The Hobby Jogger Podcast · Hosted by: WeeViews & Branch Sauce

E43 | Trail Running Conversation with Hoka Athlete Jess Brazeau

·55 min·3 clips

Jess Brazeau says she had a bad last eight miles at Kianti because she “didn’t get in enough nutrition.”

1. The Hobby Jogger Podcast episode centers on trail running, ski-mountaineering, and Jess Brazeau's race preparation. 2. Jess Brazeau joins as a professional runner for HOKA and former competitive gymnast, and Will Walmsley joins as co-host and trail runner. 3. The episode asks how Brazeau trains for steep races, uses skiing in winter, and manages nutrition, coaching, and downhill speed. 4. Brazeau says she participates in ski-mountaineering and uses it as a winter fitness sport because the downhill is easier on her joints than running. 5. She describes backcountry ski days that can last three to five hours and says the sport is gear-intensive and requires careful layering. 6. The hosts compare eastern U.S. trails, Tahoe, Flagstaff, Ohio, and Arizona, using rocky terrain and steep climbs as examples. 7. Brazeau says her gymnastics background lasted 10 years and included college scouting, with Boise State mentioned as a possible destination. 8. She says she quit gymnastics because she was burnt out and could not imagine four more years at that level. 9. Brazeau connects gymnastics to trail running through goals, work ethic, perseverance, agility, proprioception, and aerial awareness. 10. She says those skills help most on technical downhill running, where she feels more natural than many runners without gymnastics experience. 11. Brazeau and the hosts discuss floor exercise equipment, including springs, plywood, foam, and carpet, and compare that to running shoe foam. 12. She says gymnastics difficulty has increased since about 2007 and 2008, with skills that were not being attempted when she competed. 13. Brazeau says she has had a coach since the beginning of 2023 and values the structure of having someone map out training. 14. She says she used to run everything as hard as she could and often injured herself before learning to use coaching and more structure. 15. She says her coach has helped her vertical climbing, and she is still deciding whether she would coach others in the future. 16. Brazeau says she is working through imposter syndrome as a new professional runner for HOKA and is trying to accept the opportunity as part of her identity. 17. The conversation is conversational and technical, with repeated back-and-forth comparisons between course terrain, downhill skill, and training plans. 18. The tone stays casual and practical, with the hosts asking direct questions about race prep, nutrition, and vertical training. 19. Listeners who like trail running, uphill training, and sports nutrition details would likely enjoy this. 20. Listeners wanting a short celebrity interview or non-running chatter might skip it.

As heard by us

A grounded trail-running conversation that ties race prep, nutrition, and elevation back to real runner life.

Jess Brezeau keeps the conversation grounded in what trail runners actually do, not what they wish training looked like. The episode moves through Laurel Highlands Ultra prep, bonking, nutrition, strength work, and how elevation changes the target.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for trail-running advice that stays tied to real training, real bonks, and real vert.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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