
Running long - A trail and ultra running talk
Vert is the home for every trail & ultra runner. On this podcast we host conversations with key members of our Trail & Ultra running community from all over the world. From professional world class athletes to our Vert.run members and community. Narrating captivating stories and learning from and about this amazing sport.
Latest episodes

Jun 12, 2024 • 1h 3min
133. Rising stars of the sport: Lukas Ehrle
Lukas Ehrle is a trail, mountain and track athlete from Germany. Lukas is only 19 years old but he's already an accomplished athlete and for sure one of the most interesting rising stars in the sport of distance running. His versatility from the track to the trails is impressive and he represents really well the approach to running that the new generations are bringing to the sport, with his professionalism, focus and high level commitment. He recently earned two medals at the European mountain and trail running championships in Annecy, placing third in the uphill race and second in the up and down race. In this episode we chat about his races, how he trains and how he plans to develop his career in the sport.
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You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Jun 5, 2024 • 42min
132. Coach Lab with Max Keith | GPS watches: best models, most important features and how to take advantage of your GPS watch for trail running
Max Keith is a trail runner from Chile and the co-founder of Vert.
In this episode we talk about GPS watches: from how to choose a GPS and how to use it, to the best models, the different activity data and some of the most recent innovations in the market.
Maybe you have a GPS watch but you’ve never really understood how to take advantage of a certain feature, or whether a certain data or feedback that the GPS is giving you is actually relevant: then, this episode is for you.
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

May 29, 2024 • 52min
131. Meet the coaches | Adam Brown
Adam Brown is a trail runner and a coach for Vert.run from Australia
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

May 22, 2024 • 1h 14min
130. Sophia Laukli | Running and skiing: my life, my soul
Sophia Laukli is a professional trail runner and cross country skier for Salomon coming from the US.
Sophia is only 23 but is already a star of the sport, being the 2023 Golden Trail World Series champion, having won races like the Mont Blanc Marathon and Sierre Zinal and her first cross country skiing world cup race this year.
I decided to reach out to Sophia knowing that she’s battling through an injury and wanting to know how she’s dealing with it and how she feels. As elite athletes, we know that injuries are part of the game but they’re still a very hard situation to get through, and I think being able to support each other and just openly talk about what we go through and what we struggle with can be valuable and teach us something.
During this episode we also discuss training on skis vs running, good and bad sides of both sports, how Sophia plans and handles her training and much much more. It turned out to be a really powerful and interesting episode, and I’m grateful to Sophia for sharing her own perspective in a very honest and authentic way.
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

May 15, 2024 • 38min
129. Coach Lab with Max Keith | What types of tests can you do to monitor your fitness? Tracking progress and understanding how you're responding to training
Max Keith is a trail runner from Chile and the co-founder of Vert.
In this episode we talk about the different types of tests that you can do to monitor your fitness. Tracking progress is not always easy, and tests are a good way to understand how you’re responding to training, if you know what you’re doing and how to interpret the data - something that your coach can definitely help you with. From very simple field tests like a time trial, an uphill test or the max heart rate test, to more complex lab tests like the VO2max or the lactate test, we will try to shed some light on what you can learn through performing different running tests for your performance.
As always, the principle that is guiding us is to do everything we do with awareness, while having fun: it's very important to have an understanding of what we’re doing, based on who we are, what we do and what our goals are, something that of course a good coach can really help you with.
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

May 8, 2024 • 1h 2min
128. Kirsten Kortebein | The behind the scenes that most people don't see: building Vert, unglamorous work, freelancing, life between the US and Europe
Kirsten Kortebein, co-founder of Vert.run, discusses challenges in freelancing, work-life balance, growing the company, crewing experiences, and living with an endurance athlete. Topics include resilience in entrepreneurship, balancing passion and prioritization, importance of working smart, and dynamics of support in running.

May 1, 2024 • 37min
127. Coach Lab with Steve Krenn | How to find new trails and how to build routes
Steve Krenn is a trail runner from New York and a Vert.run coach.
In this episode, Steve and I give some tips on how to find trails when you're in a new place, for example for a work trip or when you are on vacation, how to build routes, how to discover the most popular trails in a certain area, how to take advantage of some route builder apps and heatmaps, how to use your gps navigation features.
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Apr 24, 2024 • 1h 15min
126. Francesco Puppi and Leo Pershall | Lake Sonoma recap: preparation, strategy, nutrition, gear and post race reflections
Last week Leo and I ran the Lake Sonoma 50 and Lake Sonoma Marathon in California. We both had very good races, with Leo placing 7th overall in the marathon in 4:01:53, and I winning the LS50 with a new course record in 6:30:17. This is our race recap: we talk about our training leading up to the race, strategy, taper, nutrition, gear, approach, what we learned, what the experience meant and felt like for both of us.
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Apr 17, 2024 • 43min
125. Coach Lab with Parker Farabee | Strength Training for trail runners
Parker Farabee is a trail runner, physiotherapist, exercise physiologist and coach from Portland, Oregon.
In this episode we talk about strength training for trail runners. Why is strength training so important, why do we need strength as trail runners? Of course we're not bodybuilders, so how much strenght do we need?
What type of strength training do we need in order to get stronger, but not bulkier?
We will give some practical examples for the application of strength training in your normal training routine, how you should do it, how often and for how long.
Follow Parker on Instagram
Check out his website
____________________________
Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Apr 10, 2024 • 1h
124. Seth Ruhling | Boulder Boys fan favorite. Training and life in Boulder, the professionalization of the sport, comparing the US and European trail running scene and much more
I’m recording this interview live, from the vert run headquarters in boulder aka moi’s house, and my guest today is Seth Ruhling. Seth is a North Face sponsored athlete, a podcast host and a boulder boy fans favorite. He’s originally from Tennessee but he’s moved to Boulder to chase his dream to train and compete at the highest level in the sport of trail and ultrarunninng.
In this episode, we chat about training and life in Boulder, what makes this community unique, what are some pros and cons of living here, we also talk about the professionalization of the sport, comparing the European and the us trail running scene, and the pressure that athletes often face to compete in longer distances, giving up an organic and probably healthier athletic development, something that is gradually changing and making the sport more competitive and interesting, with media fans and brands giving more attention to short races and sub ultra events.
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Follow @vert.run on IG
Download our app and sign up to our training plans on vert.run
You can send us a message with any questions for us or for our guests! https://anchor.fm/vertrun/message
Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website