The Trail & Error Podcast

In this episode we talk to Luke Grenfell-Shaw, a member of the Brooks Running trail running team and cancer survivor.

Luke was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2018 at the age of just 24. Far from recoiling he launched himself out into the world on a mission to make the most of life.

8 years on and Luke has a tandem bike ride from Bristol to Bejing under his belt as well as competing on the world trail running scene as part of the Brooks team and his work as a motivational speaker.

We talk training, coaches, adventures and about his recent race in China as well as his work with cancer charities.

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Thanks again to all of you for listening. If you have a moment please, like, subscribe and if you have a moment free perhaps write a short review. It's all a great help to us in growing the audience and is very much appreciated!

Tris and Jay

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Jay heads over to Chamonix to take on the TDS.

A race with 9400m of elevation change over 145km of remote alpine trails, the TDS has a formidable reputation for difficulty and testing the endurance of those seeking more of a challenge than the classic UTMB 100 miler can offer.

TDS takes its participants from Courmayeur in Italy back to the iconic finish line in Chamonix, giving the runners a maximum of 44 hours for the journey. Its remote and exposed course includes sections of via ferrata with potentially fatal drops at 2600m and relentless climbs and descents at lung busting altitudes.

In this episode we'll find out how Jay got on vs his pre race predictions. Will it be glory or will TDS claim another scalp?

We hope you enjoy this episode.

Thanks again to all of you for listening. If you have a moment please, like, subscribe and if you have a moment free perhaps write a short review. It's all a great help to us in growing the audience and is very much appreciated!

Tris and Jay

In this episode Tris and Jay talk to the team behind the iconic Cornish winter endurance race the Arc of Attrition and learn about what's changing and what's staying the same with 'The Arc' now that it has joined the UTMB stable of races as part of their World Series.

We're joined by Hayden, Jane and Ferg as we discuss the logistics of adding the additional 25 mile race and how the race rules have been adapted to match the standardised system across all the UTMB races worldwide and what that means for those hoping to support their runners on the rugged clifftop trails of Cornwall in the middle of winter.

With fanzones, rules changes and new races this episode is a whistle stop journey through the first stage of this race’s evolution and its journey to become a race that's sure to have global appeal for those wanting to test themselves on the jagged coastline of Cornwall.

We hope you enjoy this extended episode.

Thanks again to all of you for listening. If you have a moment please, like, subscribe and if you have a moment free perhaps write a short review. It's all a great help to us in growing the audience and is very much appreciated!

Tris and Jay

In this episode Jay is joined by Stephen Cousins of Film My Run and friend and runner Richard Hurdle as they discuss their experiences of TDS over the past 5 years.

Starts tactics, the never ending climbs, and the tragic fatalities this race has seen over the past few years all come up as they impart their wisdom and knowledge of this iconic mountain race.

At approximately 94 miles and 30,000ft of elevation and with a start and finish at opposite ends of the Mt Blanc tunnel this event has a deservedly fearsome reputation.

As promised, here is the bonus audio recorded by Jay with guests Stephen Cousins and James Forbes, after each day on the Cape Wrath 2024 Ultra. And at the end there is an interview with Event Director and Ourea founder Shane Ohly, where he discusses how the event team managed an infectious outbreak in the race camp and how they managed to keep it’s infection rate to a mind blowingly low 12.8%. Low enough to be the basis of a future scientific research paper on infection control no less!

Jay takes on the 400km Cape Wrath Ultra along with friends Stephen Cousins and James Forbes

Winding along the route of the historic Cape Wrath Trail from Fort William at the base of the Great Glen this race heads north into the Knoydart region over 8 days. As with all mountain races the weather and its unpredictability can affect the conditions massively and this edition of the race was to prove challenging in unexpected ways.

Tris takes the role of interviewer and Jay as guest alongside James and Stephen as we chat about our experiences of the Cape Wrath Ultra and (SPOILER ALERT) its companion event the Cape Wrath Explorer.

Jay recorded daily content each evening too including an interview with Event Director and Ourea founder Shane Ohly where he discusses how the event team managed an infectious outbreak in the race camp and how they managed to keep it’s infection rate to a mind blowingly low 12.8%. Low enough to be the basis of a future scientific research paper on infection control no less!

Day 1 to 8 round ups and the interview with Shane are included as bonus content at the end of the podcast.

We hope you enjoy this extended episode.

Thanks again to all of you for listening. If you have a moment please, like, subscribe and if you have a moment free perhaps write a short review. It's all a great help to us in growing the audience and is very much appreciated!

Tris and Jay

Jay takes on the Cape Wrath Ultra by Ourea Events from May 19th and he’s joined on this episode by fellow race participants James Forbes of Trench Foot Cream and Stephen Cousins of the YouTube channel Film My Run. You can hear more from James on episode 59 and from Stephen way back on episode 4 and again on episode 35.

They chat about their race preparations (or lack of), the kit required to take on 400km of the UK’s most remote wilderness and their expectations of how the race will go.

If you’d like to learn more about this event you can check out episodes 69, 70 & 73 where we chatted to Shane Ohly the event director and previous Cape Wrath Ultra participants David Barry and Laura O’Driscoll respectively.

Equally, if Cape Wrath Ultra sounds interesting be sure to check out all of our coverage of Ourea’s Dragons Back Race from last year to learn about another epic wilderness race in the UK.

Thanks again to all of you for listening. If you have a moment please, like, subscribe and if you have a moment free perhaps write a short review. It's all a great help to us in growing the audience and is very much appreciated!

Tris and Jay

This is available as a video episode on the Trail & Error YouTube channel.

Laura O’ Driscoll is an ultra runner, cyclist, swimmer and yoga instructor. Laura has clocked up numerous races in her time, including 1st place female at Cape Wrath, 1st place at the Kerry Way Ultra, 1st at Seven Sisters Skyline ultra, 1st place at Waterville WFT 3day, and many more. Following a car accident in 2012, she embraced yoga during her recovery from a serious knee injury.  This journey led her from an Ironman hopeful to a certified yoga instructor through Ashtanga Yoga Mysore in 2013.  On the episode we talk about Cape Wrath and Dragon’s Back (which Laura is entering this year) with focus on camp life, recovery and map reading. We then move onto the totally epic Himal Race in Nepal, which traverses the entire Himalayas. Laura is competing in the short version of this race later in Spring, which is only 8 days!

Sam Downing is a Cornwall based trail and ultra runner and the founder of the Ponnek trail running brand. On the episode we talk about the ethos behind Ponnek, how it was founded and where it’s going. He gives some hints as some new products in the pipeline and products that will never make it into the pipeline. We talk about the most useless bits of running gear and getting the longest lifespan out of kit. Sam talks about the beginning of his running journey, his recent experience at the Cheviot Goat, injuries and training, and we give the results of great Garmin vs. Sonos poll.

Lewis Ryan is a Scarpa sponsored ultra runner who recently won the Arc 50 in Cornwall, resulting in is his fifth race win in the past year. On the episode we talk about cramping in Hayle,  Lewis’ past races and upcoming challenges (including the Chianti Ultra Trail by UTMB and Dragon’s Back). We also talk about training around a young family and balancing a life in the alcohol industry with running - something that Lewis and Tris both share in common.