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2025 Kunanyi Mountain Run Preview & Predictions | Golden Trail National Series
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Join James and Brodie as they break down the 25K Kunanyi Mountain Run, the second stop of the Golden Trail National Series in Australia. With Brodie’s insider knowledge from past races, they dive into the course details, race strategies, key contenders, and what to expect from this epic trail challenge.
Timestamps:
- (0:00) – Introduction & Course Breakdown
- (11:40) – 25km Women’s Field
- (23:50) – 125km Men’s Field
- (50:30) – Mountain Marathon Overview
- (52:50) – 66km Women’s Field
- (57:15) – 66km Men’s Field
- (1:06:40) - Closing Thoughts
Links:
🎧 Tune in for our insights and race predictions.
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Transcript
Introduction to Peak Pursuits Podcast
00:00:15
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Peak Pursuits podcast. My name is James Sieber and I'm joined by Brodie Nankovist today to preview the Kinyani Mountain Run, specifically the 25k, which is the second stop on the Golden Trail National Series in Australia.
00:00:30
Speaker
Brodie, are you doing today? Yeah, pretty good. Thanks, James. Good to be here. Good to chat about what's a pretty awesome race down in Tassie and one that I've been at for the last three years but I won't be there unfortunately this year so um I'm getting my getting my fix by talking about it instead.
00:00:48
Speaker
Nearly as good right? Yeah close. ah Which makes us very from a preview perspective this is really good because you have a very intimate understanding of the course last year. Last year's race was super deep as well so you You just telling me offline about a fun little experience with Leo towards the end um where he made you feel really good about your race.
Overview of the Kinyani Mountain Run 25k Course
00:01:11
Speaker
And I think we'll just dive straight into that with, if you can take us through the course previews to give listeners what an idea of ah yeah what people are in store for down there. Yeah, definitely. So the 25k mountain run is um is a pretty tough course. So it's um on Kenyany down in Hobart. The course starts down close to the bottom of the mountain, not quite all the way on the water, but near the Cascade Brewery there.
00:01:40
Speaker
um And then it makes its way up to the top and then descends back down in sort of a bit of a loop. So it works out to be, oh, what is it? It's 1560 meters up and down is what the website's telling me.
00:01:56
Speaker
um And I think that's pretty close. So it's the mountain itself is, I think, about, I don't know the exact pinnacle, but I think it's it's probably around 1300 the in the thirteen hundreds um And you do a little bit of up and down on the way up and a little bit of up and down, ah few ups on the way down as well. So it's a bit undulating, but mostly one big climb that takes about 12K and then one big descent that takes, again, about another twelve k so
00:02:28
Speaker
It's characterized by um it's an interesting race in terms of it's that up down, but both of those are long, a long amount of time.
Strategic Challenges of the Race
00:02:39
Speaker
um So, yeah, it's pretty cool race. there's a mix of different terrains start up, start out. um on some single track, then onto some fire road, then climbing on a lot of single track before you get ah to the last.
00:02:54
Speaker
ah You do a little bit of a flat spot, which feels weird um along the organ pipes track, which is this sort of amazing track um underneath the face ah that has really good views as well. But you can you can run ah as fast as you can run on ah on a flat. So under sub fours, usually I think most people were probably running along there, the top guys.
00:03:14
Speaker
um And then one final 300 meter climb that's mostly steps. And then you turn around and go straight back down those steps.
00:03:25
Speaker
and then you turn ah and you go right instead of where you came from on the left and you descend a different way again a bit of a mixture of fire road single track and a few nasty little climbs you know in the in the descent um which yeah are pretty hard when you're sort of throwing yourself down a mountain and you've already climbed earlier in the race so ah it's a really challenging course last year really quick time Tate ran in to 11, I
Comparing Kinyani and Walburton Courses
00:03:53
Speaker
think. So it's over to our race.
00:03:55
Speaker
You've got to be on top of your nutrition. You've got to be top on on top of your hydration if the way, especially if the weather's a little bit warm. um And yeah, you see a lot of different things. So it's it's a pretty cool race.
00:04:07
Speaker
um You can tell probably from my description that I really enjoyed it. um And I look forward to getting back there and doing it another year. It does sound pretty pretty cool. Looking into the stats of the Strava file that's on the website and having not done the race, but I've been over there, I kind of had an idea for it.
00:04:26
Speaker
That main climb, 735 meters, which is 19.5% gradient. Then you've got, yeah, that kind of... then you've got yeah that kind of 2k downhill technically section and then you're back into a climb that's 1.3k and 300 meters the summit.
00:04:42
Speaker
ah That in itself sounds pretty brutal. Yeah, yeah it's it's a perfect course. Like when you look at um the Golden Trail races over in Europe, for me, of the season last year and the season this year, which is the same races, it's the closest you get to one of those European races in terms of the types of terrain you're covering.
00:05:06
Speaker
the speed you get in certain places. um And last year, the competition was super deep. um So it was, yeah, it was, it was pretty special last year. It was probably my, although probably wasn't my best performance of the year, it was probably my, my favorite race of the year.
Preview of Women's Field Contenders
00:05:22
Speaker
um It was really cool. Comparing Walburton Trail Fest, the donut that's just happened couple weekends ago when this comes out, to Kunani, what are the main differences you see between two courses? Because on paper, they're not that dissimilar.
00:05:37
Speaker
Yeah, I would say that because the because the climb is – the climb, although it is steep in places, if you can run, you can run. So it's it's a lot more runnable than maybe most of the Donner Climb that is that bit of donna climb that's like 300 sorry 3k with like 800 meters of climb or whatever it is it's it's not that steep and it's more runnable than that um because it's extended out over a slightly longer period of time um that's probably one of the key differences and i guess it's it's longer um it takes a little bit longer to to cover it and it's probably more technical there's sections
00:06:19
Speaker
ah that are rocky, there's steps rocky, there's sections on the ascent and even maybe a little bit on the
Introduction to Key Male Contenders
00:06:29
Speaker
descent where you're or it's some that you're climbing through this sort of like beautiful Tasmanian bush ah single track that's a bit rooty and turny and that sort of stuff and you do some descending and climbing through that and then on the climb on Hunter's track which is sort of like the middle part of the climb, you have to go across sort of two scree fields, but the path goes across it. So you're not like
00:06:54
Speaker
You're not completely boulder hopping, but the way they made the path was just like <unk> marked the way across, essentially. says They didn't build a track across it. They just like look for the flatter rocks maybe and whatnot. So if you're good at technical running, you can make up a lot of time. And that track also using the VK as well.
00:07:10
Speaker
um I've had experience on maybe in all three years I've been down there because I did the VK two years in a row and then this race. Yeah. ah where I've passed people on that section just because I can flow over it a bit better than they can. So it I think i like it in that way that it – not not that it evens the playing field, but it it challenges all different aspects of trail running and and still features that really technical side of running without being crazy technical and not and that you can't run at all. So, um yeah, it's got a really good balance of of those elements, I think, which makes it pretty special.
