Home Trails Podcast

Samuel Hill

Ultrarunning Sam brings you the best of British and global trail and ultra running.

Official Podcast in residence for the Winter Spine Race 2025, The LAP 2025 and 13 VALLEYS 2025

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

20 episodes
Updated Tuesday

Episodes20

Newest first

Tuesday · 55 min
ANNA TROUP | Lakeland 100
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ Anna returns to the Home Trails Podcast! In this episode we speak about her lead up to LL100, which included a DNF at the Summer Spine Race last month, her stress fracture that was on its way out just in time for LL and how her nutrition strategy was actually the goal of this race. We talk about her learnings from the race including the steady pacing strategy that she employed to test out her race plans for TGC in September. A strategy that actually paid off when the race ahead of her fell apart through injury and heat exhaustion. We discuss aging at the front of races and how she is coming to terms with the fact that she is now focusing on age category positions rather than the overall win. Although this performance shows that she still has what it takes to win big UK races! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
July 21 · 58 min
Andrew Ferguson and Sam Calvert | ARC + Skyline Scotland by UTMB
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In this episode of the podcast we have not one, but two guests! I'm joined by Andrew 'Ferg' Ferguson, race director at the ARC of Attrition and Sam Calvert, Event Director for UTMB in the UK. The ARC recently made some alterations to various aspects of its races, so Ferg has come on to answer some of your questions and speak about concerns from the trail running community. Sam speaks about the recent acquisition of the Skyline Scotland race, the last race to be snapped up after the collapse of Ourea. He speaks about plans for the race and the fact that although UTMB sometimes come under fire, they are keeping to its core principals, which is helped by keeping Shane involved. Sam is keen to show a new side of UTMB. Previously the organisation came under fire for keeping silent when concerns were raised about races. Sam endeavours to put a face to the global trail running giants and aims to keep lines of communication open. This podcast is part of that endeavour. I have a feeling we might be tapping Sam up on a regular basis to get the answers we need from them. Love them or hate them, UTMB aren't going anywhere so expect more interviews from them going forward.... HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
July 13 · 1 hr 5 min
IAN SHARMAN | The Art Of Ultrarunning - Book
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In this episode Home Trails speaks to the UK/US ultra coach, Ian Sharman. Ian who hails from the UK originally, but now lives in Colorado has spent the last 20 years developing his own coaching philosophy that's grown with the booms of ultra running over that time. Ian's book is a who's who of running, featuring anecdotes from the legends of trail that he's had the privilege to not only coach, but to call his friends. The book breaks ultra running down into digestible chunks and logically sets out exactly what to do in any given training and racing scenario. find the links to the book below. HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
July 10 · 39 min
WRATH | Kris King from the Spine Race tells all!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Kris King from the Spine about the new race on the Cape Wrath trail! The announcement yesterday was met with mixed responses from the trail running community. Kris comes on the podcast to answer the questions that we all have for the organisation. @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
July 8 · 56 min
CHRIS COPE | Winning Spine Races as a type 1 diabetic
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ On this weeks podcast we speak to Chris Cope. Chris is a father, GP and type 1 diabetic that is on a roll of crushing Spine Race course records. He recently took nearly 90 minutes off the Challenger South CR, to add to his repertoire of stunning wins at the Spine, from Sprint South to the full summer race. After a difficult DNF in January on the full winter race, Chris was back for redemption at the summer race. In this episode we talk about his Superhero origin story, his work as a doctor and how his family are following his footsteps in endurance sport. We also talk at length about his diabetes and how his continuous glucose monitor and insulin pump are both an advantage/disadvantage when it comes to ultramarathon running! We also briefly talk about his recent double Bob Graham round that sadly ended after a short distance due to a heart condition that momentarily returned to put a stop to his big day out! Chris is a great guy and it was a pleasure to finally get him on the podcast! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
June 30 · 1 hr 11 min
JENNY HARTLEY | Full Summer Spine Race Winner!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ This time on the podcast we speak to the winner of the Summer Spine Race, Jenny Hartley. Jenny won the women's race and was 8th overall in the summer outing of Britain's Most Brutal Race! In this interview we dive into Jenny's superhero story, her experience going into the race and how she originally expected to run the Spine route the week before the race because she assumed she wouldn't get off the start list in time! We talk about one of my favourite storylines of any summer Spine race....feet! and we disappointingly find out that Jenny doesn't have hallucinations! We talk about her approach to nutrition, her natural ability to consume gels for many hours and her favourite snacks that kept her going for 268 miles! Although she claims that she will never do another Spine Race.....I have a feeling we will be seeing her again! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
June 27 · 48 min
ANDY GLAZE | Smiling at the Spine - FULL unedited interview
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ This is the full sit down interview I did with Andy before he did the full Summer Spine race. We talk about his approach to Britain's most brutal race and how his previous history with Cocodona 250 might help him make it 268 miles from Edale to Kirk Yetholm! We talk kit, bogs and how his social media presence might affect the race and the international eyeballs on it now. Andy is a great guy and he's always welcome back at our beloved race! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
June 25 · 1 hr
SAMUEL HILL | Spine Sprint South 2nd Place
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ With guest host Charlotte Fisher! Sam returns to the podcast as a guest this time....to talk about his second place finish at the Spine Race Sprint South! Sam talks to Charlotte about his running career highlight. How his training went, his preparation and execution of one of his all time best performances. He talks about the highs and the lows of his race and how he had to dig deep to keep 3rd place from catching him in the last 10 miles! we also discuss race nutrition and kit choices and how they played out when it came to the crunch. We also have a quick chat about WSER this coming weekend and who we think will do well and discuss the cool temperatures that may see the course record fall! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
June 12 · 22 min
SUMMER SPINE | Preview - Short and Sweet!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In this episode I go solo to have a quick catch up about this years races. I talk about the contenders for each race, the dark horses and obviously discuss my upcoming mini documentary about Andy Glaze, who is running the full summer race. I also chat about my race this weekend doing the Sprint South and plans for the podcast for the next few weeks. HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
June 4 · 1 hr 1 min
DAVID MILLER | SPINE - Photo Book
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In this episode of the podcast we speak to returning guest, photographer - David Miller. David returns, firstly to bring the listeners back up to speed with what he's been up to since he was last on back in 2023 (can't believe its been that long!)...and also to talk to us about his SPINE photo book project, in collaboration with the race and Vertebrate Publishing. We discuss his initial apprehension at taking on such an iconic race and the pressure he might face documenting Britain's Most Brutal race. We talk about his experience fitting in with the just as iconic Spine media team and we talk at length at how welcoming the race and everyone involved just is! We discuss his approach to shooting in the perfect conditions that the race saw back in January and his level of commitment to getting the full Spine experience by sleeping in his car and only washing occasionally! David speaks about the editing process when faced with no less than 22,000 images to decide on (just thinking about this gives me anxiety) and how the book will finally look when its sat finished in Vertebrates offices shortly. To get involved with the kickstarter and pledge your support, follow the below link below...... https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/v-publishing/spine-0 HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
May 20 · 49 min
CHARLOTTE FISHER | 2nd Place UTS
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ It wouldn't be another running of the UTS without an interview with our No1 guest! Charlotte returned to this years race to better her 3rd place podium spot from last year, which she did with her 2nd place in an all Brit podium! We talk about the brutal conditions on the race at times, how she almost had her first DNF due to hyperthermia that left her wandering about in a daze not knowing if she was racing or on a drunken night out from her past life! Charlotte talks openly about how the race went and her learnings about kit and the dangers of the cold, on what should have been a perfectly executed race. Although she was aiming for the top spot, she has no regrets about her second place and is even more hungry to come back next year to achieve her goal of winning arguably one of the toughest 100 mile races in the UTMB series! Charlotte also shares the exclusive news of her signing to an athlete management team (the same as Tom Evans) who are no doubt going to negotiate some high end brand sponsorship deals for her! FINALLY!! Great to chat to Charlotte as always.... HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
May 8 · 1 hr 5 min
SAGE CANADAY | Doping in Ultramarathons!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In the latest episode of the Podcast, we talk to ultra-running legend Sage Canaday! Sage has been on our screens for over a decade with his YouTube running channel - Vo2maxproductions. He also has a huge social media presence where he openly expresses his opinions on the trail and ultra scene. Which at times gets him into some hot water. Most notably recently with his take on a very famous bow hunter-turned ultra runner, who openly admitted to taking substances banned by WADA whilst clocking an age group winning 2:39 marathon PR at the age of 58! Said runner is also known for taking part in various big ultramarathons, including the recent Cocodona 250. Sage took the brave step of highlighting this to the running community and obviously opinions are divided on the subject of TRT and substances that aid recovery. The conversation hopefully was nuanced, but this is a hot topic at the moment so I'll let you listen and decide your own opinion on the subject! It wasn't all doom and gloom though! We gave Sage the full Superhero treatment and found out where he started in running and how he as a 40 year old runner who has been serious about running since he was a teenager, has changed his approach to training and racing. We also talk about the other hot topics of sub 2 marathons, super shoes and bicarb! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
May 1 · 1 hr 16 min
COACHES CORNER! | Wozza Joins To Talk All Things Coaching Related
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ COACHES CORNER! In this episode, coach Wozza (Warren Wrenkel) returns to talk about the latest happenings in the trail and ultra coaching worlds. We dive into the 1:59.30 marathon world record at London Marathon. Around that subject, we also talk about Joe Wicks fuelling advice, the effect that super shoes has and the progression of road running over time. We talk about coaching slower runners and how to get them moving faster through drills and plyometrics. We talk about training for mountaineering and ultras concurrently.....and we discuss Jon Albon's 90g of sugar water for cheap fuelling. Finally we discuss what gels we've tried lately and our opinions on taste and the science behind hydrogels. All good stuff! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
April 24 · 55 min
ULTRA X step up to save Dragon's Back and Northern Traverse!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ Exclusive interview with Sam Heward from ULTRA X about buying up the Dragons Back and Northern Traverse! Sam firstly tells the story of UX and how they came into the fortunate situation to be able to save the two iconic races. He talks about UX 7 year journey to put on world class multi-day events all over the world and how their experience put them in the position to take on DB and NT. In this episode I lean heavily on the Home Trails WhatsApp community to set me ups with the questions that YOU the trail running community want answered... Will the races be changed beyond recognition? Will the races be more expensive? Will the iconic routes change? Most importantly.......will the food still be the same? All this and more is answered in this episode. Hopefully we managed to cover all bases, so give it a listen and share with your community. HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
April 17 · 43 min
RUN FOREVER | Damian Hall
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ EPISODE 200!!!! In this landmark episode I speak to returning guest Damian Hall. Damo is no stranger to the podcast and has appeared in numerous episodes over the years.....This time however, it's not to talk about The Spine Race or Barkley (although they do obviously get a mention) This time we talk about his new book, RUN FOREVER! "The secret to becoming an ageless athlete" We dive into the book and how it came to be. We talk about the in-depth information that he's gathered to help all of us oldies still wanting to perform at our best. I speak about how the book has helped me personally with goals for this year and we chat about some of the extraordinary examples of "Ageless Aces" that are still performing at the highest level in our sport! Pete Stables and Rene Mcgregor contribute to the book with expert help in strength training and nutrition. A great read as always. You can find a copy on amazon and he's done an audiobook version for those of us with age related bad eyesight! See the links below... https://amzn.eu/d/09QBRw5z https://intoultra.org.uk/home https://thegreenrunners.com/ @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
April 10 · 54 min
Sea to Sea by Centurion Racing | James Elson
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In this episode I speak with Centurion Race director, James Elson. James returns to the podcast to talk about his one time only race, Sea 2 Sea. A last minute replacement for the defaulted Northern Traverse by Ourea Events. If you've been following the ongoing discussions about the demise of one of the UKs biggest names in race organisation, you'll be fully aware of the fact that 2 phoenix's rose from the ashes. One being the Community Traverse and the other being the standalone race organised by Centurion. James talks about getting the race in place at short notice. The logistics of such an undertaking and how it went from an organisers point of view. We also talk about his personal experience doing the Sea 2 Sea himself in his own self supported style (other than a bit of help towards the end from Allie Bailey with a few gels and a sausage roll!) James confirms that Centurion will not be putting the S2S on again next year and he still confidently believes that someone will buy the NT and the other races and bring them back under new management. Good news for all hopefully! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
March 31 · 1 hr 10 min
CHARLOTTE FISHER | Chianti By UTMB
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ Charlotte returns as guest/host? were not even sure at this point because she's been on the pod so regularly! Chalotte returns to give us the low down on her well earned 12th place at Chianti. After doing a pivot from Tenerife Bluetrail that was cancelled due to bad weather, to this race. Charlotte was initially disappointed with placing outside of the top 10. But on reflection, she now happy to have put down a solid race against some of the worlds best trail runners! We talk about her career that we've watched first hand grow from essentially an unknown, to someone with enough clout to be personally invited to a major UTMB race. Always good to catch up with the rising star that she is! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
March 24 · 55 min
THE COMMUNITY TRAVERSE! | We Go Together!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ In this episode I speak to Kitty-Leigh Oxley about the Community Traverse! In the wake of the collapse of Ourea Events, Kitty decided that all that training and money spent getting to the start line of The Northern Traverse couldn't go to waste! Surely there were others in the same situation? The seed of an ideas was born and now we have the Community Traverse! Support for this event has grown rapidly since its inception and continues to grow. What started as an idea to just do the coast to coast route anyway, has now turned into a full time project for Kitty. In this episode we discuss the logistics of gathering together a group of runners, volunteers and various supporting organisations to make this idea reality. The theme that ran through the whole of this discussion was one of hope and community spirit. The fact that this can come together so quickly really highlights that the British trail running community is as string as ever and despite divisive events happening in our sport, we can come together to make good things happen! If you want to run with the CT then below are the details on how they're logistically making it work. if you want to volunteer your time or resources to help them DM the Community Traverse on instagram. Re: support options as they stand. Each CP will vary slightly depending on the facilities we have access to. At the moment we’re working on securing better locations in Kirkby Stephen & Richmond. As a minimum, CPs will have gala tents, camping chairs and a gas hob. There will be plenty of tea, sandwiches, snacks, treats, and gels. There will be hot food options wherever possible. Exact locations for support points will be shared very soon and a GPX file for our route will also include all our support locations. HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
March 17 · 1 hr 18 min
DAN HOLDER | The Arctic Spine Race
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ On this episode of the podcast we speak to Dan Holder. Dan completed this years Arctic Spine race, a non-stop 293 mile winter ultramarathon along the Kungsleden Trail in Arctic Sweden. Dan had to contend with -40 degree temps, 40mph winds, pulling a pulk with all of his survival gear including a tent to sleep in along the way. If you think that the Winter Spine Race along the Pennine Way is difficult...then wait until you hear what Dan had to put up with! From northern lights, moose and hallucinations...to cold so intense you have to do everything with gloves on.....and I mean EVERYTHING! Dan tells the pod about his former career in the Marines and how his experiences set him up perfectly for the Arctic challenge. Dan has a serious back story that's led him to where his is now, making a difference to people with Atomic Rambo Coaching, his coaching business designed to help trauma victims and positive mindset coaching for business professionals. HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam
March 15 · 1 hr 7 min
Jon & Henriette Albon | Trans Grand Canaria Winners!
Message Home Trails here - include an email or name for a response ⬅️ On the podcast this week we have Jon and Henriette Albon! The power couple for 2026? It seems so! They both decidedly won their respective races at TGC, with Jon battling friend of the show - Josh Wade to a hard fought win. Whilst Henriette won her race by over 90 minutes! In this episode we dive into what the 'Norwegian Method' really is. We talk about their respective Superhero origin stories and how they came to be the couple that we know today. We talk about their coaching philosophy and why everyone from Norway seems to be smashing ultra trail races! We also talk in detail about the couples coaching app, Ascendtrail.app and how it worked for them both in prep for this race and how it can work for us mere mortals! This was a super informative interview and I hope you will get as much out of it as I did! Now go download the coaching app! HT @ultrarunning_sam @hometrails_ http://www.youtube.com/@ultrarunningsam