
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

Nov 8, 2023 • 59min
103. Francesco Puppi | Racing my first long ultra and 2023 season recap
Francesco Puppi is a pro athlete for Nike and your Running Long podcast host.
Today I'm joined by Max and Moi, founder and co-founder of Vert.run, to talk about my 2023 season, including my first experience in a long ultra at Templiers (80km +3500m), where I placed second behind Jonathan Albon. We’re going to dive deep into how the race went, how I felt, what was my nutrition strategy, how I made the decision to do this race, what the training leading up to it was like. My 2023 season was not short of several ups and downs, but I’m incredibly happy and grateful for everything I got to experience.
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Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Nov 1, 2023 • 47min
102. Lauren Klein | How and why you should think about improving your running economy
Laurein Klein is a trail and ultra runner with an undergraduate degree in athletic training, a master degree in exercise science and experience in the sports medicine field.
In this episode we talk about how biomechanics influences running economy and how we can improve our running economy through training to become better and more efficient runners.
As trail runners we are constantly striving to be better, run further, add more elevation gain, and cover more technical terrain. Besides our training and the workouts we're doing, it is also important to pay attention to how our body is moving while we run.Any changes that allow us to use less energy while running allow us to improve our pace without increasing the amount of stress placed on our body.
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Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Oct 25, 2023 • 52min
101. Gloria Giudici | Balancing having a full time job and being a high level athlete
Gloria Giudici - for me and for some of my friends Rita - is an amateur runner, Sportsshoes ambassador and full time worker who happens to be my girlfriend.
Rita - which is Gloria’s middle name, for those of you who are wondering about where it comes from, is one of the hardest working people I know and for sure a great source of strength and inspiration for me. She’s also a great runner and an accomplished athlete, with a long story in endurance sports. She started as a cyclist, until she transitioned to running when she was in her 20s, and later on to trail and mountain running. She’s competed in 4 world mountain and trail running championships, she’s placed 9th in a European championship, she’s won national titles, she’s placed top 30 in the new york city marathon and many more accomplishments.
We’re here to talk to Rita about two topics: how she balances having a full time job and being a high level athlete, and how she managed to deal with a big injury which kept her away from running for over 6 months. We’re going to give some advice and tips on how it’s possible to train at a high level while working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and what’s been particularly helpful for her when treating her hamstring injury and how she handled the return to running, with the aim to point out what’s useful and what’s not, so that as many athletes as possible can apply these principles and ideas to their own situations, regardless of their level or how fast or slow they can run.
Follow Gloria on Instagram @glo_87
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Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Oct 18, 2023 • 52min
100. Coach Steve Krenn | Trail running, self confidence and mental health
Here at Vert, we run to have fun, feel good and learn something about ourselves in the process.
How can we build self confidence through trail running? How can we be ok with the fact that we all want to grow and progress, but we may still experience failures and setbacks? How can we feel empowered through trail running?
Today's guest is Steve Krenn, a Vert.run coach and trail runner from New York City
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Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Oct 11, 2023 • 1h 12min
099. Ida Nilsson | Looking back to an amazing career
Ida Nilsson is a professional trail runner for Craft, she's from Sweden but she currently lives in Norway.
Ida has been in the sport for a very very long time and she’s explored pretty much everything that there is to explore within the sport of running, from the track to cross country, from the roads to the trails. Together with Mimmi Kotka and Emelie Forsberg, she's the co-founder of Moonvalley, a plant based nutrition company for outdoor people.
I’m interviewing Ida during her off-season, after a long and successful 2023 where she was 5th at Black Canyon 100k, 1st at Canyons 100k, 7th at Western States and 1st at Ultravasan 90km. Together, we go through her long and successful career, retracing the main stages of her athletic development, her choices and her approach to the sport.
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Discover Moonvalley
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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

