Born on the Trail: Going Longer

While everybody has spent 2025 increasing their carbohydrate intake, Marco spent his year improving his metabolic flexibility and fat oxidation through periodised nutrition. Although he agrees that carbohydrate availability is essential for performance and recovery, his approach challenges the assumption that simply increasing carbohydrate intake is always the primary lever for improvement.

In this episode, I speak to Marco Altini about what metabolic flexibility actually is, what it is not, his metabolic flexibility and fat oxidation journey, along with practical tips and suggestions on how athletes should approach the topic of metabolic flexibility.

Marco has a wealth of knowledge and I am very happy that he has decided to share some of it with my audience.

Looking for coaching or guidance? Learn more at https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/coaching

USEFUL LINKS

[TrainingTalk] Periodized Nutrition and Metabolic Flexibility for Endurance Performance: Data and Insights from a Case Study: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/p/periodized-nutrition-for-endurance

[TrainingTalk] Learnings From a Year of Periodized Nutrition and Metabolic Testing: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/p/trainingtalk-learnings-from-a-year

[CoachCorner] When Metabolic Flexibility and Performance Move Together: Matteo’s Case Study: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/p/coachcorner-when-metabolic-flexibility

[CoachCorner] Should We Test?: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/p/coachcorner-should-we-test

RELATED BORN ON THE TRAIL CONTENT

Do You Really Need 120g of Carbohydrates per Hour?: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/do-you-really-need-120g-of-carbohydrates

FOLLOW MARCO

Do you want to be coached by Marco?: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/p/coachcorner-my-training-philosophy

Substack: https://marcoaltini.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/altini_marco/

WATCH THIS SHOW ON OTHER PLATFORMS

Substack: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFOih1rUBA2F_3Bi7Ii-cAqieAQSumU_

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o5yHthUidO0No4VA3xdVb?si=nWhg4BjyQNa8F8lcsmXkJw

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/born-on-the-trail-going-longer/id1857231629

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFOih1rUBA2F_3Bi7Ii-cAqieAQSumU_

BORN ON THE TRAIL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Substack: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bornonthetrail/

Like most of us, I place a great deal of trust in science and scientific research. However, recent work by Joe Warne and the Sports Science Replication Center calls into question many of the findings we routinely accept as established fact.

In this episode of Born on the Trail: Going Longer, Joe and I explore how the scientific process actually works, where it breaks down and what the Replication Center has uncovered about the reliability of sports science research. We also discuss how athletes, coaches, and even academics can navigate an environment shaped by flawed incentives and publication bias, and how AI and big data can help us improve the quality of published research.

This conversation allows you to better understand what evidence can and cannot tell us, and how to make more informed decisions amid an overwhelming amount of information.

Looking for coaching or guidance? Learn more here: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/coaching

RELATED BORN ON THE TRAIL CONTENT

Why You Should Not (Blindly) Trust Science: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/why-you-should-not-blindly-trust-science?r=39kjk2

FOLLOW JOE

Contact Joe: https://ssreplicationcentre.com/author/joe-warne/

Sports Science Replication Centre: https://ssreplicationcentre.com/

WATCH THIS SHOW ON OTHER PLATFORMS

Substack: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFOih1rUBA2F_3Bi7Ii-cAqieAQSumU_

Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/6o5yHthUidO0No4VA3xdVb?si=nWhg4BjyQNa8F8lcsmXkJw

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/born-on-the-trail-going-longer/id1857231629

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFOih1rUBA2F_3Bi7Ii-cAqieAQSumU_

BORN ON THE TRAIL ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Substack: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bornonthetrail/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@bornonthetrail

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bornonthetrail/

If you’re an avid reader or follower of Born on the Trail, you have definitely seen me write and post about the effects of the mind on physical performance along with presenting ways how to perform mental performance training. In an effort to deepen my understanding, I got in touch with Neal Palles, a licensed psychotherapist and ultra running coach working with mountain and ultra athletes. My goal was to understand how everyday athletes can perform mental performance training but during the discussion, it became evident that I was missing a key point; performance depends on good mental health, a deep ‘why’ and a strong motivation. Listen what Neal had to say during the 2nd episode of Born on the Trail: Going Longer.

Related Born on the Trail Content

Quantifying The Performance Benefits of Mental Training: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/quantifying-the-performance-effects-of-mental-training

A Guide to Mental Training for Endurance Athletes and Coaches: https://endurancemastery.substack.com/cp/170532601

Are Pain and Fatigue Physical or Mental?: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/are-pain-and-fatigue-physical-or-mental

Analysing the Limiters of Ultra Marathon Performance: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/analysing-the-limiters-of-ultra-marathon-performance

Why Backyard Ultra Runners Quit (And How Not To): https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/why-backyard-ultra-runners-quit-and-how-not-to

The Demands-Resources Model Will Change The Way You Approach Training: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/p/demands-resources-training-model

Follow Neal

You can reach Neal via his website, Substack or Instagram profiles.

Watch This Show on Other Platforms

Substack: https://bornonthetrail.substack.com/podcast

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFOih1rUBA2F_3Bi7Ii-cAqieAQSumU_

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6o5yHthUidO0No4VA3xdVb?si=nWhg4BjyQNa8F8lcsmXkJw

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/born-on-the-trail-going-longer/id1857231629

YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvFOih1rUBA2F_3Bi7Ii-cAqieAQSumU_

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Since the 2025 edition of UTMB, everyone is talking about muscular endurance. But despite all the available information, there’s massive confusion. In fact, a major coaching organisation in the ultra space recently stated this approach “does not work.”

In this debut episode of Born on the Trail: Going Longer, I sit down with renowned coach Scott Johnston tackle this controversy head-on. We dive deep into what muscular endurance is and why it works, what coaches and athletes misunderstand about this training method and how the everyday athlete can approach this training intervention and get it right.

Tune in to learn and understand the way I have.

USEFUL LINKS

Muscular Endurance Revisited: What Actually Works (The source of criticism): https://ultrarunning.com/featured/muscular-endurance-revisited-what-actually-works/

Muscular Endurance: All You Need to Know: https://evokeendurance.com/resources/muscular-endurance-all-you-need-to-know/

Book Club: Training For The Uphill Athlete: https://evokeendurance.com/resources/book-club-training-for-the-uphill-athlete/

Evoke Endurance (Scott’s coaching company): https://evokeendurance.com/

Scott Johnston on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach_scott_johnston/

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bornonthetrail/ or https://www.instagram.com/niki.runs/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@bornonthetrail

Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/nikiruns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bornonthetrail