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2026 Diverge Sky Runs | Field Previews & Course Breakdown with RD Lincoln Quilliam
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In this special preview episode, Brodie takes the reins alongside James to break down Diverge Sky Runs, a new Tasmanian event bringing steep, exposed, rocky and largely off-track skyrunning-style terrain to the Australian scene.
The team hear from Lincoln about the 25K and 50K courses, then unpack why this race may reward patience, smooth movement and mental composure as much as pure fitness. They also dive into the key names across both fields, including Trish McKibben, Toby Sparks, Sam Woolford, Piotr Babis, Angus Tolson, Emma Cook-Clark, Simone Brick and Alice McGushin.
A different kind of race, a stacked 50K field, and a proper mountain challenge in Queenstown, Tasmania.
***Don’t forget, use code PEAK at Bix’s website for 20% off Bix products, exclusive to PPP listeners!***
Thanks for tuning in to Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod to share your thoughts, questions, and trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!
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Transcript
00:00:15
Speaker
Hello and welcome to this special episode of the Peak Pursuits podcast. We're back. We're doing another preview. This week, I'm taking the reins. Usually we hear James's beautiful voice leading, but I'm taking the reins. James, how are you? Good to join me.
00:00:31
Speaker
I'm doing very well. was just listening to your intro there and being like, you you're able to bring a bit more energy than me. I think the the extrovert in you or the ah the finish line commentator is definitely a bit stronger than my my sort of standing here in my office podcast voice. I like it. i think it works well. Yeah, a James is feeling slightly under the weather. Plus, I'm a big, big supporter of Tasmanian trail running. So that's why I'm going to take the lead on this one, because we're looking forward to something special down in Tasmania. We were just chatting a little bit offline before we started and saying that this race that we're talking about, Diverge Sky Runs, is going to be...
00:01:10
Speaker
probably the first of its kind in Australia and maybe there's not many other places where we could have this so it's going to be a really tough course more like some of those dramatic sky running rocky courses you see in Europe. We do have a few other races in Australia that have maybe similar profiles or similar sort of steepness and gradients. Wandi Cross is on the following weekend and that's one that jumps to mind but it's a bit different in terms of its muddy, dirty, scrambling through plantation, I guess, and steep fire road type of stuff.
00:01:43
Speaker
um Whereas this one's going to be on exposed rock and um yeah, it's going to be different. So, um and a good portion of it off track as well. So um I'm excited about this. I was supposed to be headed down. I'm not, unfortunately, but I'm i'm sure I'll be back in another year.
00:02:00
Speaker
ah James, any initial thoughts before we get, we're going to hear from Lincoln in a moment, but any initial thoughts from you? I think the main thing that the has intrigued me about Diverge and also a credit to Lincoln, as you're going to hear in the the preview that's coming coming up, is that like he has gone out of his way to put this on. And it it is something that is so different to what we have in Australia. And judging by what seemed to be like a lot of pickup, there's some chatter about to like the demand is there for people to really...
00:02:31
Speaker
explore their comfort zones on different terrain and i commend Lincoln for the amount of work that him and his team have done to get this event up off the ground it's it's quite incredible just hearing how much time he has had to put into it but I hope that it' it doesn't scare people off but inspires people to kind of be like okay cool there's something else out there that if I'm sort of over the pursuit of going faster or longer or shorter whatever it is I can go actually there's there's a next level or if you've if you've done one decross a few times and thought this is a bit easy you have ah You have a next option.
00:03:03
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And me and Lincoln talked a little bit about that. That's one of the key things is like this is the sort of event that I think people can do to finish rather than chase a time. Like yes the challenge is going to be getting across the line.
00:03:16
Speaker
um And yeah, I wish a little shout out to the effort I'm sure Lincoln's gone to because he does talk about it very briefly about the the risk appetite and the safety culture is a little bit different in Australia than it is in Europe. So this sort of event does come with a lot of extra ah a lot lot of extra thinking probably and a lot of extra talking to people than it would in other places in the world. So kudos to Lincoln. um But without ah any more delay, we'll hear from Lincoln. He's going to give us an intro ah about the the event and then we'll hear from him about the 25k course and then we'll jump into a little preview and then we'll get him back later for the fifty k All right. I'm here with Lincoln Quilliam. Is that how you say your last name, Lincoln?
00:04:03
Speaker
Yeah, something like that. Lincoln Quilliam. I'm here with Lincoln. I know him as Link, so I don't ever have to say his last name. um But he's here to tell us a little bit about the the courses. Now, Link is the race director, organizer. What's your role, Lincoln, for Diverge Skyruns?
00:04:23
Speaker
Oh, just some bloke crazy enough to take on um something so epic. that The landscape is is just phenomenal out there. And a lot of people are seem to be a little afraid of the the place and the um and maybe the landscape. But, you know, I know from now spending a bunch of time there that it is so, so epic, so powerful, so welcoming once you kind of click into the the vibe there and the the local community has just been so welcoming it's phenomenal like yeah
00:04:56
Speaker
um So, don't know if that answers the question. and ah Yeah, well, you probably you've already answered my next question, but I'll give you a second to show that if you want. but um It sounds awesome. what's ah From your perspective, what's special or maybe different or why should be people be paying attention to Diverge? like what what it What's it add to the trail markt running sort of calendar in Australia? Yeah, well, we've we've boldly said that we think this is the most serious sky run that Australia has. And I mean, you know, hands up, I have not done every other one on the calendar, but from other athletes' reports and from what I can see of of what they put out there, we will be the most the most serious. We've got, you know, proper...
00:05:43
Speaker
Alpine, off track, exposed ridge lines. um it it's It's a wild place. So, you know, we're the first mountain range off off the west coast of Tassie and, um ah you know, the reputation precedes it. But any storms that come off um Antarctica that blow up into Tassie hit that mountain straight away. That's the first thing they hit. So, um yeah, I mean, I...
00:06:09
Speaker
I love mountains. So the whole sky running thing and, you know, i um ah you know, raced Glencoe Skyline a couple of years back and and jumped on a bunch of the gnarly part of the Matterhorn Ultracks Extreme course and was like, oh, you know.
00:06:26
Speaker
why don't we try and do one of these in Australia? And and yeah, you know, we've we've certainly got a different sort of insurance and risk appetite um sort of culture in Australia. But, um you know, we've we've you know made it we've made it work, basically. We found the location, found the community, um presented all, you know, sort of world's best practice, risk management, sort of stuff to the land managers and emergency services and they're all comfortable and why should we notice? I mean, man, um um I think it's bloody epic and pretty darn gnarly and I mean, from KMR, right, I i still get heaps of... um
00:07:05
Speaker
comments of man that was brutal and it's like well actually that's uh yeah there's a bits in it but overall we've we tamed that down a fair bit and and um this is next level so i'm really interested to see how you know most of the runners uh connect with it and rap to it and what the feedback really is but yeah it's it's gonna be it's gonna be epic yeah yeah Yeah, just looking at it from afar, it looks it definitely looks different. And i think for me, it's like something something that jumps out at me is it's it's going to be the sort of race where people are ah racing to finish. They're they're chasing, the the they're trying to ah racing against the clock in terms of cutoff times versus maybe again. So it's it's sort of cool that it's going to be a ah for the maybe the general mid pack. It's a race where they can actually
00:07:57
Speaker
feel like they're racing to some extent and it's reminiscent of um i'm just thinking of like a race i've seen that sort of thing happen before that i've done in in europe trophy akima where like it's something like a massive dnf rate and i don't know if that's something that's like so much like the a marketing thing you want to lean on but i think it's a it's cool to have something that's going to be a challenge for yourself no matter no matter what level you're at. and It's not just the top guys and girls who will be racing out there. It's going to be the whole field that are sort of having their own race out there on the mountain. That's yeah that's sort of what it looks like from the outside. So interesting to see how it ah it turns out.
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And I mean, you know, we're just talking about the Skyruns here. That's Mount Lyell 25, sorry, Mount Lyell 50K and Mount Owen 25K. We do, of course, have some trail runs, which are much, you know, 5, 10, 15, and they're much, much more friendly, much more, you know, typical trail runs, still plenty of elevation in them. But yeah, the Skyruns have exposure. They've got off track.
00:09:00
Speaker
You will be using your hands. The conglomerate is sharp. You know, gloves are recommended. um etc etc so and cutoffs yeah good good good point there the 50k cutoffs are tight so you know if if it's suitable for people who are comfortable and competent uh and confident in moving swiftly in alpine terrain and And I'm not talking about running fast at all. I'm talking about scrambling safely and efficiently, you know, hands and feet. And there's not a huge amount of it in terms of distance, the scrambling, but, man, its it certainly consumes a lot of time and it's going to weigh very heavily on on people's minds. So cutoffs for the Mount Owen 25 are much more favourable and, you know, that's that's more accessible to –
00:09:56
Speaker
people who are relatively not fast in the mountains but still need to be comfortable in the mountains because, yeah, there's off track. you know The whole alpine is off track, basically. It's going to be heaps of markers, but um you still don't have that that instinctive trail underneath your feet to to follow. You're going to have to look marker to marker if it's low vis, that's for sure.
00:10:24
Speaker
Definitely sounds like more of an invention. let's um Let's get into chatting about the courses. So we're going to focus on the 25K and the 50K. Like you said, there's those shorter distances, which is awesome to see the more trail runs to give everyone an option.
00:10:38
Speaker
um But we're going to focus in on the two sky runs. um We'll start with maybe the 25K, the Mount Owen sky run. Can you tell us about the course and and and what the but the runners or we'll call them adventurers they're in for? Yeah, definitely. And it's more of an epic running experience rather than a race, in my mind. I mean, of course, yeah, as you say, people are yeah um going to be racing sort of no matter what to some degree. And everyone likes a bit of a competition, whether it's with themselves, their mates or the or the pointing end. But um yeah, it's much more of ah an epic running adventure. um So in choosing the course, you know, it's so exciting. And I love this part of um the events where, you know, you you come to a new location. um For us, it's it's the epic mountain overlooking the town and then connecting,
00:11:28
Speaker
you know where we want the hub, which is right in the centre of town um with epic views of both mountains, um you know connecting that hub via the most direct and epic route straight up the mountain. So true sky running fashion. um And so in some cases, you know, and so we're looking for any kind of old trail, closed or not, and and then there's always parts of where, um well, hang on, there is no trail, so let's um seek permission to um to link those up and and and do the trail work. And it it it was three months, three-plus months of solid work um to actually do all the trail work required for these these courses.
00:12:10
Speaker
But starting right in the centre of town, You know, you're very quickly out of town. It's only about 500 metres through ah through the streets and straight into some beautiful sort of um rainforest-y type of gullies, waterfalls, and that sort of thing. Then cross a yeah an actual water supply dam.
00:12:32
Speaker
um And then um onto some other, you know, sort of fire trail type things. Short little bit of single trail, which we've um we've put in to then connect into some of the Mount Owen mountain biking trails, which were built back in about five years ago.
