The Trail and Error Podcast

Mimi is an endurance athlete and multiple world record holder. She has competed in numerous races across the planet, specialising in multi-day events in places like the Sahara Desert, Peruvian jungle and Arctic Circle, to name a few. More recently, in 2017, she attempted to break the women's transcontinental record by running across America. She is the author of two books: "Limitless" and "Beyond...

What’s the best way to treat a blister? Or even better how to prevent it from forming in the first place? Ever wondered how to stop your toenails turning black and falling off?  This week we’re joined by author and ultra runner John Vonhof and doctor of physiotherapy Tonya Olsen.  Together they are stalwart foot specialists and checkpoint managers at Western States (John’s also a 3x fini...

Ian is photographer, writer, endurance athlete, and the host of the Talk Ultra podcast. He is the author and photographer of the book 'Running Beyond: Epic Ultra, Trail and Skyrunning Races' and has many of the top ultra runners around the world on speed dial. We talk about podcasting, pushing the limits of endurance, how ultra running is perceived in the public eye, ingratiating oneself with the...

On this episode Jay and Tris discuss the Arc of Attrition 100 & 50 mile endurance race, which will take place on the 28th January 2022. Jay and Tris are both training for the 100 mile race and have both run it before, so this episode gives some insight in to their past experiences and future plans for the race.

Jordan is an endurance runner from Leighton Buzzard who, at the ripe young age of 24, has competed in a number of trail and ultra races across the UK and, more recently, Europe. He also holds approximately half of all the Strava CR’s in Cornwall. We talk about Jordan’s approach to running, his current (enviable) nomadic lifestyle, the Gold Trail Series, and much more.

On this special episode Jay and Tris discuss the Gloucester Track 24 Hour race which Tris competed in on 23rd October. As we have done with other race specific episodes, this recording is made up of two parts: the first half was recorded the day before the race and covers Tris’ preparation and aspirations for the race; the second half picks through the battlefield debris in attempts to work out wh...

Jane is race director for Mud Crew and an experienced ultra runner based in Cornwall. On this episode we discuss Jane’s entry in to the world of ultra running and her role at Mud Crew. However most of the conversation is dedicated to the Marathon Des Sable, the 6-day 250km race through the Sahara Desert from which Jane has recently returned. If you’re looking to learn more about MDS this episode i...

Welcome to Season 2 of Trail & Error. This week’s guest is Dr. Marco Altini. Marco has a PhD in Data Science and Masters degrees in Computer engineering, Human Movement Science and High-Performance Coaching. He is Data Science Advisor at Oura (the wearable sleep rings) and the founder of HRV4Training app. He’s also a passionate runner, based in Amsterdam. On this episode we uncover what heart...

On this AMA episode Tris takes your listener questions and rambles through some answers.

Tom Sutton is race director of Freedom Racing, who organise a bunch of races in Cornwall and beyond, including the KVK, Serpent Trail & Hurtwood 50k. Tom started running through getting to the final selections to represent Great Britain in the 2003 LandRover G4 Challenge adventure race and has since competed in the Lakeland 100 (more than once) Skye Ultra Trail and done multiple Bob Graham Rou...

Paul Maskell is a Cornish ultra runner and paramedic who, amongst his many successes, has represented Great Britain at the 24 Hour World Championships where he ran 156 miles (251km). On this episode Paul tells us about how he got in to running, his experiences running the Arc of Attrition and Grand union Canal, the fact that drunk people seem to appear at every race he competes in, 24 hour track c...

John Mergler is a multi-discipline endurance athlete, adventurer and triathlon legend. John has run over 100 Ironman events and won in his age category at the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii in 2010. In 2017, he and his partner Debbie embarked upon the Iron Century, an attempt to complete 100 Ironman distances in 100 days (Debbie did half Ironman distances and subsequently set a world record...

