Transcript
Speaker: Hello and welcome to the Peepershoot podcast and today is going to be the Transcend Ultra Preview for 2026. As always, I'm joined by my fellow and co-host in this and we were just saying at the start that this doesn't need to be too long, we can be concise.
Speaker: Brody, how are you going? Yeah, we usually we usually get a bit carried away and I think looking at this list compared to some of the other ones we've looked this year, we're like, oh my god, it's going to be short but like maybe that just means we won't go for four hours so it's probably a good thing. to Yeah, yeah, you you hopefully won't be ah listening to us in two hours time still, which is positive, but it's cool. This is going to be a new preview for us this year. Last year, we didn't preview Transcend and especially a couple of weeks ago before unfortunate some unfortunate attrition, it was really lining up to be a surprisingly competitive race given that it's over on WA. We'll get into some reasons why that might be, but we still thought it would be good. We've still got some of the key names across the country turning up, not quite as deep as it was, as I said, but Brady, it's exciting that we've got a race, our first race that we've previewed over in WA.
Speaker: Yeah, it's it's really good. Like Transcend have been doing some good things for a few years. um There's been some like individual like quite good performances or quite good athletes there. This is probably the first year we've seen like ah ah ah a bigger bunch of athletes going.
Speaker: um But yeah, it's awesome to have a race over in WA that's attracting people from across the country. um Like we know that travel's difficult, but the West Coast has always come across to the East Coast, so it's good to sort of share some love in the other direction.
Speaker: And we will talk about this more specifically later on, but it also gives the chance for some of the West Coast runners to line up against the East Coast runners without having a four hour flight in their legs, which is inevitably always going to put them at a bit of a yeah disadvantage.
Speaker: so it's yeah hopefully everyone we we want to see there from from the west coast is on that start line and we can see where they stand up against some of the best in the country but it's exciting to see what what transcend are trying to do for the wac and also to become a bit more of a feature in the australian kind of key circuit yeah definitely and then if you think of it like obviously there's that thing of like being a a bigger event in terms of the maybe elite field that's going to be there and and giving those WA elites ah a chance to perform on their home soil. um But Transcend have been a probably a bit of a leader in the live ah live production commentary space and they're continuing to do that this year as well, which is really exciting.
Speaker: Really only UTA is probably the the one that – has And that's only popped up because of major status. and That's probably the only other one that's really doing stuff like this. So, yeah, it's really cool to see what Shane and the team are doing over at Transcend and hopefully what they learn and what they can share with the rest of the country as we see a bit of this in the future as well because it's awesome for us and others to be able to watch from home and and see what's happening. Yeah.
Speaker: And you've got to imagine it's a great way for the event itself to grow. I was having a quick chat to Shane ahead of this and he said they're expecting roughly a thousand people this year. Last year they had about 550. So the events doubled across one year, which is incredible to see.
Speaker: And it's a pretty cool thing if you can just go back, if you're thinking about doing this race and watch the live stream from last year and really get ah a feel for it, it's definitely going to sell you on it. The number of times we we watch races overseas and I'm like, I want to go do that now because you've actually got to experience it. Definitely. Yeah. yeah yeah so that's uh i think that's something i'm really excited about and i think another reason why like even if even if the elite feels maybe like there's been some changes in the last minute but i think it's still good giving them a giving them a shout out because they're doing some good stuff in the like a live stream is good for everyone but like if we look at it purely from the elite lens then the live stream is pretty important to showcase those elite athletes and help them ah develop their careers as well as sort of giving exposure to them as a as ah as a serious sport. So, yeah, it's I think um it's worth worth noting and worth talking about.
Speaker: Yeah. And it's something that we've not gone too much with tangent here, but it's something that we definitely have wanted to see other events pick up and prioritize like the, the obvious ones, the ones like GPT being the world trail major and seeing transcend just go, no, this is something we're going to prioritize is yeah, it's very honorable and respectful for, for the front and also the mid and the back of the field. because they'll be able to have more cameras set up. I'm sure that a static cams and stuff that they'll do for the for the final the 6 p.m to 8 p.m which i'm assuming lines up for the 65k finishing they have a full party at the finish line and sure the the footage from that will be very good as well definitely and there's there's some very cool things you can do once you sort of get rolling on these things it takes a little while for them to develop But um even just like something that jumps to mind is like Ian Best shared a ah video that he got from CSNR with me this week. Like there was like, I don't know how many stationary cams, maybe six stationary cams. And now it's like popped out this, I'm assuming so AI, they're using AI or something to generate it. But it's picked up his bib number at these six places and put this like really cool video together that sort of just like clips all the parts where he was running past. um So yeah, having the having the cameras on the ground, even if they're initially there to cover the elites and in the end, they're going to be there for everyone if people want that.
Speaker: um So yeah, it's very cool. things that could be in the future. Yeah, that blew my mind when Ian sent that to me. it' So yeah definitely something that a lot of event directors could could do. oh Hopefully we'll see we'll see that more over here. All right, so let's move on to the course. So for those that are new to hearing about Transcend and coming in, there are multiple distances. The one that we're going to put in the focus on is the Ultra, the 65K. We'll be doing a quick mention for the 40K as well, but there are twenty eight k There's some shorter distances. There's kids' races, so they've got lots on.
Speaker: Now, when it comes to the course of the 65k, there is an awesome, if you are racing and you haven't seen this yet, there is an awesome video where the race director Shane runs you through the whole course and i will he will do a much better service because neither Brodie nor I have been there for this race or onto these trails. So if you're doing doing it or you're more curious about like the intricacies of literally each kilometer, they spend 20 minutes running through it,
Speaker: I direct it to the website. If we can remember, I'll put it in the show notes as well. So if you are looking for it, you can get a quick link. But to summarize, it's very mixed. It's very punchy. None of the climbs are particularly long. You never gain that much vertical in each c climb, but it's pretty relentless. I had a call with one of the the locals there, Ben Leeson, and chatting to him that you never really get a chance to have a rhythm. It can be quite rocky underfoot. A lot of the trails are...