00:12:49
Speaker
So climbing up and traversing Little Owen, you get epic views over so of Mount Owen and kind of the basin of Mount Owen and Horsetail Falls and all that sort of thing. So still on some mountain bike track there, so you can really... You can really run on on that while still getting some of the epic view. And then ah the mountain bike trail ends and we then cleared and found a very old bushwalking trail going directly up from the end of the mountain bike trails there up to um what we call point 1103 or might be called start South Owen.
00:13:28
Speaker
So it's it's up the far right ridgeline of Mount Owen as you're looking at it from town. And so yeah that's where we're really getting into some some of the gnarlier scrambling and and exposure and the like. um So that's, yeah, great.
00:13:46
Speaker
that's some of the the epic stuff there and you're into conglomerate, you know, there's no no trees, just a couple of little bushes. um And the the landscape is um mining affected. So, you know, from the one hundred plus years of mining there, they had a lot of acid rain before they, you know, fixed up the yeah the smelting practices. And it was a moonscape. It's ah largely,
00:14:11
Speaker
uh vegetated now particularly yeah um the the sort of lower slopes a little further away but right up on top of mount owen it is it's it's completely open um and you can see some old um king billy pine sort of root balls where um you know you where the roots extend out and they're kind sitting on top of rocks and it's like well there used to be topsoil there surely i get in um But yeah, then then we've got, once you're up in the outside. Just just to highlight there before you you go on, from from that that climb from the top of the mountain bike trails, to me, looking at the profile, looks like it's about 1.5 kilometres about pretty steep.
00:14:54
Speaker
five hundred over five hundred metres of climbing so i was pretty steep Yeah, steep um steep and scrambly and in some cases a little bit slippery. There's a couple of little um little sort of muddy gullies there that we're going to have to put a couple of ropes on so um you know people don't skittle other people as they go if they slip. Because, yeah, it doesn't matter how deep the lugs are on your shoes, you are going to slip down a couple of those little muddy or greasy, I'd say, rather than muddy. yeah It's full and greasy. That's what really what they are. Before you hit the conglomerate, like once you're touching the rock, it's bummer.
00:15:33
Speaker
Yes, yeah, yeah. The grip's really good, yeah. grip grip is a bit too good take skin off if you if you let it um yeah and yeah 100 it kicks up straight away there that that really kicks up and say we're we're in into proper sky running sort of terrain there um And then, yeah, you're up on the top and we've got we've got a few little out-and-back sections to connect into basically lookouts or, you know, high points or features that, man, let's take people there. That is so cool. um It is a short out-and-back. And then to make sure – to have a bit of fun, to give people something memorable that they've captured themselves and and and can can share and take home and whatever, and also to make sure everyone actually goes out to these places – We've got a little um a sign out there, a selfie frame that people have to take a selfie of with their phone to prove that they've been there. um and then And then, yeah, then across the yeah the the main ridgeline of Mount Owen is a mix of really beautiful soft gravel, um Epic, massive, massive conglomerate boulders. And you actually scramble up through up and down through a couple of caves along that section. um But, yeah, you're right next to and scrambling in and around some really, really big boulders and cliffs. And, yeah, it's another world up there. ah So um then hitting the first aid station, so a little bit of a downhill and to hit the aid station.
00:17:07
Speaker
Of course, it's steep. And then for the Mount Owen 25, that's where the course split is. So it's a stacked loops course. um The 50K heads off in a different direction there. But so the 25 then heads down the one of the steepest, gnarliest formal mountain biking tracks in Tassie. That's natural selection.
00:17:29
Speaker
And um yeah, wow, it's, it's um yeah you yeah, you're literally jumping off. if you If you actually flew yourself off some of these these drops, you would literally fly like five metres vertically before you touch down again or even more, like 10, you know, it's it's it's ridiculous. so Yeah, it looks highly...
00:17:49
Speaker
same sort of percentages that we're talking about on the descent, but you're on a mountain bike track now. It looks crazy because you think of mountain bike tracks as sort of twisty, windy berms and all that sort of stuff. This one's actually just downhill.
00:18:02
Speaker
It's double black, yeah. um And in it's... You know, the maintenance ah on this um geology type is really tough. ah And so the runoff has been let to go on the track. And, yeah, it's it's pretty rutted out in parts with, you know, deep drainage channels and whatever. But, yeah, no matter what, it's it's ah it's s gnarly for on on bike or on foot.
00:18:27
Speaker
So anyway, at the bottom of that, you're at at the top of Horsetail Falls. So this is another very, very short um out and back to the lookout itself. So worth seeing. And and then then we've got some actual easy running after that. There's the walking track down to – and because, you know, it can't all be gnarly. Like, that's it's really mentally taxing as well and psychologically. So it's nice nice to mix it up. And that's that's why we've included these this this next section, which is a bit of a – probably 4km out, 4km back, something like that, or 4.5. So out on the walking track, including some boardwalk, down to the Horsetail Fall car park, cross the highway there, and then there's ah ah you know about a k out, k back on an actual bit of tarmac, We don't like tarmac, but, you know, that that was the the only way to do it, um to get to Iron Blow. So that's another amazing tourist icon. There's this big cantilever sort of walkway out over an old mining pit, which has got this bright blue water in it. So that's both of those lookouts. Again, have the InstaFrame, got to get the photos there.
00:19:37
Speaker
And then all the way back to ah reverse that bit of out and back, back to the Horsetail Falls itself, Don't need to go to the lookout again. And then, yeah, it's it's mountain bike trails going down into the conglomerate valley up this big climb up the other side and then and then back down through mountain biking trails to ah back to town.
00:20:00
Speaker
and There's a little little epic um bit in town, which is the gravel oval, the the AFL footy oval. It's not grass. It's actual gravel because... Grass doesn't – it rains too much there to make grass actually viable at all as a surface.
00:20:19
Speaker
So they use gravel and there's going to be a game on. So anyone coming through mid-afternoon will get to cheer and and all that. So – and That's like just to itself, I think, that that yeah that football over in itself. and and and And being able to see a game being played, ah I've never seen that, so that's crazy.
00:21:04
Speaker
for you know maybe four four and a half hours to around five and a half to six hours so it's definitely slow for the for the distance uh because of just how epic it is and the highlight well there's so many highlights but um for me it's being up in that alpine and and just being able to see out to the sea and uh the town below and now you've got some epic downhill to to get back there Yeah, fantastic. It sounds like an epic course, but it also sounds like you're taking the runners on a bit of a journey. And and I like the aspect of of seeing those key sort of like tourist spots. I know a lot of us run when we visit places to sort of see all the all the big highlights. And it sounds like it it does sound like it's the highlights package tour with some ah intense sky running thrown in.
00:21:51
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. yeah Because, yeah, you know, as I said before, we don't want to just have the whole thing gnarly sky running. It's really nice to be able to get some running in and, And yeah, what it's ah it's an epic destination. So really want to take people on that journey, as you say. And, you know, I know there'll be some people not not too happy about having to actually take get their phone out and take a photo. Yeah, well, hey, you know, embrace it. This is and a journey. It's an experience. You can still go. Everyone has to do it. it is mandatory. So no one is disadvantaged by um having to take these photos and that'll help. It's nice to force people to take it in probably.
00:22:33
Speaker
yeah exactly Fantastic. All right, well, that's the 25K Mount Owen Skyrun. That's, I think, maybe 26K it looks like. um but Yeah, distance. It'll actually, you know, it'll get recorded on people's watches or phones as 28, 29.
00:22:51
Speaker
Yeah, okay. yeah okay There's no, distances are never perfect in trail as soon as you're in the mountains, yeah. Even less so. Deep valleys, even less so, exactly. Yeah, cool. Alright, so yeah, it sounds like it's gonna be an intense race. um We're gonna get into some of the names on the start list.
00:23:11
Speaker
um James, when you listened to that preview about the 25k course, was there anything that sort of jumped out at you of particular note? Oh, it's, it's super tricky. Like it's, it's something that sounds so intriguing and so fun to go and challenge, but I think everyone going into it, even those at the top of the race that we're going to be previewing, like it's going to take such a different mentality and it's,
00:23:37
Speaker
It's one of the things I'm curious about is actually who's going to be able to translate their physical acumen to their ability to like not try and fight against this terrain and work with it. Because, yeah, he as you said, a ah a lot of it is going to be well marked, but not not necessarily on trail.
00:23:54
Speaker
um And there's some pretty pretty steep up and downs on there, which sound pretty questionable to me. yeah. hates it it's It's one of those where I'm really curious to see how how everybody throughout the whole field manages it, but especially those that are there to try and run fast, win the race, if they're going to end up kind of getting beaten by the course physically and mentally, or if they're going to kind of flow with that course and just and try and try and have fun and that curiosity that's probably going to get them to the finish the fastest. it Definitely. i think it's one where you can't you can't fight it. It's going to be having to adjust, having to um if is interpret the terrain as you're approaching it and and and measure your effort and and measure the skills that you're going to have to use. So, yeah, it's going to be a different...
00:24:42
Speaker
type of race to um what we're used to. And it's actually quite interesting for me because obviously we have the Sky Running World Series and you see some of the terrain and environments, the videos from there, the number of times they have to put helmets on for it. And to be honest, that that thought crossed my mind of should that have been a requirement for this course? Yeah. Potentially even more so for the 50K. But it as we said before, like it's just cool to see somebody not take the easy path and go, no, this is something that I'm really passionate about creating and bringing an opportunity and experience to the Australian market. And potentially longer term, we do see the World Skyrunning Series be, oh, there's ah there's a pickup, there's an interest, there's some very good athletes over in Australia. Maybe there is an opportunity for us to to move across there. So I think maybe there was. Imagine that. Imagine a Skyrunning World Series race down in the West Coast of Tasmania.
00:25:34
Speaker
Oh, like if you think about an environment for it, and it does feel, was listening to, I'm sorry, this is not going to go. was on Trail Talk. Ian, name's gone. Anyway, on Trail Talk, there was an interview with a guy that's been on the spot for a very long time, and he was talking about the sky running side of things and how the 2,000 meter altitude that used to be the kind of one of the requirements for sky running been not necessarily fallen away, but is they're more looking at the terrain, the environment, the challenge, not so much being, okay, it has to be at this really, really high altitude.
00:26:05
Speaker
And so with that with that potentially falling out of favor a little bit as a requirement, it really does open up this challenge because, It's going to be really interesting to see the content that comes out of this. Hopefully Lincoln does have some people on the ground that are going to get some good footage. He normally does.
00:26:40
Speaker
If you're going to showcase a part of Australia to an international trail, but more so sky running audience, like that's pretty hard to beat. Yeah, yeah. Queenstown itself is going to be an interesting one because it does have a troubled history with the with mining there and um the landscape being a bit destroyed by that. But like the surrounding of all the visuals that you'll get of the surrounding mountains, but it is the reason why they can hold a sky run there because a lot of the Tasmanian bush is quite...
00:27:08
Speaker
thick and scrubby, but because this landscape has been changed by that, um, it's slowly being reclaimed, but very slowly. Um, it's yeah, it's perfect for this sky running and, and it still will allow them to showcase the surrounding natural beauty and it is beautiful in itself. It's just a different sort of beauty. Yeah.