Oct 4, 2023 • 57min
098. Golden Trail World Series 2023 | Stories from the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Mammoth Trail Fest
The Golden Trail World Series athletes and crew landed in the United States for the two final stages of the circuit and another adventure in the West of the United States.
We raced at the Pikes Peak Ascent in Manitou Springs (CO) where Remi Bonnet set a new course record, beating the legendary mark by Matt Carpenter that was set 30 years ago, and at the new Mammoth Trail Fest 26k in Mammoth Lakes (CA), organized by Tim Tollefson.
Besides the races, it was great to share some days together with other amazing athletes and interesting people, in some of the most beautiful places we've ever been to. This episode is an inside story told by the athletes on their experience at Pikes Peak and Mammoth, extending their reflections to their 2023 season.
I hope you enjoy it, and thanks to everyone who has contributed to record this episode!
Give all the athletes a follow on Instagram 😉 it's a great way to support them!
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Francesco's links: Instagram | Twitter | Strava | Website

Sep 27, 2023 • 1h 15min
097. Abby Hall | Living the story I would want to read
Abby Hall is a professional trail runner from Flagstaff, USA, sponsored by Adidas Terrex.
I wanted to have Abby on the podcast in a very particular situation, which is not an easy moment for her. It's definitely a moment of struggle or at least not what people generally associate with the life of a professional athlete. Abby had a big injury earlier this year, she broke her leg while training a few months ago, and she also experienced some complications before having surgery and during her recovery. I think there's a lot of value in sharing our struggles and painful experiences, not just the victories and the positive moments, and this conversation was very very important to me and made me think a lot, so I want to thank Abby for opening up and being so transparent about her own experience through this difficult time.
Please rate, review and share our show on social media: it will help other trail runners discover this podcast!
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Follow @vert.run on IG
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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

Sep 20, 2023 • 59min
096. Voices from the Vert.run community: Miguel Quinta | The journey to CCC
Miguel Quinta is a vert.run explore athlete from Portugal living in Spain.
Miguel started training with Vert in 2023 with the goal to finish CCC, a 100km race with 6000m around Mont Blanc. In this episode we talk about Miguel’s race, how it went and how he handled the difficulties that he faced; about his preparation (using a specific training plan for CCC designed by Petter Engdahl), the challenges of training while having a full time job and a family, and also his why: from why he runs, to why CCC was a special experience for him.
As you know, in this podcast we try to talk about trail running at 360°, giving voice to all the people who are part of its amazing community: from the pro athlete, to the coaches, to the middle of the pack runners. Miguel is certainly one of them, and it was very inspiring and very relatable to hear from him, which is why I’m sure you’ll enjoy this episode very much.
Please rate, review and share our show on social media: it will help other trail runners discover this podcast!
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Follow @vert.run on IG
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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

Sep 13, 2023 • 1h 10min
095. Toni McCann - 2023 OCC Champion | Discover what you can do
Toni McCann is a professional trail runner from South Africa sponsored by Adidas Terrex
She's the 2023 OCC women champion, with an incredible race and performance - she ran 53km with 3100m of elevation in 5h18 min. In this episode we talk about her preparation, which was not short of challenges and setbacks, her race, her strategy and in general about her 2023 trail season.
We always find it very inspiring to hear from the champions of our sport, and we think that Toni is a pretty special person who will go very far in her athletic journey. Find out why!
Please rate, review and share our show on social media: it will help other trail runners discover this podcast!
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Follow @vert.run on IG
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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

Sep 6, 2023 • 1h 10min
094. Olya Amelina, health and performance coach | The game-changer power of daily routine for peak performance
If you're struggling around routines or to get back to your normal life after the summer and hopefully some time off for vacation, training or racing, then this episode is for you!
Olya Amelina is a health and performance coach helping people create daily routines around food, sleep, training and rest to enhance performance and achieve their goals in business, sport and daily life.
In this episode we talk about the power of routines and how they can help athletes maximise their performance and better handle their training. We get into details of how routines can affect nutrition, sleep, training, recovery and mindset; role of consistency; the routines vs motivation debate; how can routines help us balance work, life and training.
Follow Amelina Health on Instagram and Linkedin
Please rate, review and share our show on social media: it will help other trail runners discover this podcast!
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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