00:07:47
Speaker
Sounds like then that... if we're and this will provide context for later but the people that are coming in as more of the pure runners that are coming into trail do you think this course is starting to put enough technicality where even their climbing um benefit is is a bit negated yeah i think so it sort of depends on on their bill how good they are at climbing i think what it probably negates a little bit is people that are just uh just like really good uh running economy super fast i don't think that is as important on this type of course because it's pretty there's not a heap of places where you can really sort of get into good rhythm for a long period of time there is some um and i definitely saw that last year at the end it opens up a little bit and leo came running straight past me um so yeah there is definitely sections where that is but it
00:08:41
Speaker
like donna generally is like obviously it's a trail surface underfoot but it's it doesn't interrupt you too much i don't think except for a few small places and i think this one probably interrupts the rhythm a little bit more so yeah maybe i think even if we look at the look at the results from last year you can see people who may be traditionally not uh not not super fast having really good results um and beating people that might be faster than them paper and that sort of stuff, especially maybe in the women's like maddie like Maggie Lennox who won last year.
Impact of Technical Aspects on Runners
00:09:17
Speaker
She's a Hobart local. um She's really good over technical stuff. I don't know how fast she is. I assume she's still pretty quick, but um her strength is definitely probably her ah her technical ability and and how good she can tackle that Tasmanian terrain, I would imagine.
00:09:33
Speaker
um But, yeah, she still did really well at Brisbane as well. So, yeah, it's not just that. But I think you have to be you still have to be have a good engine and be a good runner. But ah you're so there's there's opportunities for more technical strength athletes to sort of keep up.
00:09:52
Speaker
Like I would class myself in that boat. Like I ah kept up with Leo until the very end. um I was in front of him and then he he went past me. so And he's ah he's a much faster runner than I am.
00:10:04
Speaker
um Even at that point last year, he was still a much faster runner than me. So, um yeah, I think that's the beauty of trail running. And this course, I think, really highlights that. Beautiful. And the other factor is the weather that can come in and go out quite quickly, especially at the summer.
00:10:23
Speaker
The terrain that's up there, is it something that becomes a little bit more treacherous once it's wet or is it not going to be too much of a factor? I think it probably does. um The last climb up is on steps that are sort of like rocks, I guess.
00:10:41
Speaker
Rock steps. um So i there's a bit of gravel as well. But imagine if it's wet, that could be a bit slippery. um So it might slow down fast ascenders.
00:10:53
Speaker
um That's definitely where I sort of made a move last year and pulled myself up into second and tried to drop the pack. um So maybe that would be less less easy to be done if the conditions weren't so good.
00:11:06
Speaker
I think the main thing is it's it's a mountain and it's pretty cool because you you go from what might be beautiful, sunny weather down the bottom to being it's always quite cool at the top.
00:11:16
Speaker
um because you're changing such a big elevation change. So no matter if it's good weather or bad weather, the weather still changes during the race um yeah and it is a lot cooler at the top.
00:11:29
Speaker
um So, yeah, I think that that part's quite interesting. Okay, I think that gives a pretty good summary of the course and all the things everyone that will be racing or if you are racing needs to think about.
00:11:41
Speaker
Let's get into the 25K. I'd like to start with the women's field first today.
Expected Race Tactics for Key Runners
00:11:47
Speaker
And there's to me, there's three women who, to me, there's three women that really stand out. The first one being our very own Simone Brick, obviously coming off a third at Warby.
00:12:00
Speaker
If you've listened to her post-race, you'll know that that wasn't her best day. um But especially on this terrain, once gets a bit more technical, this is really where I would say Simone is going to come into her strengths. When I think about the whole Golden Trail series, this is definitely...
00:12:18
Speaker
the one that best matches her. She's about to go into a sky running season. So the training has started to switch this way. i think on um on paper, at least knowing her past, Simone would be the favorite.
00:12:30
Speaker
it Do you feel like you agree? Yeah, I think so. We've got be careful to not be too much podcast biased. But I think if we just look at the facts, like Simone probably is the favourite. And I think this course, I don't believe she has raced it. She's definitely, she's run the whole course as well. So she she Simone is, while she doesn't live in Tassie, she's been there the last two or three years on the KMR sort of training camp. And she's very familiar with the types of terrain that they cover.
00:13:00
Speaker
And I also think she's very good at those sorts of terrains um and having that where it breaks up a little bit because she can move fast as well. So but but but breaking it up and meaning that like the Katinkas who are probably potentially a little bit faster than Simone, um she's not always in her sort of perfect rhythm. There's that breaking it up all the time.
00:13:21
Speaker
um So, yeah, I think. um This sort of course definitely suits Simone. um She's a beast on the downhill and it finishes with a what, one hour of descending. So it's I'd say she's definitely the one to beat. and It will be hard to beat her given that this course finishes with a descent.
00:13:42
Speaker
Yeah. And you mentioned her there, Katinka. There's... two different types of athlete for me in this course there's simone that's a good climber but is known for her descending and then there's katinka who's coming in as a faster runner her 5k pb granted it's from 2020 but it's 16 59 i think simone would quite happily say that she's not a 16 59 5k runner especially not right now at least um she think is a yeah 77 half sub 35 10k so she is a very very fast runner and
00:14:17
Speaker
Last year, second at Donna Double. She DNF'd KMR, which I don't know anything about. i was going ask you if you know anything about that. First equal at Coastal Ascent, fourth at the final.
00:14:28
Speaker
She's shown a lot of capacity at this stuff, but the only one for me is yet what's what's her technical descending like? I think that's where those the two categories I see is that you've got the very fast runner that's probably going to be ahead at the top.
00:14:43
Speaker
Although, like you said, potentially not if their momentum is getting interrupted versus then the Simone, how much can she can catch up if she is behind? Yeah, it's um I think Katinka had some issues with her nutrition, maybe caffeine last year. She was new to trail running, so she was working out a lot of those kinks.
00:15:03
Speaker
I don't know if we've seen Katinka run her best in any race yet. um This one might be the one um because I definitely don't think she's run to potential. um So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see if she can sort of ah she can sort of this is is this the one or is she still sort of working towards it?
00:15:23
Speaker
And will we see it from her later in the year? um I think it'll be challenging for her. But, um yeah, I think she's had a year now to work on ah the descending, particularly I think you see people maybe in their first year of trail running, the descending is quite hard, but then they might not get to expert level straightaway. But there's a big learning curve and they get a lot better um in that first year particularly. So I think um she's definitely a challenger.
00:15:52
Speaker
for simone and um yeah i'm really interested to see how that plays out how the tactics go like does does katinka try and get a gap on her by the top um does she sit with her um and maybe then just try and sort of sort of ghost her on the descent stay as close as she can and then get away in some of the more runnable stuff at the end um because there is it like once you get down ah to the dam is it um waterworks there.
00:16:21
Speaker
You sort of run around the it's sort of like a reservoir. You run around and then you do a climb that's just on a fire road. there's There's probably three or four K. And then even before that, there's a few K that are very runnable.
00:16:33
Speaker
um So, yeah, if she she she might buy the time and and and wait for that section. um Yeah, I don't know. It'd be really interesting to see how that plays out. And there's also Steph in the mix.
00:16:45
Speaker
There is also Steph. So Steph Austin I'm super curious to see where Steph comes out in all of this.
Analysis of Runner Strategies
00:16:53
Speaker
Looking back at her results, she's definitely got some of this shorter trail experience and grip like winds. She's had really good results at Buffalo and UTA in the shorter distances.
