Born on the Trail started from countless conversations, questions, debates and curiosities that only seem to surface when you and a friend are hours deep into a long run. This place is the extension of those discussions - a space where I can learn in public and use science to make sense of the questions surrounding trail and ultra running. I’m here to explore the questions I have as someone practising the sport and to help you make sense of them too.

Every article, conversation or podcast episode is part of that shared learning process. I dig into topics because I’m genuinely curious, and I try to translate what I find into something you can actually use. If that helps you train smarter, avoid dead ends or understand your own running a little better, then this place is doing its job.

At some point, that curiosity led me to get my ultra running coaching certification - not to become “the expert,” but to learn more deeply and be able to help athletes on a more individual level. Working with runners simply extends what happens here: listening, understanding, and helping people navigate their training with clarity rather than confusion.

A bit about me: I’m Niki — a trail runner, software architect, and the type of person who wants to understand things. I want to find the needle in the haystack, to dig until the confusing becomes clear. My motivation is curiosity and the challenge of making sense of things, and when that thing is the complex world of trail and endurance running, I know I’ve found the perfect match.

All my articles are published through this Substack page, which you can subscribe to for free to get fortnightly updates in your inbox. Prefer to listen on a run rather than read? My podcast is available on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. And if you like short-form content, you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook.