175. Francesco Puppi & Max Keith | Road to UTMB: Inside the World of Trail Running

Francesco catches up with Max to debrief a packed couple of weeks: the HOKA training camp, a fast-and-furious Sierre-Zinal, and the final touches before Francesco’s CCC debut at UTMB. We get into all the nuances.
We cover:

• Key takeaways from camp: how fun it is to meet teammates, train together, and connect with folks across the brand—plus a great chance to test products for the future.
• Sierre-Zinal recap: why this race is so special and insanely competitive every single year—plus crazy performances like Katie Schide’s in this year’s edition. Francesco even hints at a break after running it 9 times… but you know he’ll be back.
• All things CCC: the last big sessions and how training has evolved, knowing this will be Francesco’s longest race (in time) to date.
• Lastly, some mixed thoughts on aid stations, crewing, and just how wild UTMB week is nowadays.

If you’re racing CCC/UTMB (or just love geeking out on mountain prep), this one’s for you.

Did you hear we’re doing a giveaway to race UTCT?
That’s right—we’re sending one listener to Ultra-Trail Cape Town (UTCT)! Pick your distance—we’ll cover race entry, flights, and a 3-night stay. To enter, start any Vert.run subscription. You can find all the details here. Free trials don’t count toward eligibility; winner announced at the end of September.

Use code RUNNINGLONG30 for 30% off your first month of Vert.run training.

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