The Trail Running Briefing

The Trail Running Briefing is a short, weekly podcast for trail runners and endurance athletes who want to train with purpose.In 5–8 minutes, each episode focuses on one specific aspect of performance: training design, physiology, strength, durability, or race execution. No hype. No filler. Just clear, practical insights you can use immediately.Hosted by Isaac Alcaide, endurance coach, the podcast is designed to be listened to on the move, during easy runs, commutes, or recovery helping you understand your training so you can run better, longer, and with more confidence on the trail.

The Trail Running Briefing is a sports podcast hosted by Coach Isaac Alcaide, with 29 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Coach Isaac Alcaide hosts The Trail Running Briefing, a sports show with 29 episodes published.

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  Episode #29

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

  Aug 14, 202610 minS1

  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 total load an athlete carries. In this episode, I explore burnout in ultrarunning , how it differs from normal fatigue or overtraining, and why it can gradually turn something we love into something that feels like an obligation. We look at the key warning signs, physical and emotional exhaustion, declining motivation, reduced sense of achievement and losing enjoyment in the sport, and most importantly, what runners can do to reduce the risk. The central message is simple: your real training load is training plus everything else happening in your life. Sustainable ultra running isn’t about doing the maximum training you can survive. It’s about training at a level you can repeatedly absorb while protecting your motivation, health and love for running. Key references: Raedeke, T. D., & Smith, A. L. (2001). Development and preliminary validation of an Athlete Burnout Measure. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 23 (4), 281–306. Gustafsson, H., DeFreese, J. D., & Madigan, D. J. (2017). Athlete burnout: Review and recommendations. Current Opinion in Psychology, 16 , 109–113. Lonsdale, C., Hodge, K., & Rose, E. A. (2009). Athlete burnout in elite sport: A self-determination perspective. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27 (8), 785–795. Kellmann, M., Bertollo, M., Bosquet, L., et al. (2018). Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus Statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 13 (2), 240–245. Cresswell, S. L., & Eklund, R. C. (2005). Changes in athlete burnout and motivation over a 12-week league tournament. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

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  Episode #28

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

  Jul 31, 202610 minS1

  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 workout and race creates stress, while sleep, work, nutrition and life commitments affect how quickly that budget is restored. As runners get older, training does not necessarily need to become easier, but it should become less crowded and more purposeful. This means allowing more recovery between demanding sessions, maintaining strength training, using intensity selectively and treating races as major training loads rather than casual additions to the calendar. The episode also stresses that sustainable training matters at every age. Younger runners may tolerate poor decisions for longer, but repeated overload can still lead to injury, fatigue and burnout. The key message is: Do not ask how much training you can survive. Ask how much training you can absorb and repeat for years. Key references: Tanaka H, Seals DR. Endurance exercise performance in Masters athletes: age-associated changes and underlying physiological mechanisms. The Journal of Physiology. 2008;586(1):55–63. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2007.141879 Borges N, Reaburn P, Driller M, Argus C. Age-related changes in performance and recovery kinetics in Masters athletes: a narrative review. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity. 2016;24(1):149–157. doi: 10.1123/japa.2015-0021 Valenzuela PL, Maffiuletti NA, Joyner MJ, Lucia A, Lepers R. Lifelong endurance exercise as a countermeasure against age-related VO₂max decline: physiological overview and insights from Masters athletes. Sports Medicine. 2020;50(4):703–716. doi: 10.1007/s40279-019-01252-0 Fragala MS, Cadore EL, Dorgo S, et al. Resistance training for older adults: position statement from the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2019;33(8):2019–2052. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003230 Llanos-Lagos C, Ramirez-Campillo R, Moran J, Sáez de Villarreal E. Effect of strength-training programs on middle- and long-distance runners’ economy at different running speeds: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2024;54(4):895–932. doi: 10.1007/s40279-023-01978-y Herbert P, Hayes LD, Sculthorpe NF, Grace FM. HIIT produces increases in muscle power and free testosterone in male Masters athletes. Endocrine Connections. 2017;6(7):430–436. doi: 10.1530/EC-17-0159 Soligard T, Schwellnus M, Alonso JM, et al. How much is too much? Part 1: International Olympic Committee consensus statement on load in sport and risk of injury. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016;50(17):1030–1041. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096581 Doering TM, Reaburn PR, Phillips SM, Jenkins DG. Postexercise dietary protein strategies to maximize skeletal-muscle repair and remodeling in Masters endurance athletes: a review. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. 2016;26(2):168–178. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.2015-0102 Tiller NB, Millet GY. Decoding ultramarathon: muscle damage as the main impediment to performance. Sports Medicine. 2025;55(3):535–543. doi: 10.1007/s40279-024-02127-9

