Best Trailrunner Podcasts (2026)

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Western States, Blood Flow Restriction and Formula 1 Aid Stations - Pro Trailrunner Dan Jones 1:23:18

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29d ago1:23:18

1:23:18

In a huge episode, we discuss Courtney Dauwalter’s marathon efforts as well as Valencia marathon. Additionally we discuss rule changes and proposed rule changes in long jump and from FIFA. We also talk about a new sponsor for Hyrox and the implications of it as well as the IM 70.2 women’s WR being broken and why triathletes taking ‘gap years’ is he…

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AI in Sports - Professor Brinnae Bent 1:04:48

8h ago1:04:48

1:04:48

In this episode we are joined by Professor Brinnae Bent to discuss AI in sport. Brinnae is a faculty member teaching AI and Cybersecurity at Duke University, director of the Duke TRUST Lab, and Executive Director of Tensor & Trust a trustworthy AI strategic consulting firm. (00:00) Introduction (00:17) Medical Question (09:32) Interview Starts (11:…

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Running Culture & the Running Boom(s) - Mario Fraioli 1:13:09

4d ago1:13:09

1:13:09

We are thrilled to be joined by Mario Fraioli on this episode. Marios is a running coach, author, podcaster and runner. Mario has coached at the highest levels, been a lifelong runner and has been writing and podcasting about running for decades. We discuss many parts of running with Mario, from the running booms to the state of US distance running…

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HRV, HRV Guided Training and HRV Misconceptions - Dr Marco Altini 1:18:48

11d ago1:18:48

1:18:48

In this episode we are joined by Dr Marco Altini, an entrepreneur, data scientist, endurance coach and runner. He is the founder and head of product at HRV4Training, a tool that is today trusted by more than 200 000 users, including olympic medalists, professional teams and the hosts of this podcast. Additionally Marco is a data science advisor to …

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2025 Year in Sport Wrapped 1:24:29

19d ago1:24:29

1:24:29

After a listener question about Hyrox cannibalizing triathlon numbers we touch on a big marketing push for high school mile runners. We then get into our review of 2025 and of our predictions for it as well as looking forward to 2026 and making our predictions. (00:00) Introduction (00:19) Medical Question (02:41) 2026 Initial Plans While Xylon is …

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Supershoe Use, Being Self-Coached & Heat Training - Pro Runner Alfie Manthorpe 1:16:46

1M ago1:16:46

1:16:46

We have a few announcements, including a competition this week. Following this we follow up on the Premier League salary cap measures which have been put in place and then discuss a paper on adoption of wearables by coaches. We then move to our interview with Alfie Manthorpe, a professional distance runner who was the top British finisher at the Va…

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Is an Energy Deficit Really That Bad? - Associate Professor Jose Areta 1:24:06

1M ago1:24:06

1:24:06

After recapping some of Xylon’s life choices, we discuss some outrageous Lebron James stats before a quick cricket discussion. We then move on to some discussion of refereeing and following this discuss a paper on the evolution of endurance performance and coaching. Finally Dr Jose Areta joins us to discuss a paper of his. Jose Areta is an Associat…

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Brain Health, Concussion and CTE 1:27:26

2M ago1:27:26

1:27:26

We have a bumper episode for you this week, starting with people running - Jim Walmsley in a road 10k and pro cyclists in their offseason. We touch on some previous topics which are back in the news; salary caps for cycling and Imogen Simmonds’ race plans. We then discuss hydration testing to prevent weight cutting in E-sports, the mes at T100 Duba…

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Earnings, 120g/hr of Carbs & Transitioning Sports 1:08:13

2M ago1:08:13

1:08:13

In a wide ranging episode, we discuss people transitioning sports, review the Ironman 70.3 world championships and examine some research on carbohydrate intake in elite marathoners. We also discuss salary caps and their implications for global leagues as a few leagues evaluate them. (00:00) Introduction (00:18) Medical Question (05:06) David’s Upda…

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Move Aside Ozempic, Apitegromab is Here (Soon) 1:19:28

2M ago1:19:28

1:19:28

Xylon and David give their updates before discussing the Women’s Cricket World Cup, Kipchoge’s plans going forward (and that shirt), they review NYC marathon and discuss the potential for weightloss drugs to be banned (including one on the horizon). They also discuss some interesting research on cooling and marathon durability. (00:00) Introduction…

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Advice for Heat Training with Dr Lindsey Hunt 1:23:47

2M ago1:23:47

1:23:47

In a huge episode we cover a bunch of news, including changes to the NYC marathon fields, Molly Seidel’s running plans, Valencia half marathon results and Capetown Marathon happenings. We then discuss the Imogen Simmonds case verdict, some Rugby World Cup Qualification drama and Big’s Backyard Ultra World record. We then get into the more significa…

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Cyclists Trying to Run & Kenyan Scholarships 1:05:47

3M ago1:05:47

1:05:47

In this episode we review some world records, look at another scathing doping survey and check in on Amsterdam marathon results - including looking at why cyclists struggle to convert to runners. We then chat about 2026 plans for both Athlos and the T100 as well as looking at an interesting article about US colleges recruiting Kenyan runners. We al…

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Amsterdam Marathon Preparation - Pro Marathoner Phil Sesemann 1:23:02

3M ago1:23:02

1:23:02

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1
New Records, New Olympic Events & Lawsuits 1:07:52

3M ago1:07:52

1:07:52

We start off with a discussion of the performance cycle of sports teams before discussing a world class performance to break the SA 10k record. We touch on some Hyrox, Kilian Jornet’s States of Elevation and the potential for cross country to join the winter Olympics. In other Olympic news we discuss some events in the T&F being held outside of the…

1
Berlin Marathon Drama, Frodeno Goes Long & Supershoe Science 1:02:00

3M ago1:02:00

1:02:00

We are back and covering off the latest happenings in the sporting world. We cover Jan Frodeno doing a 55k trail race, a hot day at the Berlin Marathon and a quick review of the world championships cycling in Kigali, Rwanda. Then we touch on the Boston Marathon cutoff time before some scientific papers. The papers look at traditional fueling vs CGM…

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Fasting, Heat and Do Endurance Athletes Have more Daughters? 1:01:48

4M ago1:01:48

1:01:48

We have a special guest host this week, Kristi Storoschuk joins the podcast again to help David while Xylon is away. After a listener question on fueling they jump into some research. They discuss some fascinating papers including the impact of heat on carbohydrate and glycogen utilisation rates, the effects of a 7 day fast on performance and a pap…

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Engineering a UTMB Win 1:32:15

4M ago1:32:15

1:32:15

We start this week off with some NYC Marathon news before diving into some recent doping happenings. After this we review the Ironman World Championships in Nice before a look at the World Track and Field Championships. Finally we have our interview with Joseph Mestrallet. Joseph Mestrallet is a data scientist ,CEO and Founder of Enduraw. Additiona…

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Shoe controversy, Boston marathon training & Thyroid hormone use in Olympians 1:03:49

4M ago1:03:49

1:03:49

We start off with a listener question about recovery runs before diving into the Hayden Wilde shoe saga and a mess at the Tokyo World Championships track & field with the warm up track. We then discuss whether the women’s & men’s races being on the same day for Paris Roubaix is going to be good for the women or not before briefly previewing the Iro…

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Was Sydney Marathon Weak & Insights from UTMB 59:12

4M ago59:12

59:12

Lots to review this week with many insights shared about what has been happening in the world of sport. We look at Sydney as the 7th World Marathon Major, UTMB takeaways, some interesting things to look for post the Diamond League Finals and things to look forward to at NYC Marathon. (00:00) Introduction (01:10) The Dog Ate Xylon’s Homework (03:37)…

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Recovery From an Eating Disorder Pro Cyclist Clara Koppenburg 1:46:47

5M ago1:46:47

1:46:47

Before our interview, we cover a listener question and then take a look back at some Diamond League and forward to UTMB. We also discuss teenage phenoms Cooper Luteknhaus and Gout Gout. Finally we hear from Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio and Hannah Walker regarding weight in the Women’s peloton. Clara Koppenburg is a professional road cyclist known for her…