00:17:03
Speaker
Everything more recent, I guess you'd say with six foot track being in the middle has been a hundred mile, ah hundred K. sort of distances but Steph again is coming in as of an incredibly good flat runner she has a great engine which is going to suit the climbs and when it starts to level out a bit down the bottom but yeah she I do not know where Steph will be in this field and I'm really curious to find out yeah she's definitely shown that she can she can run over the shorter distances as well like she's she's run really well it's uh
00:17:35
Speaker
six foot track and and i think of like steph's done a lot of longer stuff and and then she's sort of um i think of like ah kelly angel who also does a lot of longer stuff and and then has been pretty good over short stuff she raced steph at uh six foot track last year and steph was quicker so it's like she's even better at going shorter than someone like kelly who's very good at it so yeah i'm really interested to see how that plays out um This might be the shortest we've seen from Steph for a while.
00:18:07
Speaker
um I think she did the 50 at the coastal ascent last year. okay. um So maybe that to the girls might have done that research. I'm not sure. But, um yeah, be interesting.
00:18:28
Speaker
I think it'll very interesting to see... how she fits into that and um she definitely will be a contender i think yeah rafferty's coastal run of thirty six k she ran three hours came first female um can't tell you about split time if there is one right now but she was quite she was 30 minutes ahead of the second place Yeah, no, i was talking about um the Coastal Ascent, the Golden Trail race last year. So she ran the 50K version, which I had a feeling was double, like two of the same. I'm not exactly sure on that.
00:19:09
Speaker
um But she ran four hours, 37, and Vilda and Katinka ran 157. So she she's done about half an hour on top of double their time. So i don't know how that.
00:19:23
Speaker
how that adds up, but it seems like it would definitely probably be in the mix at least, given she's done two laps of the same. So yeah, it'll be interesting to see how that plays out. It's going to be a very interesting three-way battle there and seeing the tactics, if weather conditions are going to play, play a factor in in how especially Steph and Katinka go out.
00:19:46
Speaker
I'd like to imagine they'd probably try and put a gap on Simone going up the climb, knowing that there is a very long descent to come. But you never know. Yeah, Stefan Katinka might be feeling really confident with their descents against Simone, or at least enough to stay in touch to then catch her back up.
00:20:02
Speaker
So it's going to a very, very interesting day. The other few names that kind of stood out to me as probably as more as top five finishers Georgina Beach, um she's had a few really strong results at Altshire Kosciuszko.
Predicting Race Outcomes
00:20:21
Speaker
She got a fourth at UTA 50K.
00:20:23
Speaker
And they call Rebecca Wilkinson. i don't I've got the right person. She is definitely more of a road focused runner. um Recently just set an 18 minute 5K, but she did go to Buffalo and did the 2022 and the in both and a seventh the she came third in both the twenty six k results and the seventh at the twenty k so She can obviously run on trails and obviously run on pretty gnarly trails because that 26K was not an easy course. Neither was the 20K. But she could be someone that we're not really paying that much attention to that actually is featuring because she's just as quick as the rest of the girls.
00:21:00
Speaker
And then she's been doing so some trails in her training, um which I couldn't get i couldn't see. it will be yeah interesting to see where she comes out. Yeah, definitely. And then jill Lyle, she came eighth last year.
00:21:14
Speaker
a really strong descender. So I think if she's anywhere near them at the top, she could definitely make up some places or catch up a gap. She came 13th at Coastal and 10th at Brisbane for the final. So it sort of indicates that she's more of a mountain runner than she is on the flat runner. So I think we'll sort of see her in that first half and just kind of how close she can be. So There's definitely a few few good names in there.
00:21:40
Speaker
And i mean we wouldn't be surprised if we get a bit of a surprise on on the day. But I do think it's predominantly between Simone, Steph and Katinka for the win. Yeah, and I'm really interested to see what time they run. um Last year, Maggie Lennox got the course record, ran 238.
00:21:57
Speaker
um I don't know where she was overall, but she was she was definitely in a mix of the sort of that group of men who were just off and sort of a little bit back, the second pack. sort of so um yeah I think that was a pretty good time.
00:22:10
Speaker
um I don't know what time sort of Simone has in her head. I'm sure she she does. I haven't talked to her about it. but um Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if that course record goes down.
00:22:22
Speaker
Yeah, I reckon she's got 237 in her head. Yeah, could be. yeah, Maggie got 20th overall and then the next female was 29th, nine minutes behind. That was Melanie Daniels. So she did.
00:22:35
Speaker
It was a pretty impressive match. run from from Maggie. And I think it would take a near perfect day from any of those girls to try and push that that course record time. The other interesting thing to note is that the only female that did Warby that is here for round two of Golden Trail National Series is Simone.
00:22:55
Speaker
So everybody else in the start line is getting their first score. So if they are doing the series, they'll be doing Coastal and Brisbane as well. Whereas Simone is going to get two results. from this event yeah nice anything else in the women's field there but I don't think so um if you were picking your favourite for the race who you go for Well, given that i got that we got the winner for the mountain running champs, I'm feeling confident that I can pick one, two,
Men's Field Predictions and Analysis
00:23:27
Speaker
three. Okay.
00:23:29
Speaker
I at least want to challenge myself. So I'm going to go Katinka, Steph is my guess. but Okay. I'm going to go with Katinka, Simone, Steph.
00:23:40
Speaker
Okay. We start have to start a tally somewhere. We will. We will. don't know what we'll win at the end of it apart from a bit of pride, but I'll take it. Okay, let's move on to the twenty five k So this one I would say this one has got a few more podium contenders than the women's race does this year, at least when I was going through the names. I kind of picked out, I think, six six guys that I think have potentially seven, have a very good potential of getting onto the podium. We have four of them that I think will vie for the win. But again, on the day, you never know.
00:24:15
Speaker
First one. he's had a busy march, is going to be Michael Kernaghan, who is coming off third place at the Oz Mountain Champs, which will have been two weeks before Kunanyi.
00:24:29
Speaker
And then the week prior to that, he got first place and the course record, the first guy under one hour 50 at Donadouble. And then he also had a third place at two base back at start of the year. So he's had ah he's had a good start to this year, along with some track stuff.
00:24:44
Speaker
i I, if he's coming in refreshed, I'm really interested see how he does on this next step up in terms of technicality when were talking earlier about the uphill runner, or the more flat economic runner suiting the uphills or if they're going to get and in the way. i would kind of have Michael in in my mind.
00:25:01
Speaker
um I know that he is, like he wouldn't be coming down here if he didn't think he stood a chance. And my guess is that this is a ah push for the world's team qualifier to put a few really good results forward um what are your thoughts on michael on this course yeah i think like his run at mountain running champs is pretty impressive um i think the like the guys who ran that uh that had done donna um whilst they probably may have been feeling they might be feeling fine. I just, i like Donna's such a tough race.
