In this episode of People Make Pyllon, Paul speaks with Douglas Emslie, a runner, entrepreneur and long-time coaching client who spent over 25 years building a global events business before selling it for over $1 billion.

But this conversation is about more than business. It's about what it takes to build something that lasts, and how running can reflect that process. Douglas shares the lessons he's learned from a career lived at scale, the importance of consistency during turbulent times, and why people and purpose matter more than pace.

They also explore Douglas’s personal path through grief, change and reinvention. That includes the launch of TrailCon, a new event designed to bring the trail running world together in a more open, collaborative way.

Whether you're building a business, a coaching practice or a life in motion, this one is full of ideas worth holding on to.

• What building a billion dollar business teaches you about endurance

• How running supported Douglas through grief, travel and transition

• The story and vision behind TrailCon

• The value of long term thinking in business, sport and life

• What the trail world needs next

• How purpose and people build resilience

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In this episode of People Make Pyllon, Paul speaks with Alex Copley - a passionate runner and geologist who helps us see the ground beneath our feet in an entirely new way.

From tectonic collisions to ancient mountain belts, Alex explains how the UK was shaped over hundreds of millions of years, and why understanding that history can change the way we run through the land today. They also talk about Greenland, recovery from toe surgery, and what it means to move through wild places with curiosity and care.

Whether you love the science or just the trails, this one might make you look at your next run a little differently.

• How the UK and Scotland were formed

• What geology teaches us about time and perspective

• Why knowledge of the land can deepen your experience

• Thoughts on creativity, risk, and Arctic solitude

• Bonus: toenail removal, and why it was totally worth it

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What if the life you imagine - the one with more freedom, more courage, more meaning isn’t somewhere else, but just waiting beneath the surface of the one you already live?

This short reflection invites you to pause, breathe, and consider what your “second life” might look like… and how much of it you could begin living now.

It’s not a story about running, but it carries the same heartbeat - small steps, quiet change, and the courage to begin. A meditation for anyone standing at the edge of what’s next.

Listen. Reflect. Begin.

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