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

<p>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.<br>We cover:<br></p><ul><li>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.</li><li>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.</li><li>All things CCC: the last big sessions and how training has evolved, knowing this will be Francesco’s longest race (in time) to date.</li><li>Lastly, some mixed thoughts on aid stations, crewing, and just how wild UTMB week is nowadays.</li></ul><p>If you’re racing CCC/UTMB (or just love geeking out on mountain prep), this one’s for you. </p><p><br>Did you hear we’re doing a giveaway to race UTCT?<br> 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 <a href="https://vert.run/ultra-trail-cape-town/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">here</a>. Free trials don’t count toward eligibility; winner announced at the end of September. </p><p><br></p><p>Use code RUNNINGLONG30 for 30% off your first month of Vert.run training.</p><p>👉 Follow <a href="https://instagram.com/vert.run" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠@vert.run⁠</a></p><p>👉 Download the app and sign up at <a href="https://www.vert.run" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠vert.run</a></p><p>Francesco&#39;s links: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/francesco.puppi/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/fra_puppinho" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> | <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/11943431" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Strava⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> | <a href="https://francescopuppi.it/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a></p>