Speaker: sort of a a design by flat going flag to flag. So it is a bit of a go track underfoot, which means you're often running on cambered sections. You're not going to have that nice clean footing that you might want. There's a mix in a fire trail. There's some stair sections. I think the the fire trail, when it gets wet, gets very muddy. I think there was a section called the mudslide section. So ah very varied terrain. The weather looks like it's going to be good. It looks like it's it's just pretty much dry between now we're recording this a week out and the race. So it should be quite nice underfoot. But It's certainly from a terrain perspective, one that's that is interesting because it's it's not the the UTA or the Buffalo style courses that we we're kind of typically seeing some of these names that we're going to get to show up at. So it's going to be fascinating to see how they perform on this runnable, but sort of sound a bit technical, slightly awkward,
Speaker: style of course Yeah, it's definitely a bit different. um Something that we don't see always, like a lot of the time we're doing races in the biggest mountains that can be found or like big, long climbs, big, long descents, um especially over this sort of distance. So, yeah, it's got it's got a different character.
Speaker: ah maybe more of a character of some of the coastal races that happen around the country where they have these sort of 200-meter punchy climbs and then and then descending back down again. um I think, yeah, people who have done those races will probably be able to sort of succeed in this if they've had success there. um But it is different to that sort of big mountain stuff ah that we get elsewhere. um ah Even things yeah like UTA, Buffalo, KMR, GPT, anything in the Alpine, like all of those, some of the races up in Queensland as well, as all of those races have big climbs. um But this is more maybe more things like, I don't know, Coastal Classic. I think of a lot of the New South Wales races. right, yeah.
Speaker: as well that have happened along the coast. There's like the Budai Coastal Classic, probably similar to some of the WA races they have. Maybe it's like Surf Coast Century in Victoria, like that sort of stuff is what it reminds me of, that profile. yeah um But the terrain probably a bit different to coastal um in that it's a little bit inland. um So, yeah, it's to be really interesting. It's sort of like a long cross-country with bigger climbs, I guess. It's it's still bigger climbs than a cross-country race, but it's like it's more of that character, I think, and maybe it'll suit someone that's more like that sort of athlete than a pure mountain athlete.
Speaker: Definitely. And I think the, the other thing from cross country is the fact that you've got to, you've got to find rhythm when there isn't one and your content some small inclines, small declines, chopping and changing your footing, tight turns. And that kind of feels like it does represent this course very well. Looking at the profile,
Speaker: this on the website, like there's a lot of these yeah punchy 200-meter climbs, straight down, back up, straight down, back up. But leg four, to me, is the one that looks like it could be really tough because you've come out of the majority of the the kind of the punchier climbs, as I just said.
Speaker: And you have this section that's I want to say about 15 K you're only net gaining about 20 meters, but it just literally looks like a sawtooth. And I reckon if you've, if you've over overdone those climbs, you've taken a bit too much out of your leg. If you're just doing those constant, like 10, 15 meter punches, the difference there could be massive between you and somebody who shows up feeling like a little bit more. Yeah.
Speaker: Crazy looking at that leg and then comparing it to like, don't know, it's a bit longer than the other legs, but comparing it to like leg five and the percentage of climb isn't actually that much less. But if you look at it on the vertical profile, you like, where is that vert? And it's all in those small punchy ones. And I know those things are exhausting, especially I think you said there's a bit of crossing a creek or a river.
Speaker: there some like river crossings or creek crossings i think those like real punchy ones can really get you um and that's yeah that's that's going to be tough especially at that point in the race um whereas you can get into a good rhythm on it on a 200 meter climb that's on a nice single track or a nice fire road but like those sort of in and out in and out in and out um definitely going to challenge people with that part in the course And speaking to the other distances, the way that the 40k and the 28k work is they run the last 40k and the last 20k of the 65k course, which works out quite nicely. The the A stations, the the legs for 65 coincide with that. So the 40k starts sort of in the middle of those those more bigger stations.
Speaker: punchier climbs the 28k looks like it starts with a essentially like 150 meter downhill and then straight into that leg with the with the sawtooth so that's that's a very interesting way to go about it and it would be yeah i feel like it's 28k when you talk about 65ks might find a bit shorter but i reckon that that leg being your first leg would be really tough yeah definitely it doesn't it doesn't um i feel I feel like it's harder than you think it's going to be when you look at it on paper. like, oh, that section will be fine. This is like the flat section that you run through the valley, um but it's it's not quite like that. And I think any time I've done, like so it looks like it's sort of like along along ah along a river, I guess. or i think like I think it's ah a rail line, like a...
Speaker: railway line and then there's the the the river like next to it as well the avon river it looks like but that's you're not running across the river but it's more like you're in that sort of river valley any runs where i've done in that sort of river valley stuff they're always harder than you think they are because you're doing that constant like and it's because of that constant up and down through all the the small gullies that come down into the into the river basin um and yeah they're tough Yes. So it's, I think it's one of those ones where you might look at the the total amount of elevation for the 65K and think, oh, this is going to be really, really quick, fast underfoot. We're not on the coast, but I think this is one that's going to be de ah deceptively hard, especially with the way that this is this is laid out. So,
Speaker: Again, it's that question of we're going to see some of some of the names that we're we're used to seeing in the sport, but on bigger mountain events and how how well can they translate their their fitness, their strengths across to this? And is it going to expose some weaknesses as well, which would be a very interesting to see. Brody, before we get onto the fields, any other things that you've kind of picked up looking into Transcend that you think interesting or want to chat about? No, and I think like when you look at it and where it is on a map and that sort of stuff, you wouldn't assume that it would be super technical. But I think it's from from what I can tell, like having a look into it a little bit more detail, like I sort of assumed that it was fairly runnable. When you look at the climbs and that sort of stuff, you're like, oh, I wouldn't. And it's sort of like where it is in the world as well. It doesn't look like there's like big mountains, lots of rock, that sort of stuff. But there is. quite a bit of granite in that area and I think it is from what I've seen there's there's bits that are fast but there's also bits that are quite ah rough and and it sounds like right at the end there is there is legitimate cross country where you're actually really not on a track yeah so um I think the technicality element will will play a part to some extent as well um it's it's not a long two bays it doesn't sound like which is sort of what I assumed it was I sort of assumed it was like a two bays equivalent and It sounds like it's a bit bit tougher than that.
Speaker: No, it doesn't sound like two bases, which is kind of the the road runners trail run. It sounds like it's actually a trail run is trail run. That's probably rewards actually a very well conditioned season trial runner because of the nature of the cross country style, but the underfoot not being smooth and and simple, like, like two bays would be in Victoria. one but we're We're referring to 65 K. I start with the women, Brady, I'm going to hand over to you first.