00:25:35
Speaker
um So much sort of eccentric muscle contraction that I just, I don't know if you can perform at your 100% best. Maybe you can perform at 90 or 95, but 100% maybe. So maybe there was some more there if he hadn't run Donna. Not saying he shouldn't have, but just I think like the result because of that is pretty impressive like nath um was a bit further back than probably where i would have expected him at mountain running champs so ah think maybe potentially it affected him more and i don't know i had a look at michael's race and didn't seem like he was talking about it too much but i wonder if there's a little bit there so yeah he's definitely in great shape this one is a bit of a step up i think in terms of
00:26:19
Speaker
Duration for me is also one I know it's only 20 minutes, but it's putting you over the two hour mark now. um It starts to become more in the marathon distance. So when we talk, I'm talking about road marathons here. So that I think once you go over two hours, that's where it starts to be a bit different than an under two hour race.
00:26:40
Speaker
um It's not huge difference.
Nutrition and Hydration Challenges
00:26:43
Speaker
Warby still has a bit of that. But I think with Warby, you get away with it a little bit because you're pretty much just flying downhill um after. So you you climb for whatever he climbed too fast, hour 10. I don't know what he did, but it was probably bloody fast.
00:26:59
Speaker
And then you're descending, which is sort of like it's it's hard, but it's it's a bit of a rest on the – cardiovascular system to some extent um and then you only had like a kilometer along the river at the end so if you're struggling you just just get through that i don't think kmr gives you as much opportunity while it finishes with a big descent the descent's a bit longer a bit more drawn out there's a bit more running between the bits and pieces and you also have to be able to just you have to be to start running fast again after doing some really hard descents so it's a different
00:27:35
Speaker
It's a different race. um I don't know how much Michael's done of like the longer stuff. He's obviously done two bays. so that's But again, for him, that's an under two-hour race, even though it's longer.
00:27:47
Speaker
um So yeah, i i been i'm I'm really interested to see how he goes, but he's probably not my pick just because I ah ah don't know what he can do over that distance. He also mentioned in his Strava,
00:28:02
Speaker
for Warby that he had his only gel and drink at what was the top of the climb. So yeah you can get away with that to a degree, although we saw people that didn't get away with that um because of the heat at Warby. But I do think that he's got to be careful there.
00:28:19
Speaker
Yeah, I think once you go over two hours as well, that's what you're in the fueling realm now um and you need to feel and we're seeing it flow over into road marathons. There's road marathon runners talking about fueling maybe not as crazy as the as the sort of short distance or like the three to ten hour trail runners that are talking their numbers, but all the cyclists, but they're still talking about 80 grams of carbon hour or something like that. so like that's a lot more than one gel in the race.
00:28:47
Speaker
um And I think it's particularly important in in KMR, but it's also really important to strategically think about when you're having those gels, because it's very hard to take a gel.
00:28:58
Speaker
it's It's hard enough to take a gel when you're running three twenties in a marathon or a half marathon. I can tell you it's harder to take it when you're trying to do three twenty s down steps, down a descent.
00:29:11
Speaker
So it's there's only certain opportunities to take a gel in in the in the race. So you have to be smart about where you where you take that. and And for me, it was about you need to feel a lot in the first half.
00:29:26
Speaker
So you need to sort of be prepared. And then you probably still need to take one somewhere on that descent because there is still a lot of running. When you get to the last aid station across, I think it's fern it's called Ferntree. I think the the aid station is.
00:29:40
Speaker
You've still got 7K to go. That's quite a long way. You sort of feel like you're nearly done. um Whereas in Warby, I think that's where you, at that same point, you sort of hit the river and you got 1K to go.
00:29:51
Speaker
So that it's obviously not exactly the same, but that's for me, that was sort of the feeling. At that same point, that was what I what i felt. But in KMR, you got a lot of racing left to do.
Training Regimens and Performance Impact
00:30:01
Speaker
yeah um and And you might have guys chasing you.
00:30:04
Speaker
You might be chasing guys. So, i yeah, fueling is important for this race. um So, yeah, that'll be it'll be interesting to see he adjusts his strategy. If he's got anyone, maybe someone listening to this podcast can give him a give him a bell and be like, Michael, might want to might want do a little bit more, but maybe he do his thing. We'll see.
00:30:23
Speaker
And maybe he can. Like we've seen some people obviously before this sort of high carb fueling generation come through, there were still people doing amazing things off lower stuff. I think it's just like more people do better when they're feeling more, but there's probably still some people that can do all right off less fueling. So maybe it's one of them and maybe we see what happens.
00:30:42
Speaker
Yeah. i don't I still think they'd always... Sorry, I probably misspoke there a little bit. They would still do better with higher fueling, but there's some people that some people where it damages them less, if that makes sense.
00:30:53
Speaker
And a two-hour race is not like a four-hour race. Yeah. No, I know exactly what you meant. I think my head was going to was... okay, if his capacity is X, let's just say it's 215, fueling off 30 grams an hour, maybe has to two gels throughout this whole thing, is what's his capacity when he's fueling at even 60 or 75?
00:31:12
Speaker
And he's getting in enough fluids, even just from the mental component of running technical downhill is really taxing. And having the concentration and then to have the energy to fight when someone's coming up behind you at the end of that race, if you're already feeling depleted,
00:31:28
Speaker
you're in trouble. Whereas you have that higher glycogen availability, you've got more energy there, even it's just for the the mental side of it. So yeah, i know. I think it's to be a really, I'm excited to see how he goes on this because I really feel like he is somebody that, especially maybe another year, we're going to be seeing at the front end of all these fields, whether he chooses to stay and in the trails or at this sort of intensity or not.
00:31:55
Speaker
And that he's only going to get better on this sort of terrain by doing the events. So actually just putting himself out there is a big step, I think, in the first place when you look at where he's come from. So, yeah, Michael's michael's definitely...
00:32:09
Speaker
off his recent results, very much one to watch, another one to watch, and hi he's coming off a very impressive road event is Leo Pedersen, who, yeah, I don't know how you do this.
00:32:24
Speaker
It Orange Running Festival runs a 10k in under 30 minutes, 29.59 or something around there. And then about minutes later, runs a five k in It's crazy.
00:32:35
Speaker
It's crazy. It is. I'd love to do one of those things. Oh, i yeah. I'd prefer the 10K. I'd take that one, but I would take either of them, to be honest. Yeah, yeah. He also is no stranger to the trails.
00:32:50
Speaker
Third last year. Overall, Golden Trail winner. Second at Warby last year. First at Brisbane. So he... on paper credentials looking at the last year he's definitely going to be the on paper favorite i would say um regardless of michael's recent runs leo just has that that experience um and i would say from a pure pace wise on the flat he's not going to be particularly hard but particularly far behind what michael can do so yeah i did notice that last year he was fast
00:33:25
Speaker
to the top, like kind of with your pack by looks for Brody. But then ah comparing him to you because you had the fastest splits, takes weren't there. So i don't know what his were, but to yourself, he then lost 90 seconds down that sort of initial steep part of the descent.
00:33:40
Speaker
And then he flew to the finish. So And what then struck me is when I went through his training is he doesn't really seem to be doing anything particularly hilly or particularly technical at the moment, which makes sense with having a run like he just did in Orange and probably looking further into this the season. So has he got better and at that technical running?
00:34:00
Speaker
I don't know. will it be as fast it would just be and an interesting element to this okay it's leo's a he's a incredible athlete um he's he's hard to follow sometimes because he doesn't post everything on yeah he's he's a bit of a um he's a bit secretive sometimes with with his training because um he He likes to do things the way he does it and he has um he has his way of doing doing his training and he likes keeping some of that to himself, I think, which is which is which is cool. he um he He pushes hard and he's I chatted to him last year.
00:34:39
Speaker
when we're doing the stuff around the Golden Trail around um Brisbane and and the amount of training he was doing at that time um was really impressive with with what he was doing as well in terms of his work. um he He was a busy guy um getting a lot done and yeah he only seems to have stepped up this year in terms of his at least his pure running speed.
00:35:00
Speaker
So so Yeah, i'm I'm really interested to see. I know that he probably struggles on the downhill a little bit more than he would in in in the technical stuff probably. Like he's pretty good at downhill, but like when he gets technical, it's probably his weakness. And, yeah, I don't know if he's he's been working on that, but he's – Overall, a really good runner. He's a smart racer. like he's never He doesn't let his ego get to him. he's never off the i haven't seen it be I don't remember being in a race with him where he's off the front at the very start.
00:35:37
Speaker
um I think maybe there was some last year, but whenever I've raced him, he sort of been he pushes himself through the field. Yeah. And he hes he's not sort of like sort of absolutely out there out the front, get going for it. And he's he's pretty can conservative, but also smart, I think. um And he definitely came home pretty strong last year. um And and the the course allows you to do that.
00:36:01
Speaker
so Yeah, I'll be really interested to see what he can do. i think he can run quicker than he ran last year. i think he can I think he probably could have climbed quicker than he he did last year, and I think he probably knows that as well.
00:36:15
Speaker
um So, yeah, I think he'll be out there with something to prove. First race... for him i think trail wise for the for the year um and yeah he'll be he'll be out there going for it and we know he was first at this at the series last year so he's got to defend that as well um he's probably my pick i reckon i think it's hard to go past leo um but we'll get we'll get to some of the others first before i go yeah we're gonna go for it who who else is on your radar ah Well, there's there's a bunch of other people that are ah sort of on my radar. um I guess the two ones that I'm sort of keen to watch how they race and particularly how they race each other is Toby Lang and Ethan Penk, who um I think
00:37:00
Speaker
Ethan's now out of under 23 technically, but he was under 23 last year. um And Toby Lang is under 23, but they're both orientiers. They're both friends.
00:37:13
Speaker
um They're both similar age and they're both sort of racing very similar at the moment. Toby was... third at Don a Double, and Ethan was fifth in a very fast mountain running champ. So they're both doing really well at the moment.
00:37:28
Speaker
um And I think there'll be a bit of a showdown between those two. And I think they'll have their own little race within the race. But they'll will also be they also be mixing it up with those others.
00:37:39
Speaker
Yeah, okay. I did notice... Ethan said something about not having the shape to hold on at Oz Champs. So i whether that was just on the day or that's a general thing, if he's feeling not quite as we like trail running fit at the moment.
00:37:53
Speaker
I think he's he's he had a period of sickness and maybe a little niggle or something where he didn't get as much training in. I was talking to him actually at the orienteering over in Perth. um He was saying he was keen to get back into some rhythm. And I was like, you can't complain. Yeah. I don't want to hear any complaining. Anyway, he he was good. he He didn't have the training that he wanted. And I guess being younger and not having those years of training behind him, you get away with that a little bit less.
00:38:22
Speaker
Someone like me, who's trained for many years, I can put a little bit in and I get a lot out of it. Like I've got, I've got, bricks to sort of stand up on top of, whereas he doesn't have as many bricks in the wall just yet. So a period where he doesn't have as good training does significantly affect his current form.
00:38:40
Speaker
um So, yeah, maybe maybe we'll see him get better even just in the three to three weeks between those races. Yeah. um Because on the flip side, Toby has had a very good training period. So um I think Ethan's run was pretty good at mountain running chances, probably not as good as he would have wanted. But those top guys, like whilst Ethan is very fast, those top guys are running at another level in terms of their speed over, say, 5K.
00:39:08
Speaker
So... um and And on the course of the day, it's probably not the one to... It wasn't the sort of race where you... that It was the sort of race where it rewarded people who were really fast.
00:39:19
Speaker
um So, yeah, I think he'll still do well, but maybe the over two-hour race might be a bit harder. So I don't know how how it'll go down between him and Toby, but I think they'll definitely be in the mix and they'll be around.
00:39:34
Speaker
And when you're saying that you don't and the shape to hold on to people like Fraser Darcy... Not that many people would, especially on that kind of course. so I know exactly. Yeah. yeah I'm he's Ethan still head and the shoulders above my five k time at the moment. So, um, yeah, that was in no way a dig, but it was just that the caliber of that, the running, the running caliber of the athletes that were doing mountain running champs in a race that really rewarded running caliber was pretty high.
00:40:01
Speaker
So fifth at that race is pretty impressive. I think, um, yeah So i obviously completely agree with you that Toby and Ethan are able to look for. I do think we're probably going to see Toby, at least based off recent form and what he just did at Warby, I do think we could see him pulling ahead as as the race went on. He's coming off a really, really good third place.
00:40:23
Speaker
And what that would be doing to his confidence as well would be skyrocketing. Like if I was him, I would be thinking, let's just go out and see what happens now. I've just shown myself I've got a new level of fitness. I've got myself a podium on in the overall because see the under 23, yes, there's a there's a category for it, but it doesn't get the same benefits as going overseas as it did last year. So I'm curious to see if he will come to this with a big hit of confidence and really kind of see if he can improve on the sixth place that he got here last year.
00:40:54
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, and this is, this race last year was the first, like I've known Toby for a
Toby Lang's Potential for Improvement
00:41:00
Speaker
few years. Um, and he was sort of starting to do some more trail running and he'd always had an interest in he was, he's still quite young, but he always had an interest in running sort of longer, longer runs.
00:41:11
Speaker
Um, And this was the first race where I went, oh, actually, Toby is not far behind me because on the climb, he was – at one point, I was like, who's behind me? And it was because I thought all the contenders were in front of me.
00:41:23
Speaker
um And then Toby was breathing down my neck. And I was like, oh, I better ah better get going because I don't want to get beaten by Toby today. so um And that was a year ago, and he's only done a lot more since then. So I think he climbed really well last year.
00:41:39
Speaker
i think climbing is probably still – possibly his strength, but he's a good descender. All orienteers are good descenders, so he will be um he he'll definitely be in the mix, I think, because I think he can this sort of course probably suits him.
00:41:54
Speaker
yeah Yeah, I did make a note that he was three minutes slower you last year on that steep part of the descent, but like I said, one year he's obviously got better because of how he ran at Warby, and yeah so far I've not met um' not really met an orienteer that's a quality orienteer that isn't good at technical running.
00:42:12
Speaker
Yeah, we've at least got some level of basic proprioception that means yeah like they're not they're not awful at it. um and And maybe last year was that he just pushed the climb a little bit too hard. um I also absolutely centred on that because I wanted to try. I thought that if we pulled Tate in, then we could sit with him.
00:42:29
Speaker
Yeah. But I wasn't good at, I wasn't fast enough to pull Tate in, but I was, i was moving. And that actually probably unraveled me a bit later. So I don't, I don't know if three minutes behind is super accurate because I probably sent that one section quite hard.
00:42:45
Speaker
Well, and and that's why I'm using you as my reference point, because you had the fastest split that I can see the other day. Yeah, it's ah yeah. It's not giving me context into how much it blew you up, but it's fun to at and compare to. ah The other name that kind of came across for me, and I have absolutely no clue how he's going compete in this, whether he's going to win the thing or come fifth, is Thomas Banks.
00:43:06
Speaker
So... Thomas was fourth at UTA 50k last year in a very fast time in a very competitive field. First place at Altrail Kosciuszko in 2023 and another good run at UTA.
00:43:19
Speaker
Hasn't done anything that we can see in 2025. Did not very much at all after UTA in 2024. This is a bit of a step into a new type of event, I would say, for him, just based off his at least what we can find for his his race ah results. But this is definitely a name that I would not be surprised at all to be hearing you guys read out on the main show as coming in first, second, or third come two weeks' time.
00:43:47
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know if you have anything more to add on him there. Well, like fourth at UTA was in front of Scotty Hawker from New Zealand, who was in fifth. um And I think there was a bit of attrition in that race because Charlie and Dave Hammerschmidt went out. that like It was a fast race, so there was a few people that fell off.
00:44:06
Speaker
But 4.14 in ah several other years of UTA would have won. um So it was definitely, that was a solid time. He beat Max Taylor at UTK in 2023, three months maybe before Max won and set the course record at Donner that's now sort of been taken by um Michael, but not but not by much.
00:44:29
Speaker
So... um Yeah, he definitely has quality there. is The thing with Thomas is I don't know him that well. I spoke to him very briefly at UTK. Very unassuming guy. um i think he just does it because he loves it.
00:44:42
Speaker
So that might be why we didn't see him in any other races. And he might be just be doing this race because it's one that he went, oh, that looks cool. So i don't I don't know much about his motivations for racing.
00:44:54
Speaker
um I just know that he has pulled off some pretty impressive results um and he he trains. So like he's obviously still he's still pushing himself. But I just, yeah, don't I don't know what the focus is or if he's just doing this for enjoyment or any of that sort of stuff. But i like you said, I think...
00:45:12
Speaker
he'll definitely be in the mix um and I think you were saying before we started chatting that he's um his climbing is very good and and this race is characterised by quite a bit of climbing so um yeah I think he'll be there.
Thomas Banks' Race Impact
00:45:26
Speaker
No I agree and From what I can tell as well, he's not coming in as somebody that has this track pedigree or or grew up in in that particular realm. So he's coming at this as a good good climber over trails as well. So the the slightly more technical nature of the main climb here, I don't think would disrupt him much.
00:45:44
Speaker
um Not like we might see with with with other sort of more road people that have come across. So yeah, going to be a really interesting one. He's a very, very high quality runner. And yeah, I really...
00:45:57
Speaker
I will obviously make a pick, but I but i don't know where where he will finish. And the last name that I want to kind of go through would be David Bailey, a Tassie local. And think that is really...
00:46:11
Speaker
ah beneficial for this kind of course the king of kenyani we call him no that's just what i call him hi well he's uh david badly's been dominating the kenyani trail series which is sort of like a local trail running series down there for many years um and he's an he's a he's a great athlete he's a really nice guy um and he puts himself out there and in a lot of races and he's always there going hard so Yeah, I really like Dave and and I enjoy racing against Dave and and and racing him, where I have done a fair few times.
00:46:42
Speaker
um And I think he'll be in the mix. But he is doing the vertical downhill the day before, which compared to doing the VK, so the vertical uphill, ah day before a race, I think will be a lot harder.
00:46:55
Speaker
you're You're going to get a lot more banged up from the downhill than I think you would from the uphill. I... I'm very interested to see how many people that are on the start list for the vertical downhill and who are going to be competitive in this race actually do it, to be honest. Like I personally, as much as I love running downhill, would never do a vertical downhill race before anything that mattered to me afterwards.
00:47:21
Speaker
potentially afterwards if I really didn't want my legs to feel good for the rest of the week, but not before. So I agree. And it's the same for the women. there's a couple of women that are on the start list for the vertical downhill, but I don't know.
00:47:33
Speaker
I personally would not do that. I think Dave loves downhill. I think he'll be... doing the downhill because he loves it and he'll be running the the mountain run just because he wants to be a part of it. I think he'll be not too worried about the result and he'll be out there just having a crack, pushing himself, seeing what he can do.
00:47:51
Speaker
um but I know he's very good at downhill um and he runs on those trails a lot. So I reckon he went, this is a fantastic opportunity to do something fun.
00:48:02
Speaker
Yeah, to see how fast you can go with complete license to send it. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Is there anyone else that you want touch on for the men? and I think that was the the main people I picked up.
00:48:15
Speaker
um I think, yeah, my picks are, I think if I'm going to say three, I'd say leo ah Leo, Michael Kernaghan, and then Toby Lang.
00:48:30
Speaker
I will mostly agree with you there, but I just have a feeling that I'm going to go Leo, Michael, and then Thomas Banks. and with Yeah. kobe but This is good. Very close in fourth.
00:48:44
Speaker
We've got to have different picks. Otherwise, it's not it's not fun and interesting. Yeah, exactly. There is one other name that I just should mention. We've also got Courtney Atkinson in the field. Oh, yes. He's there as part of but like something he's doing for his podcast.
00:48:58
Speaker
But his historic form is incredible. And obviously, he's an incredible athlete. um I yeah don't expect him to be pushing these guys because these guys are training very specifically for this. But you never know with someone like that.
00:49:10
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. Courtney's a Solomon athlete, so he'll be he's down there as part of that as well as part of his podcast, I think. um But yeah, he seems to be in training pretty well. um He's a busy guy, does a lot of different bits and pieces, and he's not sort of taking it as seriously as he was in his triathlete days where he was super focused. But I think some of that still bleeds over into...
00:49:34
Speaker
He's training. He still trains very diligently um and he's still moving quite well and potentially the best he has in a little bit. So, yeah, I don't think he's a he's a write-off. I think you might see him in the top five. I don't know if he'll make it to the top three, but... um Yeah, he'll definitely give those guys a run for money, but he's also likely to be running with GoPro or his phone or something, getting some footage because he ran UTA in 2022 and I think he came like sixth or something like, and it was a tight field that year.
00:50:02
Speaker
um But he was like filming, him and Tate were running together at one point and he was they were filming and chatting and stuff. So he just loves it. um I think he'll be down there having a red hot crack, but like you said, he's not as...
00:50:15
Speaker
he's not as focused as these other those other guys we mentioned probably. um So I think it it will be hard to to beat them, but he'll definitely be in the mix and enjoying it.
00:50:27
Speaker
Yeah. No, it'd be a fun one to watch. ah So there are obviously other events on this weekend.
46K Marathon Preview
00:50:34
Speaker
There's the newly included 46K marathon.
00:50:38
Speaker
quotation marks the marathon part of that one uh in that field in the women's one on the start list there is patricia mcgibbon but i know that she's not going to be starting and there aren't really any other names on there that particularly stand out to me um you have pieter babis in the men's field who will is coming down from winning the ultra the 66k last year that's going to be very interesting just to see how fast he can go and what sort of run he can set on that course but outside of that we're not really going to go the marathon particularly more unless you've anything more to say say on that one
00:51:18
Speaker
No, I think it's ah like it probably would have been a race that people could have done ah for world champ selection, possibly one of it was one that it was the race that I was going to do.
