The Trail Running Briefing

Coach Isaac Alcaide
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The Trail Running Briefing is a short, weekly podcast for trail runners and endurance athletes who want to train with purpose. In 5–8 minutes, each episode focuses on one specific aspect of performance: training design, physiology, strength, durability, or race execution. No hype. No filler. Just clear, practical insights you can use immediately. Hosted by Isaac Alcaide, endurance coach, the podcast is designed to be listened to on the move, during easy runs, commutes, or recovery helping you understand your training so you can run better, longer, and with more confidence on the trail.

Episodes

  1. 5D AGO

    Episode 4 - Why VO₂max Doesn’t Win Ultra Races

    VO₂max measures your maximum aerobic capacity, but ultra races are not performed anywhere near that intensity. What decides performance is not how big your “engine” is, but how efficiently and sustainably you can use it for many hours. Ultra success depends on factors like lactate threshold, aerobic efficiency, fueling tolerance, muscular durability (especially for long descents), and disciplined pacing. Chasing VO₂max through frequent high-intensity sessions often adds fatigue without improving race-day performance. Instead, effective ultra training prioritises sub-threshold work, long aerobic sessions, strength for resilience, and practicing nutrition under load. In ultras, the winners aren’t the runners who can go the hardest. They’re the ones who slow down the least.

    5 min

  2. FEB 6

    Episode 3 - Why intensity works… until it doesn’t

    Intensity can drive quick improvements in trail running performance but only for a short time. Hard sessions create a strong training signal, yet they also generate fatigue faster than they build fitness. At first, fitness gains are visible; over time, accumulated fatigue masks those gains, leaving runners feeling heavy, flat, and slower despite training harder. The mistake many runners make is responding to this fatigue by adding even more intensity or letting easy runs drift too hard. Instead, sustainable progress comes from using intensity sparingly, building a strong aerobic base, and allowing recovery to keep pace with training stress. Key message: intensity should support training, not dominate it. Rule of thumb: If intensity is always the solution, it eventually becomes the problem.

    6 min

  3. JAN 30

    Episode 2 - Why Downhill Running Destroys So Many Ultra Races

    Most ultra runners don’t lose races on the climbs—they lose them on the descents. In this episode of The Trail Running Briefing, we break down why downhill running causes so much damage despite feeling easy at the time. You’ll learn how eccentric muscle loading silently destroys the quads, why this fatigue is delayed and deceptive, and why cardiovascular fitness alone won’t protect you late in an ultra. We also cover the most common mistakes runners make in training avoiding downhills, underestimating their impact, and treating them as free speed and what actually works instead. From smarter downhill exposure to eccentric strength work and technique adjustments, this episode gives you a simple mental model to understand why so many races fall apart after the halfway point. Key takeaway: If you don’t train your quads for the downhills, the race will. Understand your training. Run better.

    7 min

  4. JAN 28

    Episode 1 - Why does your fitness drop even when you train more?

    This episode explores a common frustration among runners: increasing training volume or intensity, yet feeling slower, heavier, and less fit. The key message is simple, fitness doesn’t come from training itself, but from recovering from training. Using a clear mental model, the episode explains how training creates fatigue, and recovery is what allows adaptation and improvement. When training load increases without a matching increase in recovery, the body never fully adapts, leading to declining performance despite more effort. The briefing highlights common mistakes runners make—adding more sessions, more vert, or more intensity—while neglecting sleep, fueling, truly easy runs, and recovery weeks. It then reframes recovery as an essential part of training, not an optional extra. The episode ends with a memorable rule of thumb: You don’t get fitter by doing more. You get fitter by absorbing what you do.

    6 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

The Trail Running Briefing is a short, weekly podcast for trail runners and endurance athletes who want to train with purpose. In 5–8 minutes, each episode focuses on one specific aspect of performance: training design, physiology, strength, durability, or race execution. No hype. No filler. Just clear, practical insights you can use immediately. Hosted by Isaac Alcaide, endurance coach, the podcast is designed to be listened to on the move, during easy runs, commutes, or recovery helping you understand your training so you can run better, longer, and with more confidence on the trail.

Information

  • Creator
    Coach Isaac Alcaide
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Coach Isaac Alcaide
  • Show Website
    The Trail Running Briefing