.
The Trail Running Briefing explores those details.
Episodes have covered topics such as “Why Ultrarunners Plateau”, looking at why simply adding more mileage is not always the answer; “Cardiac Drift”, explaining why heart rate can rise during long efforts even when pace remains stable; “Peak Form”, exploring what it really means to arrive at a race ready to perform; and “Burnout”, looking at the physical and psychological consequences of repeatedly pushing without enough recovery.
Other episodes examine pacing, strength, durability, mental performance, nutrition, race preparation and many of the smaller factors that can make a significant difference over long distances.
My aim is not to make ultrarunning sound more complicated than it needs to be. In fact, it is the opposite.
Good coaching often means simplifying the noise: understanding what matters, applying the right stimulus at the right time and avoiding unnecessary work that adds fatigue without creating meaningful adaptation.
The podcast is also a way for me to keep questioning my own coaching. Research evolves. Athletes respond differently. Every race teaches us something. Producing each episode forces me to look more closely at the evidence, compare it with real-world experience and think carefully about how it can be applied.
If you are a trail runner or ultrarunner who wants to understand your training rather than simply follow it, The Trail Running Briefing is for you.
Listen, learn, experiment and become a better-informed runner so you can train with purpose, race with confidence and ultimately run better.
Isaac Alcaide
