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In this episode I speak to Kitty-Leigh Oxley about the Community Traverse!

In the wake of the collapse of Ourea Events, Kitty decided that all that training and money spent getting to the start line of The Northern Traverse couldn't go to waste! Surely there were others in the same situation? The seed of an ideas was born and now we have the Community Traverse!

Support for this event has grown rapidly since its inception and continues to grow. What started as an idea to just do the coast to coast route anyway, has now turned into a full time project for Kitty. 

In this episode we discuss the logistics of gathering together a group of runners, volunteers and various supporting organisations to make this idea reality.

The theme that ran through the whole of this discussion was one of hope and community spirit. The fact that this can come together so quickly really highlights that the British trail running community is as string as ever and despite divisive events happening in our sport, we can come together to make good things happen!

If you want to run with the CT then below are the details on how they're logistically making it work. if you want to volunteer your time or resources to help them DM the Community Traverse on instagram.

Re: support options as they stand.

Each CP will vary slightly depending on the facilities we have access to.  

At the moment we’re working on securing better locations in Kirkby Stephen & Richmond. 

As a minimum, CPs will have gala tents, camping chairs and a gas hob. 

There will be plenty of tea, sandwiches, snacks, treats, and gels. 

There will be hot food options wherever possible. 

Exact locations for support points will be shared very soon and a GPX file for our route will also include all our support locations.

HT

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On this episode of the podcast we speak to Dan Holder.

Dan completed this years Arctic Spine race, a non-stop 293 mile winter ultramarathon along the Kungsleden Trail in Arctic Sweden.

Dan had to contend with -40 degree temps, 40mph winds, pulling a pulk with all of his survival gear including a tent to sleep in along the way. If you think that the Winter Spine Race along the Pennine Way is difficult...then wait until you hear what Dan had to put up with!

From northern lights, moose and hallucinations...to cold so intense you have to do everything with gloves on.....and I mean EVERYTHING!

Dan tells the pod about his former career in the Marines and how his experiences set him up perfectly for the Arctic challenge. Dan has a serious back story that's led him to where his is now, making a difference to people with Atomic Rambo Coaching, his coaching business designed to help trauma victims and positive mindset coaching for business professionals.

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@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

On the podcast this week we have Jon and Henriette Albon!

The power couple for 2026? It seems so! They both decidedly won their respective races at TGC, with Jon battling friend of the show - Josh Wade to a hard fought win. Whilst Henriette won her race by over 90 minutes! 

In this episode we dive into what the 'Norwegian Method' really is. We talk about their respective Superhero origin stories and how they came to be the couple that we know today. We talk about their coaching philosophy and why everyone from Norway seems to be smashing ultra trail races!

We also talk in detail about the couples coaching app, Ascendtrail.app and how it worked for them both in prep for this race and how it can work for us mere mortals!

This was a super informative interview and I hope you will get as much out of it as I did!

Now go download the coaching app!

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

ULTRA NEWS!

This week we had the sad news that Ourea Events had ceased trading. OE host some of the UK's most beloved ultramarathons including; The Northern Traverse, encompassing the Lakes Traverse, Dales Traverse and the Moors Traverse. The Dragon's Back Race, Cape Wrath and Skyline Scotland.

This news came as a shock to many of us that have been involved with any of the races they put on. Shane Ohly broke the news in a heartfelt statement just yesterday, which received an outpouring of sympathy for Shane and the business. This was followed by concern over lost race entry fees and non functional insurance. 

In this podcast, myself, Dave Johnson from TrailSkin, Ben Wells and Kingsley Isaac discuss what happened and try to make sense of the situation. Will OE restructure and bring back the races next year? Or will a big trail running conglomeration like UTMB or Rat Race buy up the rights to the iconic races?

We end the podcast on a lighter note with a poor audio quality version of Kingsleys new song about UTS and Ourea! 

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

In this episode of the Home Trails Podcast we talk to our resident coach, Warren Wrenkel.....Wozza!

Subjects on the docket this episode:

* The Norwegian Method for training (includes an example for you to try)

* VO2max - Is it important or not?