00:27:28
Speaker
When, when you've got experience you have running on that style of terrain, when you're approaching it, like how different of a mindset do you have to go into to take on this sort of race? Like if you've ever heard, I do really like the, and I'm sure this has been coined by someone else, but I do really like the, um,
00:27:48
Speaker
I think i've I've used it as my own mantra in orienteering because it's very well it's very well suited to that. But I've also, I think, heard Lucy Buffon say something similar. If not, this is where I got it from. I'm not sure. But um slow is smooth, smooth is fast. um That is key to this sort of stuff. It's key to trail running in general, but the more trail running changes at the elite level, it's like fast is fast. yeah But in sky running, it's about...
00:28:16
Speaker
not wasting energy um on battling the terrain. It's about trying to be as efficient and smooth and taking it at the speed that allows that.
00:28:27
Speaker
And I think that comes with practice of running in this sort of terrain and probably that'll be why bias some of the people who I think are are going to be contenders in this because it's it's a learned skill to some extent and quite different to other trail running.
00:28:42
Speaker
um So yeah, that's that's probably the key thing I say in this sort of stuff is like it's about moving over that terrain at the fastest. Oh, sorry, the smoothest way that you can. And that's the way you'll be fastest.
00:28:56
Speaker
And yeah I went down to Tassie last year, ah earlier this year, late last year. different terrain but like you feel like you're putting in a decent amount of effort and you're going at nine minute k's like that's just how it is and you're not even going like it's not like you're going up a steep hill it's just like you happen to jump between boulders and that's just what it is or you're pushing through marshy stuff like and i think there's going to be a fair bit of that so don't look at your watch at all and just be as efficient as possible is probably the way to attack it i reckon
00:29:28
Speaker
yeah i think I think the smooth is fast approach, that's definitely what I would be playing on repeat in my head for this sort of thing. And also don't panic. Yeah, don't panic. And it's it's a real mental grind for people who haven't done it before.
00:29:40
Speaker
When you're like, oh my God, I just covered a kilometer. It took me 15 minutes and I felt like I was going really, and it wasn't even that much of it. I just felt like I was really battling for 15 minutes. It's like, it's hard mentally to be like, no, no, that's okay. That that was the fastest. That was the best way to attack that that last kilometer. And I think that, so there is ah there is a strong mental element to it as well. Not let let yourself get,
00:30:06
Speaker
mentally exhausted by the effort. And I think the way the one to do that is like be playful. My my previous coach, Hanny Alston, she's very much always and a big part of their business.
00:30:18
Speaker
Find your feet is this play wilder. And it's about being playful out in nature. and And that actually leads to great performance as well. But if you're playful and you approach things as like, wow, this is fun, this is exciting. And Lincoln talked a little bit about it.
00:30:32
Speaker
um That's the other thing I would say is like, you're going to enjoy it. It's a journey and like make the most of it. Don't just like suffer and because most of the suffering comes mentally, not physically.
00:30:43
Speaker
I think in this sort of race, you get annoyed and you get frustrated and you get angry. If you try and flip the script on that and go, what an experience. This is so cool. Look at me jumping between these rocks.
00:30:53
Speaker
um Imagine how sick I'd look if someone was flying a drone over me at the moment. That sort of stuff. I think um that's really key to this stuff. like I did a 50k Skyrace in Italy a few years ago that took me eight hours. yeah And I was suffering as well the whole time. It's not like I was it's not like i was like doing it easy. that was just That was as fast as I could have done it that day. um So it's yeah it's ah it's not about speed. it's about um It's about being efficient and enjoying it.
00:31:30
Speaker
Perfect. And the we're we're recording this what ah just over a week before, so you kind of have to take the the weather as with a grain of salt. but Yes, yeah. it The week of is looking wet, not crazy, but wet.
00:31:45
Speaker
And like relatively high highs, I was surprised, sort of highs 17 to 20 degrees, lows of seven to ten by yeah that sort of from from what I heard even Lincoln said it ah i comment for the 25 or the fifty k preview but the the footy field that has to be gravel because it's too wet for grass to grow you can probably bank on it being wet up there and windy when you're up in an exposed section so definitely yeah reminding yourself to look after yourself in those conditions but again just like the course you can't fight the conditions as well it's really be be purposeful Yeah, i imagine it's going to be wet and marshy in a few places.
00:32:22
Speaker
um But Lincoln was saying how the rock is very grippy and it's the sort of stuff that the water runs off. It's more like between the rock before you get to just the conglomerate. That's where when you're going through small little gullies and where there's water sitting, that'll be muddy and and s slippy and marshy.
00:32:39
Speaker
Once you're up on the on the sort of higher elevation areas, I think it'll be pretty grippy no matter no matter what the weather's like, which is a good thing, I think, for this area, especially because it's going to be one of the first sort of exposed-type running experience that a lot of these people may have done yeah or will be the most intense one. So anyway, yeah let's digress a little bit.
00:33:01
Speaker
Let's get into the twenty five k The 50K is probably the one we're going to spend a little bit more time on, but the 25K does have not an incredibly deep field but some very good runners. um So we'll start with...
00:33:12
Speaker
the women, probably the headline athlete, I guess, and someone who I was a little bit surprised to see on the start list or when she announced that she posted on her Instagram a few weeks ago was Trish McKibben.
00:33:26
Speaker
um Trish is not unknown to sky running, though, so I'm sure she'll handle it really well. It just was like, oh, that's cool that Trish wants to go down and get involved. But um yeah, she's probably the woman and that I'm looking at that has ah probably the the the the best like ah previous results. um I'm just trying to think of some highlights for Trish. I've got some here. have you got some?
00:33:51
Speaker
Yeah, so we've seen her this year once at the La La 23K part of the Hut to Hut series where she was second. And that was a fast very fast 23K. And then she finished out last year. he She went to World Short Trail, very technical course, was 76th overall.
00:34:10
Speaker
There then followed up with the first ah GSCR 28k. And then Asia Pacific, she was at the short trail there in 24. There's a bunch of like Old Trail, Cozzy, Old Trail Australia, Buffalo 20k to 42k. She has stepped up in distance a few times. That has always been a bit of a challenge for her. So I'm excited to see Trish in a shorter distance again for her, relevant to to where it to where she's been.
00:34:33
Speaker
um But also i think this is probably sparking ah an element of curiosity of like a new challenge of stepping away from the the typical grind of Buffalo UTA, just the path that we all get stuck into. And she's gone, cool, this is this is new. Like this looks fun. And let's go see what what this is all about.
00:34:51
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And it might be something that she's actually, like ah she was at Sky, that's when I first met Trish was in Skyrunning World Champs in 2022. So she she has done Skyrunning before um and that was a fairly technical course. And she's, yeah she's is that I think it's still the current course record for the KMR ultra um yeah sj was working yeah definite j was working very hard to catch her this year and trish's trish's run on that course is super impressive it's um yeah like obviously there's there's always a little course changes but just looking at the splits that she was able to maintain and the rate the the way she was able to move up to the top of mount kunanyi and then around the back where it gets quite rocky
00:35:35
Speaker
probably the most similar section to what we're going to see a little bit of scrambling. Like her splits are fast. They're really, really strong. And there wasn't, wasn't much of a degrade in that either. So i think probably be a quality people that see Trish and think of her not so much as this sky running technical side runner, but I like yourself already. I think that I'm excited to see what she can do on this kind of course and maybe open up a new avenue for her or discover it probably better. So,
00:36:05
Speaker
Definitely, definitely. And I think um the thing that I'm excited about is seeing where she she ends up in the men's field um because she's probably going to be more competitive with them. There is one other female name who's ah fairly well-known, I would say, in the trail running world, Samantha Gash. She...
00:36:25
Speaker
I think she's with Arc'teryx and it's probably why she's going to be down there for this event because they are the sponsor and they have a bunch of their sort of athletes and ambassadors there. um And yeah, she's, so I'm trying to look here. Most of her sort of better results are from many years ago. um And she's recently been more involved with the, just, ah I guess the, she was at Buffalo being the MC. She's at events as more of a,
00:36:53
Speaker
famous person now maybe than that yeah she she's very involved with is it her trails she's normally doing yeah relays with and yeah yeah yeah yeah and then a bit of her own sort of like uh yeah i guess being there as being like a purse no i guess personality a celebrity but a personality yeah at at events and stuff which is which is really cool to see um like a really um strong uh personality and being um at all these events and stuff so yeah that's that's great and it's good to see her down there and she has had some really good races in the past like she was known for doing um ultra running before ultra running was a thing um so yeah we'll see what she um where she ends up i guess
00:37:39
Speaker
Yeah, I think there's there's two Korean ladies who we've got. And obviously, this is very much just going off what we can find on on it and their performances. And there's not really too much to go to go on and and not really understanding the context of the races. So it all becomes a little bit tricky to to say. um One of them...
00:37:57
Speaker
um ah Yeji it it hasn't got a race on ITRA at least since 2020. So there was also so interesting to see that they're they're back into to an event, but all the races that they were doing from 2018 to 2020 was, aside from 1DNF, was fourth or better over in Korea.
00:38:17
Speaker
And then the other lady, Hyun Sung, She has recent results. Again, very much the same thing. Like everything's a top 10 distances from the 30 to 70 K mark recently won last, it's called a 36 K. And I guess if you're looking at the, just simply looking at the distance to elevation, like a 34 K with 1900 meters is definitely on the hilly side. It's just really tricky to not know any of these events and know what they're like underfoot. But yeah,
00:38:48
Speaker
If I do some running in Korea in 2024, is anything, and I think a lot of it looks is similar to this type of stuff because I was looking at um an event that they're holding there later in the year as well. um yeah It was in similar type of terrain. I think it was the Golden Trail race is in Korea this year.
00:39:06
Speaker
Um, where we were for the Asia Pacific Champs and where i did the Sky Race, it's like super steep up and down. And a lot of their races use those, uh, those super steep routes. And because they're super steep, they become somewhat scrambly and technical. So I imagine they'll be well equipped to handle this terrain would be my guess.
00:39:25
Speaker
Well, I think in that case, and it could it could be on on paper and on indexes, Trish is quite significantly a standout, but especially being used to this terrain and every country, it's all a bit different when you see people come across. So yeah, it's going to be, i think it's going to be an interesting battle. It's obviously not a deep field that we know of, at least from the women's side, but it it could be quite a competitive podium battle.
00:39:48
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Yeah, alright. So and then in the men we have ah probably a few more names. ah Probably the biggest name here would be Toby Sparks. Toby has been coming back from an injury earlier in the year after two bays. We know he had a really good run at two bays beating Michael Tosin there.
00:40:09
Speaker
um He was, was he fifth at um Buffalo? Is that right? He was, yes. Yeah. yep Which was, again, a pretty but competitive field. I think he was ahead of Nath, was he? One place ahead of Nath? Yeah.
00:40:22
Speaker
So you you're beating Nathan Pearce's no slouch over 20K, even if it wasn't Nate's best day. So he's definitely on the on his way back and he's had a few more weeks since since then as well. So I think, um yeah, we'll be starting to see some some shape come back together, I'm sure. um yeah The one thing I don't know about Toby as much is how good he is in the more technical stuff.
00:40:46
Speaker
um I guess he's better performances... Last year, we're in the maybe not quite as technical races, but having run with him a few times, he looks like he covers it fine. But I just, I don't know if we've seen him in a really technical race have the sort of performances he's had in things like UTA, roller coaster, two bays.
00:41:06
Speaker
um So that would be the one question mark for me for Toby. Yeah, I think that's the same. Like looking at his Strava, obviously down in Hobart there's always going to be a decent amount elevation change. I don't remember off the top of my head seeing anything on the really rocky technical sides of Kanani, more on the running side of things.
00:41:25
Speaker
But he's got the KMR
00:41:31
Speaker
from last year um there's this race in i think it was cuba uh like a an island volcano trail marathon with 3300 they're typically on the more technical side so i think there's definitely and like that took him five hours and 51 minutes so if you look at this distance to to time that's definitely up there for for a marathon. So yeah, I think that assuming that Toby's still feeling good and has been been progressing, even even if he isn't the most proficient on the on the terrain out of everybody in this field, I still think he's going to be a pretty hard one to beat.
00:42:06
Speaker
Yeah, he possibly has the best the best engine in the field, so it'll just be about how ah that stacks up. His biggest competitor, I think, will be Sam Walford.
00:42:17
Speaker
um So Sam is an orienter who's been doing a little bit more trail running recently. He lives in um or he moved down to Hobart. He's been living there for a few years. um I think he's pretty young. I think he's probably like 22, 23. He's in the under 23 category. so it So he's probably 22, I guess.
00:42:39
Speaker
ah He ran triple tops last year and he was ah second there behind Angus and he sort of ran past me in the last sort of like half an hour. um So he had ah had a pretty good run there. Very technical course.
00:42:53
Speaker
And then probably more impressively was his recent run at the Alpine Marathon at KMR where he was third place ah behind piottta and Blake and he was 10 minutes behind Piotr six minutes behind Blake um ah so I think and I think having spoken to him afterwards he said he was he was with Blake until about 10k to go maybe um he just didn't quite have the the endurance speed endurance I guess to keep going at the same effort um I reckon the 25
00:43:26
Speaker
ka being a bit shorter, um the overall race time probably being a bit shorter, he'll that will suit him. So, yeah, I think he's a strong contender. I think he'll give a run. He'll give Toby a run for his money. So, yeah, it's good to have him in the race.
00:43:42
Speaker
Definitely. I think the one thought is – backing up four weeks later 20, let's go with 22 from the marathon is how's that going to translate? It's obviously a very different style of of beast, like 25K on that sort of terrain. So it's probably absolutely fine. ah When we were down there, I remember... watching the splits and it was all very much together at the 30k mark and he's he's still like you could tell he was tired but he's still moving across the line pretty well and to be coming in behind piota who you essentially is just the king of tassie now um sorry already and then blake who is very good on technical terrain as well i'll be back to take my throne but i don't really leave tasmania anymore No, no, exactly. yeah mean Maybe it has to be a resident of. um yeah yeah like it' That was ah a very good, event very impressive run from Sam. And from memory, from Lincoln saying at the finish line, all three of those guys went under Piotr's previous course record, which I think might have been 445, 446.
00:44:38
Speaker
Yeah, so because I think Piotr said he was 14 minutes faster than what he was. So if Sam was 10 minutes back, then, yeah, he would have been inside. um But yeah he does appear to have recovered quite well because where I injured myself the next weekend, Australian Champs for Orienteering, Sam was there and he was dominating.
00:44:56
Speaker
Oh, cool. He's usually competitive. He's stepped up from juniors. He was very good junior. He stepped up from juniors. He was quite good. but I wouldn't have rated him as sort of winning races. and And even in the races that are more physical than technical, he was always a good, orient like technical oriental map navigation.
00:45:14
Speaker
But in the sprint, which is usually more who's the faster runner, um, because everyone's pretty good at the navigation, he came second. Oh, wow.
00:45:26
Speaker
And he beat a bunch of guys who have been to world champs and stuff for that discipline. so And I think that was like six days after. I'll take it back. He's going to have pulled up all right.
00:45:38
Speaker
i Hopefully he's he hasn't done too much. I don't know. But, yeah, I think he based on that, it's looking like he's he's not slowing down. um So, yeah, I think he'll be he'll be competitive for sure.
00:45:49
Speaker
That's exciting to see. Probably if I was Toby, I wouldn't want to be in a sprint finish with him yeah based off that. yeah and I also feel like Toby doesn't want to lose another race in a sprint finish, especially up a hill like he did to Nathan at rollercoaster last year. so it's ah yeah as commission i think and Another name that I'm keeping an eye on for this one i'm not I'm not sure he's going to be quite up there with those guys. More so just because of the length of the course is Titch Hager, a name that came forth at the 14K, which was the KMR, which was the national, the the mountain champs this year. And then also sixth at Triple Tops previous years. You you'll probably know a lot more about Titch than I do, Brady, but he's definitely someone that I'm keeping a very close eye on in the coming years. i think this will be a really good experience for him and and could potentially still be up there as well.
00:46:35
Speaker
Yeah, Titch has been sort of, he's like ah he's like the quiet David Bailey, I like to think of him as, because he's been around for years and he's he does a lot of the same races. He's always there or thereabouts. um He's a good friend with the the Hunt brothers and he's run with them before. And he was at the Skyrunning World Champs in 2024.
00:46:56
Speaker
um yeah The up dual and the sort of sky run distance. um And yeah, like you said, like that foothills, I think it came up. i I'm sorry, at Triple Tops last year, I spoke to him and he said he hadn't been doing heaps of training, been a bit busy with other bits and pieces.
00:47:13
Speaker
um But it's looking like he's in pretty good shape. Like if you look at the top three from that Mount Running Champs, he wasn't, he was a minute and a half behind Michael Kernan and um he beat Hector. mcgiy who was sorry i may have said his last name too fast he beat hector who had done really well at donna double yeah a few weeks previously so and definitely looks like he's in yeah like three minutes off david vernon for first like it was a very exactly it was a tight race yeah so i think he's definitely going to be competitive um he's probably my pick for the the sort of third person there um There is a couple of other names. Tom Goddard.
00:47:54
Speaker
ah He ran the ah did he run the Alpine Marathon this year as well? I think he did. He ran it last year and came third. This year, no, it was last year when he came third.
00:48:06
Speaker
um He's, again, lives in Tassie, done a bunch of the races around. um Probably not quite on the other guy's levels, but he'll definitely be there or thereabouts. um And then Dave Lennon, ran the Alpine Marathon.
00:48:24
Speaker
No, sorry. Did he run the... ah That's where I saw them. Sorry, they both ran the Mountain Run. No, they didn't. I'm on the wrong result. Dave did something at KMR. don't know why I've lost it. I had it up, I swear.
00:48:38
Speaker
I've lost it. Let's if can find it while you're talking. He came sixth at the Alpine Marathon last year. So Tom Goddard was third and Dave Lennon was sixth. um yeah He was back doing something at KMR this year, but again, he's on his way back from something, I think. and He did do the 14K. He came 10th. So he would he would have been about 14 minutes back from Titch.
00:49:02
Speaker
Yeah, okay. So he's probably not in the same shape as those other guys, but I think, yeah, another good to sort of add some more depth to that event. Him and Tom, I think, will be sort of probably battling out for that fourth, fifth. yeah Then there's ah Junior, which is great to see. I think this would probably be a bit of a challenge, um but we've got Ollie Hardy, who was he was the third under 20 in the Foothills 9K. So he was fourth overall, but he was the third under 20.
00:49:31
Speaker
He ran 42.20 there, which was 3.20 behind Elijah Gosby, who we know is is very quick and fast. So ad yeah um he'll definitely be... I think the length might be difficult. I don't know much about if he's done longer races before. I remember looking at it into him before KMR and there wasn't heaps of results.
00:49:52
Speaker
But yeah, again, he'll be a name that's in amongst it, which will be it's good. And it's cool to see young, a young guy getting out there and doing the not the 100K.
00:50:03
Speaker
Yes. Doing the 25K, not the 50K. It definitely has been a trend of us talking about under 20s or under 23s hitting long distance. So i'm I'm a fan of seeing some stick to the the shorter stuff and yeah, we'll quite happily see them fine tune their art, should we say, at these these distances. learning how to yeah It should be a long one for him. ah He should yeah hopefully be back to the mountain distances again for before Worlds next year.
00:50:28
Speaker
um And we're also, we got to remember, like we're talking about twenty five k that by all means might take three, three and a half hours. ah So it's it's a long 25 as well. Yeah, my guess is that it will take, like KMR's faster, the 25K there, and has a little bit less vert up and down.
00:50:47
Speaker
um But also the course will be faster. And that's got a yeah time of around 2.10 to 2.20. um yeah So I'm guessing it's got to be over two and a half and it's probably going to be closer to 245 to three would be my guess.
00:51:02
Speaker
um maybe even over three. So for the for the men and and then the women, three and a half. Yeah, I'd probably say like, again, terrain is going to make a big difference here, but Toby and Trish, I'd put on a pretty similar level. Maybe Trish at the moment, a bit bit ahead of where Toby is coming back. So yeah, it should be pretty comparable from a...
00:51:24
Speaker
normal normal port performance side of things and for a well yeah three hour race looking at that 20 25 minute mark is a pretty normal gap there so yes definitely yeah it's gonna be cool to see yeah i'm i'm excited i'm i'm i think i'm glad i'm not doing it um it is very intriguing but these guys are gonna be in for a very very fun day definitely definitely Alright, well we'll hear from Lincoln now about the 50k and he's going to explain it's a bit of an extension, has a similar start to the 25k so he's going to talk about the the different part of the course and then we'll come back and and do a preview of who's running that one. all right well Let's talk about the other Skyrunning race. And you said it had the same start. So I guess we can we can skip over that bit and and then talk about the rest because there's still a lot of running and a lot of cool features to that course as well. So it's the Mount Lyell Skyrun 50K. Do you want to tell us about about where they changed from the twenty five k
00:52:21
Speaker
Absolutely, yeah. So exactly the same. you You get the first mountain the same as um as Mount Owen and that is Mount Owen. So climb Mount Owen and and all that and get back to the Mount Owen aid station. That's where you depart ah over to North Owen. So a bit of a mix of um the four-wheel drive access road to get up there, then back on some some cool mountain biking trails. you got epic views on the right down to Lake Burberry. It's on of Bit of a somewhat, you can feel exposure on the ridge line there on the Chamonix Traverse, getting over to North Owen itself.
00:52:58
Speaker
From there we start to head down the north long spur mountain bike trail and then duck off to go off track again um down what's called the cross spur. So this is a direct line straight down a ridge line that you can see from the from the highway.
00:53:14
Speaker
So anyone with a telephoto can can get some pretty epic views from from down on the highway of of people bombing down and hopefully not falling too much. we We have swept a little bit of the loose stuff off and cleared some of the grass, but um it's definitely – yeah, it's it's equal – in some respects to natural selection in terms of steepness and and epicness with a bit extra um exposure thrown in because, yeah, you've got a bit of a ravine on one side.
00:53:42
Speaker
From there, just cruising through, you might see an odd ah abandoned burnt out car or two in the in the chamonix valley uh you got and the chamonix aid station there before crossing the highway and then onto the the mount lyle loop so this is this is part of the course that is so epic and if anyone's um you know there and wants to stay on and and do something else, ah then doing this is a, it maps as 17. It'll certainly measure as more like 20 to 22, I think.
00:54:20
Speaker
um But um ah yeah we've we've reopened the Lyall Comstock railway line. It was built 120 years ago. but they only ever had rail line on it for the first three miles, apparently, I just found out from the historian today.
00:54:35
Speaker
It took three days of intense bush bashing for us to figure out if it would even go, and then 10 weeks of our crew of three blokes that we hired and trained up in Queenstown to um to clear it. So it was an immense effort to get it reopened, but we know that the community and even tourists are already using this epic traverse around Mount Lyell.
00:54:59
Speaker
So in terms of elevation, right, it's um at rail lines are really generally kind of flat. That's nice. It looks like a bit wiggly on the um elevation profile. That's more to do with the actual...
00:55:13
Speaker
ah the actual um digital trade model, um, you know, inaccuracies than, ah than the actual elevation change there, but it's certainly not nowhere near flat.
00:55:27
Speaker
It's a, it's a, it's a tough, um, you know, 11 Ks. Uh, there is some bog, uh, there is, uh, a bunch of, you know, micro up and down sort of thing. And there's also some absolutely epic views out onto Lake Burberry, Eldon Peak, um, from Sedgwick to the north. And on the north side, as soon as you turn or turn the corner to hit the north side of um Mount Lyle, you know it. And there's this huge cut into the rock. So three foot six railway gauge they were cutting this for 120 years ago. they They had explosives, but no actual machinery apparently.
00:56:05
Speaker
and And cutting that into the rock, and they built the whole thing only in a couple of years or a few years, whatever it was, um is just epic. So, you know, the views you get in that valley and, you know, it's remote. That's basically the only section of the course. You don't have a phone reception. And, yeah, it feels wild. It is wild. And, hey, you're still on still in the lowlands down down below.
00:56:26
Speaker
So then um way ah there's an old seismic line. so So seismic is, you know, mining and oil and gas exploration. So they cut direct straight lines in, you know, it doesn't matter what the terrain's doing. They've got to cut a direct straight line to get the the seismic data out. And they've cut one of those, or there's a few, but we we follow one directly up to get up to um the ridgeline of Mount Owen.
00:56:52
Speaker
And that is steep as hell. um If it's real wet and if you're later in the field, it might turn a bit greasy as well. So um have a good time and use the solid trees on either side to to haul yourself up. arms ah Arms are going to help there because legs will will be feeling it.
00:57:11
Speaker
There's bits on the Strava profile. Again, I'm not not not sure how accurate this is, but I'm sure it's close to that are 40% to 50% up there. Yeah. Most of that is 40% to 50%. 100%. Yeah, that that seismic line is ridiculously steep. It is that steep.
00:57:30
Speaker
It is. It's gnarly. and it And it's pretty consistent, straight up the hill. So you're climbing, I think it's 700 metres overall, something like that, maybe 800, I don't know. But, yeah, it's it's it's a consistent, solid, big hill. So then, yeah, popping out onto the what we call the saddle there between Cape Horn Spur and Mount Lyle, there's another out and back, which goes to what we call the mine lookout.
00:57:56
Speaker
So that overlooks the Mount Lyell mining operation um in a completely unique view. you know you can You can see part of it from town and you can see part of it from Mount Owen and whatever, but this view that we're getting there and some 50- or water tanks directly underneath and all sorts of stuff, it's it's pretty nuts. Another InstaFrame, of course, and then backtrack back to the saddle and then, um yeah, across the the main ridge line. It's quite broken underfoot. There'll be you know, a bit of boulder hopping um through there. It's not all like that, so it's quite varied, and we we take it
00:58:31
Speaker
pretty interesting route there. You can also see a whole bunch of King Billy Pine skeletons um down below. there There was massive forest there originally, but mining impacts and particularly logging, and and it's a great building product. So some of the town some of the houses in town have um ah weather boards and window seals made of King Billy and Huon Pine.
00:58:53
Speaker
and um ah yeah Then you're traversing through some more epic boulders and more skyrunning fields, bombing down a bit of a hill there before connecting to Mount East Lyle, we're calling it. Another tiny little out and back, another instra-frame. And then it's bombing down um down bouldery, slippery, um ah slippery as in gravel. So it mix of boulders and gravel, um but it's pretty steep all the way down back to the Chamonix aid station.
00:59:23
Speaker
So... um Yeah, just looking at time, man, this was only supposed to be 10 minutes. I'm waffling on a bit. There's just so much very much to say and to feel out there. um But yeah, continuing on from Chamonix Aid Station, we then ah ah follow some community mountain biking trail, um some single trail, which then... also goes through some historic, uh, railway, uh, formations there as well, back to the town of Gormanston, uh, bit of an interesting town. There's still a few houses there, but otherwise a bit of a ghost town. Um, and then off track from the edge of town straight up to, ah to the start of connecting with the waterfall mountain bike trail. Um, so short way down the waterfall mountain bike trail down to the, um,
01:00:15
Speaker
ah Horsetail Falls itself and that that's where it rejoins the Mount Owen 25 Skyrun and um then yeah it does the out and back to Ironblow and back through to town so you know I think it maps it 52.5k or something like that. i wouldn't be surprised if some people's watches say 60k at the end of it and and, you know, it might feel more like 80. Yeah. Some people and cutoffs are tight, 100% for this one.
01:00:43
Speaker
Yeah. um So we do have, and this is a brand new announcement here, and otherwise it's only going to be broadcast at the actual briefing itself. If you miss a cutoff, if you're on the 50k and you miss the cutoff at Mount Lyle or the first time hitting the Chamonix aid station, you can still have a run and have your finish line experience. ah If you cut off at Mount Owen, you then just jump onto the 25k course and and off you go to finish there. If you cut off the first time you hit Chamonix, you miss out on the Mount Lyle loop, but can you know just continue on back on the the remainder of the 50k course to... um still get a running experience. It's not quite the full thing, not quite the full distance, but, you know, we want to provide that opportunity for people who are cut off to still be able to continue and have a continuous run and and the finish line experience rather than saying, yeah, no, you're out, see you later. But, of course, if um you missed a cut off at Chamonix the second time or Monument, then, yeah, we need to close the course. We've got to get our people out of there yeah and get back in time for Prezzo's.
01:01:56
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. And that's that's really cool. And I guess the the way that the courses are set up allows that. um did you Did you have that in mind when you set the courses or it's just sort of happy coincidence and it's cool to be able to offer that?
01:02:07
Speaker
ah It's really cool to be to offer that. And when we just when we saw that that was the opportunity, it's like, yeah, let's do that. And we didn't want to broadcast it because, you know, there's enough info to take in as it is. yeah And we've made it pretty – we've tried to make it pretty clear, but it might not have been early on. Actually, the cutoffs were tight.
01:02:27
Speaker
ah No, actually, I've put my hand up. We did not make it clear from the outset that cutoffs were going to be tight. That info came a bit later. um So, yeah, I mean, you know, people can downgrade actually um without losing money um to the 25K for that purpose, this first year only, of course. But, um yeah yeah, we don't want to disadvantage people because we didn't give all the information up front.
01:02:54
Speaker
Yeah, no worries. Oh, awesome. Well, that's very good. I was very much enjoying listening to it. I know I took a bit more of your time than I suggested, but um thank you for the detailed description. And it was, yeah, it was cool to hear about ah the journeys that will be those two Skyrunning races. And um I wish you and the rest of the team all the best. And I hope that I'll get down there myself in in future years. It looks like it's going to be a very cool event.
01:03:19
Speaker
Yeah, cheers, mate. We're looking forward forward to you coming down. ah Sim's still coming down, so looking forward to seeing her out there and Piotr and pota and a bunch of of the other legends. um ah But, hey, yeah, were we're here every year, so i' looking forward to seeing you out on – stepping out of the ordinary on diverged sky runs in 2027, mate. And, yeah, get hope you get better soon without injury. That's never fun.
01:03:44
Speaker
Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thanks, Link, so much. And yeah, good luck. Cheers, mate. Always good to be with you. All right. Thanks, Lincoln. ah Sounds like a journey. um That Mount Lyle section sounds like it's going to be brutal.
01:03:59
Speaker
um Even more brutal than the first bit. describing some of the mountain bike trails as well it just sounded like you're about to launch yourself into the abyss and there's no coming back yeah yeah yeah yeah it's very popular mountain biking destination and they sound like some pretty gnarly ones um but yes yeah any thoughts on the the addition the additional loop i guess they're the main differences that might mount lyle loop any thoughts on that one Not much more than what we've already said. I think that the options, if you do miss the cutoffs to be able to still finish the course on a different variety, whether it's dropped down to 25K or to cut out that loop section and continue, um I think that is definitely good because one of the concerns people have have had, and as Lincoln spoke about, I think is that the cutoffs are going to be pretty tight for this 50K. Like 12 hours is going to be tough for a lot of people to finish. And when we're we're thinking that the the guys are probably going to take
01:04:57
Speaker
six maybe six and a half to do it ladies seven ish range and that's for the very top of the field like we're not talking about a fast race 12 hours is tight so it's i'm I'm really glad that they have put in that option to to you know just cut off and cut off it and ah thrown off the course you can still complete in a slightly different format but It's just, it's going to be such an an experience and adventure. I just, as I said earlier, I am ah really want to give Lincoln the props for doing this. And I'm really glad to hear that this kind of event is here because trail running has become or is becoming a bit more, or it's appealing to more people. Like we're hearing about Salomon are now putting on gravel races in France and and like in major cities. I think there's one in LA, in Paris.
01:05:45
Speaker
And so like we really are bridging the gap between road and trail in more and more ways, which in some cases has tamed down some of the trail experiences or tamed down some of the sky running experiences. So for Lincoln to be able to get this style of event approved for Australia to create it and not just try and keep something going, yeah it it must have been a lot of hard work, dedication and a real passion project.
01:06:06
Speaker
um So I think that When you're out there, just remember that that someone's put a lot lot of energy into this to create the opportunity for you to have this experience and really try and take it all in because there's no guarantee that this is going to be something that we'll be able to go every single year for an indefinite period of time. So definitely enjoy the experience whilst got it. Yeah, definitely. I think it's ah like a it's a special type of event that, like we said, is quite different to the rest of the maybe offerings that we see.
01:06:33
Speaker
And it's for, yeah, ah maybe not for everyone, but um for those people who are who are chasing a a difficult, ah more different experience in what in in nature. um then and then yeah it's the it's the one for you I think. um i'm saying to I was talking to Simone about it today who's who's running the 50k and I was saying that like just listening to Lincoln talk about the course um I'm seeing like quite strong similarities to Trofea Kima which is the race I did in Italy a few years ago
01:07:06
Speaker
um i think the cutoffs are similar there and the cut and and and the people hopefully less people miss cutoffs than and trophy gamer because they get they're pretty hard from the get-go but i think it's like something like i think it was only like 30 to 40 percent of people finished like it was just like the cutoff is it's hard for me and hopefully it's higher and it's great like you said that lincoln has those options for people to continue their experience even if they missed a cutoff um And I think if you if you miss the the coming finishing coming around and off Mount Lyle and you miss your cutoff, you're probably ready to be finished anyway. Yeah. And I was listening to this on another podcast. i can't remember what they were talking in relevance to you, but...
01:07:49
Speaker
how events kind of have two paths to choose. You can either make it so hard that just the enormity of the challenge is inspiring for people to try and take it on. And if you are are able to over, let's say, three years go from being cut off at different sections to completing it, that sense of accomplishment is unlike anything else. And then you have other events that give you 55 hours to finish your first miler, which is incredible because you gives you the opportunity to to complete the distance. But races and race organizers can definitely take a couple of approaches here. and And you've also got to think about how long the team, the volunteers are exposed for out there and how bad the conditions can be. Like we saw this with Alpine Challenge, like just because the runners can be out there doesn't mean that the rest of the volunteers can be out there. yeah So there's a lot of considerations that go into this. But I do like the fact that
01:08:35
Speaker
that If you don't get to the finish line or you don't you do get cut and have to take a shorter option, cool, you've gained that experience. You've made it that far. Come back next year and try again. like yeah I feel like this could could really become a project for a lot of people, which we don't have much of those races. So I do like that style.
01:08:53
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And it's sort of like the buckle at UTA, except it's like finishing. Yeah. And maybe I don't know. I don't know what he's doing in terms of finisher medals or like what what that is. But like I remember Kimo was with... reckon nothing. Yeah, probably nothing.
01:09:08
Speaker
But Kimo was quite good because it was like if you started, like when you picked up your start bib, you got a T-shirt. And if you finished, you got given a jumper. So it was like...
01:09:19
Speaker
You got like a, that was like your award for finishing, which was sort of cool. Like it was like, but you only got it. I think you only, i don't know for sure, but I think you only got it if you finished the course. um So again, it's sort of like the buckle at UTA. It's a bit of a badge of honor. um Definitely. People to sort of work towards while still being inclusive and giving people something when they sign up for the event, they still got something.
01:09:41
Speaker
Yeah, and everyone that completes or gets to a different summits, you're going come away with a nice photo of every summit as well. Selfie, yeah. Yeah, exactly. i love I love that part of it. So good. yeah sim Sim was telling me how I think five peaks used to have at the top of each peak, and I don't know if they still have it, you had to pick up a wristband to show that you'd been there.
01:10:02
Speaker
um And she's like, I don't know if they still do that, but she's still got her wristbands from when she did it. So similar to that, except you have a selfie to remember. And at the top of, i ran the Archie Hut to Hut few years ago. And at the summit of Mount Bulla, you had to tear a page out of the book.
01:10:19
Speaker
You ran down with it to prove that you'd been to the summit. And they then stamped it and framed it and gave it to you. And that was like your prize. And then so like that, and the that's still thats in our kitchen on a shelf. Like that is still, of all the blocks of wood and stuff, like that's the one that I yeah that really care about. Yeah, so it's cool to have something unique and different. Like, i I don't know if I've heard anyone having to show their selfies at the finish line, which is it's it's nice to have something a bit different. And I guess it was give people the chance to stop and and enjoy the enjoy the view as well. yeah And I reckon that's a big part of why he's done that, because it's going to be you are going to be so focused. You're going to be mentally fatigued from trying to navigate the train and the trail. And it it also, it's going to get really, really hard. And so it's so easy to lose sight of the fact that you are in this really epic place doing this really epic thing. So forcing you to take 30 seconds, take a selfie.
01:11:08
Speaker
I would love to see some of the selfies after this because feel like some people going to have a bit of fun with it, but just really appreciate what you've just summited and what you're looking at. I think it's a nice touch that could get lost in it of like, oh, this is so annoying. going to get phone It's wet, et cetera. But you're going to look back at this and go, that's cool.
01:11:26
Speaker
I'm looking forward to seeing Sims like carousel of the photoshoot at each selfie point. Yeah. You better do the pose. It has to be a different pose each time. Yeah, Lincoln's just sending people out for their social media content. so Exactly. They can thank him later.
01:11:40
Speaker
yeah All right. We're going on tangents here. Let's get into the to the field. We'll start with the men this time. um The men's field is pretty strong in this 50K. It's sick.
01:11:52
Speaker
um Probably one of the, like, it's not too dissimilar to some of the stronger fields we've seen earlier this year. and Even in depth um perspective as well. It sort of pulled all of the ah Tassie's finest out and about onto the course, which is cool to see.
01:12:07
Speaker
So probably leading that, especially with his sort of what he's been up to recently, um the probably the favourite I would say is Piotr Babas. yeah i don't know how to say his last name. Sorry, Piotr? Is it Babis?
01:12:21
Speaker
It's Babis. i'm pretty sure when i interviewed him, it was Piotr Babis. Okay, good. So, yeah, Piotr, obviously, we've heard from him a bit on the podcast this year.
01:12:31
Speaker
And last year, he won the Hardcore Harrys, Last Man Standing, sort of back out ultra type event. He did the big FKT earlier this year. And more recently, well, actually, he also won...
01:12:44
Speaker
gone nuts can't remember which distance 75k in a cr he hadn't won so now he's won all of them i think um and then he went on to kmr who we which we spoke about recently and took 14 minutes off his own course record and and beat blake turner there um so yeah he's he definitely looks like he's on a bit of a tear he's been good for many years but he seems to be in his sort of career best shape as well so i think he's going to be hard to beat and he'll be very good at this type terrain like he's like if we think about his fkt that he did like this is that's the sort of terrain the stuff he did and that's potentially harder than what this is going to be probably is in a lot of places so he's probably the most credentialed in a lot of ways in this in this uh race and i think he'll be hard to beat um
01:13:35
Speaker
But there is some other strong guys there as well. Definitely. I think that Piotr is probably the one person in this field that the terrain is not it's something that's really within his comfort zone. It's still hard, but he has so much experience in this style of terrain that, yeah, I think that he's he's going to, his smooth is going to be very fast, to put it that way.
01:13:56
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, i actually, like, i agree. But also, I think pretty much all the Tasmanians in this list would have done a lot of some of them have done well on that FKT with him. um Some of the others have done other races like it. So I think um the ta and it's pretty much a Tasmanian list. ah There's one name not from Tasmania that I'm interested to see how he goes. But um It could be, yeah. I think Piotr probably has the most experience, but a lot of the other guys there also have a fair bit of experience in this terrain. Probably more than the ones we talked about in the 25K. I think those guys are more more than new to trail running. have done the the The ones doing the 50K, and probably that's why they signed up for it, are like the hardcore guys that do this sort of stuff quite a bit.
01:14:41
Speaker
Definitely. um I'll jump into a few names. Probably the person who I'm most excited to see and who I think... like I think Piotr will get him, but I think could give him a run for his money is Angus Tolson.
01:14:54
Speaker
um So Angus is from Tassie. He really only races in Tassie, so he's not super well known, um but he has won the Cradle Mountain Ultra,
01:15:06
Speaker
a couple of times, I believe, including beating Matt Crean. I remember Matt telling a story of him being very polite and passing in the last sort of 15K, being like, can I please pass? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, sure.
01:15:20
Speaker
I was digging into this one. so he was 25 and 26. He won both times, 25 being the one who beat Macrian. His 25 time was number four all time. Yeah. Ahead of like Macrian is now number five all time on there. And except for the fact that Andy Cromar is quite significantly ahead of everybody else. It's, yeah, very impressive on that course.
01:15:39
Speaker
Yeah, and he won triple tops last year. it was a wet, so times were maybe less relevant. I think if it was a better conditions year, both him and Sam would have gone under two hours, which is there's not that many people that have gone under two hours on that course recently.
01:15:55
Speaker
Um, he probably most ah exciting for me because I've been looking at it, um, is this ah fastest known time route out to Frenchman's cap and back. It's 43k, 2500 meters up and down, pretty gnarly terrain, pretty similar. Like it's It's about an hour's drive from where the race will be.
01:16:19
Speaker
um So it's it's similar terrain. um He took the FKT that Piotr held um by about half an hour, just under half an hour, a few a few weeks ago. So um he's in recent form as well. And yeah, he definitely covers this terrain.
01:16:37
Speaker
quickly i don't know I don't know much about Piotr's FKT attempt, how fast he was going, that sort of thing. So it's it's hard to know with these these things. um But yeah, definitely someone to yeah not discount and I think will probably be the person who challenges Piotr the most.
01:16:56
Speaker
um And i'm yeah I'm really excited to see how it goes. yeah that There's some cool FKTs since we spoke offline before this about Angus as well. I've been pulling up some of the FKTs in Tassie. it's It's a cool scene. There's some very impressive names on some of these lists.
01:17:12
Speaker
Yeah, yeah yeah there there's a lot of good FKT routes because like they're the sort of places where you you can't hold a race or it's not feasible to hold a race. um So the only way to have some sort of competitive challenge over that distance or that sort of area is an FKT. So I think they are really popular in Tassie as well and people love doing them. i'm I've done a few and I'm excited to go down and do a few more. And it's yeah it's pretty cool cool stuff. and and and And when they're competitive like this, when you've got guys like Piotr and now Angus who have done them, like you can still get that competitive experience from
01:17:50
Speaker
going out and and maybe going out with some friends and right and running hard without the the faff of a race, which is pretty cool. Um, but yeah, Angus is, he's going to be up there, I think. Um, yeah, yeah. A couple other of the names that probably the the other person who I think is probably the strongest contender is Andrew Gaskell. Um, yeah Andrew has been to world champs now twice for the long trail. he finished,
01:18:18
Speaker
With Matt Crean last year, um I'm not exactly sure what placing they got in the end. They finished in 81st. Okay, cool. um He is recently off the back of first at KMR Ultra Solo this year. So the full loop.
01:18:35
Speaker
He ran 7 hours 36. um A bit slower than what he ran the previous year where he came second behind Ben. He ran 7.25 that year um so yeah but i know there's slight differences to that and it sort of probably depends who who you're running with as well he probably spent a bit of that 2025 time running with ben i imagine i'd have to double check myself on this one but i'm pretty sure i was standing at the a station at give or take thirty five k And he came through and I think he might have only been a couple of minutes off the time that Ben came through at that same point. I think the difference of knowing that you've got a lead and there's no one to chase versus Ben's up ahead of you and Luke's still trying to chase him down, I think would definitely make a big difference i on this sort of course, especially. Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely. um But yeah, he's no stranger to these...
01:19:27
Speaker
sort of long efforts out in the mountain. I don't know how much like more technical experience like that KMR is technical for sure, but it's maybe not as it's maybe not at the level of of this race.
01:19:40
Speaker
so But it felt like Lincoln basically called KMR a road race in comparison to Diverge. i think I think that's the thing that people don't realize and I think there may be a few surprised people. want Hopefully they're pleasantly surprised but it it's not too wrong an association. If you compared it to ah UTK, I would call UTK a road race. I'm not sure KMR is quite the road race. KMR might be the I don't know, the the gravel race. yeah But like, yeah, it's definitely a different beast to KMR.
01:20:17
Speaker
I'm assuming Andrew's done... Plenty of technical running if he lives, like, given that he's from Tasmania. I know he's done triple tops before. um He's run Cradle Mountain Ultra before.
01:20:30
Speaker
um So, yeah, he's he's he's definitely going to have some caliber, but I just don't know if he's Piotr and maybe Angus level of experience in it. And when we had him on the pod pre-wilds last year, i I definitely get the impression that he's somebody that would just go and have an adventure in the mountains, like no real plan and wouldn't be purposely avoiding these sort of trails and probably quite enjoy being out there and ah to a degree getting lost up there and just exploring. So yeah, I think it's gonna be hard hard to know.
01:21:00
Speaker
He's someone that I can't get onto a Strava, so it's hard to know exactly what so shape he's in. But assuming that he's pulled up nicely off off KMR, he's definitely someone that is able to show up when it matters by by both his his well-s performances. So yeah, I think it'll be for him to be up there with Angus Piotr, I think it would have to be a very good day for him. But I also definitely would not discount him.
01:21:22
Speaker
Yeah, definitely. A couple of other names I'll just quickly a call out. So we'll come back to the Tassie guys because bunch of them i'll I'll read out together. But we've got ah the one non-Tasmanian that's jumping out at me is Bryce Turvey.
01:21:38
Speaker
So Bryce, I know Bryce because I raced him at GPT 50k in 2024 where he came second. um So he has some experience on technical stuff. um It looks like he's from over in WA because he's done Transcend and Margaret River a few times.
01:21:54
Speaker
And I was looking into his Strava and he has spent, well, it's like quite a decent amount of his training up on the Sterling Rangers, which are very technical. I saw some yeah videos of it. and And getting, like for somebody that lives in in w a getting a good amount of elevation in his week still sort of three and a half to like in that ballpark, which is, yeah okay you've got you got to really search for that. So ah it's going to, it is going to be really hard. Like his, his kind of key results, are a fifth at Cosi hundred, sixth at Transcend 65, second at GPT to you at 24 and then a seventh of Margaret River.
01:22:25
Speaker
So like even GPT in, in the concept of what we're talking about is pretty buffed out. So I think that, it's going to be interesting to see how it it translates but from what i could tell he's done everything he can to make it translate yeah definitely the sterling's are tough um and that would give that would be good training um even if it's just from the vert perspective maybe not not as much like it's definitely technical in places underfoot but um yeah the vert there is very steep up and down so that will be suit him well and like his u utk result
01:22:56
Speaker
if you think If you look at the people he was around, like 25 minutes behind Gerald McPherson, who he knows very good over that hundred k distance, and 30 minutes behind godruy Godfrey Slattery, who we're talking a lot about in regards to Buffalo. So, um yeah, he's in the mix of those guys on fast stuff and I don't know, maybe he's better over the the more technical stuff. um So I guess we'll see how he goes.
01:23:23
Speaker
Yeah, and the good thing that I guess is it's probably the case for all these guys is that maybe Angus, even Angus, a slow 50k is very much still within the time like comfort zone of these guys. and that They've all been out there for 100k or multi-day adventures. So it's I think it's not a question of can they make it to the finish?
01:23:42
Speaker
yeah Can they tolerate the the the distance? It's just like how much is this terrain going to beat them up? Yeah, for sure. um The other Tassie guys, Alex Hunt, ah he his ah running shape is very dependent on what he's been up to recently. he is very good when he's very running specific.
01:24:01
Speaker
um Some other times when he's less running specific, he's still good, but not quite as good. So um based off his KMR ah where he was just under eight hours, um a bit behind Andrew, maybe he's not in his super focus on on running at the moment, maybe busy with bits and pieces, family. I'm sure he's got a lot going on.
01:24:23
Speaker
um But yeah, he's always ah he's always a strong contender. um And then the my the the tasie the Tassie bunch who always end up at GPT over the last few years um and who we're starting to see at single track events, one of them, Joseph Nunn's in the single track trail team, um but Joseph Nunn, Samuel Webb and Justin Dyer, um those three love this sort of stuff um and they're very experienced.
01:24:50
Speaker
They've all run. KMR, Ultra Solo, ah Samuel Webb and and Joseph were helping out Piotr on his FKT earlier in the year.
01:25:01
Speaker
um so yeah, they're super, super experienced in this sort of terrain. um And they're they're always sort of there or thereabouts at the at the maybe tail end of the of the front front pack.
01:25:13
Speaker
um So I think they'll they'll they'll be in the mix. But I don't know if they'll be right up the top, but they're definitely going to be there ready to take any um take any captives of the people who fall off. Yeah, and like in, actually I think in in both their cases, but definitely in Joseph Nunn's case, like he's, again, four weeks off winning the Buffalo Stampede Ultra Grand Slam. So that's the 10, the 100, the 40, back to back. And going through his training, like he got back into it pretty quick, which could be a really good sign. But just my question whenever I see that is like, okay, cool, you can get back into it, you can do the training case, but what happens when you really want to push? Like,
01:25:51
Speaker
is yeah the but is Is the body ready for that level of effort again? um Yes, you can argue the terrain is going to be a completely different style of challenge. It's not going to be about how fast can you run. But yeah, that's that's sort of my my big question mark over Joseph is whether that's just going to be a bit too much of ah a backup when you're dealing with the likes of Angus and Piotr and Alex and Andrew in there.
01:26:14
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely. But yeah, good to see like a nice strong field of like eight eight or so guys. And I'm sure there's some others in there that, sorry if we haven't called your name out and hopefully you can you can take knock one of them off as well. um Please ah jump into the results. I'd love to see that.
01:26:30
Speaker
um yeah But yeah, it's good to see some some depth in that race. um good at Good amount of people standing on the start line. And Brody and I have been talking about this preview for for a while now, and we really weren't sure if it was going to get the depth of field in in it, especially just given the nature of the event. Yes, it's going to pique some people's curiosity, but also it's pretty full on. So it's it's really it's really great to see, especially in the 50K, the uptake, in both the men's and the women's side, that we've got some some really impressive fields and also looking at the entry list. like They've got some good numbers for this this event. so it's ah it' So it's awesome to see.
01:27:08
Speaker
Yeah, the 50k has probably got better depth than maybe any of the races at KMAR because KMAR had obviously the spread across the different distances. um So yeah, I think none of KMAR's like if we were previewing KMAR, you would be talking to maybe three or three deep for the marathon really. um in the men's and that was kind of it so it's it's definitely got more depth especially in the 50k than than they did and and even in the like the men's 25k the winner yeah had a great run but 20 minutes back off the course record obviously meg sinclair won and ellie jackson did it and a very fast run as well but yeah it's definitely it's definitely people's interest at the top end
01:27:46
Speaker
um All right, let's ah finish off with the ladies in the 50K. Again, ah not not quite as deep as the men's, but a really good top top four, I guess. And unfortunately, um just I'm assuming Maggie Lennox is not running um because she did have an injury earlier in the year.
01:28:02
Speaker
And if she'd been in the race, it would have been even even better. It would have been awesome to see. But, um yeah, we wish Maggie all the best on the rest of her recovery. But, yeah, it's looking and good. i'm Headlined by ah someone from outside of Australia, which is really cool to see.
01:28:16
Speaker
so we've got Emma Cook-Clark. coming uh she's from canada um looks like she's over this side of the world for a few races she runs for arcterics so that's probably part of the reason why she's here um but she just ran uh the rope burn uh classic over in new zealand which i think was another arcterics race and she took the win there and she took the course record um yeah so yeah a pretty impressive run over there i think she was just in front of nathan as well so i've said that about two people today sorry nathan but it's good to use you as a as a yardstick so um yeah she's definitely i don't think nathan was going full gas but he was still running hard um and so yeah she's definitely obviously got so some talent in sort of more technical tough races i reckon that was everything nathan had
01:29:10
Speaker
um no We use that as a... you said as say it's It's really cool to see her over here. like yeah it does It does look like, just given the fact that she's done Routeburn and she's coming across to Diverge, that it is something to do with Arc'teryx. At least arcterrek so these opportunities have been made available for it. but She seemed to be really vibing New Zealand and the area that she was in there. And this will will definitely be a very similar, if not a step up for for that. So like and her her history of racing is very impressive. she's like in In recent years, she had a 10th at Worlds Vertical last year, um fifth at SkyRex called Marato del Demento Marathon, first at Madeira 44K, which is a race that's happening this weekend. Damn. hawk
01:29:56
Speaker
Oh, Christ. Some of these words. Hocken Hocken Eggman Skyrace there we go got there second place uh seventh the Broken Arrow Skyrace 26k after the coming second at the VK so they they often back up like that so like she's she's coming in with some credentials that we don't often see in Australia um especially outside of say like the UTA UTK people getting in their tickets so I'm excited ah yeah I'm excited just to see Emma over here doing the race and excited as to to see I guess in In all these fields, we've got some very high-level athletes that are going to set this benchmark and this for this distance or this event.
01:30:32
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And um my friend from Canada, is he's he's running um and he's actually coming because she's she's running and his good friends were there. And he was telling me she just missed out on going to the Olympics because the Americans took the North American spot. So she would have been in the schema shoot Schemo Oh, she was Schemo. Yeah.
01:30:54
Speaker
So Anna Gibson and... I can't remember the other the other trail runner guy's name. yeah um they They beat the Canadians. Cam Smith. Cam Smith. They beat the Canadians, but otherwise she would have been, like if shed if the Canadians had won, she would have been at the Olympics as well. So, yeah, she's a proficient mountain athlete, which I think will serve her quite well.
01:31:15
Speaker
But she also has speed. I was just having a look. She came... um second at speed goat 50k um that was last year i believe and that was uh first place there was uh jen lichter and third place was grayson murphy um so she's definitely and in a like a that's a very competitive race jasmine lowe that was fourth so like she's got wheels as well um and what time does she run at speed goat Looks like she ran, sorry, I think it was six hours.
01:31:49
Speaker
Is it 50 miles or 50K? Speaking of 50K. So I'm pretty sure. Licta ran 554 and she ran 601. Yeah, so nobody had ever broken six hours. I don't think anyone had even broken like 605 or 610. I remember the coverage of this at the time. So like everyone was saying how incredible Jen's run was and Jen is probably the best 50K mountain athlete in the world, obviously stepping up now.
01:32:12
Speaker
yeah But for Emma to come 6.01 and that close to Jen's run, that's yeah that's impressive. That's cool. Yeah, because when I was looking, i was like, oh, she's a sky running athlete. she's She's a schemo athlete. She's good in the mountains, that sort of stuff. But obviously Speed Goats, like it's a tough course. It's got a lot of hurt in it. It's definitely not like ah a cosy sort of speed, but it's it's not a sky running. 3,450. Yeah, it's probably a bit more running, but it's still a lot of hurt in it. So, yeah, looks like she's going to be well suited to this course. So I think it's very cool to see her.
01:32:49
Speaker
coming over and doing that um the other girls are going to be chasing after i hope um we have our very own from the podcast simone brick running um talking to simone today she's just excited to get down there and and be a part of it but i guess like we were saying that sort of attitude and that sort of um approach to the race could lead to a really good performance. I think Simone's still pulling her fitness back, so we can't expect too much from her.
01:33:17
Speaker
um But I think that's going to be the right way to approach the race, even if Simone was in her best fitness. So yeah um i think she'll still be a contender. um I guess we don't need to go into all of Simone's stats, but I've been looking at her training recently and she's starting to put down some quick times in some of the intervals. So I think the fitness is is coming back. um She's not holding any expectations for this race.
01:33:41
Speaker
um But yeah, I think she'll still be in the mix with the other ladies we're about to talk about. Yeah, I think even Sim's sim is one that I can guarantee you will be A, in enjoying the experience and B, be pretty comfortable being out there. So I don't think she needs to be in her top fitness to still be towards the front of this this women's pack. But it's it's just cool to see Sim back on ah on and and on another start line and getting a a bit more training under her. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
01:34:11
Speaker
And as Australians go, I think in the on the women's side, Sim's probably the the person or one of the people that has the most experience on this sort of terrain. yeah So she's very well suited to this course.
01:34:24
Speaker
um I did tell her a few years ago that she'd love triple tops. Unfortunately, they didn't trim the course and she had a shit time. But I'm hoping that she has a really good time on this course because I think this is the sort of course that would suit her really well. So I'm sure she'll be scoping it out and maybe back another year to to race it when she's full fitness as well. Another another name in the women's field that, again, I'm i'm always going to have have the the backup question mark in my mind, but Alice McGushin, who we just recently thought take saw take third at Buffalo 100K. She was in second for quite a long time until Ludo managed to catch her in ah very much towards towards the end of that race.
01:35:02
Speaker
looking into her training she's one that's definitely going to the opposite approach of what say joseph nun's done she's not done big running case since spent a lot of time on the bike so kind of prioritized that recovery still being on her feet but i think roughly 16k has been her longest run since which obviously this is just a part of you need to know yourself as an athlete uh and what what what's going to work better for you but Looking back at some of her her races that she's she's done, like there's a lot of credentials behind Alice. And if she's feeling good, she's clearly fit. It's going to be fun to see her coming back for ah another hit so soon.
01:35:37
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah. um Do you know if she's done many races like this sort of race? or like is um Nothing. Obviously, Buffalo's like... Yeah, Buffalo's not crazy anything like this. she So she she's got Snowdonia. So she's ah yeah okay she's spent a lot of time over in the UK. And so the the thing with the UK, though, is that...
01:36:01
Speaker
it's not rocky really. It's fell running, it's boggy, it's marshy, it's grassy. Like there's often not a lot of trails. So being very comfortable being off trail is one of the skills that a lot of the British runners do have. And and that's like, you look at, um, Naomi Lang, uh, British runner, like um,
01:36:18
Speaker
the muddy technical stuff, she's unstoppable, but probably that might not translate as well to the really rocky technical stuff. So i think the, like there's ah some very interesting races that are in, in, uh, Alice's Alice's history. Um, the ultra X world champs to think was a stage race, but a 250 K with 10,000 meters, but don't hold me to the stage race part, but 36 people ran that. Yeah. So like there's, but a lot of like, ah then a lot of the UK, like the coastal path, um that's, yeah, there's nothing, nothing challenging about that. So, but what strikes me about Alice is she has such a variety of terrain under her belt. She did KMR 66K last year in nine hours, which is a really strong time for the women. Yeah, yeah. um
01:37:08
Speaker
I think that, yeah, she, I feel like she'll be able to just embrace the challenge and move forward well from this yeah definitely and it looks like compared to last year um like she wasn't that far behind nicole pattern i guess in terms of she was no oh yeah she was only three minutes behind but she then beat nicole this year so maybe she's taken a step up in her own running as well potentially compared to her results from last year Looking through all of Alice's results, I would definitely say that her Buffalo run stands out as her taking a next step in her own running. like it's yeah It's always hard to get the full context about races that we don't know a crazy bit about, but just looking at what she's raced over here, nine hours on KMR is really impressive. That's also like, that's Nicole's bread and butter sort of train. And to go from sort of being behind Nicole there to ahead of Nicole, 12 and a half hours, I think it also speaks to
01:38:07
Speaker
If you were looking at Nicole and and Alice, my guess is Nicole's probably a bit more comfortable on the really technical off-trail event stuff, but probably doesn't have the same speed as what Alice would have. So Alice might be the better out-and-out runner. How that translates to diverge, we'll we'll see.
01:38:21
Speaker
yeah yeah Yeah, it's going to be interesting. Sim's saying she's not taking it ah seriously, but she was still like, oh, wonder how Alice will go over the like more technical terrain. She's still thinking about it.
01:38:35
Speaker
It's very hard to turn that side of your brain off, as you know. like you can't take the competitor out of the athlete, don't think. ah it's ah It's very, very very tricky to to line up to a start line, especially on a course that you know is going to suit you and let go of all ambition and yeah That being said, Sim did sound very like one of the most settled I've heard us sort of sound in terms of like this approach to this upcoming race in terms of like she literally just wants to go and have an enjoyable experience, which is and obviously she's going to have those like, oh, I wonder where I'll fit in the field. But like I think that the goal still it feels like it's it's like let's go and and enjoy being out in the mountains because I haven't been able to do it very much for last six months.
01:39:18
Speaker
Yeah. So that's very cool. um One last ah runner in the women's field, um someone who I think will probably handle the terrain relatively well, given that living in Tassie for some some time, maybe I'm not sure if Jess is Tasmanian. I think she is. But Jessica Collins.
01:39:34
Speaker
um Jess has a bunch of different results over the last few years. i know she's had i remember speaking to her um at the end of 2023.
01:39:47
Speaker
going into 2024 and she was having some significant um uh injury sort of issues so i think that's why we see a bit of a gap between 2023 and and now getting back into it a bit more she's uh she was a third in the alpine marathon uh for the women um this year at kmr so it was cool that's cool to see her back um She has had some pretty good results in the past. She's been second at Buffalo Sky Marathon.
01:40:15
Speaker
um She's been second at Surf Coast Century, third in KMR I have a feeling she was at Skyrunning World Champs at one year, but I'm not exactly sure on that one.
01:40:30
Speaker
She's got on on a UTMB, she's got the 2019 World Champs, the Trail World Champs. Okay, there we go. Just like the short short trail. Oh, yes, I can that. Yep. She's got a ah ah long list of credentials that dating back to sort of 2015 Cradle Mountain.
01:40:46
Speaker
um And yeah, especially Buffalo, a lot of top fives in the marathon the ultra marathon, which was the with 4,500 meters. Would the 42K in 2022, do you know if that was up to the top of Buffalo? Yeah.
01:41:01
Speaker
twenty twenty two do you know if that was up to the top of buffalo No, that was down. That was the year that I did it. But that one did go, you kind of got to the top of clear spot, sent it down the steepest way, the steepest fire trail down and straight up mixed track and then down some single tracks to get to the finish. So it has bit more vert.
01:41:23
Speaker
Yeah, I think for it to have the, yeah, it's about the same i If it was that same course, it would be about 2800. So sort of i think the the old marathon had somewhere between 23 and 28, I think, from memory. um So that's kind of what what you're looking for. I think there was a period where maybe they alternated the course direction for Buffalo. Yeah. one yeah But even that, yeah, this year i was looking at 2022. Blake Hoes won in three hours, 42, which is a bit yeah a bit like a significantly slower, I guess, than what they what what Charlie ran this year. Although Charlie's maybe not the the best comparison, although Blake is very good. So Matt Crane's probably a good comparison because he ran it. He did 352 and I think this year he did about three and a half. So um that year I was just looking at her time because she came second, but she ran...
01:42:09
Speaker
So it's about 40 minutes slower than what Kate ran this year, but it sounds like the men it was maybe 20 minutes slower. So yeah, to I think she's like from back then, she has, like you said, she's been around for a long time. She's had a lot of experience of a lot of different races. She's shown some speed in some races at certain times.
01:42:27
Speaker
um It'll be about seeing how far on the comeback is she versus is she just back doing some running for the for the fun of it. She's obviously run um relatively well at the alpine marathon um although maybe not in the most deep field so yeah i think she'll be she'll be there and around um maybe not up with uh the emma but um yeah those other three ladies i think who knows what will happen i think all right it's gonna be gonna be another fun weekend of racing down there yes very good well i was just thinking we didn't do picks but given we're not doing many previews should we do some quick picks so that we can actually have some some to guess off for the for the year i reckon given the the size the fields let's just do the 50k and maybe pick the winners for the 25 but yes and the folks on the 50. yeah yeah going to that you shoot all right i'm gonna go oh i'm gonna go well emma and then alice then sim
01:43:28
Speaker
and Okay. ah feel
01:43:34
Speaker
it is This is a tricky one. I'm going go Emma, Jess, Alice. Okay. Nice. And then... do you want get this to the men? Yeah, I'll take the men's. I reckon... Finn, Piotr, Angus.
01:43:49
Speaker
I'm going go Bryce. Okay, cool. I'm going to go Angus. To the ah to the Tuzzies. Yeah, exactly. I'm going go Angus, Piotr, Andrew. Nice. Cool. The king is going to be on the throne. I was going to picking somebody above Piotr in Tasmania, um i like it.
01:44:10
Speaker
If Piotr listens to this, that'll fire him up. So you're welcome, Piotr.
01:44:16
Speaker
Cool. It's nice to have a new new race on the on the cards. Yes, the 25 stars. Yeah, should we do first? I'll just do both. I'm going to go Sam in the men and obviously, yeah, Trish, sorry. Not obviously, but I'm going pick Trish.
01:44:32
Speaker
Very direct. Yeah, i'll i'll pick I'll pick Trish as well and I'm going to take Toby for the men. Cool. Awesome. All right. Well, thank you to everyone for listening in. Thank you for Lincoln for jumping on and giving us a detailed description of the races. And um yeah, hope everyone enjoyed listening to that slightly different preview, maybe a bit more focus on the race than the the runners but yeah it's very cool to see some people set some yeah some really good fields but how remote the race is getting down there and getting amongst it so it should be a good weekend of of racing definitely im excited excited to follow along excited to hear the stories out of this one excited to see the photos of everyone at the summits it's uh Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's nice. It is, it is fun to have a new event to talk about. because I feel like it hasn't maybe GPT is the last race that felt like it was a significant one into the scene that was introduced.
01:45:27
Speaker
Correct me if you can think of anything else that's more recent, but it's yeah good, good to have and new, a new event to put a bit more focus on and something a bit different as well. Yeah, yeah, I think in terms of maybe different type races, I'm sure there's plenty of races that have popped up that have been more sort of like maybe just like lower key events or more yeah know inclusive.
01:45:49
Speaker
It's probably the more different factor. I'm very much talking about the ones that like the elites, like the top of the field the race are going to and the ones that we're going to preview, for example, GPT. I think like it's definitely one of the the races for a while where I've been like, wow, something new, exciting.
01:46:06
Speaker
That's cool. I want to know what that's all about. That sort of stuff that's really got me hyped up. so um But I'm also incredibly biased towards Tasmanian. trail running and and sky running so it's perfect for me and hence why you've led this one yeah yeah all right well thanks james for jumping on and uh thanks everyone for having a listen and uh yeah we'll catch you for the next preview yeah appreciate brodie and good luck anyone that's racing see ya