Home Trails Podcast

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Robin the Running Accountant joins Sam as the cohost on this one. Firstly to quiz him about his Spine Challenger South DNF story......warts n all! 

Then, we round up all the action from all of this year's Spine races, including an in depth conversation about Jon and Damo holding hands during the Sprint North. Just how bad the conditions were for everyone. The outstanding performances from all races and how Double Deckers don't qualify as race nutrition?

We also reveal the winners from all 9 categories of this years (last years) TURA Awards! There are lots of winners and notable mentions, so listen up as you might have been mentioned!

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I catch up with Cammy for a quick chat before this years races kick off.

We chat about changes to how the media team operate over the week of racing. How the weather is affecting the race and what's new from the media coverage.

Cam is obviously very busy manning the helm of the media team this year, since Will Roberts is absent for 2026. But we managed to have a chin wag about my favourite race none the less!

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In this episode we speak to returning guest Alice Kershaw!

Alice is no stranger to the podcast and no stranger to the Spine. Having been on the podium on 4 separate occasions. Including wins at the Sprint and Challenger South.

This time Alice is taking on the full winter Spine and for those of us in the know, she is tipped to do really well. She talks about her new approach to racing which includes the wise guidance from non other than Damian Hall himself!

Although Alice still approaches all of her races with her characteristic smile, she seems to be stepping up with her approach to this years race. She freely admits that she wanted to cover all bases in the lead up to Britain's Most Brutal race!

Listen/watch the full interview to hear Alice talk about this years race.

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In this episode of the podcast we talk to returning guest Jon Shield.

Jon talks about the year he's had since he was forced to drop out of Challenger North last winter with a calf injury. He talks about his successes and failures in between and how he now feels ready to put down a strong performance at the Sprint North race next week.

Obviously, Jon quite rightly called me out on my comment during my interview with Damo where I may or may not, have said that I favoured him for the win! 

We also talk about Jons addiction to White Monster Energy Drinks and how they could be a new sponsor for the podcast.......lol.

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Jack returns to the podcast to talk about Spine South this coming weekend.

Jack broke with his tradition of radio silence prior to big races, in favour of a more relaxed approach to media. Is this a new version of Jack? 

Possibly so it seems...... Jack previously stayed away from the media prior to the Spine to stay in his zone mentally. But now Jack is a bit older and a bit wiser its seems and has learned to switch off his mental game prior to races and only dip into it when its really needed.....like when he's racing the likes of Mark Darbyshire and Dan Weller up the Pennine Way to chase down the course record!

We dive into what he's been up to in the last year. How he's prepared slightly differently this time and what he expects to put down in the race if the conditions are favourable. 

We also talk about his coaching business and his big secret plans for this coming summer! 

Listen/watch the episode to find out more!

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James returns to the Home Trails podcast to talk about his historic double winter Bob Graham Round record!

Running a total of 132 miles, with 54,000 ft of ascent in 42 hours and 56 minutes! Going anticlockwise first, before switching to clockwise for the second round. This betters the previous time set by Caspian James, by nearly an hour.

In the podcast, we talk about his approach to training for, and completing a feat that has never been accomplished before. James is known for his winter rounds in harsh conditions and this double round was no different. The recent cold snap that James had been tracking leading up to the attempt, gave perfect winter running conditions underfoot.

We talk about his approach to kit, short rests and his support crew. We also look into his training, including a recent heat acclimation block that included running almost every day of his 3 week holiday in Thailand and coming home to continue the heat in sauna sessions designed by his coach Kim Collison.

What will James do next?

Watch/listen to the episode to find out!

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The Trail and Ultra Running Awards are back agin for 2025!

In this joint podcast....Ultrarunning Sam, Kate from RunUltra and Robin The Running Accountant discuss this years potential winners and who did what this year in 2025.

We've simplified the voting this year so there's no option to pick from a list, the choice is yours and the winner of each award is the one with the most votes....Simples.

So follow the link to vote and be in with a chance to win the ever growing prize bundle!

https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/57TKUX/

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SPINE SEASON:

James returns to the Home Trails podcast for a third time. This time we talk about his return to the big one!

Having dropped out of the full winter race in 2024 with a foot injury, he returned to the race to run the Challenger South with his dad in the epic conditions we saw in January. 

This time, back to full health he's on the start line for the full deal again. In this episode we talk about his learnings from the year his foot stopped him, his training and tapering approach and how he is looking forward to finally getting to the finish at Kirk Yetholm and putting the race to bed!

James was on Damo's list of podium contenders for this years race and I fully agree with him. James is one to watch in January!

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Spine Season continues!
Damo returns to the Home Trails Podcast. This time to talk about his recent Three Solo project that didn't go 💯 to plan....and his plans to return to it in 2026.
We dive into how he feels going into the Spine Sprint North race in January, a break from his norm of doing the full race. We talk about the level of FOMO he will be having come January 10th weekend and we talk about his hopes of bettering his time from the test run he did back in January when the race was trialling the new distance.

We talk about his predictions for each of the race distances and who he thinks will do well in each of them. Then finally we talk about the changes to the kit list and how he feels about them and the race moving forward.

Always a pleasure to have Damo back on the podcast!

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In this episode we meet Arthur Hill for the first time.

Arthur recently set a new winter BGR record in 14:54, taking 4 minutes off Gavin Dales record from last year! Arthur was helped during his legs by a host of Lake District royalty, including Kim Collison, Beth Pascal and of course Gavin Dale himself.

In our chat we talk about his route into fell running in his early 20's, his obsession with the Bob and his training leading up to this round. Arthur speaks about the close knit community of trail and fell runners that jumped at the chance to support him on his latest attempt. 

Arthur is one of the most enthusiastic young runners I've had the pleasure to speak to and it seems certain that this won't be his one and done for the Bob. He is even more obsessed with the round than ever and I'm sure he will be back chasing the summer record when the time is right!

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