* New studies on injuries related to training volume

* Physiology vs zone training 

*  Nutrition - keto/low carb vs high carb for training or longevity 

Lots to unpack in this episode and hopefully something for everyone. This style of episode will be a fixed feature going forward, so if you have a training question for Wozza then send it in on the HT WhatsApp community or DM to either of us on social media.

Happy training 

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

In this episode of the Home Trails Podcast, I'm joined by by James Nobles and Martin from Kelp&Fern to discuss UTS by UTMB.

James has been very vocal in his criticism of UTS changing the iconic Snowdonia route last minute, especially after selling further places in the race.

UTS has come under heavy fire from some prominent names in the trail and ultra running community. But is this just a genuine landowner/route issue that couldn't have been avoided? Or is it another example of the giant corporate machine steamrollering trail runners and using another race as a licence to print money, without giving runners what they signed up for?

James represents the angry pro runners and Martin shares his local route knowledge and years of experience in fell, trail and ultra running media.

Should the trail running community start to boycott UTMB races? 

Have a listen to find out!

* UTS were contacted and given the opportunity to join the conversation. No response as yet......

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

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Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

Louise returns to the Home Trails podcast for her second appearance. 

The first was as part of a short format Spine Race preview episode, so we didn't dive too much into her life story. In this episode we go right back to her early days, especially her wild days back at uni in Manchester, when she was fully immersed in the early 90's rave scene. 

She talks about going to the legendary Hacienda club in Manchester, how she help Madonna to shimmy over a wall to escape the venue and how she raved until the sun came up at every opportunity.

Louise now channels her addictive personality into endurance sports. Where she's competed at road races, masters marathon, won silver medal at duathlon and more recently has dominated ultramarathons, including our favourite race, the Spine.

Louise is also a coach, so we talk about her coaching methods to prepare for ultras, including some very specific work in tough conditions!

Louise is a real character and was a pleasure to interview!

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

Hayley Wilson - Podcast listener and Home Trails WhatsApp group member, joins me for a run down of whats been happening in the sport over the weekend!

We chat about the results from the 2 separate golden ticket races that were held over the weekend - Black Canyons 100/50k held in the USA and Tarawera 100k held simultaneously down under in New Zealand. Multiple golden tickets were up for grabs in each of the races, so we chat about who won what.

Obviously we talk about the shock news that Barkely Marathons were held the earliest in the year yet! With 22 names....named we only had one runner complete a "fun run" of 3 loops and 4 others complete 2 loops. Laz is back up his old trick of making the race impossible to finish it seems!

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

Anna Troup joins the Home Trails Podcast to talk all things Spine Race!

Anna has a long history with the race and this year saw her win the women's race in 109 hours, in some epic weather conditions. Anna talks about her preparations (or lack of) going into this race. Off the back of winning the summer edition of the race, Anna yet again had to deal with reoccurring issues with stress fractures that almost put her out of the race.

We dive into the ongoing issue of injury and how she has kept her huge endurance  base that she's built over 40 years in sport! How doctors told her not to race and how she came to the start line in January with one goal......finishing the race.

We talk about her drive to encourage more women to sign up to the race and the small community on WhatsApp that's now grown to include over 300 members! We talk about the changes to the race and how it's perceived to affect women signing up going forward and her plans to continue building the women's support group.

Anna was a pleasure to interview and I'm sure she will be back again for more episodes in the future!

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam

Get in touch with Home Trails here ⬅️

In this episode I'm joined by Kris Jones!

Kris recently won the Arc of Attrition by UTMB 50 and he shares his experience at this years mud-fest!

This is Kris's first appearance on the Home Trails Podcast, so we obviously start with the obligatory Superhero Question. Kris comes from a background that combines world class orienteering with world class track and road running. Which clearly is the perfect combination, because he seems to win and set course records at every trail and ultra race he enters!

Kris talks in depth about his approach to training which prioritises fitness first, before moving into specific race phases. Something I will take home is his point about fitness trumping all other factors. He believes that if he's half marathon fit, then he's ready for most races, longer or shorter!

So time to dust off those road shoes and get the intervals and tempo runs flowing again!

HT

@ultrarunning_sam

@hometrails_

http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam