Trail Culture – Details, episodes & analysis

John Middlewick is a triathlete turned business man who started Carbon Endurance, a sports consulting distribution house that brings brands like Precision Fuel & Hydration and Pillar Performance into South Africa to support and fuel our incredible athlete base. He has years of endurance training and racing under his belt, this couple with a keen interest in the science of performance has developed Carbon Endurance into what it is today.

Stoked to welcome John to the podcast & for the great partnership between Carbon Endurance and Trail Culture.

// TOPICS COVERED

(0:00) Welcome!

(02:36) Enjoying sport and his entry to triathlon

(07:09) Stumbling into the trail community

(09:33) The start of his business venture

(16:00) Snickers bars as race nutrition

(24:22) Nutrition troubleshooting and finding precision fuel & hydration

(27:15) Why should we do sweat tests as runners?

(32:48) Salt, our sweat content and what we’re losing

(45:10) How to choose brand partners?

(48:50) When and why to use electrolytes

(1:04:10) Reading & inspiration

// RESOURCES MENTIONED

- Carbon Endurance / Precision Hydration: https://www.carbonendurance.co/precision-hydration-2

- Precision Hydration Instagram: @precisionfandh

Keep up to date with all things Trail Culture: https://www.trailculture.co.za/ Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trailcultureza/

// SHARE AND RATE THE PODCAST!

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/trail-culture/id1709631577

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4eLM3gAMxZBOjUHAaGcBeu

Shafeeqah Gordon is a local favorite in the Cape Town trail community. She’s the leader of the legendary shafflers at Tuesday Trails. A pocket rocket with a sense of humor to match. She can be found on the start line of some pretty tough races & you’re always guaranteed a smile if you see her. Stoked to welcome Shaf to the podcast & to get to know her better during this conversation.

// TOPICS COVERED

(0:00) Welcome!

(01:44) Shaf’s entry to trail running

(08:26) Tuesday Trails & leading a group

(19:40) What does the retail space teach us?

(26:10) Outdoor education awareness (31:00) Kapaan Tours & her Dads influence

(38:40) Are you an overpacker? (40:22) Growth in the trail space & female participation

(44:30) Emotional finish lines & UTD

(52:50) What’s next for Shaf

(54:18) Reading & inspiration

// RESOURCES MENTIONED

- KapAanTours Instagram: @kapaantours

- Shaf Gordon: @shafgordon

Keep up to date with all things Trail Culture: https://www.trailculture.co.za/ Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trailcultureza/

What was it like to grow up with trail culture?

A Stellenbosch local & @salomon_sa athlete. Lijan Burger has grown up in the trail culture of South Africa.

In this episode, we cover:

• The story of her first trail experience with her Dad

• Movement as a family value

• Lijans holistic approach to life & running

• Defining good health in the trail space

• Her upcoming adventure 🌍

& more

An outdoor lifestyle in a comfortable society. One of the more philosophical chats on the podcast so far. Really enjoyed this conversation with Pierre, @the.flying.runner & co-founder of @mountainabandon

We cover:

• The role the Otter trail has played in his life

• Milers as emotional regulators

• Running vs training

• How to live an outdoor lifestyle in the current society

A follow up is already in the pipeline. Pierre has a wealth of knowledge & his love for the outdoors is the common thread throughout this episode.

“What if I can?”

Bianca Tarboton joins us this week with wise advice on positive self talk, working on a positive internal dialogue & balancing her training & work.Winner of the MUT marathon last year, these are her words of encouragement for those lining up at @georgemountainultratrail next week.

In her episode we go through:

• Her upcoming race season
• How she’s developed as an athlete across multiple disciplines
• The balancing act of training & work
• & more

Matt Bouch has always wanted to run 100 miles. In this episode we chat about:

• His inspiration

• What keeps him coming back

• His recent performance at UTD

• How he’s developed his nutrition strategy

& more!

Laid back but intentional, Matt’s approach to the sport pulls through in this chat. We’ll be following him as he takes on his next few goals this year.

Are thresholds important or is it just training hype?

This week Colin Fleming, coach, triathlete & physiologist, joins us to talk about metabolic testing. Why is it important, how results should be applied, the difference between our thresholds & more.

We chat through a case study and use test results from a real athlete to show how to practically apply results you get from this sort of testing, to your training.

The North Face athlete, Kyle Herring joins us from the Netherlands to share some epic stories. From some history facts about the Hoefyster to a dive into his different European race experiences. This guy has run every piece of trail in Stellenbosch & has made an appearance on the road scene in the Netherlands, running some blitz times.

We cover:

• His history with the sport
• The coaching journey
• Mixing up trails & road when he plans his season
• Some stories from the Hoefyster route in Jonkershoek

An advocate for women in sport. Meg Mackenzie shares an athlete & coaches perspective on women in trail running, the challenges, the obstacles & the change she’d like to see.

In this episode we cover:

• Her history with the sport

• Some recent career highlights

• Navigating the sponsorship space & contract negotiations as a female athlete

• Meg’s journey with RED-S & her advice for those working through it

This week we’ve got Dr Janesh Ganda joining us on the podcast. Janesh is currently the team doctor for the Springbok sevens, he’s a sports physician with years of experience in a range of different roles & an avid trail runner too

This week we dive into:

• The injury process

• When to push through

• Return to play after an injury

• Drug free sport & trail running

We look to the future of trail running & the anti-doping movement that’s quickly making its way into our sport. What does the drug free sport process look like & what can we expect from future testing?