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Marathon Longevity with Multiple Olympian Lisa Weightman 1:32:04

5M ago1:32:04

1:32:04

Before our guest joins us, Xylon learns to tie shoelaces, we cover a listener question on heart rate during warm up and we review the Diamond League in Silesia. We then touch on the records from the Leadville 100 before a look at the Chicago and Sydney Marathon fields. Our guest, joining us to discuss her upcoming Sydney Marathon is Lisa Weightman …

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Should You Do More Zone 2 Training? 1:25:22

5M ago1:25:22

1:25:22

We have a huge episode this week. Most importantly we discuss yoghurt gate but we also touch on a bunch of community shoutouts, some NFL, Crossfit, T100, UK & US track & field and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift all before we get to our interview. Our guest is Kristi Storoschuk who is a PhD Candidate in Muscle Physiology at Queen’s University …

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Microdosing, Elite Athlete's healing capacity and Jan Frodeno Running OCC 1:04:36

5M ago1:04:36

1:04:36

This week starts with some absolute abhorrent behviour from Xylon before we get into some great community shoutouts. We then touch on athletes and accelerated recovery rates, why the NFL is hard to transition to for rugby players and Jan Frodeno’s chances at the OCC race at UTMB. We discuss the beer mile world record, and then our big topics; injur…

1
Mental Health vs Mental Resilience 1:25:53

5M ago1:25:53

1:25:53

Gary Fahey is a mental strength and performance specialist, mental health and addiction counsellor, public speaker and bestselling author. He currently works across the corporate and sporting spaces helping high-performing professionals and teams overcome crises, build resilience, and achieve sustainable success through his unique blend of experien…

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Diet, Stress Balance and Course Familiarisation 1:05:07

6M ago1:05:07

1:05:07

We tackle a number of listener questions in the episode covering topics like stress balance and coping, recovery nutrition, diet, microbiome and nutrition for sleep. We also discuss the value of training on the course you will race on and why this may be helpful. (00:00) Introduction (00:19) Medical Question (05:23) David’s Update (06:15) Xylon’s U…

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Small Margins & Marginal Gains with Dr Sam Shepherd 1:18:22

6M ago1:18:22

1:18:22

Prior to our interview which is all about crewing and marginal gains we discuss Tracksmith’s new marathon team, why Nerd Clusters are gaining popularity for fueling and athletes changing countries. Our guest is Dr Sam Shepherd is the head of sports science at Precision Fuel & Hydration and co-director and sports nutritionist at total endurance nutr…

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The Wildest Week in Endurance Sport 1:17:25

6M ago1:17:25

1:17:25

It’s been a huge week in endurance sport and specifically for Hiroki Kai who we talk about. We also discuss changes to qualification for the Ironman world championships, Challenge Roth result and private jet sponsorship controversy. We then recap the Eugene Diamond League with some insights and observations. Of course all our regular segments are h…

1
Inside Breaking 4 1:06:50

6M ago1:06:50

1:06:50

A big weekend in endurance sport sees us recap Western States, Ironman Frankfurt, the breaking of the backyard ultra world record and a quick discussion into East Africans in Trailrunning. We also touch on Sydney Marathon Elite fields and Challenge Roth drug testing age groupers. Our guest is Robby Ketchell, a sports scientist and aerodynamics expe…

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Pro Runner Colleen Quigley - The Future of Running as a Team Sport 1:33:14

7M ago1:33:14

1:33:14

After some quick updates and community shoutouts we hear from previous guest Matt Marquardt about his IM Cairns win. Before discussing the Paris Diamond League, Tyreek Hill vs Noah Lyles and the value of running a hard mile for long distance runners. Our guest is Colleen Quigley is a professional middle distance runner representing the USA in the R…

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Determinants of Success in Tennis 1:21:54

7M ago1:21:54

1:21:54

Aside from our normal segments we quickly discuss Grand Slam Track cancelling their LA slam, some friction issues at the Hyrox world champs and the Dauphine. We touch on the new Boston Marathon qualifying changes, Diamond League Stockholm and then the new tech Visma Lease a BIke are Using. We then get into the interview about determinants of tennis…