00:51:32
Speaker
um if my body played ball, which it didn't quite enough to allow me to run. um It's a similar stats to World Champs short trail, just without another 1,000 metres of climb 1,500, which is crazy because this will still be fairly hilly.
00:51:52
Speaker
um But, yeah, it doesn't look like there's – anyone too much of note that's sort of popping their hand up to do this one. I think maybe a a lot of them are doing ah Buffalo or they've done other races.
00:52:07
Speaker
um There was... ah A couple of locals that I know, Joseph Nunn, who was running at GPT stage race last year and and having, I think he came fourth there, but there was some type tough competition at the top.
00:52:21
Speaker
ah Tom Goddard, who ran the mountain run last year and was sort of, I think, 14th or 15th, but that was a pretty deep field, so it was a decent result. So, yeah, I think some of those guys don might feature on on the podium. I don't know.
00:52:38
Speaker
uh any the women jumping out at me um but yeah i'm sure piotr will run a fast time set a good course record for people to chase in future years yeah definitely uh then the other event that we have is the 66k it's called the ultra solo distance slightly changes each year depending on it this one is definitely more deep from the names that we are familiar with on both the men's and the women's field This one also, as we were saying before, of Lion Brodie, is one that could be taken into account for the World Team Qualifier, potentially both ways, whether you're looking long or short trail.
66k Ultra Race Female Contenders
00:53:18
Speaker
um And it is going to be a very interesting race. Looking at the women's field, there's a few different types runner again in in this.
00:53:29
Speaker
The kind of three names that really stand out to me are Caitlin Howlett, Claire O'Brien-Smith and then Nicole Patton. Caitlin's had two seconds at GPT 50k and if anyone's listened to Simone's recount of that race it was quite an interesting sort of finish for them both. i think both of them getting very hot but Caitlin being there right until the very end. Sixth at Hounslow as well in the 42k.
00:53:52
Speaker
um So I think she was definitely going to be being one to watch, i think, on paper. Again, she's probably the the most in-form runner at the moment. But then you've got two runners with a lot of experience in Claire and Nicole, who I would say are pretty similar styles of runners, both to kind of focus more on that.
00:54:12
Speaker
Longer distance, potentially Claire goes a bit longer than Nicole as a standard. um And Nicole is coming off... a win at Oscar's 100k hut to hut. So that's only going to be five weeks, I think, before the race. So potentially that's still in you. Joe Dorff, when we were talking about the Buffalo preview, reckons you only need four weeks to be able to back up from 100k into another big event.
00:54:36
Speaker
So if you have Joe's recover recovering capabilities, then five weeks should be plenty for Nicole. But I think that's that's a ah very...
00:54:47
Speaker
a very fun looking women's field and that's only the three that are my sort of podium potential runners that stand out yeah it's um i think claire claire ran the course last year so she knows what to expect um she's always training very diligently and and pushing along so i think um she'll definitely be be a strong contender um nicole like you said she's obviously got recent form.
00:55:19
Speaker
um I know, these people that have run these races a lot seem to bounce back from them really quick. I don't know if I'd be able to do another 66k after 100k five weeks before, but um Nicole has a lot of experience running the longer distance.
00:55:32
Speaker
um I'm really excited to see how Caitlin goes. I think this is maybe one of her first forays into slightly longer. GPT is a long race, given how technical it is and the conditions and whatnot. So she would probably done about six hours or just under there. And this race is, I don't know what what Trish did last year, but is it say eight or nine hours maybe? So it's a bit longer, um but yeah, it'll be...
00:56:01
Speaker
Interesting to see how she handles it. She's at least done GPT 50, which is a pretty tough race two years in a row. So it's not like she's coming into it off off nothing. um So, yeah, that'll be a good race.
00:56:14
Speaker
um Someone newish to that that sort of longer distance and then and two fairly experienced runners. Yeah, so she's also got a first place at Five Peaks over in South Australia, which 58K. But again, that's a much faster race than what this is this is going to be. um Patricia ran 8.39 last year and Claire ran 9.09. So Trish put out a very, very impressive time.
00:56:42
Speaker
yeah Assuming Claire's got another year worth of training under her, hopefully it was uninterrupted. We definitely could be seeing a sub nine time of that and with that course course knowledge. so I think, yeah, it's going to probably take, assuming on the conditions, a sub-nine finish and potentially getting close to Trisha's course record between these three three ladies to take that win. So that's going to be a very very competitive race. And I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see that chop and change quite a bit throughout the throughout the day.
00:57:11
Speaker
um Definitely. Then in the men's field, this one has a lot of really interesting names.
66k Ultra Race Male Contenders
00:57:18
Speaker
Ben Burgess, who has spent essentially the entirety of March in Tassie, he won the Gone Nuts 50K earlier this month.
00:57:29
Speaker
He was in second at GPT 100 mile, and he's got a bunch of other really impressive results behind him. He's also one of the nicest guys ah I think I've ever had a chance to chat to, so that always goes well in my favor.
00:57:40
Speaker
um But he will be really interesting over this terrain. I know he spent, because he's been down there, he's been spending a lot of time on the course. um But he's not got an easy run of it. So he's got Andrew Gaskell, who's coming back for the fourth time running this. Andrew's had a third in 2022, a third in 2024, a first in 2023, as well as a couple of top tens at UTA and UTK. So he's not going to make it easy for Ben. And he's a local, so that always helps. um Yeah. Yeah.
00:58:10
Speaker
Yeah, andrews Andrew's done this course um before. he he He's also experienced in racing in these sort of Tasmanian terrains. Not that Ben isn't because Ben's done a lot of racing over the last couple of months.
00:58:24
Speaker
um But yeah, andrew Andrew definitely put down a pretty impressive time in 2023, which got him to the World Champs team. So he's... he's um He's an accomplished runner.
00:58:34
Speaker
um Yeah, ah and but ba Ben's been sort of getting sort of better and better. um I think, what was he fourth? that I think he was fourth at ah Cradle Mountain, but then he he's backed that up with um winning God Nuts 50 and the Tukenya Trail.
00:58:56
Speaker
He's been trying to steal all my segments. in Tasmania. And he successfully got one that's like down on the west coast. there It's like this most like amazing, beautiful trail that I just can't wait to get back to.
00:59:11
Speaker
So thanks for that, Ben. um Let's hope he's listening to this. I'm sure he is. I think he... Like you said, he's a super nice guy.
00:59:21
Speaker
um Not that the trail running community isn't, but i'm yeah I'm really hoping he has a good race and I think he will um definitely give Andrew ah run for his money.
00:59:32
Speaker
um Another one that I've sort of got my eye on is another local that I actually don't think I've ever met um in person, but I've seen his name quite a bit.
00:59:43
Speaker
um in sort of the kenyani trail running series and he's run the mountain run he was third in the mountain run in 2023 um so that was the year before golden trail but it still had piota and nathan pierce running and he was only two minutes behind them so mark a sealy um yeah i don't know what distances has he done anything this long did you find anything on mark So going through UTMB and on ITRA, I can only find that KMR result there. Obviously there's been some other more local stuff, but nothing that I could find that's longer.
