The Trail and 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 #trailanderror #distancerunner #26point2 #fitnessmotivation #runningmotivation #marathon #ultratraining #ultrarunner #runnerofinstagram #runnerslife #instarunners #runhappy #runnercommunity #runningcommunity #iruntrails #trailrunning #trailrunner

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

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 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

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.

David Barry is the host of the Film My Trail Run YouTube channel and an ultra runner currently based in LA. On the episode we talk about some of David’s recent racing experiences, including the UTMB Canyons race, Transgrancaria, Cape Wrath Ultra, and running some of the biggest marathons in the world (including Kelvin Kiptum’s record breaking Chicago Marathon in October of last year). We also have a mildly heated debate around watches, pitting Coros against Garmin - which do you think is better?

Loyd Purvis is the host of the Run4Adventure YouTube channel and a prominent member of the Cornish trail running community. On this episode Jay and Loyd talk about the Cornish trail running scene, UTMB, Loyd’s transition into content making and the birth of Run4Adventure, what it takes to run his channel, pushing the limits, the Arc of Attrition, and much more….

On this special episode which was held at the pop-up Ponnek Running Store in Falmouth on 28th October (yeah, took a while to get this out!) Tris records the first every live episode of Trail & Error with Jay Medway from Left Handed Giant Running Club in Bristol. On the episode we talk about the Arc of Attrition, Jay’s philosophy on running clubs and the details of how LHG running club operates with its typical number of 150 runners per week. We talk injury and recovery, adventuring over racing, crewing a 200 mile race around a town square, and how running clubs can support communities. Plus much more!

Elsie is a doctor, North Face sponsored trail ultra runner, 2:33 marathoner, and a returning guest on the T&E podcast. On the episode we talk about her recent win at Nice Côte d'Azur by UTMB, her winter Bob Graham round record, and reaching her limits with heat stroke at the Calamorro Skyrace. We touch on some of Elsie’s training strategies, including her 40% incline treadmill and depriving herself of oxygen in bed and while on the treadmill with an altitude mask. All that and more. PS. The audio quality is fairly poor on this one. We’ll try to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

With most of the training done and a two week taper left, Jay & Tris discuss their preparations for Dragon’s Back 2023 - a 380km, six day, stage race, through the length of Wales with 18,000m of elevation gain and loss. On the episode we discuss the highs and lows of training, our training plans, nutrition, kit, hopes, and fears.

Andy Blow is the founder of Precision Fuel & Hydration, a company that makes sports supplements for endurance athletes. He has a BSc Honours degree in Sports and Exercise Science from the University of Bath and has co-authored a number of scientific studies and books. He was once the Team Sports Scientist for the Benetton and Renault Formula 1 teams and remains an adviser to the Porsche Human Performance Centre at Silverstone. Andy has finished in the top 10 in Ironman events and won the XTERRA Age Group World title. On the episode we talk about Andy’s sporting background and how it led him to setup Precision F&H. We then talk about hydration, electrolytes, sweat testing, peeing during exercise, and calibrating hydration to your personal needs. Then it’s onto fuelling, carbohydrate intake for energy and recovery, with examples of where the low-carb and high carb approach have seen results. Check out the below links to articles on the Precision F&H website (authored by Andy) that cover many of the topics discussed in this episode. Measure your sweat rate - https://www.precisionhydration.com/performance-advice/hydration/how-to-measure-your-sweat-rate/ How Much Dehydration Can you tolerate - https://www.precisionhydration.com/performance-advice/hydration/how-much-dehydration-can-you-tolerate-before-your-performance-suffers/ Nutrition Endurance per - https://www.precisionhydration.com/performance-advice/nutrition/nutrition-endurance-performance/ How Much Carbohydrate do you need? - https://www.precisionhydration.com/performance-advice/nutrition/how-much-carbohydrate-carbs-athletes-per-hour/

Matt Whyman is an ultra runner, artist, dad, and author of a number of very good books (fiction and non-fiction) including one about running: Failure Is An Option “the story of an average runner who sets out to discover just how far he can go.” On this episode we take a deep dive into the Dragon’s Back Race, a six day ultra in Wales which Matt ran in 2021 and is attempting (along with Tris and Jay) again in September 2023. www.mattwyman.com

Race Special - Tris competed in the Centurion Track 100 mile race at Bedford International Athletics Track on 22nd April. In the first half of this episode (recorded a few days before the event) Tris and Jay discuss Tris’ preparation for the event, the event format, and his goals. In the second half (recorded the day after) we find out how he and the other athletes got on!