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Fast Times and How Sport Evolves 1:16:34

7M ago1:16:34

1:16:34

In a huge episode, we cover a large range of things this week, mostly around fast performances and how sport evolves. We announce our new sponsor, update listeners on ourselves and the evolution of some things we covered previous and have our community shoutouts. We then discuss fast Ironman performances, Killian Jornet, Diamond League, Sydney McLa…

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Pro Ultra Trailrunner Emily Hawgood - Canyons 100 win & Western States Prep 1:26:20

7M ago1:26:20

1:26:20

Emily Hawgood is a Professional trail runner for team Adidas Terrex. Hot off the heels of a high profile win at the 100k Canyons endurance run by UTMB she’s been top 10 at western states & UTMB for the last 4 years, though in 2023 this was in the CCC race at the UTMB festival. She has also previously won ultra trail Cape town. In this chat we discu…

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Longevity, Enhanced Games and Attention Spans 56:03

8M ago56:03

56:03

Aside from the usual segments, this week we touch on some contract related issues in rugby, the enhanced games and Akani Simbine sparks a longevity and GOATs discussion. We then discuss some differences in soccer vs NFL and coaching style based on pressure. (00:00) Introduction (02:45) Doctor’s Question (04:23) Standalone vs Ironman Marathon (05:40…

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Rockstar Athletes 1:09:39

8M ago1:09:39

1:09:39

In episode 64, Xylon and David discuss sleep and breathing, the need for tendons to be loaded rather than completely rested and then touch on some listener questions on rest post event and planning race nutrition. They then discuss On sponsoring the ITA, Grand Slam track’s changes and then quantification of the energy expenditure in an ultramaratho…

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Wholistic Athletic Development 1:52:21

8M ago1:52:21

1:52:21

We briefly touch on some community shoutouts, talk some hyrox and then review IM 70.3 St George as well as the Vuelta Espana Feminina before getting to this week’s interview. We are joined this week by Barry Austin who is a Level 3 UCI Certified Coach & UCI Certified Sporting Director. His career as a cycling coach and performance specialist spans …

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Sustainability and Your Sport 1:13:46

8M ago1:13:46

1:13:46

This week we are joined by Adjunct Professor Nicole Loher who is a climate scientist and communications expert to discuss an optimistic view on sustainability and sport. Nicole is the founder of C3 Climate Communications Collective and an Adjunct professor of climate communications at NYU. She holds a Bachelor's degree in marketing and communicatio…

1
Marathon Lessons 1:07:32

8M ago1:07:32

1:07:32

Another running heavy episode incoming. After some updates and a bucketload of shoutouts, we answer a listener question about breathing when running. Following this we review London marathon and some things we can learn from that, followed by reviewing Ironman Texas before discussing Faith Kipyegon’s 4min mile attempt. We finish off with the doctor…

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When Should You Train? 1:21:36

9M ago1:21:36

1:21:36

Before we get to our main topic of the episode, time of day and how to optimise training and performance around it, we discuss other happenings in sport. Specifically we discuss the Amstel Gold race, London Marathon field changes, Quade Cooper’s flag football goals and the Boston Marathon. We then finish with Patrick Lange in the Doctor’s office. (…

1
Personalised Carbohydrate Requirements - Tash Cooper-Smith 1:14:25

9M ago1:14:25

1:14:25

We are joined by Tash Cooper-Smith from Precision Fuel & Hydration to discuss a paper she was an author on which covered the individualisation of carbohydrate requirements in athletes. Before we get to that, we cover a listener question and a tonne of community shoutouts before briefly discussing the Masters and Paris-Roubaix. (00:00) Introduction …

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Blood Donation & Infrared Sauna’s Impacts on Performance 1:22:34

9M ago1:22:34

1:22:34

On this week’s episode we discuss a fascinating listener question on blood donation and its impact on performance before reviewing some of the weekend’s sport and training of the elites heading to the London Marathon. We then look at a few papers on Infrared Sauna and Marathon Fueling before a quick discussion of Wout van Aert’s knee. (00:00) Intro…