On this special before and after episode Jay and Tris talk about their experiences planning for and running The Plague, a 100km ultra marathon on the South Cornwall coast path which was held on Saturday 7th August. www.mudcrew.co.uk

Jamie Stephenson is a well-known face on the Cornish running scene because he is very often the reason why it’s impossible to place first in a trail race down here. On this episode we talk about Jamie’s current training plan, his success at the Serpent Trail 50k, pacing and sweeping, pushing yourself to the limits (if there is a limit?) his plans for 2022, and - in an emotionally charged section o...

Andrew McCauley is a physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach based in Truro, Cornwall. He is the founder of ProCare Sports Medicine, Cornwall’s only sports medicine clinic, which combines up to date sports science with strength and conditioning practices to assist with training goals, diagnose and rehabilitate injuries and help prevent injuries in the first place. On this episode we di...

Vassos is a radio broadcaster, author and ultra runner. He has been the sports corespondent for the Chris Evans Breakfast Show for a decade and he also hosts the Parkrun Podcast. He has written three books on running including the bestselling ‘Running up that Hill, the highs and lows of going that bit further’. We talk jetpack injuries, the ethics of global travel and climate change, running the L...

Tracy Waite is an endurance runner and fitness and lifestyle coach who was recently awarded Personal Trainer of they Year for the South West of England. Based in Cornwall, she loves nothing more than spending back to back days running very long stretches of Cornish coast path. http://www.personaltrainerincornwall.co.uk/

A special edition episode where Jay interviews Tris about his preparation for the Freedom Racing Salomon Serpent Trail 100k, which was held on 3rd July 2021, followed by a race de-brief that reveals how Tris got on plus some other stuff about toenails.

Mike McKNight is a Salomon sponsored ultra endurance athlete who specialises in the 200 mile distance and multi-day FKTs. He was the winner of the Triple Crown in 2017 and 2019, ran a 100 miles with zero nutrition in 2020, then took on the 486 mile long Colorado Trail FKT, which was fully documented in the new ‘Broken to Breaking’ film on YouTube.

Jeri is an extreme ultra distance runner, and the owner of Red Dot Running store and Fat Bird events based out of Singapore. On this episode we learn about Jeri’s introduction in to ultra running in Cornwall leading to her experiences running 400km+ ultras all around the world. We also discuss risk management and death, how to deal with a stampede of highland cows, backyard ultras, recovering from...

Michael Stocks is an ultra-runner who competes in the 24 hour track standard for Great Britain. He is also the author of One Track Mind, an account of his experience running for 24 hours at the Self Transcendence 24 Hour Track Race in London, in 2018. Besides discussing the various challenges one faces when attempting to run all day, we also cover training, nutrition, meditation and equality in ul...

Ellie is a relative newcomer to the ultra running world, and on this episode she chats with us about her experiences racing and supporting around the world, her friendship with ultra running megastar Mira Rai (and her charity the 'Mira Rai Initiative'), donuts, injuries, and what not to do with energy gels.

In this special episode of two halves, Jay and Tris discuss the The South West Traverse, a 44 mile trail race in Cornwall which took place on 30th May 2021. The first half of the episode was recorded four days before race day, where we both discuss the route, our training, nutrition plan and goals. The second half was recorded 24 hours after the race, where we review the highs and lows of the even...

Stephen Cousins is the host of the 'Film My Run' YouTube channel, the in-house running journalist and vlogger for Zwift, an accomplished ultra marathon runner and daily treadmill pounder. In this episode we talk about Zwift running, training, camera tech, the positives and negatives of treadmill training, and discuss Stephen's experiences in various European races. You can find Stephen here: https...

James Hallett is a running journalist and the founder of Trails in Motion film tour. He talks to us about how an idea that started as a forerunner to Strava and a mountain trail race in Africa spawned a global trail running phenomenon. We talk about movies, mountains and chicken pox!  Find out more about Trails In Motion and how to host a screening here: https://www.trailsinmotion.com/ Watch...