Hi, I'm Gianluca.

How I got here.

I grew up in Lecco, where the mountains rise straight out of Lake Como - so trails were never a hobby I discovered, they were just the backyard. Running became the excuse to be out in them: on the ridgelines above the lake, on long days in the Alps, wherever there was vertical worth chasing. There's something meditative about moving through nature for hours that I've never found anywhere else, and it's what pulled me from running for myself into wanting to help other people find it too.

That's also what led me to start building Trailia, an AI-powered trail running coach - because quality training and guidance shouldn't be limited to people who can afford a private coach. Coaching, for me, sits at the same intersection: rigorous enough to actually move the needle, human enough to bend around a real life and real terrain.

I trained as a coach and hold the "Allenatore di Trail Running di 1° livello" (Level 1 Trail Running Coach) qualification, recognized by CONI (Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano) - Italy's national olympic committee. Since then I've worked with runners chasing everything from their first 50K to Hardrock-qualifier finishes. My approach is conservative with volume, aggressive with specificity, and uncompromising about recovery.

Certification

• · Level 1 Trail Running Coach ("Allenatore di Trail Running di 1° livello") - CONI-recognized qualification, issued by ASI

My official Level 1 Trail Running Coach diploma, issued by ASI under CONI recognition. Click to view full size.

What I believe

• · Consistency outranks intensity, always.
• · Vertical is a skill, not a punishment.
• · Fueling is training - practice it like one.
• · Plans should bend to life, not the other way around.

How I write the guides

Every guide on this site goes out under my name and in the voice I use with my own athletes: specific numbers, real trade-offs, and an honest answer to the question in the title within the first paragraph. Where research exists I lean on it; where it doesn't, I say what I've seen happen in coaching and how confident I am. Each guide carries a visible published and updated date, and I revise the ones that matter most as the evidence or the race rules change.