Why your trail race never goes to plan
with Ido Dassa
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Read the companion article
How to Prepare for a Trail Race: Race-Day Lessons From Ultra Runner Ido Dassa
Episode notes
Two runners can look at the same race stats, the same distance, the same elevation gain, and finish hours apart. Ido Dassa has spent a decade learning why.
In this Expert Series episode we talk with Ido, a pro ultra-trail runner and CEO of RacePace. He is the Israeli 100 km champion and national record holder, a member of the national trail team, and a The North Face athlete. He has raced backyard ultras, 200K on the road, vertical Ks and technical mountain 100Ks. He also started running at 18, as a smoker who had never played a sport.
We cover what separates trail running from road running, and why importing road pacing into the mountains is how most first trail races fall apart. Ido explains what to look for in a course profile before race day, how he decides when to walk and when to run uphill, the three common hand positions on climbs and what each one actually does, and why technical descents deserve more caution than most runners give them.
We also get into fueling. Ido pushes back on the carbohydrate numbers circulating online, explains why gut training deserves sessions of its own, and describes the 100K where cold, altitude and wet hands stacked up until he pulled out at halfway.
For coaches, his closing point is short: learn the demands of the race first, then build the plan around them.
🔗 IDO & RacePace
👋 HOSTS
Human Endurance is hosted by Bruna and Fabi, coaches, athletes, and co-founders of augo.