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  Episode #26

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

  Jul 24, 202610 minS1

  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 you are telling about yourself. Extract a small number of useful lessons. Then rebuild through ordinary, consistent action. A DNF is painful because the goal mattered. But it is a result, not an identity. It records where one race ended; it does not decide where your running ends. So keep this sentence for the difficult days after an unfinished race: “I did not finish this race—but this race has not finished me.” Key references: Mosewich, A. D., Crocker, P. R. E., Kowalski, K. C., & DeLongis, A. (2013). Applying self-compassion in sport: An intervention with women athletes. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 35(5), 514–524. DOI: 10.1123/jsep.35.5.514 Ceccarelli, L. A., Giuliano, R. J., Glazebrook, C. M., & Strachan, S. M. (2019). Self-compassion and psycho-physiological recovery from recalled sport failure. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1564. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01564 Zhang, N., Huang, J., & Yao, J. (2023). Athletes’ self-compassion and emotional resilience to failure: The mediating role of vagal reactivity. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1192265. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1192265 Kuchar, A. L., Neff, K. D., & Mosewich, A. D. (2023). Resilience and Enhancement in Sport, Exercise, & Training—RESET: A brief self-compassion intervention with NCAA student-athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 67, 102426. DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102426 Neumann, D. L., & McInnes, M. (2025). A brief writing intervention assists athletes to cope with performance failures. PsyCh Journal, 14(5), 787–798. DOI: 10.1002/pchj.70026 Alipour Ataabadi, Y., Cormier, D. L., Kowalski, K. C., Oates, A. R., Ferguson, L. J., & Lanovaz, J. L. (2022). The associations among self-compassion, self-esteem, self-criticism, and concern over mistakes in response to biomechanical feedback in athletes. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 4, 868576. DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2022.868576

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  Episode #26

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

  Jul 17, 202612 minS1

  Durability is the ability to preserve your performance as fatigue accumulates during prolonged exercise. While fitness describes what you can do when fresh, durability determines how much of that fitness remains after many hours of running. In a 100K or 100-mile race, pace can decline because of muscular damage, worsening running economy, reduced force production, poor fuelling and mental fatigue. A durable runner still becomes tired, but their deterioration is slower and more manageable. Durability is developed through consistent training volume, progressive long runs, selective back-to-back sessions, race-specific terrain, downhill conditioning and strength training. Long runs should also be used to practise realistic pacing, hiking, nutrition and equipment. The common mistake is trying to prove durability through excessively long or exhausting sessions. Durability is not built by destroying the body in one weekend. It comes from months of sustainable training that can be repeated consistently. Fitness may carry you through the first half of an ultra. Durability determines what remains for the second. Key References: Maunder, E., Seiler, S., Mildenhall, M. J., Kilding, A. E., & Plews, D. J. (2021). The Importance of “Durability” in the Physiological Profiling of Endurance Athletes. Sports Medicine, 51, 1619–1628. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-021-01459-0. Jones, A. M. (2024). The Fourth Dimension: Physiological Resilience as an Independent Determinant of Endurance Exercise Performance. The Journal of Physiology, 602, 4113–4128. DOI: 10.1113/JP284205. Millet, G. Y. (2011). Can Neuromuscular Fatigue Explain Running Strategies and Performance in Ultra-Marathons? The Flush Model. Sports Medicine, 41, 489–506. DOI: 10.2165/11588760-000000000-00000. Millet, G. Y., Tomazin, K., Verges, S., et al. (2011). Neuromuscular Consequences of an Extreme Mountain Ultra-Marathon. PLOS ONE, 6, e17059. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0017059. Tanda, G., & Knechtle, B. (2015). Effects of Training and Anthropometric Factors on Marathon and 100 km Ultramarathon Race Performance. Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine, 6, 129–136. DOI: 10.2147/OAJSM.S80637. Bontemps, B., Vercruyssen, F., Gruet, M., & Louis, J. (2020). Downhill Running: What Are the Effects and How Can We Adapt? A Narrative Review. Sports Medicine, 50, 2083–2110. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-020-01355-z. Llanos-Lagos, C., Ramírez-Campillo, R., Moran, J., & Sáez de Villarreal, E. (2024). Effect of Strength Training Programs in Middle- and Long-Distance Runners’ Economy at Different Running Speeds: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 54, 895–932. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-023-01978-y. Knechtle, B., & Nikolaidis, P. T. (2018). Physiology and Pathophysiology in Ultra-Marathon Running. Frontiers in Physiology, 9, 634. DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2018.00634. Clark, I. E., Vanhatalo, A., Thompson, C., et al. (2019). Dynamics of the Power-Duration Relationship During Prolonged Endurance Exercise and Influence of Carbohydrate Ingestion. Journal of Applied Physiology, 127, 726–736. DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00207.2019.

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  Episode #24

  Episode 25 - Carb Loading: Don’t Start Empty

  Jul 10, 202610 minS1

  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. For trail and ultra runners, glycogen is the body’s fast-access fuel, and starting underfuelled can make the later stages of a race much harder. The key message is simple: carb loading should be planned, practised, and spread across the final 24–48 hours before race day. A good target for long endurance events is often around 8–12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight per day , depending on the runner, the race, and gut tolerance. The episode also explains what runners often get wrong: relying on one big meal, eating too much fibre or fat, trying new foods, or worrying about small increases in body weight caused by glycogen and water storage. The practical advice is to use familiar, easy-to-digest carbohydrate foods, reduce gut stress before race day, and rehearse the strategy before key long runs or lower-priority races. Main takeaway: Carb loading fills the tank before the race; race fuelling keeps topping it up. You cannot fully compensate during the race for arriving underfuelled. Key references: Thomas, D. T., Erdman, K. A., & Burke, L. M. — “Nutrition and Athletic Performance.” Burke, L. M., Hawley, J. A., Wong, S. H. S., & Jeukendrup, A. E. — “Carbohydrates for training and competition.” Wallis, G. A. — “Dietary Carbohydrate and the Endurance Athlete: Contemporary Perspectives.” Vitale, K., & Getzin, A. — “Nutrition and Supplement Update for the Endurance Athlete.” Kerksick, C. M. et al. — “International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrient Timing.” Mata, F. et al. — “Carbohydrate Availability and Physical Performance.” Naderi, A. et al. — “Carbohydrates and Endurance Exercise: A Narrative Review.” Thomas / ACSM position statement — race-day fuelling section

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