01:00:18
Speaker
Yeah, okay. So, yeah, it'll be interesting to see. he He definitely sort of give David Bailey a run for his money in the Kenjani Trail running series. I think he's beaten him in a few races.
01:00:29
Speaker
um So, yeah, it will be interesting to see how he goes over the longer stuff. I don't i don't know much about him or his training or anything like that. So um just a name of note that ah that I pulled out um yeah that I thought will be interesting to see how he goes.
01:00:45
Speaker
No, agree. I think anyone that's... Local is always going to have that benefit of just knowing these trails, knowing how to pace themselves, knowing the strategies, especially when it comes to fueling and where they can take it in. Like you were saying, it's pretty hard to fuel, even if you're going down technical terrain at a ah sort of somewhat fast pace. It's still very hard to get in and to drink.
01:01:05
Speaker
um So that's definitely going to but benefit him. The only other name that think is probably worth mentioning mentioned that we've seen at least is justin dyer who was fourth here last year in the ultra he's also had a fifth in 2023 and he was 34th in 2022 so this guy has done a very impressive improvement curve especially 2022 to 2023 as well 100 2023 which as well as an eighteenth gp one hundred ma twenty twenty three which was ah That's a hard race.
01:01:34
Speaker
um And a fifth at Brisbane, 100 mile. So knows the long stuff, knows this course, don't know much more about about him. But he was only 10 minutes behind Andrew in 2024. So a name, again, that potentially isn't on most people's radars, but will be very likely to be up there for...
01:01:54
Speaker
the whole event, I reckon. Yeah, I met Justin at GPT in 2023 when he was having a really bad time. he had the I don't think he had the greatest race, but he was back there again.
01:02:07
Speaker
well actually, then there was KMR, and he like you said, quite close not that far behind... um Andrew, which is an impressive time given what what Andrew's done.
01:02:17
Speaker
um But yes, he was at ah GBT again. um I'm not sure if what his result was came out as. It looks like, you yeah, i'm pretty that's why I pulled it out because I'm pretty sure he was he was second male, maybe.
01:02:34
Speaker
Well, it's showing second male, but I don't think that would have been second male. and would have been third. the 100-mile? Yeah. Yeah, because Ben was second, wasn't he? Yeah, I don't know why was showing me that. But I'm pretty sure he was he was up there because, we as we as you guys might know, the GPT 100 miler finished early.
01:02:53
Speaker
um They didn't get to finish because of the the race got cancelled, unfortunately. um But they still had a results list. But I have a feeling maybe he he was, I think it was sort of the, um who was first?
01:03:07
Speaker
shit Why is this not giving me the results? I don't know why. But anyway. Sanjay Sherpa. Sanjay Sherpa was first, Ben Burgess was second, and I have a feeling he was third.
01:03:18
Speaker
Okay, I didn't realise. But that yeah I just know that I was keeping a close eye on him because he was he'd had such a bad year the year before. Yeah, so he did come in third ahead of Max King.
01:03:31
Speaker
Wow. Yeah, so I know Max had a tough Max had a tough time, but also Chris McAuliffe who came third the year before was down in six. So yeah, I think Justin had I think that was like, I feel like that result got a bit under the carpet because people didn't finish so much. But yeah, I am remembering now seeing the pictures from GPT of him on the podium because they still did the awards and whatnot.
01:03:53
Speaker
So Yeah, it was um to put that into context, Ben Burgess came into Cassidy's Gap aid station where he made it to in twenty two sixteen um And I think Lucy Bartholomew was technically in next in 22-25.
01:04:09
Speaker
twenty five ah So Justin was fourth overall, but third male and he came in in 23-13. So he's an hour behind Ben, um but that's in a miler race.
01:04:19
Speaker
So like, yeah, I think he will definitely be in the mix. um And I'm excited to see how Justin goes, um but maybe not quite the caliber of the top, top guys. But, you know, you never know what's been happening between now and then.
01:04:34
Speaker
Oh, exactly. The number of times you looked at a start list and you've made the assumptions or these bold predictions on a podcast and been absolutely shown up. So we might as well, since we've spoken about it a bit, pick out, let's just go for ah for a po for the the winner on on both fields, I think with with the depth there, unless you want to go for a podium, but let's go through the the women's.
01:04:55
Speaker
who Who are you betting on there? Yeah, it's a tricky one. um i don't know if I know them well enough. And I don't... These are going to be my harder picks. I'll have a crack that I don't i don't understand. Well, not that I don't understand this distance, but I don't understand it as well as I do the shorter distances.
01:05:13
Speaker
I'm going to pick... Claire, having the experience from last year, not being that far behind Trish when Trish had a really impressive run. um so yeah, I think I'm going to go with Claire and I think I'm going to lock in Ben.
01:05:30
Speaker
I reckon he's going to have fire to get a big ah big race under his belt. Not that Gone Nuts isn't, but this will be, if he wins this race, this will be more, like it's a slightly bigger race than that. So, yeah, I think um he'll be he'll be going for it. um And I think, yeah, he might be able to knock off Andrew.
01:05:48
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, like like you, I think that picking out winners in these fields is is ah a bit tricky, but i I'm going to go off her GPT runs because obviously GPT is such a technical terrain and then still moving fast at places like Five Peats and Hounslow. So I'm going to go with Caitlin for the win here.
01:06:07
Speaker
um And then... I'm going to agree with you with Ben for the men's field. I think that it will be, ah i think it's going to be a very close race in that one. But I do think Ben's recent trend of form is something to go by, his time there.
01:06:23
Speaker
And i also i also think that this would be a very much ah a standout performance for him to win to win this one in in that in that field. And I feel like it's he's ah doing everything right to make that happen at the moment.
01:06:35
Speaker
So yeah, Caitlin and Ben for me. Cool. Awesome. Wonderful. All right Well, that is our preview done for Kanyani Mountain Run 2025, which is going to come up in about a week's time for everyone listening. So make sure you do follow along, see how Brody and I have done, see who's who's winning and taking bragging rights in our predictions.
01:07:00
Speaker
ah But Brody, anything to leave us with or No, not really. I hope um we are. just realized we talked for over an hour. I've got to get back to work, but I hope everyone's enjoyed this because I really enjoyed this last hour of talking about it. um So hopefully you enjoy it. And if you have any feedback about what you want to hear in these race previews, um then yeah, give us, send us a message and and we can sort of incorporate it because we're going to continue doing them um over the the coming months um for some of the bigger races. So yeah.
01:07:34
Speaker
I've really enjoyed it. Thanks for the chat, ah James, and I hope that I beat you with my predictions. Yeah, well, I would say likewise on on the the the feedback or anything different you'd like to hear or more detail, we're always more than welcome to to to hear that from you.
01:07:50
Speaker
um And it's always fun chatting, Brodie, with yourself on this. it's It's good to have an excuse to really dive into these these fields and understand the runners more. so So let's see. and And I'm definitely backing myself. So...
01:08:04
Speaker
Enjoy the rest your day. Thank you everybody for listening and we'll catch you next time. All right, see you guys.