For Prof. James Morton & Marc Fell — the angle, the one new thing, the beats, and the keywords.
For Prof. James Morton & Marc Fell. Ultra · Marathon · Half-Marathon — assigned by lead speaker. This is a prep sheet: the angle, the one new thing, the beats and the keywords — delivered in each speaker's own voice.
You two asked for a brief to work from — this is it. It is deliberately not a script. You're the experts and you play yourselves; a read-aloud script would kill exactly what makes these films worth making. What this gives you is the structure and the psychology: your film's angle, the single new thing to land, the five-beat shape to hit, and your keywords — so you turn up, know the job, and deliver it your way.
Films are assigned to a lead speaker by where your credentials bite hardest, with a note on where the other of you can co-present. Swap freely if a topic sits better with the other — the brief works either way.
Run these through every film, not as a checklist but as how it feels.
| Mark | In One Line |
|---|---|
| Be with them | 1:1, coach to one serious athlete. Presence over polish. |
| Keywords | Their vocabulary — oxidation, dual-source, gut training — said with certainty. |
| Gains | Every point framed as an obtainable edge — the 1% left on the road. |
| Temptation | Open a loop early, hold it, pay it off with the science. |
| Science Says | Your room — "in our lab," "across five Tours." You are the proof. |
This is the spine. Same shape for both speakers, every film — the content changes, the structure holds. Times are a 5-minute guide; compress proportionally for the 30-second social cut (hook → one idea → gain).
| Beat | What to Do | The Lever |
|---|---|---|
| HOOK (0:00–0:30) | Open the loop — the gain they overlooked because they were looking too narrowly. A question only the science answers. Do NOT resolve it yet. | Marginal-gains paradox + Zeigarnik open loop. Clarity + intrigue: name the keyword, withhold the answer. |
| FRAME (0:30–1:00) | Grant their expertise, then step past it. "You already know X. Here's the part even most pros miss." | Overconfidence handled — add to their certainty, never attack it. Not-invented-here: frame as the group's own knowledge. |
| TEACH (1:00–3:30) | The one new thing, deep. One idea fully landed, not five half-covered. Your room, your data, one vivid case beside the number. | Peer-level authority + base-rate case. Cognitive fluency: hard things said simply = mastery. |
| ANCHOR (3:30–4:15) | Make it an identity marker — "what athletes at this level do." Lower the switch cost: change one variable, keep everything else. | Identity anchoring + ingroup + status-quo bias. Thin-slice the change so it's adoptable, not an overhaul. |
| CLOSE (4:15–5:00) | One small test ("try it on your next long run") + the gain framed as performance left on the table. One striking closing line. | Foot-in-the-door + loss-as-performance + peak-end. No hard ask — the film is the reciprocity. |
Prof. James Morton — CSO · Professor · 240+ peer-reviewed papers · 5 Tour de France wins with Team Sky.
Your edge: the deep physiology and the evidence base. You are the definitive "why it works" voice — the one who can say "the data shows" and mean the whole field.
James leads the films where the authority lives in the science itself — the mechanism, the evidence, the physiological ceiling. Lead with the room and the data; let the depth do the work.
| The one new thing | 80–120 g/hr is the modern target — but the body can't use it unless the gut is trained to absorb it. The dual-source ratio and the gut-training block are the invisible work behind a strong final 10k. |
|---|---|
| Hook to open | "You can carry all the fuel in the world. If your gut can't take it, it's dead weight." |
| Keyword to own | Dual-source (maltodextrin : fructose) absorption rate. This is your authority line. |
| Your proof to lean on | The physiology of dual-pathway absorption; the lab and Team Sky evidence base. One vivid rider case beside the number. |
| The gain to name | The negative split everyone talks about and almost nobody executes. |
| Co-present note | Marc can join to add the applied layer — how this looks in a real training block and taper. James = why; Marc = how it's done. |
| The one new thing | At threshold effort carb oxidation runs 1.5–4 g/min — but most half-marathoners fuel like a 10k they can wing. The precision is the edge: the exact pre-load and the single mid-race feed that hold pace in the final 5k. |
|---|---|
| Hook to open | "The half is the distance you can't wing — and almost everyone tries." |
| Keyword to own | Running economy under a declining glycogen curve. |
| Your proof to lean on | Oxidation-rate research; the physiology of glycogen depletion late in a sustained effort. |
| The gain to name | Arriving at 18k with the tank to race, not survive. |
| Co-present note | Strong solo for James. If co-presenting, Marc takes the practical "how to rehearse this pre-load in training." |
Marc Fell — GB Cycling · INEOS Grenadiers · PhD with Team Sky.
Your edge: applied, in-the-field practice. You are the "how it's actually done at the top" voice — the practitioner who's built and rehearsed these systems with real athletes under real pressure.
Marc leads the film where the authority lives in applied practice under pressure — building a system that survives contact with the real world. Lead with the field: what actually happens when a plan meets a race.
| The one new thing | The ultra isn't a fuelling plan, it's a system that has to survive terrain, heat, gut revolt and palate fatigue over 5–15 hours. The edge is adaptability — a personal, rehearsed protocol that flexes when the race stops cooperating. |
|---|---|
| Hook to open | "Every ultra plan is perfect until the stomach says no. Then what?" |
| Keyword to own | Gut tolerance as the true limiter — not legs, not lungs. |
| Your proof to lean on | Real athlete systems you've built and rehearsed; how elite protocols adapt mid-race. The practitioner's room. |
| The gain to name | The difference between a finish and a DNF, decided by a system you rehearsed. |
| Co-present note | James can join to anchor the physiology of gut training — why tolerance is trainable. Marc = the system; James = the science under it. |
| Don't | Because |
|---|---|
| Open with a definition or a product. | They assume they know it and scroll. Open with the loop. |
| Hedge — "maybe," "some find." | They came for certainty. Say what the science says. |
| Teach the basics. | Reads as condescension to an expert. Start where they already are, go past it. |
| Lead with your titles. | Asserted status triggers status-defence — they hunt your error. Let the room and the work carry it. |
| Cover everything. | One new idea, fully landed, beats five half-covered. Depth is the expert signal. |
Keep every claim on carbohydrate, fuelling, oxidation, hydration and endurance — the evidenced territory where your authority lives anyway. Frame gains as performance and fuelling, never as a medical or product-superiority claim. Marc reviews every film for science accuracy before publish.