The Freetrail Podcast with Dylan Bowman Scott Johnston | Coaching Tom Evans & Ruth Croft to UTMB Victories
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Sep 17, 2025 In this conversation, Scott Johnston, the founder of Evoke Endurance and coach to trail running champions Tom Evans and Ruth Croft, shares insights from their incredible journey to UTMB victories. He discusses the critical aspect of fatigue resistance and the differences between local and global fatigue. Scott highlights innovative training techniques and the importance of quality gear, continuous communication, and teamwork in achieving peak performance. His enthusiasm for coaching shines through as he reflects on the emotional highs of their success.
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Local Muscles Drive Endurance Limits
- Fatigue resistance focuses on delaying local muscular fatigue in the primary propelling muscles, not just global exhaustion.
- Improving muscular endurance raises the sustainable speed at the anaerobic/second threshold, which predicts endurance performance better than VO2max.
Prep Intervals With Muscular Endurance Blocks
- Before high-intensity VO2max intervals, first build local muscular endurance so legs stop being the limiter.
- Use high-rep, low-moderate resistance blocks for ~8 weeks to allow later intervals to hit true VO2 stimulus.
Use Weights To Target Leg Fatigue
- Use weighted uphill sessions (packs or vests) to overload propelling muscles without huge global fatigue.
- Control intensity by feeling leg fatigue rather than heart rate; prioritize local muscular stimulus.