Speaker: Who who's got your attention? Yeah, look, there's ah there's ah definitely a few on the list. um There's probably the person jumping out at me the most is Holly Ranson. um We saw Holly run incredible run at Western State. She's had a good run this year. She ran really well at Tarawara. She ran quite well at UTA as well. um Traditionally running the longer distance, it sounds like she's also doing some other racing around this and it might not be the number one focus, but like... I think anytime she's in a field, um it's very, yeah, very interesting to see that. So she's definitely one that jumps out at me. um But there is, yeah, there's there's there's sort of three others that I think will really sort of give her a run for her money as well.
Speaker: Yeah, I think Holly's a name that obviously if you if you follow the 24-hour scene, has been like which she's she's the the second best 24-hour track distance ever. So like we've been aware of her, but it really feels like in the last 12 months, made more of that push to the trails. And in doing so, has laid down some of the most impressive performances, like the UTA run, which was in the middle of her lead up to the Western States.
Speaker: finishes first Australian, comes through the field and just looks incredibly strong, goes on to Western States and gets a top 20, finishes 15th in like a historically fast year. The fields are getting deeper and deeper every year. So like it's great to see. And she seems to have recovered off that really well. As she said, we've noticed on her Instagram that she is racing a one hundred and twenty k race at the in South Australia on Saturday the 15th so tomorrow as we record this so this definitely doesn't feel like ah a race that has been a focus point and she also mentioned that she yeah I think she's going over to support Phil Gore in in a project that he's doing just after this so it must tie in well with being over in WA for that period but despite that even if this isn't
Speaker: the the goal race for Holly, as we saw with UTA, that doesn't necessarily mean very much. I think she's still going to show up and be a very, like very hard person to beat. Definitely. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. So yeah, she's definitely going to be one to watch. Like, don't know, maybe the favorite, um but she is going to have some, some tight ah competition. the The three others that are sort of jumping out at me, Anna McKenna, Kelly Angel and and Christy Laurie. um Those three, I think, for different reasons, are all going to be in the mix um as well. And, yeah, i actually think with Holly, in the context of how she sounds like she's going to be racing it, I think if she was, like, fully focused and it was ah her A race, then maybe she would be...
Speaker: a bit ahead but I think in the context of everything I think those four runners are all going to be really close um or at least they all have the potential to be very close yeah Yeah, I think Anna is the one I'm really curious about because we really have not seen a lot from her recently. like she She was up at the Yandina 5.0. She took out the win there in the 36k very recently.
Speaker: But i'm prior to that, we saw her at Warby this year in the 50k where she took out a new course record beating Kelly Angel's course record from a couple of years ago. but she's very quiet, nothing on socials, Strava's locked down.
Speaker: So if, if Anna's in the shape that she was when she was chasing a ticket sort of through, through 2024, especially like she, I think will be, and, and especially on those sort of courses that she's done, like the, the canyons course and but obviously the black canyons course as well.
Speaker: but I get the the impression that they're a bit like this and probably obviously more formed trails than what some of Transcend is but she's also got the course record on Surf Coast and when we were referring to to certain types of terrain looking very similar at least from a profile perspective like we know Anna is really quick on the roads we know she can transition that really well to the trails especially in this sort of 50 to 100k distance so I think that if we're getting a version of Anna that is fit and healthy and has been for a while it's she could be, again, one that's very hard to beat and will most likely be ah ahead of Holly to start off with.
Speaker: Holly then coming through, it'll be interesting how that whole complex goes in. And then as you said, we've got Kelly and Christy to throw into that mix as well. Yeah, like you said, it's hard to know exactly where Anna's at at the moment. um She, I think, had the like several speed bumps in 2025 the start of this year she was sort of coming back and I think when she ran a few of the races that she ran, she wasn't quite ready. um yeah And then I'm not sure what's happened since then. So if it's sort of continued to improve since then, then we could be seeing – a very good uh version of anna uh rock up on the start line but yeah hard to know um but yeah i think if she's think if she's in form and like the yandina result looks like she's a she's got at least some form maybe doesn't give us heaps of information but definitely was it a good result um yeah it'll be interesting to see how she goes over the sixty five k And I can't say that I know who held it previously, but that was a course record at Yandina. And Yandina has some pretty stout people on their their course record list. So yeah, chances are it was a pretty a pretty strong run, um regardless if who it was her strongest or not.
Speaker: So next up, as we already mentioned, Kelly, Angel. This one feels a bit weird. like I coach Kelly now, so obviously I have a bit of an insight into this. um Is moving very well. Obviously, I'm very excited to see how she goes as her coach.
Speaker: This sort of trail as well, when we think about terrain and even just the profile, not necessarily the underfoot, but being in Melbourne with the Dandenongs right there, it's that same kind of elevation gain per climb. Dandenongs probably a little little bit more hilly.
Speaker: um And there are sections that you can get on that are trails that are seem to be at least similar to to the the the terrain. So yes, as much as as as i can I can say as a but in this joint joint role, I think Kelly is definitely in in good shape. I'm excited to see how she goes.
Speaker: What has she reminded me? What's Kelly done so far this year? So, um yeah, she's just she's just come off Sylvan, the last round of the Rapid Ascent series, which she took out the win the in yeah an hour 53 for the 22K.
Speaker: It's an interesting one. I think it's actually Katinka and Mia a couple of years ago raced that distance and ran like eight minutes, I want to say, faster than what Kelly ran. but I wouldn't say that I would expect that gap based on Kelly's run. so i don't know if the course was slightly different there or if those two just had an absolute blinder, um but a really really good run. Prior to that, she's done a surf coast trail half, but really not like she had an ultra trail Mount Fuji back in April, which is pre me. That was the one. Yeah. So it's kind of been that, that rebuild back and we've been working together since like she started the day after the surf coast trail half. So end of June, so not, not that long either. So it's really been a a build,
Speaker: back into here um yeah i was just sort of thinking i hadn't seen heaps from her this year but i was forgetting about the mount fuji race yeah um what was her what how how did she go there again what was the was that a good one for her i can't i can't exactly remember i think position why she came ninth hang on i've got it yeah i remember i was gonna say i saw her up on a podium of some kind It came ninth, yeah, and and and in Asia, they love their top 10 podiums, which I yeah really respect. um So I think there was there's a lot more potential for Kelly on that course than what than what saw that day. um
Speaker: Yeah, i like but and but and prior to that, had had had a second. She was second to Anna at Warby in the Lumberjack 50K. She was part of that like really competitive La La's 20K at the Hut to Hut,
Speaker: yeah twenty three k And then we didn't really see too much of her between Worlds and Lala's. so yeah yeah But I guess we know we've seen we've seen lots from Kelly in the last few years. um And like she's had some really good results coming back after having her second child. um One that she was second at Loverito, like 80K, which is a huge result if you think of it. like If I think of that now, i'm like, wow, that was massive. um So she's definitely got the potential there. um Obviously, that head-to-head with Anna is interesting at the Warby. So that gives us a little bit of an insight of um maybe how close those two maybe will be. um
Speaker: But it looks like she was racing that whole weekend as well. Yeah, I think she was doing the multi-day. Not not all eggs in the same basket if she was maybe building up for Mount Fuji. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so yes, so I think Kelly's, it is really interesting. And then we come to, to Christie Laurie as well.
Speaker: What Christie has, the others don't at all is the local knowledge of this trail. Yeah. Um, she's, she won the race last year. She's recently just set the that mixed gender FKT with Ben Leeson, Bryce Turvey, and I've lost the name of the last guy, Joel Gray, who all four of them are entered into Transcend this year.
Speaker: cool So she might not be, if you were on the East Coast, you might not think that Chrissy was going to be right up there with with the likes of three ladies on like past form. But I think especially on the local trails, there's a real advantage. And that's not to... this to downplay Chrissy's past performances. Like she's had a second at Cosi 100 mile in 2025. She was fourth at Buffalo 100K in 2025 as well. And then first at Guzzler, both 24 and 25 for their 105K. So she's put in some incredibly good performances. We had had her on
Speaker: recently one thing i picked up that didn't get into too much was she's recently changed onto evoke for coaching so that obviously has a very big like aerobic focus um i don't know who her coach within evoke is but interesting to see i didn't notice too much that looked crazy different but that would make sense because you don't just change everything on on day one yeah um but will be interesting even like not just looking at for this race but to see how she goes over the next 12 18 months with their approach and seeing how that translates to the 100k 100 mile races that we've kind of seen her in historically definitely yeah christy's one that i think is very interesting like compared to the other women in the field she's very new to trail running um
Speaker: like I guess you could say Holly's relatively new to trail running. um But the can especially compared to Anna and and Kelly. um So I think there's that element of she's continuing to improve maybe at a ah faster rate than yeah the others are. Like hopefully the others are still getting small improvements and, and training hard but like yeah i think we're gonna see improvements from christy from race to race still um and yeah i'm really yeah keen to see how she can go on on this course she's a she's a winner of this course um last year so like that's definitely so having knowledge of the course especially when it's
Speaker: even maybe more so where that it's harder to get an idea of it from the race profile, like that section where it's lots of ups and downs. Yes. I think knowing that and being able to visualize that and and know when to take a gel, knowing when to put a bit more effort in, knowing all those little small things that even maybe some of it is subconscious, she's not specifically thinking about it. I think theres there is definitely some benefit there. And her, the mixed gender FKT, like does sound like she got pulled along really well by the other guys, which is awesome. um But she was a like 13 seconds slower than Millie Young. And we know how good Millie Young is in the mountains. So, yeah, um yeah definitely someone to watch.
Speaker: Yeah, but I don't know of where she's going to end up between those others, but I think she she's definitely one to watch. No, I think so. the interesting conversation that is always going to be there, but with Transcend, the course, it seems to be a different course in 2021. It seems to have been pretty much the same through 2022, 2025. I'm sure there's some slight variations, but on the the results on website, they don't mark them as as being important enough to to comment on.
Speaker: I think we're seeing a even slightly abbreviated from ah how deep it was, we're still seeing deep fields on both sides with multiple people that can push the pace and run very quick.
Speaker: So my question is, is are we going to see Erica Laurie's course record go down 646.53?
Speaker: And if so, can Christy run, I think, about 50 minutes faster than she ran last year? Obviously, course conditions, et cetera, she might have to check if she had anybody anywhere near kind of close to her. But i'm'm if if we are seeing to if looking good which I think the women in this field are capable of of doing um and that without knowing that the terrain.
Speaker: Yeah, i think it's just going to be question of how how much has Christy improved in a year because the answer is she definitely has, but it's just is it is it and is it enough to hold with with these ladies for the full distance? Yeah, yeah. No, it's definitely going to be an interesting one to watch. Very exciting race um for that. Anyone else you've got your eye on?
Speaker: For the women's race, those are the four before we're we're we're I think we're really looking at. um thought there was one other name that you'd maybe highlighted. Is that Ariane Huston?
Speaker: I've got an Ari Huston on UTMB who has run a lot in Perth, um has done Transcend before, fifth in 2022. ah third in 2024 and did Cosimila last year as well.
Speaker: Came fourth there. so Sounds like maybe one to watch as well. um yeah maybe She seems to have gone to a lot of the same races as Christy. I don't know if they're friends. um But yeah, looks like ah she would maybe she's a little bit below the other ladies, but um I think she's she'll be there in behind that, I reckon. She was It looks like she was first in the stage race at the GPT miler in 2024. So she's definitely done the distance several times. um Most of her stuff's the longer stuff. So I think, yeah, she'll be around, especially if it's a yeah if any of the others blow up or anything like that. I'm sure she'll be there waiting to take a position or two.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely. And I'm sure there's a ah lot of local names that we're not familiar with that could always surprise us. We've definitely had that multiple times, but also get a chance to see where they stack up against some of the best names in the country, which is is always a fun fun opportunity, especially if you are very much performance driven and want to see where you where you can get to and where you stand in Australia. Wow.
Speaker: Right. Moving on to the the men's. Now, this is where we've seen a bit more of the the attrition, and unfortunately. So we've seen Ben Burges drop down to the 40k, which does put a nice match up in there, which we'll get to a little bit later. And we've seen Ben Butler drop out as well, as well as Quinton Gill.
Speaker: So when we first looked at the start lists, I think both of us were like, whoa, this is this is pretty legit when you add the names that we're about to go into. now lost a few names, but I think the, the first one that's if very excited, especially since the, his last race over at Monte Rosa did not go very well. And we haven't seen, don't, we don't see, see this guy race in Australia too often is Charlie Hamilton.
Speaker: I think when, uh, when I saw some four hour runs still popping up on his Strava, I got excited that he might be jumping into something this, this, this kind of winter over here. um and, Yeah, we're going to see him fly across the WA. There's going to be a a good battle there, I think. But recently, as I said, he had a have tough day at Monterosa and DNF. He had an eighth at the maxi race, 55k over in France around Annecy. And then prior to that, he took out the win at Buffalo, 42k in a very fast time, but also not not not didn't have anyone too close to push him either. So...
Speaker: Hopefully that might change for this race, but I am very excited to see Charlie racing on Australian soil and a new event to him as well. Something that I don't think he would have had any time to run on the course. And we're looking at, it's always fun when I'm looking at Charlie versus a historic Mikey time um on in Australia. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, have we ever seen those guys race each other? hit like i don't know if they ever will. Yeah, I don't think they ever will. I think we've we've we've passed that now. was Stopped hoping for that. um Yeah, it's ah it's great having Charlie racing at home again. at Buffalo, he like he sort of looked ah head head and shoulders above the rest of the field there and what was still a competitive field. um I think he'd probably I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I'm sure he's not incredibly happy with his European pursuits this first part of the year. I think he's got some races lined up for the back half of the year as well, some big races. And I'm sure he's keen to sort of get some confidence back, work on a few things that maybe didn't go to plan. To be fair, the maxi race he did off the plane, and I don't really know what happened at Monterosa. um sounded like some some maybe some gut issues so i'm sure he's like it might be a good chance for him to work on some things that he needs to iron out before he goes back and races on the world stage again and it's pretty cool to have him racing against some some great competition and what i'm very excited to see is the billy the billy charlie match up again yeah Because we didn't get a proper version of it a few years ago because at Buffalo when Charlie and a bunch of the others dipped off and ran a bit of extra, they did the Buffalo 47 or 48. I'm not sure. I think maybe 50. Yeah. And Billy Curtis did win that day.
Speaker: But, yeah, i'm i' I'm very excited to see. Billy is a different athlete. Charlie is a different athlete from then. They've both developed a lot. um I'm very excited for that head-to-head.
Speaker: I think if there's if anyone's going to give Charlie a run for his money, Billy's one of the people that I would have picked up and said he's the one that I think i think Charlie is tough to beat. He's a very strong runner. And there's a few people in Australia I think,
Speaker: could challenge him. Billy's one of the people that I think like has the has the tools. I'm not sure he will, but he definitely has the tools that he can at least ah be in the conversation. I think on on current form especially, when you think about Billy, it just took out the win at Yandina but more impressively was second at Madeira.
Speaker: He has that confidence coming off and going through his results, It's not so much that I think he's leveled up, but he's been putting in a lot of work for a few years now. When we saw him in 2023, he was still only two years or so into his running journey.
Speaker: We've now added three more years on onto that, and it really feels like it's starting to compound for him. Again, i don't think this is either of their key races for the season, but Charlie's coming in with fitness that he was trying to peak for Montarosa, and it looks like he's been able to carry that across pretty well.
Speaker: Billy's building in for stuff later in the season, but in a couple of messages before I was saying that he's feeling as fit as he ever has. His training also, yes, he may not have the top end that Charlie would have, um even just naturally, but it's very much designed at being able to hold a pretty fast pace for a very long time across really any terrain is the way i would sum Billy up. So I think that his his ability to hold the pace that's probably going to be required to win this race is there. He's not going to be the person that you see going off the front. I'm really curious to see how this dynamic is going to work to see if Charlie just goes, if he runs with Billy, if we have Ben Leeson in, which we hope we do, if he just throws a complete spanner in it,
Speaker: But I think that how that dynamic is going to work is going to really dictate how fast we see this course run. But Billy being most likely sat behind at least, if not a few minutes back, when it gets to the 40k mark and he really sort of turns his engine on, i think that's that's when we're going to see see what what Billy's got at the moment, especially against someone like Charlie, which I feel like Charlie we've kind of put on this pedestal in Australia.
Speaker: So anyone that goes up against him, if you can beat him, incredible. If you can get close, also incredible. But I think, yeah, like you say, Billy is one of those names that definitely could do that. Yeah, yeah and like he's been super – it's hard to know exactly what Charlie's up to because he doesn't put everything on Strava. Billy does put everything on Strava sometimes and he when he doesn't go dark. He's been very good recently, very consistent, good for me to follow. um He's been stacking some big bricks since ah since he recovered from Madeira. He's been running very consistently. um
Speaker: and just putting a good amount of volume in. And he's a bit of a volume monster. I think he responds really well to that. um And he doesn't do a ton of intensity. i think i think that's not a bad thing for trail running particularly. And I think he's one person that doesn't subscribe to doing things just because everyone else is doing them. He knows sort of what works what works for him. um And he's ah he's a little scientist. He likes to sort of test things on himself and he knows he's starting to figure out what works. so Yeah, I'm super excited to see how he goes. Like he was really quick at um that race he did. You said, we say he's not super fast. Was it Yandina? Yeah. Like he's, would say, what what Billy can probably do is, and he will say himself, is he can probably hold a 350, 355 gap per pace now across pretty much any terrain for probably five to eight hours.
Speaker: which yeah you do the maths onto this and that that looks like a very significant course record so yeah i think that's the case that he's also billy is very smart with how he races and he won't i don't think he'd get caught up with if charlie went out off fast he would be like no i did this is this is how i need to do it and if i stick to my plan i'm going to run this time plus or minus a minute or two um i i put a time to him which was in the five and 535 ballpark and and he kind of sort of nodded as such that that that might be in in the right idea which is 30 minutes faster than than what mikey ran last year with a couple of wrong turns in there but it's probably about 10 10 or 15 minutes faster than what mikey's time would have be if he hadn't have taken a wrong turn which is what i think it will take to beat charlie as well
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, I think the time will go closer to 5.30 than it will to 6. Yes. um Which will be, yeah, really good race to see. And like you said, I'm very interested to see how that dynamic...
Speaker: plays out between the two. i have a feeling Charlie will run off ahead and Billy will do what Billy does. um And yeah, whether Charlie comes back to him in the back half will be the the question on my mind, I think. That's how I expect it to play out. And either Charlie runs away with it or Billy maybe picks him up in the and they start running together a bit more in the back half.
Speaker: um ah That's sort of what I'm expecting. Yeah. I haven't asked him question, but i'd be fascinated to know if Charlie expects Billy to be right on his tail or if he does expect to have have that gap. And I think if Charlie expects to have that gap, but he finds that he's pushing pretty well and Billy is still right there, I wonder if that could maybe get Charlie to push a bit too hard a bit too soon. I think that's that probably is the only way I see Billy beating Charlie over this distance, um unless something goes wrong, obviously. But... yeah it's it it is a really interesting matchup because billy's a very different runner to to 2023 buffalo and and so is charlie so it's going to be it's going to be fascinating the other name as as i've already mentioned in there which the he has gone very quiet on strava which does make us a bit worried and his last run that he had on there the caption read early finish for me with an angry ankle so
Speaker: Ben Leeson, I hope you are not injured and I hope you are just going dark for ah for a few weeks before you go into this race because we've seen Ben put some really impressive results down over in WA.
Speaker: He's also had a very impressive result at Buffalo 100k this year, but as we said before, the travel element is not to be scoffed at when you are coming essentially across the entirety of Europe equivalent to do this race. So it's not it's not a small travel from from Perth. um His Margaret River CR was significant and very fast. And I would have loved, i i will live love to see him go up against Charlie and Billy and just see where he sits.
Speaker: Because you know what it's like. you You go into a field and you get an opportunity to race with people that are very, very quick. Sometimes you find that extra gear and you are are able to sort of surprise yourself with where you are, or it it takes that to um to show yourself where that fitness is. And even if it's not, even if that just brings Ben to a five, 10 minute personal course record,
Speaker: It also will give them that gauge of, okay, cool. That's where, that's where the best in the country is. And I'm getting closer basically. And he's also second at Transcend last year by two minutes to Mikey fourth in 2024. I think about, uh, from memory of 20 minute improvement in time-wise might've might've been 30, actually 30 minute improvement in time-wise. So making big improvements, ah hopefully, hopefully he's fit and healthy and is able to have bit fun on the day.
Speaker: Yeah, hopefully the – it's always suspicious when someone goes fully dark. Yeah. um So, yeah, hopefully he's he's okay. Like you said, he's – I think he's raced at Buffalo. We're like, oh, yeah, great race. Good. But because George Knight just blew that one out of the water, it was like – it was hard to contextualize maybe the rest of the field. Yeah.
Speaker: Then following that up with the Margaret River, i was like, oh, this guy actually is the real deal. He is actually quite good. um So, yeah, I think that was, yeah, I think he would have thrown himself in the mix with those two other guys. um I wonder, like, he's gone from maybe not racing the very best to then would have been racing the very best. So it would have been interesting, although George Knight is obviously very good. um So, yeah, I hope he gets back and he's able to tow the start line and hopefully hasn't lost too much fitness. It's only been a few weeks, so he wouldn't have fully detrained. um So, yeah, let's hope he's on that start line as well because I think that will make it a really good race between the three of them.
Speaker: Definitely. And how sad would it be if you lost all your fitness in two weeks? Yeah, well, yeah. what were your Fingers crossed for me because i've been on i've i've been haven't been training properly for four years. So I'm not sure where my fitness is. It's in a deep, dark hole.
Speaker: ah Yes. If you're listening, it does not happen like that. it like it lasts yeah lasts a bit longer. You're all good. um So that there are I think those those are the three names. Assuming Ben is is healthy on on that start line, those are the three names to me that really stand out.
Speaker: There are three other names on there, though, that I do want to give a shout out. I think they're all locals and they all raced last year and they came fourth, fifth and sixth separated by a total of one minute and 50 seconds. So even if these guys aren't like that, they were the first Josh Teig. 6.51.55 was 44 minutes behind Mikey for the win. So I don't expect these guys to be pushing those front front three unless one of them's really improved. But I'm really curious to see how that battle comes out. So you've got Josh, Joel Gray, and then Bryce Turvey.
Speaker: And as I mentioned before, all three of them were on the i think it was all all three of them we're on the team, maybe not Josh, um with Ben and Christy for the FKT. I think Josh wasn't on there, but the other two were. Yes, Joel and Bryce were. So yeah, that's that's going to be a fun fun kind of repeat battle to see how that one all plays out. And They all all do look to be moving moving well from what i from what I can tell. um ah yeah we We saw Bryce at Diverge where he took out fifth in the 50k. So very confident on on technical stuff. i remember talking about him in the preview and saying that he was doing his best by the looks of it to get out into the Sterling Rangers to get ready for Diverge. And it certainly looked like it paid off. Yeah.
Speaker: It's a fun fun extra battle. And as you said, for the women's race, if there's a bit of carnage up front, which definitely can happen when you get some some big players in there, I'm sure one of them would be there or if not multiple to come through and take but take a podium spot.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely interesting. I'm trying to see, like a I've heard Josh's name affair a few times before and I was like sort of, ducking into his results it looks like he's got a a british and an australian profile on utmb from what i can tell and i think it's the same person um so he was a mountain runner for britain back in the day is that right so i'm not sure on on that question i was chatting to ian best after ceos and alan as ian likes to do he really got into the the weeds of it all he sent me a spreadsheet with all the fastest times for australia and josh wasn't on there But he said yeah the reason why Josh wasn't was because he was down as British. So I do, I think he he obviously has come from, from the UK, which I think if you look at mine, my profiles, I have a UK profile and an Australian profile. yeah okay So, but he's like run some really quick times. He's got a better, better course time on Sierra's an hour than Ian does from, from this year. He's run three or three things that better and you than you as well, Brady.
Speaker: I'm 303 something. So I don't know what it is. 303 37. Ian did send me the list today. Yeah. You got to love him for this. So yeah, so he ran 303 37.
Speaker: But yeah, he's 303 12. I got you, Josh. um But yeah, he's he's got he's got results all the way back to 2009. he's yeah been been been racing a while, done some of the iconic ones. He's got the Pike's Peak Ascent in there. um And yeah, it looks like a pretty pretty strong time.
Speaker: so And he also, I was just looking then at his Australian results. He ran KMR in 2024 when it was the golden trail year where there was a lot of people and he came ninth and ran 225. And I think maybe in other KMR years that gets maybe second or third. So definitely. Yeah.
Speaker: um he' had He's had some strong results still. It'll be interesting to see. it like It looks like he's been running for a long time. He's in the 35 to 39 category. That doesn't mean he can't be good at this distance, but it'd be interesting to know where he's at in his running journey. I don't know Josh that well, but um yeah he' like you said, he's definitely going to be in the mix.
Speaker: I'm glad you didn't just write off every 35 to 39 year old person or older. as well There's a lot of good people, but you know, like, like sometimes it's like, yeah, well you were training a lot when you were, when you were 20 and you haven't been training as much now. Whereas some people were like, I didn't train at all when I was 20 and I'm training a lot when I'm at 40. That's a Vlad story. Um,
Speaker: But, yeah, so it'll be interesting that everyone's very different and it doesn't mean he won't be competitive. he He's not going to be competitive. um Just, ah yeah, it'll be interesting to see what, ah yeah, I might be able to get some tips off some of the WA people about what is what his current form is.
Speaker: Yeah. So some good feels, as we said, it's it's a shame that we've seen Ben Burgess drop down and Ben Butler not make the start lines. Same for Quinton Gill. He's just not quite back to to racing for ready to jump into this style of race from a fitness perspective. But even so,
Speaker: yeah the The Charlie versus Billy and hopefully Ben ben battle and then then Hannah, Kelly, Holly and Christy, it's one of still going to be one of the main competitive races from that top end. We don't often get multiple of of the best show up for a race that isn't one of the big five, four five across the year.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, it's going to be ah it's going to be a good fight for the podium for both the men's and the women's. Like the top three is going to be very competitive. It might not be the depth of going down to five or ten, but definitely the top three is going to be a real fight of the best some of the best athletes in the country.
Speaker: Yeah. One thing that when I was talking to Shane Johnson, one of the RDs before this, that I like the idea of, and I'm curious what you think, Brady, because ah at the the river Riverina events, we don't do finishing medals. I think they're wasteful um from ah from a a product perspective.
Speaker: I know people love them, but I just don't believe in it. But what the guys at Transcend do is they plant a tree instead. So that's where they divert that money in. And and so so that's kind of the reward, which is just something that i I quite liked. I know some people will will hate that um because they want their finisher medal, which is absolutely fine. But I do like the fact that they've they've diverted that that fund because they're not like it adds up if you've got $5 medal times a thousand and five grand worth of trees to to replant.
Speaker: just ah Just a little note on that one that I quite liked. Oh, that's cool. I like I like when it's something different to to the normal and and as well as like, like you said, I'm not a I'm not a very big metal person. I'm not a very materialistic person. So having that sort of, ah yeah, definitely having that sort of other option that feels meaningful, something that you still achieve, something that you still contributed to by finishing the race um is quite cool. Right. We mentioned that there are some other distances. I think really the 40k is the one just to mention a couple of names. So in the women's, we've got Katinka from Elsner-Wellsted. She's doing her first 40k star distance. So Katinka, we've seen, like obviously, a lot of mountain star racing before. where this This year, she's
Speaker: Been over to China a couple times recently, a seventh place. um We then, like she had a DNF for her hamstring at UTA 22, then had a 10th and an 18th at the World Mountain Running race up in Beijing earlier in the year, and then a third at Tauera 21. So we've seen her a lot in that sort of 20K distance.
Speaker: her training has definitely looked like she is 100 ready for this step up she's been doing some some good volume some really good sessions her moves the blue mountains i'm sure has made a really strong and a nice training environment so i'm fascinated to see how she goes and the other name is uh abby watson so she's billy curses partner but by no means ah ah a shadow to him she's kind of came onto our scene last year with some really impressive vk times just completely out of the blue I don't remember the time exactly, but it was only it was only a couple of minutes, I think, behind Lara Hamilton's like Australian best. It might be two or two or two to four minutes so behind. I'm sure Ian is going to mess me off this with a fact check. But it was great to see and and and has since done some other really good performances overseas.
Speaker: And I think we've really seen her race domestically. So just a ah great great name to to keep an eye on for the for the future and see what Abby can do. Yeah, definitely. I think, um, like you said with Katinka, she's, she definitely lasts a few times. I've spoken to her a few times about like what she's up to this year and she is wanting to sort of go up distance. Um, and that's something she's been working on with her, her coach. Um, and she's got her eye on sort of that sort of short trail for, for next year for, for the world champs year and whatnot. So, um
Speaker: she, yeah, I think this is ah this is ah a good stepping stone because like you said, it's it's it's a tough race, but it's not like it's not going to be ridiculously long time-wise for a 40K. And therefore, a nice little stepping stone from the shorter distances up into that sort of, what do we call that, short trail distance. yeah What do we call the 20, 30k distance up to the 40, 50k distance? Because it is ah it is a jump and it's different it's different ah different physiology. So it is it is it doesn't sound like much of a jump, but it is it is a different kettle of fish. So um it'd be interesting to see she goes. And Abby, I don't know if we... Like we haven't seen...
Speaker: Abby run against other Australian athletes much no um or at all really. So that's why she's that's why she hasn't really been ah an obvious name except for those people who are looking closely um because she has those VK results and she's only really just it looks to me like she's only really started running quite recently or at least doing this trail races recently. So um She's another one that's like we're going to see her improve race to race. But she did um her and Billy took out the couple ah couple victory and it was in the newspaper, which I thought was very funny. I enjoyed that. That's great. pans
Speaker: The Cairns paper or whatever it was did ah did a story that said couple won the Great Pyramid Race. just loved it. Yeah. focused on that but yeah she ah she won the women's race there um so she's she's definitely got some some really good uphill running um so you'll be interested to see how she goes That's an interesting one because i saw that same post, but she actually came fourth.
Speaker: Oh, did she? I thought she won. Yeah, like in the 30, at least in the I don't know if there might have been. wait, you're talking about the Great Pyramid Race? No, I'm not. I'm talking about Yandina, which she's also did. Yeah. But no, the Great Pyramid Race, she did win, which that one sounds, I don't know.
Speaker: Have you ever done the Great Pyramid Race? No, i haven't. And when I went to I was talking to Nate Pierce about this and he was saying, what should I do? He's going out to cancer some work. He's like, what run should I do? Because when I went up there a few years ago just for a holiday and we drove past the pyramid and I was going to do it, but I thought a I'll just come back and do the race sometime. So we went on and I did a I ran up Bartley Frey, which is I've butchered that but that's the biggest mountain in queensland it's just south of the pyramid but i still regret it to this day because the pyramid looks so cool and i haven't been able to get back since and yeah i really want to go and do it um it looks like such a cool race and it literally looks like a pyramid yeah like it actually it's the most triangular mountain i've ever seen in australia at least yeah definitely it's um like it looks like what a child would dry draw as a mountain yeah Yeah. That is a very good way to describe It, it yes. you know, it looks, it looks, looks fascinating and and with ah a lot of history as well. Uh, was, yeah. Like I didn't actually realize quite, quite the the extent of it. So no, it's, it will be great. Great to see you how Abby goes in the men's side. We have Ben Burgess. We've already spoken about Ben's coming off some really good performances, uh, last weekend as we record this.
Speaker: uh what was the event called down in peace and trails peace and trails thank you lost my mind and then also michael lorry who vlad's gonna be very happy to see michael on the start list he's a part of the lorry family and a extra athlete you think brady that's Yes, yeah, from Going To. And Vlad's very excited about the Laurie family and how good we know how good Erica Laurie is. We know, obviously, we talked about Christy already. And um Mike, I don't think he's done much trail running races, but he's done a bunch of FKTs. And I think it sounds like he's sort of like a bit of like a, sort of like a bit of a, I'm trying to think of the right word for it, but like a bit of an enigma in the WA running scene. I think they were like waiting for him to turn up and do a race. um so yeah it's it's cool to see him on the start line because we probably haven't really seen him race uh in a in a trail running race so it's hard to conceptualize how good he would actually be but he's got some pretty impressive fkt times in various places in wa and yeah like you said he used to be a professional triathlete so he has some Some quick running ah times like 14-something over 5K and just under 31 for 10K. So, they were a few years ago now. But, yeah, he definitely got the running caliber. So, it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker: That's a really good matchup with him and Ben, I think. Because Ben's a pretty good yardstick of where you fit into... trail running in Australia and Ben usually is pretty consistent I would say on race day um so ah yeah bob maybe UTA I think Ben is pretty consistent yeah I think he's he definitely hasn't he hasn't put the performances down yet this year that we saw last year yeah with Peaks and Trails being the first time I was like, this looks like Ben. like A big smile on his face, going into it for to have fun, and then just happens to be really rapid because he works really hard to be rapid. But yeah I think that when the 40k and 28k, from what I can tell, I've only run since last year. and so...
Speaker: they don't really have that caliber of name yet on their course records. yeah So like Jack Valentine, who has the 40k course record was about 45, 40 minutes or 45 minutes behind Billy at Yandina this year.
Speaker: yeah, for if michael was to race and and run 20 minutes faster it's obviously really quick but we don't have too much context to that whereas now with ben in there hopefully ben has a good day and we really get that get that context one thing i did like in the 28k was that last year it was won by petra who we've said her her name a lot but that also means she has the overall course record at the moment which i thought was quite fun because it's only been going for a year um she she she won about four minutes So, yes, so it's a couple of fun other battles there. katinker Did you say Petra? Is Petra running the 40k as well this year?
Speaker: Oh, I did see It might not have been on your list, but I i think I saw in the transcend the list that Shane sent over. Petra's in the four c k So that so this that would be another good definite good name. ge She's like, and that's another one i'd i'd love I'd love to see a bit of a yardstick against because we call her name out literally all the time in the WA races and looks like she's running some really fast time. So I think ah her running against Katinka and Abby will be you'll be ah cool to see where she fits in that in that picture and and also give yeah add some more depth to that race, which is cool.
Speaker: yeah Awesome. Brody, fun as always. any any anything Any final thoughts for Transcend? No, not particularly. um It's good to have something on ah in August because we don't always have heaps and it's nice to have something that you don't have to travel overseas for, um that people can still have a high-quality race experience even on the elite end as well without going overseas. um So I think if it continues, it gives it gives people that option if they're like not wanting to go to UTMB or can't or like other races around this time of year, that there's there's something on the Australian calendar that they can still –
Speaker: put in their put in their books if they want to so yeah excited to see how it goes this year um and it looks like it's going strength to strength yeah for sure no it's going to be good and one thing we haven't really mentioned actually is the prize money as well which is yeah definitely a a standout feature uh with that with cash and gold part of the reason why we're seeing all these people there yeah it definitely is more enticing when i think you can take give or like roughly because it's in gold and cash about 5 000 away for winning the sixty five k I think about 2000 away for, for winning the 40 K. So it's definitely, definitely an entire, an enticing feature, but it's also good to see that the athletes like their commitment to going and racing these races and bring front end to the field is getting rewarded as well. Um, cause it's definitely, definitely not too much assistance going on, uh, for the most part. So wonderful Brody. Um, are you, we're also for everyone that's staying on for the, for the end of this, I'm going to be on the live stream for transcend. Are you still going to be taking part well?
Speaker: I think for part of it. I don't know exactly how it's going to look yet, um but I'm going to try and jump on for at least a little bit. I've given Shane some, I should be able to do this. I try not to overstretch myself. So let's hope that that all goes to plan. But yeah, I'm looking forward to to getting on at least for ah for a short time if I can.
Speaker: I feel like as soon as you come on, you're going to be very hard to be ripped away from it. Yeah, yeah. That's why say I'll give him some like, give me some definitive time so I can be like, yep, that's me stopping a handover to someone else so I can go back to being a parent.
Speaker: Yes, definitely. I don't know if I should sit on a lot. said a maximum three hours split up into separate bits if if if possible, but um I can't do longer than that. Yeah. Because it goes for like, I think it's all day It goes for like eight hours or something. Yeah, I Maybe longer.
Speaker: It starts at six. Well, the live stream starts at 5.30 a.m. m Western Australian time. So that's 7.30 East Coast. And they are expecting the first male finisher, roughly five and a half, first female finisher, roughly six and a half. And I think the live stream goes on until about 3 p.m. WA, so 5 p.m.
Speaker: over here. So yeah, it's a big, it's a big stint. but plenty of times to jump in and jump out and i think they've got a good list of people that should hopefully be either there for the most of it or cameoing as well which is which is cool to see yeah yeah looking forward to it beautiful all righty thank you brody thanks everyone that's listening if you disagree with us as always just let us know in the comments we we like to hear hear your picks if you listen to us on patreon definitely chuck them in the the comments to this episode and uh appreciate you all listening we'll catch you next one thanks all catch you later