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Torpedo Bats and Placebo Supershoes 1:07:34

9M ago1:07:34

1:07:34

Episode 57 is here and it brings all the regular segments and topics. We discuss some questions about pre race and marathon fueling as well as doing some community shoutouts. We move on to some happenings from IM South Africa and in the USADA world. Then we discuss an article about cyclists getting bigger before our main two topics; the torpedo bat…

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Only Fans, Coaches Behaving Badly & Stellar Performances 1:24:08

10M ago1:24:08

1:24:08

Xylon is back! He and Dave cover a bunch of ground including reviewing the World Indoor T&F championships, Chianti by UTMB and Milan San Remo. They also discuss Kirsty Coventry’s election to IOC presidency, some coaches caught cheating and an athlete signing a contract with Only Fans. They finish off with some interesting folks in the doctor’s offi…

1
That Running Episode 1:37:58

10M ago1:37:58

1:37:58

Dave has a ring-in cohost in Xylon’s absence and this episode is quite running centric. Dave and guest host Dan review their recent race efforts with learnings, they then discuss fast running from Gout Gout, Jimmy Gressier and Jake Smith. They then touch on Eliud Kipchoge being used as a marketing tool, the Barkley Marathons and NYC Half Marathon r…

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Rugby's Origins, Bifurcation and International Expansion 1:17:19

10M ago1:17:19

1:17:19

After a brief chat about some recently cycling we are joined by journalist Mike Mehall Wood to discuss the origins of rugby league and rugby union, including the sociocultural factors that played into it, the week to week product and international expansion. Mike is a rugby league journalist currently writing for Roar Rugby League. He has previousl…

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Birthdays, Tokyo Marathon & Doping Test Failures 1:22:58

10M ago1:22:58

1:22:58

The birthday episode is here! Before discussing some listener questions on flexibility and Lionel Sanders’ recent health results, we discuss half marathon plans and fueling. Following this we spend some time on listener voice notes and finally discuss the Tokyo Marathon and the positive doping test of a professional triathlete. (00:00) Introduction…

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Sodium Hyperhydration and Performance - Dr Sam Shepherd 1:21:45

11M ago1:21:45

1:21:45

In this episode the guys discuss top earners in sport, some results from the track & field world and a drug ban. They then touch on some research and data on supershoes, specifically in trailrunning before being joined by Dr Sam Shepherd to discuss sodium hyperhydration and a paper on using it in women specifically. (00:00) Introduction (09:00) Dav…

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Questioning Limiters in Endurance - Dr Andrew Koutnik 1:31:19

11M ago1:31:19

1:31:19

Another week another bunch of running records which we cover. After this we chat a bit about Tarawera Ultramarathon results and the Tyreek Hill vs Noah Lyles showdown before touching on a new form of doping - Mitochondrial Transplants. We then get to an interview with Dr Andrew Koutnik a researcher studying the influence of nutrition and metabolism…

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Training Models and Physiological Thresholds - Jem Arnold 1:14:23

11M ago1:14:23

1:14:23

Xylon & David talk about some Millrose games results, national records falling in the 5k and Visma Lease a Bike’s use of TT helmets on the road before being joined by a guest to discuss training intensity distribution. Jem Arnold is a PhD candidate in exercise physiology at the University of British Columbia, where his research focuses on sport-rel…

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Youth Development, Neuromuscular Fatigue & Breaking Records 1:07:32

11M ago1:07:32

1:07:32

In episode 49 we cover a spate of running records being broken, some discussion about broadcast rights and the power of the individual in sports. We also discuss the UCI’s ban on repeated carbon monoxide inhalation before discussing athletic development in the contact of Albert Philipsen before we grab some audio from a conversation we had with his…

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Is Music Performance Enhancing? 53:52

11M ago53:52

53:52

Finally we cover the question of whether music is performance enhancing. But only after discussing Australian open broadcast rights, carbon plated racing flip flops, VR preparation for quarterbacks and some triathlon. (00:00) Behind the Scenes (00:50) Introduction (05:22) Xylon’s Update (07:40) David’s Training (12:13) Australian Open Broadcast Rig…