In this episode of Running Free, I sit down with Frédo Tranchand – one of the most technically skilled and thoughtful athletes in trail running today.

From elite orienteering to becoming World Champion in the Short Trail at the 2025 World Mountain & Trail Running Championships, Frédo’s journey is built on patience, consistency, and learning how to adapt.

What stands out immediately is his grounded approach to performance. As he puts it:

“There are no secrets in training – just consistency and doing the basics right.”

We talk about his progression from 12th in Thailand to 9th in Innsbruck and eventually winning gold in Canfranc — a development that wasn’t driven by radical change, but by refining what already worked.

At the World Championships, things didn’t go perfectly. One of the defining moments came when everything started to fall apart:

“I started to cramp and was really struggling… I was afraid to lose everything on that climb.”

That’s actually the final uphill in Canfranc – the moment where I stood on the side of the course, cheering for Frédo and the other athletes.

Instead of panic, he chose focus:

“I wasn’t confident – I just told myself: now I give everything.”

This conversation goes beyond performance. It’s about staying present under pressure, adapting when plans break, and trusting your process — even when it doesn’t feel perfect.

ABOUT FRÉDÉRIC TRANCHAND

• Born May 25, 1988 in France

• Former elite orienteer

• Bronze medalist at the World Orienteering Championships (Sprint, 2010)

• World Champion Short Trail (2025)

• Known for technical terrain skills, downhill speed, and race intelligence

Currently based in Annecy, France, after several years training in Trondheim, Norway.

WATCH THE EPISODE

This episode is also available as a video podcast on Spotify and YouTube.

Follow Frédo on Instagram

More about my work & offers

Trail Running Camps: https://www.runventure.at/events

1:1 Coaching & Corporate offers (B2B): https://www.reiterflorian.at/

Strong Teams – Strong LeadersOur program for leaders and teams with Ursula Rakowetz & Florian Reiter: https://hr-entwicklungsraum.at/entwicklungsraum-runventure/

Podcast projects

🎙 „PAARadigmenwechsel“ with Kathrin & Florian Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/pa-a-radigmenwechsel/id1785617980

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RUZJMbaJVG3V7Ah2G2H4i?si=KDZi7u8-QISSSDSy3HYqyQ&nd=1&dlsi=d8de508b462a46c3

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paaradigmenwechsel/

Connect with me on Social Media

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YouTube – Running Free: https://www.youtube.com/@runningfreemitflorianreite7856

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