Transcript
Speaker: Music
Speaker: Hello and welcome to episode 126 of the Peak Pursuits podcast. We've got a very exciting episode coming to you this week. um My name is Brodie, one of your regular hosts, and I'm joined by our intrepid European traveller, or one of them, who's just back in Canberra after being in Chamonix for a few weeks. Jess, Jason, how are you going? Yeah, not too bad, thanks. Definitely suffering some of the post-Europe blues. It's still pretty chilly here in Canberra, but definitely like warming up a bit, so got something to look forward to. Fantastic. Excited to hear about your race, and we'll get to that in a little bit. And we're joined by someone else who was also doing the same race over in Chamonix. Sophie Lynn, who is a, by well, I'll read out your Instagram profile, Sophie, because I think it's a nice summary.
Speaker: ah We've got 2024 Olympian, of oh, actually, we' want going to get into this, Hammerhead Hides product designer, ASICS Australia athlete, Aus Triathlon retired athlete. So that suggests to me that you're a now a trail runner.
Speaker: If I'm retired at one, automatically means I'm a true runner. That's fine with me. Yeah, exactly. How are you going, Sophie? Thanks so much for joining us. thank Yeah, thanks for having me, guys. It's cool to have you on and cool. We've spoken, remember James, I reckon James pulled your result at um Desert Rats out last year in April and he saw it there and he was like, oh, what's this? And um I remember talking about it on the podcast um and yeah, so it was exciting. to At that point, it was very exciting. We're like, oh, this is an Olympian who's started trail running maybe um and it has come to fruition. So um yeah, very excited to hear a bit of that story and we're
Speaker: Also, how OCC went for both you and Jess. So it's going to be really fun. um And then we've got a couple of results and whatnot after at the end. So yeah, stick around for that.
Speaker: But Sophia, I wanted to start with you. You're over in Boulder in America at the moment, um and you've been living there for a few years. um Were you moving? Did you move over there when you were doing triathlon or has that been sort of since then? So i moved to the US in 2013 after I had graduated um high school in Australia and I went over on a running scholarship. um to the University of Michigan so did four years of my undergrad there and then a two-year master's and one of those masters I was running um as like a fifth year in the N-Subway and then I switched a triathlon in 2018 so I was kind of ah a very late bloomer for triathlon yeah
Speaker: Fantastic. What's that make you for trail running then? An extra late level. I don't know. Geriatric at this point. I feel like a lot of people come into trail running later in their sport or maybe after a different sport. So it's it's it is a normal-ish pathway. but um yeah So ah ah just a track athlete to start with or track and cross country when you were in the NCAAs?
Speaker: Yeah, track and cross country. um ah Previously before that, though, like I was a swimmer. Like I went to at the Olympic trials in 2012 for both swimming and athletics, which happened to be the same week, obviously. um and then when I moved over to the US, I stopped swimming and I just i just ran track. um And cross country, we had to do both, um which i I love both as well. Yeah. And then in that last year when I was doing my master's, that's when I switched to triathlon because I had a roommate at the time that was a US triathlete. And, you know, a lot of my life people had been telling me to do triathlon because I did swim and run. i just needed to pick up the bike portion, which I think is relatively easier than picking up swimming running. Yeah, maybe especially for the the biking that's in the triathlon, like it's not it's not quite the same. as like getting in big road races where you need maybe the really expert bike handling skills.
Speaker: um Exactly. It does sound like you were made for triathlon if you were going to Australian Champs or Olympic Trials for both. when you ah So that was when you were a kid before you or like a teenager before you went across to the U.S.?
Speaker: Yeah, I was either 17 or 18, like right around my birthday then um was when the the trials for both were. So very, very much to a child. Didn't think it at the time, but looking back, I was still a child.
Speaker: Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we were talking about it before we came on air that you ah from Adelaide. Is that where you grew up um and spent your childhood? Yeah. Adelaide, born and bred. My whole family is still back there and um usually still get back there ah once or twice a year, which is really nice. Yeah. It's funny now coming back, um the cycling is and trail running is actually incredible in Adelaide. So it's sort of been fun to leave there as a track athlete and not really understand what my backyard held. And then coming back as a triathlete, being able to ride, i was like, wow, this cycling is amazing. And now coming back sort of as a...
Speaker: trail a person tab dabbling in trail uh realizing that the the trails are also phenomenal as well yeah that's very cool i've heard the similar thing from a few people who like picked up a different sport mostly like trail running and then they they see their sort of city or where they're living in there in new eyes because you get to explore different places and exactly um have you done a bit of running in the adelaide hills and when you've been back the last few times Absolutely. Yeah. Um, I actually, before I did my first 50 K I did basically an unofficial 50 K, um, which was like the Eurobella trail, um, through the Adelaide Hills. And it's actually a race that happens usually in September, but I wasn't back for September. So I thought I would just do the course, um, by myself in December. Cause why not? ah so i kind of was starting to dip my toes in a little bit at the very end of 2024 before i did my first official 50k in 2025 and I really then realized how good the trails were there being able to link up 50k from home which is really cool.
Speaker: Yeah, it's pretty cool place to trail running in the Adelaide hills lots of Lots of different trails and a lot of a big network as well which is very cool. A really big network and and really well signed which is always helpful.
Speaker: Helpful for for new people. Yeah, we should think about that in more places. Exactly. is it Very well signed. Exactly. Something I sort of like i don't I don't really think of myself because I'm used to it, but like it with is definitely a barrier to people getting out there. So it's good to have it signed.
Speaker: Exactly. Yeah. Fantastic. All right. Well, let's so dig into a little bit of the triathlon career. So you headed across to the U.S. in what year was that when you headed across there? 2013. 2013.
Speaker: ah twenty thirteen 2013 and then you did your university degree. I can see on your sort of triathlon ah results page that your results start sort of coming in 2018. Is that when you first sort of started jumping into your your elite racing? Yeah, definitely 2018. I was just finishing off my athletic eligibility um and i went and did a draft legal race where you can basically like earn the right to ah race draft legal um because it's not a open to the public usually to be able to do these draft legal races. Usually like amateur triathlon races are non-draft legal so that was like my first dipping my toe in the water um I was really really fresh my wetsuit was like far too small for me like I couldn't like I had no shoulder mobility I remember it being like a pretty eye-opening experience and um definitely was a lot more challenging than I thought it was as well like
Speaker: You know, hadn't done any run off the bikes before and that's a whole different beast. You know, can be a great runner and then the first time you run off the bike, it feels like someone's just, you know, taking a sledgehammer to your legs and you forget how to run. So, yeah, it was – I didn't have a coach at the time. My friend who I was roaming with at Michigan had previously in a U.S. triathlon sort pipeline program and she was kind of guiding me And for all intents and purposes, my coach at the time. So, yeah, it was a very haphazard entrance, put it that way. Yeah, I feel like triathlon is a lot of moving parts, a lot of different aspects that would be a bit overwhelming in that. Especially, I feel like a lot of people who do, is it right that a lot of people who do triathlon have done it while they were in their childhood or adolescence and then move, continue? Or is it there's lots people starting later in life at the elite level? I think it's...
Speaker: I think there's really a mixture, honestly. like Australia has always been very grassroots and and had you know strong triathlon programs um from a very young age. um I think somewhere like the US, s they don't have many sort of youth triathlon programs. A lot of them, um they had a really famous program called the CRP, which would take collegiate runners who have swim background and turn them into triathletes. think it really depends when you where you come from, but the The barrier to entry in triathlon is super high. You need a ton of equipment. um You know, there's just so many logistical things um from all the different transitions and warm ups and rules. ah You know, it's just it's quite endless. It's not. um You know, like the track where you just, okay, you can't tread on the middle of the track and you can't push people over and that's pretty much it. You know, yeah um that was really simple where this suddenly had ah a whole range of rules and regulations and penalties and and all kinds of things that you could, you know, trip up on.
Speaker: yeah yeah definitely it's it i've i've never actually done a track that i always wanted to but i feel like that just like the logisticalness of it i've never sort of overcome which is yeah i can imagine especially when you're first starting i can imagine it's a lot when you're chasing it at an elite level um but it looks like you sort of really jumped into it like there's a lot of races in 2018 um, in, in various different places as well. It looks like in Australia and and in America. yeah Um, how long did it take you to sort of get cemented in going, i want to be an elite triathlete? Like what, what was that process like? So I definitely got pretty lucky. Um, I was still an under 23 at the time. So in triathlon, there's juniors under twenty three s and then elites.
Speaker: Um, and I was in my final year of under 23 and we had a home world championships on the gold coast, which I definitely did not appreciate like the magnitude of having a home world championships. Um, but I had done some us like continental, uh, races at the time, which is like the lowest tier of professional racing and triathlon or short course triathlon. There's the continental level, World Cups, and then World Series. um But I podiumed at some ah continental races and there was a girl that got injured last minute um on the Australian team in the under-23s. And so sort of last minute they were like, we've got an extra a slot for you. So –
Speaker: I think maybe six weeks before um World Champs, they told me there was a spot. And so I flew down and raced. And at that time, I had never exercised for two hours ah continuously. i was still very much like a runner. i had done like ah some hour bike rides. I would swim, but never never two hours continuously. And ah that race was Olympic distance, which is um around two hours, bit over two hours because we were still a bit younger. And so that race was like the longest I'd ever exercised. I had like never practiced nutrition on the bike. You know, this was all completely brand new still. And i finished top 10. And i think that was a really lucky break I had because then I was kind of noticed by Triathlon Australia more and, you know, more supported in that program. So um, you know, the next couple of years, obviously with COVID happening were pretty tough on my like development as a triathlete because i was in the U I couldn't leave here. um you know, everyone in Australia was racing domestically. um
Speaker: but I think at the same time it gave me some time to just put in those longer training hours, which I might not have been able to do if I was trying to race at the same, same time and do a full season. um,
Speaker: um Then in 2022, we had an automatic qualifier ah for Commonwealth Games, ah which I won and and got the automatic slot. And that was definitely like the the breakthrough race for me, um which got me Racing World Series. So it was kind of like I had that initial little breakthrough, then a period of like... um You know, not much happening ah due to injury, COVID, you name it. And then 2022 was kind of where things took off. Yeah, fantastic. And is the in the triathlon world, is it is ah like Commonwealth Games um more important? Is ah World Champs more important? I see you did like a lot of different races of a different series as well. But like what's the what's the pinnacle of competition that you're sort of working towards it in that time period?
Speaker: or get to the Olympics in a few years, but like around that time, like was it the Commonwealth Games that was the big goal or was it other stuff on the on the calendar? like I think that Commonwealth Games was, like it's always a big deal to make a major games. um So that was definitely my primary goal at the time. um It was also harder to make a Commonwealth Games team. um They only take... two or sometimes three athletes to come off games where they'll take five to world champs. Um, so yeah even though the competition is obviously, um, harder to world championships, um, because you've got the entire world, not just the Commonwealth, uh, the Commonwealth games are still very much a focus, um, in 2022. And what I saw as also a stepping stone to sort of get me racing world series, cause it's quite hard to sort of break into that. Um,
Speaker: And then hopefully qualify for the Olympics in two years down the road. Yeah. And was the Olympics sort of like the the main goal, I guess, or like when when you got into triathlon, was that like something that you've been working towards for years, something that you wanted to do?
Speaker: I'm projecting myself onto this because if I was doing an Olympic sport, I feel like the Olympics would be the pinnacle or or is it something yeah is it something different? Like is that something you always wanted to work towards or was it was it was it just something that happened? Yeah. Like, honestly, i was always good, but I was never great. Um, you know, would podium at junior nationals on the track. I wouldn't podium at junior nationals in the pool. Um, and even though I was always doing Olympic sports, I guess the Olympics was never something that I saw that was probably attainable for me, even though I was surrounded by Olympians all the time. i just, I just didn't think that that was probably on the cards. Um,
Speaker: And even starting into triathlon, I don't think I went in with the goal of wanting to make the Olympics or thinking I was going to make the Olympics. I think I was looking for a sport to do. I think I was curious actually because everyone had always told me I would be a good triathlete because of the swimming and running background. And once I had left collegiate running behind, um i was just kind of curious where it could take me. And I don't think it was until I qualified for Comm Games, which was definitely came as a bit of a shock, that i actually started thinking that going to the Olympics was a possibility. Um, and I don't know, maybe I lacked a bit of self-belief. Um, but yeah, it definitely took until, until that qualification for me realize it was something tangible.
Speaker: Yeah, you will look you say were not always getting um the highest results, but Commonwealth Games you were fifth in the individual, third in the team relay. So you sort of did, I guess at that point, start to show some promise. oh it was more before that you were saying that maybe you didn't feel like you were the were the best. Was that Commonwealth Games like you were saying just then, like that that was the point where, was it the results that made you realize you could do it or was it more just how you felt in the competitions? I think it was more so the qualification, like the fact that I got that i got on that team. um and And then definitely the result like solidified that I could qualify for the Olympics. um And that was a huge confidence boost. um But it was definitely sort of making that team um that that validated that idea that even if I verbalize, oh like I'm
Speaker: I'm hoping to go to the Olympics, it felt justified that I could even say that because I think before that I i didn't even have the confidence to tell someone that I was trying to qualify for the Olympics um because it felt too far-fetched at that point. Yeah. Whether that be real or not, you know.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, yeah. it's It's really interesting like hearing you say that because I'm like looking at your results going like, oh, yeah, it looked like you were always headed towards the Olympics. Obviously, like I see the Olympics at the end, but um I think like, yeah, it's – It says that something to you as an athlete, like you were needing, you not needing, but you wanted to get that that confirmation first. and But it does it does seem to have helped you sort of build towards what looks like the the sort of pinnacle in the sport. And your last few years in triathlon,
Speaker: Looked like you had some incredible performances. I want to take it forward to the the Olympic Games. How was that experience and um was there anything from, like, was it was it what it what you expected or did it not live up to expectations? What what was what was that like? Um, it it was a really positive experience for me. I think that I purposely went in with very little expectations because you've, like i say trained with a lot of people in Boulder who had previously gone to the Olympics before. And so I think they were able to give me a lot of really good advice going into it on how to enjoy it, how to sort of soak in the experience, not be overwhelmed by it, not be disappointed by it. Because i think a lot of people do go to the Olympics and are disappointed by it. whether it be the results, the atmosphere, you know, like there's a whole range of things and the Olympics holds so much emotionally for people um that, ah yeah, it can be a pretty tough time. So,
Speaker: I really went in with the mindset that I just wanted to have a good experience racing, you know, and that meant, uh, you know, if shit hit the fan in the swim, you just like kind of keep on going. If shit hit the fan on the bike, you just keep on going. And if I see my family, you know what, I'm going to wave at them and I'm going to smile at them because at the end of the day, that's not going to change my result. Like that's not going to mean I'm not focused. That's like, I, I need to make sure I'm really present in every moment of this experience. And,
Speaker: The result on the day was like it was it was pretty on par with the rest of my results. It was nothing amazing, but it also wasn't terrible. And so, you know, it could have been a terrible day. There was a lot of crashes and a lot of um shit that went down during that race. so the fact that I had a really average day was a huge win, and I was really happy because I enjoyed the experience um and I was able to soak it in and as it was happening, um which was good, I think.
Speaker: so Yeah, wow. It sounds – yeah, I can't even imagine what would have been like. But it sounds like you were made for trail running with your approach there, being like, yep, I just want to soak it all in, enjoy it all. I think that's – yeah, it's probably in any sport, to be honest. It's going to the way that you get the most out of yourself as well. But hard to sort of – I find it hard to always come to that when you're in a competitive sense. So imagine – But it sounds like it it worked well at the Olympics. I remember watching that race, actually. It was chaos. I watched both the men's and women's Olympic triathlons. There was a lot surrounding that as well because it was the water in the river was that was a bit suspect as well, I remember. Yeah.
Speaker: Yes. and And the current was definitely not legal, I would not think. Yes. um yeah And it was raining and it was wet and the men's race got delayed. It was, there was there was a lot, um you know, and ah they told us, you know, the night before the race that they would email us. at like three in the morning or something telling us if the race was going ahead or not. So you just kind of wake up in this panic and grab your phone to check this email to see if the race is happening, you know, and it's like the biggest day of like my life anyway. yes oh yeah.
Speaker: it You know, and you're grabbing your phone to see if it's happening or not. It's it's definitely, it was definitely a lot. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds pretty crazy. Yeah, but it was great. my My whole family was over. My boyfriend was able to come over. And, ah yeah, it was it was an absolutely iconic venue. I think only second to, as an Australian, probably racing around the Sydney Opera House. um and And the crowds were just, you know, phenomenal.
Speaker: And 21st at the Olympics is no no mean feat. So, yeah, a fantastic result as well coming out of that, which is which is great. Yeah, as I say, someone's got to come 21st.
Speaker: Yes, that's very true. That's very true. um If we go forward again into 2025, you were saying way back when we, at the start of this conversation, that you did that 50K in South Australia and then you went on to do Desert Rats 50K in America.
Speaker: um But you were still racing triathlon. what was Was that like an off-season from triathlon? Was it that you were already thinking about stopping and that was just part of you wanted to do some other stuff? Or like what was the purpose behind doing that other running because you were still like later that year which we'll get to you still racing at ah an extremely high level in triathlon so um there was a bit of it looks like from what I can see like a bit of a duality from that year there was some trail running at the start andm and then and then some really incredible triathlon results at the end of the year like tell us a little bit about that that year last year yeah
Speaker: Yeah, so after the Olympics, I was i was pretty burned out. I had been working full-time and training full-time. I even actually switched jobs um in March of 2024, which, you know, was a very questionable decision. um Having the Olympics several months later and the Olympic qualification period ending a month after that, but it was it was ah a great move um professionally for me. So i I did it, but yeah, once the Olympics came, I was i was definitely pretty exhausted and I knew I needed to take a break from triathlon. Um, and, um,
Speaker: So I got bullied into doing desert rats by my friends. Um, actually the friend that bullied me into it became pregnant and, uh, didn't end up racing. so I was like, no, I'm just doing this 50 K. um but you know, it was, it was for the better. And I did that.
Speaker: I then realized I wanted to go back from triathlon. I call I relapsed back into triathlon. Um, cause I thought I was potentially done with it. Um,
Speaker: But, yeah, i I knew we had home world championships at the end of the year and I kind of was thinking that it would be really cool if I were to finish my career there. um Initially, i I definitely thought I wanted to be done after the Olympics, but I think the Olympics hold so much.
Speaker: As I said before, like emotionally for people that it's hard to go through that experience and then also retire off of that experience. um Because it's just, it's just a whole beast in itself. And i think it just took me a while to sort of process basically that whole qualification period and and what I put into it everything. I think I realized how much I put into it just, yeah, working and training and racing. um And so then I wanted to be able to sort of come back in a new Olympic cycle, enjoy it a little bit um and sort of go out on ah on a home race that was obviously still a big deal being in world championships but wasn't, you know, the gravity of an Olympics. Yeah, for sure. um We'll come come back to Desert Rats in a moment, but I want to sort of finish ti Tybo a bit on the triathlon. So that year, like you were sort of saying, that you'd considered sort of retiring after the Olympics, but you purposefully did that last season.
Speaker: as not as a sort of send-off or a retirement, but you wanted to sort of do a few more and separate those two to big experiences, which I think sounds like, yeah, I kind can't even imagine doing both of those two things at the same time. So it sounds like a really, um really sensible decision. it Was that sort of like the thought? that you Were you intending when like say you started racing in July triathlon or maybe, yeah, a bit earlier, maybe middle of the year?
Speaker: June, yeah um was it that I'm going to retire at the end of the season or was it that decision came closer to the actual world champs in in Wollongong? I think I wanted to come back to the sport and see if I could do it in a slightly more sustainable way. With working and travel, i definitely the idea of finishing at Wollongong was on my mind, but i I was really trying to come in with an open mind of, okay, let's see, with without this pressure of the Olympics hanging over me, what does that experience look like um outside of that? And, you know, if it was something that I wanted to keep doing, maybe...
Speaker: but maybe Deep down, I knew that Wollongong would be my last race, but I was still trying to come in with an open mind. So so when did you when did you make that decision? Was it at Wollongong or was it in the sort of weeks leading up that you were going to sort of finish up there? It was it was pretty much like a ah couple of weeks before Wollongong um that I just knew that it would be my last race. and I think it was really interesting because after the Olympics, I had really kind of grappled with like, oh, do I want to be done? Do I want to give it another go? Yeah, with a different mindset, different sort of process.
Speaker: But it was just so clear to me that a couple weeks before Wollongong that I wanted to be done. um not because I didn't like triathlon anymore, almost the contrary, because I feel like i had had a really fun year. We won a world championships in the mixed team relay in Hamburg. That was like probably one of the greatest days of my triathlon career. Um, and I just felt really at peace with the sport and like, I was really ready to go and tackle, um,
Speaker: something else being trail running. uh, there, there definitely was a moment I was in, uh, the French Riviera, uh, during UTMB, uh, racing, uh, a world series down there. And on my find my, all my friends were up in Chamonix and I was down the French Riviera and I was like, I want to be up there. and I think if you're in the French Riviera and you don't want to be in the French Riviera, you probably don't want to do this for me.
Speaker: That's a sign. That's a sign. Yeah. Yeah. So that was a couple weeks before World Champs. And and I think just like that, seeing everyone up in Chamonix, I was like, oh, like I really want that. And at that time, I had already qualified for this year's UTMB through the Desert Rats result. And so it was definitely something that was it was possible if I wanted to make it possible. um So, yeah trail running Trail running pulled me away.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. And it look, it sounds like a it all sort of nice, beautiful finish like you had. I think I was reading an interview with you on Oz Triathlon that, that'd like you were just saying, that mixed team relay in the middle of the year, you won the world champs with the Australian team. um And then that race in in Wollongong um being, was that your highest World Series finish as an individual?
Speaker: I think yeah so like finished on such a high um but also finished with it sounds like some peace with the sport and you'd achieve what you wanted to achieve and and also like nice that there's now new goals and other things that you can that you can move on to it sounds yeah sounds like a really nice end of a story doesn't it it was and I was positive yeah yeah and I was super lucky because you know I've seen so many people that don't have the opportunity to finish a sport how they want to, you know because of injury, because of being pushed out of the sport or political stuff within federations. You know, there's there's so many people that don't get that exit on their own terms. And I saw that I could have that. And I was really, really fortunate to be able to
Speaker: execute that and, know, gracefully and exit stage left out of triathlon. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing. What do you think drew you to trial running at that time?
Speaker: Like, was it just a change or was there something like else about it that like really interested you? I think it was twofold. I think a lot of my friends, in Boulder trail run and I would be doing a break in my basement, you know, um on a Saturday morning and they'll be all out on the trails. And I was like, I want that. Like, and then I i think also the lack of, um, structure a little bit with the trails, uh, really drew me. I, I've had such a structured experience with sport from when I was really, really young, you know, probably about 10 years old, um which was great. It gave me a lot of purpose. um But I think I was really craving a little bit of that unstructured nature. And although I think the top athletes in trail are extremely disciplined and and quite structured, I think you can also though get away with, if you're just a little bit lower than that, um to be quite unstructured. And I just wanted to jump in with workouts that other people were doing, ah runs that other people were doing and you just kind of see where that fitness took me rather than having to adhere to a schedule or a coach um and things like that. So that that definitely was very appealing.
Speaker: Yeah. so Yeah, definitely. It's the, um I feel like the, there's many ways to do trail running. I don't know if it's similar and in triathlon at all, but like, yeah, there's lots of, lots of different ways to achieve the same outcome and and you can have that more. Maybe there's a, there's a structured way that's 1% or 2% better, but you can get a really long way off doing whatever you want, really. If you're, if you're, if you're doing at least some trail running or a lot of it really is what most people are doing so yeah that's very cool um yeah there's it desert rats itself their first sort of race that was obviously had done that that sort of self self-timed race in Yorubilla but what was the desert rats experience like um was it what you expected was anything like different or like you jumped out on you and went wow that's I'm really gonna have to make sure i prepare for that next time or like what were the learnings from from that experience Yeah, um I think I was really lucky. Again, i had such a solid friend group um that was helping me. had Clay Gallagher, who's won CCC before and Leadville and Western States. I had Riley Brady, who came second at Western States this year, um both crewing me. ah So I had this sort of absolute wealth of knowledge. Yeah, this like complete overkill of crew for this 50K. Yeah, love
Speaker: But it was great because ah they were really able to help me prepare help even just being out there on course, you know, telling me, okay, between, you know, 13 and 17 miles, like things are going to be harder and you just got to push through that and then get through, you know, that section. And again, I think, I think the whole Olympic experience really trained me and taught me to not come in with expectations. So i don't think I came in with like, oh, like this is going to be really easy and it was really hard or vice versa. I think I just came in with a really open mind and um I had such supportive friends on course that I kind of just like ran it and I was like, well, that was really hard. And um at the end I didn't think I was going to do another one, but then, you know, here we are. ah
Speaker: ah Shocker. ah But I was definitely really stoked with it. um It definitely opened my eyes to The technical aspects of trail running, you know, I was really strong on the climbs and these descents. People were just passing me left and right and I was like like, this is just like robbery, you know. I've worked really hard on these climbs and now you have like the easy part going downhill and and I was very limited technically rather than aerobically. So that was – it was a really good motivator, I think, and um ah Alison Bucker won that race and she – I'm pretty sure it's come top 10 at OCC before. So, um you know, no slouch there, especially on the, on the descents. Um, but it it definitely opened my eyes to where my weaknesses were, um within that sport. And, and I think too, that I really liked just being able to compete, being able to have a goal, fulfill that goal and it beat outside of tri triathlon and find it fulfilling. Um, I think that was, Yeah.
Speaker: A really cool thing to realize. Fantastic. And then your next experience on the trails or from what I can see on on at least on your UTMB races was UTA earlier this year.
Speaker: um what was the What was the motivation to come back and race at UTA? We're very excited to see see you come over to Australia and race. um but what what was ah yeah why Why did you the start line at UTA?
Speaker: Uh, honestly, because my sister got married in Adelaide two weeks before. So I was like, well, I'm already down here. that's good. well that's good yeah glad We're glad that that lined up. That was really good. Yeah, exactly. so I was like, well, you know, i might as well. Um, I've never run in the blue mountains. I, it looks super pretty. I, I really wanted to run some pretty courses this year, which I was able to do. um And yeah, I thought it'd be nice to also race on race back in Australia. Like i I'd love racing in Australia, whether it be triathlon or trail or I don't know, whatever sport. So oh yeah, it was it was very, very lucky timing. Yeah.
Speaker: That's very cool. and And you managed to put yourself on a start line, like the most packed start line, I think, at UTA, if I remember correctly. Oh, my God. okay was Yeah. Very packed. And you had two superstars racing. So in any other year, you would have been on the podium or in the top three, I would say. um But you came fourth there.
Speaker: just I think just about three minutes or four minutes behind Holly Ranson. So a really impressive showing there. was it Had you started to put some of those things into practice from Desert Rats or after you sort of finished up triathlon in October, had you got yourself onto some more technical terrain or was there anything that you did to prepare for UTA? Yeah. No, um i was just doing Riley's workout. So Riley was training for, you know, one hundred k i'm pretty sure it was Canyons. um So i was just on Riley's training schedule. And I'll be honest, I had no idea about the stairs at UTA until I was there. And I was wondering, because I had seen on Instagram some people doing a lot of stairs, and I was like, i don't know, maybe they're just trying to get some vert. And then I got there and I was like, oh, this is why they were doing stairs. And i was like, should have done some stairs. Yeah.
Speaker: If there's one thing that people say about UTA, it's stairs. Oh, my God. oh my God. i And I had no clue, literally no clue. And they're like, how do you feel about the Ferber steps? And I was like, what are the Ferber steps? And let me tell you, I now am very well acquainted with the Ferber steps. ah But I think, honestly, what Sondra rated is all the stairs at the beginning, which you're also doing in the dark, and it was also wet. Yeah. Um, so, you know, I, I never run on trails in the dark before with a headlamp. Um, yeah. So i would like to say, i thought I was fairly prepared just from like training with Riley and just sort of running in general. um
Speaker: ah but the first hour I was like, oh my God, like I am so not prepared for this race. I'm not sure anyone was as prepared as they thought for the the stairs in the dark because usually usually it's not so dark. it was It was more dark than it usually is. say Oh, my God. It was pitch black. You got pitched up with the entire field. Pitch black.
Speaker: ah I was like, what have I gotten into? Yeah, that's a whole different type of racing. I'm assuming Riley's training probably put you in a good position physically though and and later in the race you were you were able to sort of make the most of that. Yeah, definitely. um Though I definitely got pretty worked by that last climb. um You know, that was that was pretty relentless and although it wasn't hot, it was definitely humid and I did not think about cooling at all. Obviously sort of coming from the winter in the US was not sort of heat acclimated at all. But, um yeah, ah it was my fitness took me pretty far in it, um thankfully, until until the wheels fell off about 5K to go, but that's all right. Yes.
Speaker: yeah Yeah. And is is did it did Holly pass you near the end? Is that right? Yeah. Or I can't remember exactly. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, like within the last 5K. I believe I had my head in a creek when Holly passed Yeah.
Speaker: i worry i got very hot and yeah. You're in very good company getting passed on that last climb. Don't worry. There's lot of people that been in that position.
Speaker: yeah I know. I was i was like 5K to go and I was like, I'm not going to make it. And I was like, oh, and then I passed like 100 miler and I was like, okay, they've been out here for like 24 hours longer than I can, like, like get over yourself and like keep running. So, hey going um, what was funny. oh there's um A lot of people nodding their head thing, remembering a similar situation on, on that climb. I was just so unaware of the last, like what the last, you know, 15 had in store for me, but i um
Speaker: I was running with a guy and we were sort of getting closer and closer to the end and and we started sort of going up the steps and stairs and I was like, are these the Ferber steps? And he was like, no, no, no. And we go up some more steps and he's like, i I'm like, are these the Ferber steps? He's like, no, no, no. And then suddenly I see a ladder and I was like, oh those are the Ferber steps.
Speaker: um But yeah, he was like, no, these are just warm up stairs. And I was like, this is just cruel. Oh, yeah so yeah, it it was a bit of a comical experience.
Speaker: Fantastic. And then was was you were saying before, like when you were doing the triathlon, you were looking at Chamonix Valley when it was on in 2025 and it was somewhere you wanted to be. Was after you finished triathlon in the end of 2025, was OCC the thing that you had on your mind? Like is that...
Speaker: what every all the year has led up to this year is that is that what it's been happening i wouldn't say it's necessarily led up to occ um but i definitely that was like the first race i had on the schedule um you know when my sister decided to put a wedding in may you know uta got put on the schedule um i kind of was a bit wishy-washy with my plans but that was one race that i knew i definitely wanted to do um and then um A bit later, I signed up for Power 4, which is a racing just in Colorado in Aspen, um which was a 50k with 10,000 feet of climbing. um But it's sort of between, ah let me use the metric system, ah three or just under meters to meters. So it's pretty high. um So i was like, okay, I'm going to do that the month before and if I can do that at altitude, then I can hopefully do a 60K sea level basically or what felt like sea level after being at 3,000 meters.
Speaker: Yeah, that seems like seems like good logic. I like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So yeah that was that was a month before. And yeah and then did you head to Chamonix? Were you in Chamonix a little bit before OCC or did you turn up mostly just to race? Pretty much just to race. I came out on the 10th of August. Yeah, so I think 10 days before or so. Yeah, nice, nice. and yeah And have you been to Chamonix before?
Speaker: No, never. so What was it like when you first got there? I like asking this question because I remember when first got to Chamonix, I was like, is this place real? Am I in AI at the moment? I know. Boulder's pretty. Boulder's really beautiful. yeah There's beautiful trails. There's sunshine. This is next level. i I keep telling people that I have you the same picture from outside our Airbnb experience.
Speaker: like 10 times on my phone from each date because I'll just wake up and be like, oh my God, it's so beautiful. And just take the same photo. I'm like, so if you already have 10 photos exactly the same. And <unk> i see I just couldn't stop taking photos. Like, yeah, it was honestly like unreal. Like it it's it's almost insulting to the rest of the world ah yeah how beautiful it is. So yeah. And it's the sort of thing that you can't you can't quite capture in a photo and you can't quite capture, it even in the video, like you're watching the UTMB live.
Speaker: um yeah And I'd watch races in Chamonix before I went to Chamonix myself. I'd watch maybe Marathon Mont Blanc or maybe OCC or something. And then you get there and you're like, oh, my God, this is is not, is it's just, yeah. It's something about the 3D nature of it in real life is is like blows you away. Yeah. And, yeah.
Speaker: In Boulder, you know, you're already quite high. um and so even though the mountains are still high, you you don't have that that dramatic, the um you know, the difference between... where we are and the top of the mountain is only a couple um thousand feet where the valley of Chamonix to the top of Mount Blanc is many, many, many thousand feet or thousand metres. And, you know, like their mountains are just like so dramatic. I'm like, yeah yeah it's it's quite literally jaw-dropping when you see the mountains there. Yeah.
Speaker: and And when you first rocked into town, was there any, like, what were your feelings around racing? was Was there any sort of reservations or were you was it a bit intimidating when you first got there being like, oh, I've got to race in this or we sort of excited just to get out there? I was excited then be Beth um and I went and did some some recon from a Triant to Latour and it took a really long time and I was like, was this a confidence building exercise? um You know, at least, yeah, it was like the most technical section. Yeah. It was like, um I don't know like the whole month we had like perfect weather with like a little bit of rain maybe in the evenings.
Speaker: And then this one day it was just like torrential rain the whole day. and this happened to be the one day Beth and Sophie were like, yeah, we're going to go out on course on the most technical section. And the higher section, it was it was up a colder bomb. So it was over 8,000 feet. and Oh, boy. My hands were so cold I couldn't, um you know, collapse my poles.
Speaker: um Yeah, it was it was it was technical and like the rocks and the steepness is is very, very different to what we have out here. um So, you know, it was it was not super confidence building oh it's that recon day. Yeah. But I was excited, just like i just wanted to go out. I wanted to also run Côte d'Abbam when we weren't socked in so I could see the views because everyone was like, oh, it's so beautiful up there. And when we got up there the first time, was just a complete whiteout. So, yeah i was excited to run it when it wasn't socked in so we could have some, you know, pretty views to look at whilst we softened. Yeah.
Speaker: And luckily the weather was a lot better or maybe not. You guys had quite warm weather. I'm interested to hear how you managed that. um But see, it would have been good training for CCC if you'd been doing that because I feel like that's what the day was like in CCC. Yeah.
Speaker: I saw a meme and it was um Goldilocks eating the three bears porridge. And it was like, this one's too hot. And it was OCC. This one's too cold. It was CCC. And like, this one's just right with UTMB. And I was like, that is so accurate. Like if very if anyone asks what the weather was like for the races, like send them that meme. Because it was it was hot and I didn't realize ah European races that they don't have ice at their aid stations. So I was you know like okay, you know this is fine. I've got my ice bandana. I'll be able to get ice at the AZs aids. And then, ah yeah, Riley was like, no, no, no there's no ice there. ah This is Europe racing. And I was like, silly me. I should have known.
Speaker: yeah oh Yeah. They don't have air conditioners, so they don't have ice either. Yeah. Exactly, exactly. Which I was fairly dismayed about, but that's all right. Got over it. I watched all three races separately, so I don't think I really conceptualized like the three, that like you were saying just then, like the three different weathers. But it's pretty, like when you think about it, it's pretty crazy to have those three different weathers in within three days in the exact same place.
Speaker: Like, yeah, for you wouldn't have expected that, it given that they run back to back to back essentially, you wouldn't have expected to be the conditions be that different. Yeah. Yeah. I think that is where, you know, living in Boulder does prepare you for that. We've had times where it would be 30 degrees and sunny and then snowed that weekend. So that the amount like living in the mountains out here definitely prepares you for like any kind of weather on any kind of day and it can flip on a dime. But i was definitely shocked on how hot it was for our race. um I did not expect
Speaker: Just how hot it was. I sort of expected, i don't know, watching it, it was hard. Like obviously um'm so you're seeing more of the people at the front, so you're maybe not seeing as many people suffering.
Speaker: um But I was so surprised I didn't see more people really struggling with the conditions. in the main part of the race, did you see more people struggling with the conditions in terms of the heat and having to stop um that sort of thing or was it was it most people sort of still getting it done? I think probably where both of us were, people were still kind of getting it done. I'm sure that there was more carnage behind us though, you know, those people that are taking over 10 hours. You know, that's a long time to be out there in the heat and I think that that's probably where there was – There was a lot more carnage going on. um You know, there's a lot longer between aid stations for them as well, ah which you kind of forget about as well. Definitely.
Speaker: Definitely. Yeah, I definitely saw a bit of carnage. Yeah. yeah um Yeah, I saw lots of people dropping dropping out, but like it's so hard to know. Like, are they dropping out so they went too hard and they decided to stop or is the heat getting to them? um But I imagine the heat was a big factor. Yeah, i thought it was. um Yeah, I saw like, yeah, it was like like really good athletes um like stopping at aid stations for like a long time and then like not seeing them again. So um I think it was pretty brutal, especially if they hadn't been able to train in the heat like leading up. Definitely, yeah definitely. And, you know, there was a couple smaller aid stations too where they were only allowing you to fill up one bottle and things like that. yeah. I think some athletes... Oh, they're only letting you yeah We want water rations. wow. Cold a
Speaker: That's crazy. So, you know, i think I think there was a lot of athletes that probably, yeah, suffered because of that. And ah honestly, one thing i think that UTA taught me was I didn't stop...
Speaker: at the emergency aid station and then ran out of water which also led to my demise in the last 5k and after that i was like i'm never going past an aid station again ah because yeah holly was right on my tail and i was like oh i'll be fine we got like 6k left and i was like you silly silly girl um so so that right so uh during occ I stopped at every single aid station, every single tiny water stop. I stopped, um, to fill up. I was like, fool me once, not again. but Amazing. Yeah. And they probably paid dividends in the, especially with the conditions. Um, yeah we're going to get to both of you. Um, but Sophie, while we're, while we're on you, do you want to tell us a little bit about how the race panned out for you and, um, yeah, what your experience was? Yeah, um obviously, like, the start was, like, pretty fast, but not as fast as I was expecting. Not actually as fast as UTA that we went out because we went out very, very hard. Well, I went out very hard. They probably went out to their appropriate pace. Yeah.
Speaker: But, yeah, it was it was definitely, like, busy. I know some girls fell on the start line. There was some some screaming going on, and I was like, oh, my God. Oh, wow. You know, there's already people down, and we're 10 meters off the line. Yeah.
Speaker: But, yeah, it definitely, like, sort of not spread out, but I feel like I had, like, room to breathe pretty quickly. um i was feeling, like, really strong up the climbs, which was great, but definitely every downhill um that was technical, there was just so many goals passing me, and I was like, damn it. Yeah.
Speaker: You know, and ah the the European girls are just so, so quick on on that terrain. And, you know, kudos to them. They're extremely technically savvy. You know, a lot of them are sky runners. Greta, who I was rooming with the the night before the race, she was like, oh, this is not a technical course at all. And i was like, no, it depends who you are. But, yeah, like –
Speaker: um but yeah like it was It was definitely a good experience. I loved um going up Côte d'Abbam. I did not love that descent, but I knew I wasn't going to love that descent. I was just sort of hanging out to get to Latour so we could go back up again. um ah Yeah, once we got to Augentier, the crowds have really started to to become um you know quite big out there, and I think it was a really good vibe being sort of 10K from the finish. and um I feel like I...
Speaker: I don't know what I was like thinking about the rest of the race, except for the last 10 K, which I guess like recency bias, you know, holds true. But, uh, you know, i was kind of cruising along in the flat, um, and you get maybe four K from the finish and there's like a pretty short, but brutal hill at like,
Speaker: fifty six k or whatever it was And I kind of get up and over that. And then i like really started to crack. And I was running with a guy and and he was just like really coaching me through it, which was hilarious and and was very kind of him. But Um, yeah, here I was being like, okay, the last 10 K a flat. And even though I knew that hill was there, I'd only run it when I was fresh. And, you know, when you're fresh versus 56 K in is a very different sensation. um and it was just kind of funny, like suffering my way into town. Um, you know, even on that last little downhill, um I think that's been a sort of fairly constant theme is me cracking five K from the finish, no matter the distance. Um, but yeah, like it it was just like overall really good experience. The, the kids on the side of the road, you know, when we were, um, heading out of town, they were, they were all lining the roads, you know, asking for high fives. It was, it was so cool and so special. And, and everyone that I was around on the trail was, was so nice and supportive, especially a lot of the guys that we were running around, you know, just like,
Speaker: um a really good vibe overall the whole day. Fantastic. Yeah, sounds like a fun experience. Definitely looked very fun. The Colter Barn looked beautiful on the live stream, so good that you got the view this time.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. I was like, enjoy the view. you only see this once. Yeah, fantastic. And you managed to get it done just over seven hours, come in 25th.
Speaker: um In terms of like performance-wise, had you set yourself any goals or benchmarks or anything going in or was it just to sort of enjoy it? Like what was your expectations? Yeah. Honestly, I really didn't know how I would go um and and i very much, you know, since – leaving triathlon, I left because it was really intense and kind of all consuming. And I really wanted to go again into this race being, I just want to have a good experience. And if I want to push really hard, then I want to push really hard. And if i you know, I'm not really feeling it, I want to just enjoy the day, then I'm going to enjoy the day. And i i it's kind of like hard to unlearn those behaviors from like triathlon. um But I'm really sort of trying to
Speaker: you know and and make sure that these experiences are really positive and really fun because you know at the end of the day right now, like I'm doing this for fun. I'm doing this because I want to do this and I've chosen to do this and there's no one holding me you know um hostage to the trails or anything. There's no Olympic cycle that's like you know like um keeping you in the sport. And so I really wanted to be intentional about it being yeah, a positive day no matter what happens. And I think it is it is ah a weird spot to be because i am – to tell people that I'm just doing it as a hobby is like a disservice to the to the women that I'm racing against. um And to tell them I'm not taking it seriously, like –
Speaker: So it's like this weird duality of like you can do something for fun, but also still want to do it well. um So like I want to run for fun, but I also want to do it well. But that doesn't mean that i have to take it really seriously, if that makes sense. Yeah, makes of And like I respect the hell out of the girls that I'm racing against um and the time and effort put into the training and and racing um but i also want to make it clear that like i'm doing this for me and to fulfill whatever you know broken bits inside me that that seem to think a 60k is a good idea or is a fun a fun thing to do in my spare time so i don't like to say that people only do ultra running if they have some sort of trauma
Speaker: um Yeah, yeah. You're giving her yeah. and but but it's like Some people just want to do it because it's fun, but it turns out. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: But it's it's hard because it's like you have an elite bib and you're like, no I'm just doing this for fun. And people are like, oh like, yeah, yeah like i don't I don't want to be disrespectful to anyone that I'm racing against. But but i think I think I'm allowed to.
Speaker: Yeah, do it for fun but want to do well. Yeah, i I love that. That's ah that's ah it's a really nice sentiment. It's something that I will try and take forward, I think, because I think like it's very easy to get caught up in not having fun and just focusing on the just focusing on the I want to do well. um Whereas I think we probably all could lean a little bit more into the I want to have fun.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. And I think for me, especially coming from triathlon, it's just like the default is like the result, you know. um yeah So I'm like, I need to separate these two things. Well, you have a fantastic benchmark now and you you know what the Chamonix Valley is 25th is no no ah mean feat there either. So, yeah, very impressive result. and Thank you. Maybe a little bit later we might hear for at the end, we'll hear from what's coming up for you. um While we're on OCC, Jess, I'd love to hear
Speaker: about your race um and also the last few weeks of your preparation. um A quick break in the show to thank Bix. Bix has just come out with their 30 gram gel in two brand new flavors. This is a new gel, new flavors. You've got the choice of the salted strawberry or the berry. The salted strawberry is also packing 300 milligrams of sodium. an increase whereas the berry has 200 milligrams. Both make them perfect for the conditions we have in Australia, yeah whereas most gels on the market do not have sodium within them. What Bix has done here is take the recipe for the gels that work so well, that 1.8 ratio that is very, very friendly on the stomach and added a soft, subtle, but very tasty twist that you can dial in your race day and your training nutrition to that extra fine detail.
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Speaker: So maybe you can take us back to, I don't, I think maybe we caught up with you maybe two or three weeks before the race. You've just arrived in Chamonix. Yeah, I just want to quickly like wrap up on Sophie. Oh, sorry. From what saw. Like I think, yeah, hearing, um yeah, like how you approached Paris in triathlon, it's really cool to kind of like, because I got to see you like kind of the day the night before the race um and like your kind of aura. Like you just had, I felt you had this like confidence and like calmness about you that I think
Speaker: like is probably something that you've brought from triathlon and like having that experience at like big competitions and like knowing how to handle that. um But also I think it's like you're in a really cool spot at the moment where like you want to take the pressure off and like you want to take this like a bit of seriousness out of it and like enjoy it.
Speaker: But also like you kind of have those like good habits from your time as a professional athlete. So I think it's really cool to see and it's like, it's such an awesome approach to the sport that I think like a lot of people can learn from, like including myself.
Speaker: So thanks yes, it was really cool, really cool to share that experience with you. Yeah. Yeah. It was, it was so much fun to to be on the start line together. That was, that was ah great having another Australian as well. um Yeah. So For me, like I had a really cool um trip over in Europe. um Yeah, it was surreal, like being there for three weeks before the race and then UTMB week. um Yeah, i've I loved it. Like it was probably, yeah, the coolest, like my favourite trip that I've ever done. But like just I think like it's just great.
Speaker: grown my love for the sport so much like I want to go back next year like so much it was just epic um and like a lot of people said that to me but I didn't really like anticipate like how much it would affect me and like how much I love the sport so was really cool um and I was super lucky like I got to stay in Essex Chalet for three weeks which is in a little town called Les Hooches. Yeah, I'm not probably not pronouncing it right still, but um it's like a 10-minute drive from Chamonix further down the valley, um which was awesome. Like the training, you can sort of run from the door.
Speaker: um We had a little gym set up. We had like physio twice a week. um And yeah, just like everything you needed, like a little kitchen. um It was a really cool setup. Like I got to really soak it in and like got to get out on course for my last two big long runs, um which I think was super valuable um because I, yeah, we had like quite hot weather.
Speaker: um while I was there. So I think that was like really good to train in that, like coming from Canberra winter, um, it was good to kind of get that heat exposure, um, leading into the race. Like, I think that helped me a lot because yeah, although I definitely felt the heat in the race, I don't think it like derailed my performance at all. Um,
Speaker: which is really good. um and yeah, like being able to like see the course and like know like how long to expect a climb to be is like super important, I think, just like mentally.
Speaker: um Yeah, i Nice one. And you did the you did the full course over two days, you said. Uh, not, yeah, like, um, on separate weekends. Oh, in two different runs, yep.
Speaker: Yep. So the first long run i did from Trient into Chamonix. So that was, like, 37k or something, like, four hours, like, a bit over four hours. Um, and it was really hot that day. So, and I was, yeah, I was, like, very slow that day. So it was, uh,
Speaker: Good experience at like feeling a bit crappy on the course and like just pushing through. I think it was just like I'd only been there for a week so I was still like a bit, yeah, just getting used to the heat.
Speaker: um Yeah, and then the last long run was like the other half of the course. say ah from the start to Treant, yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. And did doing those two runs, like, did they, ah did you did you come off them feeling more prepared were you feeling like, was there any sort of reservations about certain parts of the course or did you feel some confidence having sort of been out there and seen it? Like, I feel like it can sometimes go either way. Hopefully most of the time it goes like, once you see you're like, oh no, I can achieve that. That's fine. Like, is that sort of how you're feeling coming out of it? um I definitely felt like after the first one, a bit of a blow to the confidence because I just felt so horrible.
Speaker: And the climb out of Trient is like pretty technical. um And I was like, oh, this is going to. hurt at this stage of the race um so I was yeah like I was a bit worried about that and it's like yeah it sort of stays a bit techie once you kind of get to the top as well and I did have a little fall in that long run um which it wasn't too bad but like yeah I was like oh I'm I was just kind of thinking I was going to be slow in that section. um But I mean, compared to like Worlds, which is the other race that I've done overseas, I was like, oh, this is, it's not as bad. Like the technical sections don't go for as long. I'm not like on my hands and knees like crawling up and up.
Speaker: I'm sure I can get through it. Yeah. Yeah. Fantastic. But yeah, the second, like the second course recce, I felt a lot better um and a lot stronger. So that was like, it was really good to get that run in. um It was like a bit longer.
Speaker: i think it was like three and three and a half hours or a bit over that, um which is probably a bit longer than what I would usually do two weeks out from a race. um But I think it was like a valuable run to get in just like for the confidence.
Speaker: Yeah, for sure. Yeah, there' sometimes there's sometimes that balance between seeing the course and then not doing too much is really tricky to get right. um But it sounds like it was definitely valuable to sort of see that first part, especially the first part of a course, I feel like can be really useful to know so that it's not like, well, you're still, there's not too many new things on on when the gun goes off, you're sort of like, okay, i I've been here before, I've done this, i just need to, yeah this will be next and that sort of stuff.
Speaker: yeah Yeah, fantastic. And did you stay with the ASICS people? I saw you doing, you were having a nice photo shoot and like in some of the like some of the content and whatnot, like were you with ASICS over the week as over the sort of UTMB week as well?
Speaker: Yeah. So for UTMB week, we got moved to like a hotel, um, more in like the center of town, um, which was, yeah like a totally different vibe. Um, a lot more like chaotic, like there was just things happening like all throughout the day. um I was sharing a room with like three other athletes in like a tiny little hotel room. Um, but also like, it was amazing. Like just, we got like catered breakfast, lunch and dinner, um, There's coaches around constantly, like massages all day um yeah and just like amazing like athletes to talk to and be around. so it was amazing.
Speaker: really, really cool. I definitely like, I think after having that experience, like next time I would probably try and like have a bit more time to myself. Cause like, I'm definitely like more introverted and I felt like I was like kind of sitting at dinner, like talking until 9pm every night. And like, yeah, i it definitely takes a lot of energy. like I just like struggled to switch off at nighttime. so yeah, the days leading into the race, I like um I wasn't sleeping very well, which is kind of annoying. um Yeah. So that was like the only thing that like kind of frustrated me because I felt super prepared leading into the race. Like my training was going really well.
Speaker: And then I think like, yeah, like thinking about it now in hindsight, I kind of sabotaged it a little bit with like not setting those boundaries. But at the same time, it's like hard to know.
Speaker: It's hard to know to do that when you haven't like had that experience before. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. For sure. Sounds like, yeah, like yeah one had an awesome experience. Like we've been so cool to be part of that sort of like high performance culture that ASICs are obviously bringing to the UTMB week. Also like great that you can learn like what what works for you and next time you can try and make sure that you maybe do do a couple of things that help you sort of have your space because yeah, that sounds...
Speaker: Sounds like I was very jealous seeing all the all the stuff you were doing. It looked very cool. um Yeah, it was so cool. Like we had like manicure people come and like, like hey which I loved. um And yeah, it was like even just like the race briefing, like sitting in a room with like sarah alonso eda and like miguel and yeah just all these amazing runners and just like and like it was the first time i'd actually been through the race in that much detail like before the race i was just wow this is like it feels like a team sport like yes it just yeah reminded me of like when i used to play hockey and like we would come up with like a strategy i was like yeah yeah i love that um
Speaker: And then like, yeah, even like, um so they moved us to ah another hotel closer to the start line. Like that was insanely like helpful because yes everyone else had to get up at like 3am to like get a bus at like 4am to get to the start line because it was like a 90 minute drive from Chamonix to Ossiez.
Speaker: um But we like got a bit of a sleep, hit like I didn't sleep, but like we got to stay in a hotel. like a um I think it was like a 20 minute drive from the start line and like, which is so amazing, like just to have that like support and um yeah, like even waking up the morning of the race, like I didn't get like any sleep at all. And I was like a bit tired.
Speaker: just sitting there at breakfast, like a bit like, oh no, like kind of dazzled, at like frazzled. And um the like team manager just like comes up to me without me even like asking. And he's like, just gives me this like pep talk. And like it completely, like it helped so much, like just having that.
Speaker: And like, then I was able to just like sit in the car, like on the way and like We were listening to Eminem and like, I don't know, it was just, it like, it really helped to like switch my mindset to just being like, um enjoy it and like, yeah, don't worry about the sleep. Like you'll still get through the race.
Speaker: Yeah, amazing. I was going to bring that up because I thought that was, you did a post on Instagram about that moment at breakfast um and how that sort of just that small conversation really sort of helped you flip the flip the script a little bit. And I thought that was like, yeah, that was really interesting and cool to hear. Yeah. such ah Such a, yeah, I can imagine like when he when he did that, he didn't sort of realize the impact he was making, but it possibly flips the the whole start of your day, which is pretty amazing.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that sort of thing, like just suck it off and get through it. It wasn't like suck it off and get through it, but like there like there was a bit of a language barrier. So it kind of like came across as that.
Speaker: as that And i I think I respond really well to that kind of pep talk. So yeah, it really helped. Yeah. Amazing, amazing. um And then standing on the start line a couple hours later, um I saw, yeah, you're there with Sophie, Beth was there, sort of would have felt nice to have some people around that that you knew or that you just sort of yeah met recently. um Were you feeling feeling good on the start line? Obviously, there's a lot of nerves I can imagine, but like how was it a few hours later when you're at the start? Yeah, like...
Speaker: I was, yeah, just trying to like trying to feel as positive as I could. like um Yeah, like I had kind of like the feel, i you know when you haven't had sleep and you feel a bit hungover?
Speaker: I had that feeling in my in my head. so I was like, yeah. yeah I was just trying not to think about it um but like the actual start line was a lot more chill than um the world's start line for sure like at worlds I remember we were just getting pushed by people like right on the start like 10 minutes before the start line like getting pushed back back back but this one was like you had your space like it wasn't like that pushy until like the gun actually went off Um, and even then, like there was sort of sort of like a mosh pit for like a few seconds and people were like, you're just like trying to stay on your feet cause everyone's like surging forward. Surging. Yeah. Um, but yeah, as long as you can stay on your feet, like it opens up after that.
Speaker: Um, and it's good the way they do it because they do like a little out and back on like a wide road. So you've sort of got time to like get into your groove before you start climbing. Which I think is different to some previous years. i i heard that it used to be in an alleyway and people would like fall on like the curbs to the sidewalk. So I think hopefully it was intentional there, the the change and and the slightly less hectic start. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, it's it's useful when you can get into position and everyone, like I feel like that takes sometimes like a kilometre. Like you think of like road races where people start, it takes like at least a kilometre until people sort of get into their position. So it's useful to have that wider section.
Speaker: um The first climb, is it a little bit more open or is it straight into some sort of single track? No, it's a road for most of it. And then there's a little bit of trail like at the very end.
Speaker: Okay. Yeah. So you have a little bit more time to get in position. How was the first part of the race, Jess, maybe through to Trion? Like how did how did that part go um in terms of ah the racing? Were you feeling like once you got going, were you feeling good? Yeah, I think so. I was like um like the first climb is kind of like my strength, like just running up a road, a steep road.
Speaker: And I felt really controlled. Like I was running alongside – Bianca and Kimi from like the South African athletes. um And i like I really look up to them because I love like their posts on social media. So I was like talking to them, um which is nice. And then, yeah, got up to Champagne Lac and still felt like pretty good.
Speaker: um And then it sort of starts descending and like it gets a little bit a little bit like more tree rooty and techy. And i felt like I was holding my ground pretty well. So like I was really proud of that. Like I was like Marlon, can't remember her last name, but she won Zagama. Like she was having a bad day, but she was like around me.
Speaker: So i was like, that's great. I'm running with Marlon yeah that's cool and then yeah unfortunately she was one of the ones that DNF'd um but yeah like the second climb was like I don't know I felt started definitely feeling it then feeling like it was getting tough um Like it just felt a little bit different to when I did the course recce there. um so yeah, I think coming out of that climb, i was feeling okay, but like into Trient I definitely like I think I was like starting to panic a little bit.
Speaker: um Like I think the heat maybe like I started to feel it um and like just noticed like my breathing was getting a bit short. um But, i yeah i I think it was – probably like mostly mental, just like once it started to get hard, it was really hard to stay calm that day, um which I think was probably like the lack of sleep.
Speaker: um And then, yeah, I actually like, so I wanted to get some gels because like, um If, yeah, the listeners don't know, it was like fully self-crewed as well. um So we had to carry like all of our gels.
Speaker: um And I was packing my vest the night before and like I think I packed like maybe four out four or five hours worth of gels. And I was like, oh, I just, it was already so heavy. I was like, oh, or whatever. I'll just like pick up some other ones.
Speaker: So then, yeah, I like wanted to pick up some gels at Triant and i was like looking for the gels and then I like tripped on the timing mat and just like supermanned across the bitumen. No.
Speaker: And then I was like, oh, and I was already panicking and like the thought of like DNF was coming into my brain because I think like I'd seen other people pull out and I was just like, oh, like, should I be doing that? Like, if I'm already not feeling great and there's like so much left to go. Yeah. So anyway, and then I just, I kept going. So I was like, oh, like, just see if you come good. And then Beth passed me like very early into the climb, like the Triant climb.
Speaker: and I, yeah, again, like had a little bit of a panic moment. I was like, I can't do this, blah, blah, blah. And then she, Beth was really amazing. Like she was like, just slow down a bit and like, see how you feel. and I was like, okay. And then I just like hiked pretty much the whole climb um and like tried to get my heart rate down. um And like, I actually, yeah, the other thing I kind of like probably did wrong this race was um I had too much caffeine because I was trying to counteract to the lack of sleep. So I think, yeah, I don't know. Caffeine's never like affected me too badly before, but I think I just went a bit overboard. Yeah.
Speaker: this one I think with the heat as well the only time I've ever had issues with caffeine is when I had too much and it was hot yeah I think that's what was causing the panic like yeah I don't know the short breathing um so I stopped having the caffeine gels and um yeah like once I got to the top of Coda Balm I started to feel like i could I had another, like, kind of boost, like like something left. So i was like, okay, I'm going to get to the finish. And that's when I decided I was like I'm getting to the finish, like, no matter what. And then, yeah, the rest of the race was, like, really hard. um
Speaker: i Like I noticed my legs were, like, like really hurting on the descents, especially, like, coming down into the tour. I was, like, ah really starting to feel it. And then, yeah,
Speaker: Yeah, like getting to Argentina and then you're at 50K and then you're like, oh, my God, I still have 11K to go. And it's already so hot. um And, like, I was also, like, just so, like, kind of tired. I forgot grab, like, any nutrition So like the last 11K, I was just like sucking, I was trying to suck like all my gel packets like reserves out because I was like, oh, get the last crams out.
Speaker: But yeah, like and then I was like cramping a bit after that last little pinch, but I made it to the finish, which is like amazing. And like looking at the result, it was like a very surprising. I didn't expect to come in at 35th and I didn't expect to like kind of hold the like where I was in the race, like coming into Trient, I think I was thirtieth um and then So to only lose like five places after that when I was like probably not feeling the best, like I'm i'm pretty proud of that.
Speaker: Yeah, amazing. Even time-wise, like having look at your result and not knowing much about how your race went, I was not expecting you to describe it like that. So like given that it didn't feel great, your result is awesome. Like I looked at that result and went, wow, that's ah that's an incredible result, especially like the time behind. um Like yeah if you look at the gap to the to the first woman, it's it's really like – comparatively it's and it's not that big. So, yeah, you didn't even like hemorrhage heaps of time even though that felt pretty hard from Triant onwards. So, yeah, I think that was, yeah, wasn't expecting you to describe it that way. So there you go. lots of There's lots to build on the next time.
Speaker: Yeah, I think like physically I was in such a good spot for this race. So like yeah um it was yet it was just mentally that bit where like I just I couldn't stay calm.
Speaker: is something that like i I still need to work on. But I think like given all of the like 50K or like marathon races that I've had in the last year where like I've had really bad stomach issues, um to not have that is like a massive win and to feel like I feel like myself more myself like physically on the climbs and descents is like a huge win for me. So I'm super happy.
Speaker: Yeah, it's awesome. I was very impressed. I thought it was a great result. And especially like I think like listening to you talk about your races over the last year and a half, um it definitely looks like you're sort of moving in the right direction. And I'm excited to see what you could do next year if like things go even better. So yeah, that's yeah, great racing. Well done. oh Thank you. Awesome. Any questions, Sophie, anything that you picked up on there that you that you heard? Like, I know you guys are running in the same race. So, yeah, I was interested know. Yeah. youd need
Speaker: I think Jess had like a far more descriptive, um, you know, recount of her experience. I was like, you know what? Suddenly we're in on, on frontier. angentier and i was like, well, but so I think I just kind of like, i don't know. I think that usually happens to me in races where I just, I, I don't like black it out or anything, but I just forget about like all the stuff that happens before, like the early road climbs, the early turkey bits. Um,
Speaker: Yeah, so it it was really good to actually hear a ah more descriptive recount of the race. And i was like, oh, yeah, that was really hard, like, for descent into Latour. Like, it was steep and it was hot. And, yeah, so thank you for making me relive that, Jess. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: trauma and testing yeah Yeah, all all the bad bits that I had blocked out. Yeah, yeah. yeah So good. Well, it was great to hear. great Great results from the Australian contingent as well, we can call it, with um with Beth as well in there. um Beth was in Australia.
Speaker: ah hundred and um It's not giving me the women's result, but she was in between the two of you. um And so you were all pretty close in the end. 28th and 29th. Cool. Yeah, it's the UTMB's like reverted to the only full results now, so I couldn't see the women's result. um But, yeah, that's yeah so cool to see all three of you within about 20 minutes as well um and all having such strong performances. So it was nice to see some Aussies.
Speaker: in the mix. So well done. um And Jess, you're going to be back there next year or that's the goal, does it sound like? ah Yeah. I mean, I don't have a qualifier yet. so Yes.
Speaker: um To be confirmed. Yeah. We'll see. And Sophie, something that you would like to do again or what do you think? ah Definitely. um i i did actually snag a qualifier at UTA this year. great.
Speaker: So, yeah, because it's top ten being the top five. Yeah, the major. Top ten being the major. I think it's top ten for major, yeah. Yep, yep, because it's usually top three. So, um yeah, I'll definitely be back. i went and When I came back this year, i was like, well, it looks like I'm going to the Alps every summer. Bummer. Bummer.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. Whoops. Um, you know, I think I'll be out there whether I'm racing OCC or CCC or, or supporting, um you know, other athletes, I, want I will definitely be out there. um and I definitely want to give, um, you know, European racing another crack. I think it was a really, really eyeopening experience to see the, the, the trails that we need to run on. And I think there's also a lot to be gained, um You know, just by being able to move over that terrain a lot quicker. And and you don't even need more fitness, you know. You just got to get more technically proficient.
Speaker: Definitely, definitely. Fantastic. Well, hopefully we see you both back there next year. But otherwise, I'm sure we'll see you in some other great races. Thanks for sharing all of that detail. um Great to hear the stories. um We'll fly through a few other things, a few news topics, a few results. so ah there was... ah Actually, we we didn't this was a few weeks ago back in August, but um the selection criteria for the world mountain running World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in 2027 in South Africa have been released on the Athletics Australia website.
Speaker: um I believe that Autra is going to be pushing that out a little bit as well and maybe we'll see some social posts and whatnot about it. But yeah, that's up. If people want to head over to the Athletics Australia website, you can see...
Speaker: That selection criteria there, I guess the main thing is that nominations will open in December this year um and to be considered, you have to they'll close in 22nd of March, which is after the Buffalo KMR weekend.
Speaker: And the qualifying period is between the 1st of February, 2026 and 21st of March. So again, that that Buffalo KMR weekend is the last weekend for qualifying period. So yeah. That's ah from last year. Like last time it was a shorter period. Shorter period was it?
Speaker: Yeah, it was like, um, definitely not. It wouldn't have been the first half of like the year before. So they've extended. Yeah. Okay. Cool. Yeah. Fantastic. Yeah. Well, hopefully that will give you some ah historical races that people have done, whether injuries or other bits and pieces that have stopped them. There is a few other small changes. There's some automatic spots. at least for mountain running and I think maybe for the first in the first place in the trail running races at the Australian Champs, which will be at KMR. So first for short trail and long trail, I think. um I'm saying this now. I read the criteria about a week ago, so ah sorry if I got that wrong. um
Speaker: The other main thing is they've scrapped some of the race distance stuff that was – or not scrapped it, but it's been reduced. So you can run – races closer to the championships and the distances have changed a little bit which in in the past when world chance was end of september precluded some people running utmb and other races at that um that week so that's probably something a bit different um so people can theoretically do both now even if i think maybe even if they wanted to run utmb i'm not sure i haven't looked at the exact times for those longer distances but there's a bit more flexibility there um Yeah, and then the automatic spots.
Speaker: ah So, yeah, some some good changes, I think. um I didn't have any big issues with the selection criteria, so that's a I'm usually pretty picky, so that's a good sign. um But, yeah, you can head over to the website and have a look at...
Speaker: if you want some more details and I'm sure we'll be talking about ah that in future as well. um Sophie, is that something that you'd be interested in the future? I'm sure it's a question some of our listeners would have for you.
Speaker: Jeff, i'm I'm looking at you. I think Jeff would be asking whether Sophie's going to be going for World Champs next year. Oh, honestly, i have no idea. i have no idea. That was what I thought you were going to say. Yeah, like I wish I had a better answer, but I i feel like I'm just very much like going wherever like the wind takes me at this point. um So it's it's it's very, very up in the air, but I'll never say never.
Speaker: Yeah, fantastic. I think there'll be a few people that will be trying to convince you to put your name in the ring when it gets closer to the time. um Jess, is that something like you've been to world champs in in Spain and and then you were sort of on the team in Austria? Is it something that you'd like to have a ah crack at again?
Speaker: Yeah, definitely. um I really enjoy yeah being part of the Australian team, so it would be my big goal for next year. Yeah, fantastic. And it's it's good that now i think I think definitely you can still do OCC and World Champs based on the timelines. so Yeah, for sure.
Speaker: Yeah. Which is great for because I know even if you were wanting to do, say You can do something at UTMB week now, whereas I think last time you couldn't even do OCC based on the timelines, um which is yeah was a bit of a shame, um whereas this time it's not. So big ah positive changes there. um um We won't linger too long because I'm sure we'll come back to that in the future. ah James has just put in here, that the World Skyrunning Champs is on 18th to 20th of September.
Speaker: um i don't think I've seen anything about it. He's just put here that we haven't really seen anything about it. um There were some ah nominations put on the website, but can't see any team announced or anything like that. So a bit unclear whether anything's happening with the World Skyrunning Champs, um which is little bit of a shame because we have had some – some teams go to that in the past that have then been a bit of a pipeline into other uh high level racing so um it's not quite the world champs for trail running um it's a much sort of less competitive but also less sort of big uh fanfare and all that then ah than uh than the world champs but um it is a nice little pipeline so yeah bit of a watch this space but it looks like maybe nothing's happening there this year
Speaker: um Not sure there's too much more to say for that. um But yes, and their last piece of news was that ORCHA have opened expressive expressions of interest for state representatives. So if that's something that you might be interested in, they're looking for... people to sort of link local running community to ORTRA. So they're trying to get some engagement on the ground in each state ah so that they can sort of meet the needs of what they're needing, vice versa. So um if you're looking, if you're interested in that sort of ah role, then you can head over to the ORTRA website um and there is a sort of position description, some more details around what that role would actually look like. um and yeah, you can send an email to Autra just with a little basic ah message of why you're interested. um You don't have to do a formal CV, so pretty easy ah application um by 4th of October. So yeah, if that's something, hopefully there's some people within our listenership who that might be... ah
Speaker: part something that they're interested in getting involved with. um So, yeah, head over to the ORTRA website to learn some more. um And that's the main pieces of news. We do have some results. um I can spin through the international ones and then, Jess, I might get you to do some of the domestic ones. So international, we had Ian Best, Anne Etienne Blumstein-Jones, I believe maybe at the same
Speaker: competition but there looks like there's three different races they both ran the same vk k kv des fra probably said that wrong ian came third in that race um and etienne was 15th and then i'm assuming this other race is sort of like a normal distance race but two different distances uh so ian ran the lamonte de la tournette and came 20th and etienne ran the trophy de la mèche this is a french is not my thing uh fourth in that race for etienne so yeah some cool racing there you run with etienne a little bit in canberra is that right jess Yeah, he's um always done mountain, like he's a bit of a veteran in the mountain running space. Like he used to make Australian teams um and yeah, he just loves it. So he goes to Europe every year, does Sierra Zanelle and various ETC and various short like mountain running races.
Speaker: Fantastic. Yeah, I feel like he's one of the OGs in Australian sort of mountain running. Cool. Awesome to see him still getting out there and getting done. I think he was at ETC a few weeks ago as well. Yes, he was. um We also had Alicia Ralph and Marija Walsh at the Pyrenees Stage Run and they were the first women's team at that event. So...
Speaker: Congrats to them. That's pretty awesome. I don't know much about that race, but um first women's team, so that's very cool. Matt Gore competed in the Ultra Trail Monteroza 170K, which looks like a slightly more extreme version of UTMB. I think it's got a bit more vert, maybe some slightly more technical terrain.
Speaker: um He came ninth in that race and Rihanna Hammerley ran the 60K at the same sort of competition, Ultra Trail Monteroza, and came second.
Speaker: So it's a pretty impressive performance. Anytime you get in the top three in a European race, no matter what. race it is pretty impressive but looks like it's pretty tough like the 60k the winning male did 8 hours 13 and the winning female did 9 hours 37 so pretty tough 60k we thought OCC was tough that one sounds difficult and Matt Gore did 35 hours for the and he was 6 hours behind winner did 29 hours so yeah
Speaker: and he was six hours behind the winner who did twenty nine hours so yeah Sounds like ah just like UTMB on steroids event. Fantastic.
Speaker: um Jess, do you want to take us to, it looks like Coastal Classic might not have the results up here. Yeah, they're not up here, unfortunately. you want to take us to WA?
Speaker: over in WA on the weekend, we had the Three Valleys Running Works trail event, which had a half marathon and a marathon.
Speaker: um So in the marathon, we Petra coming in as the first female who also raced the 40k at Transcend a couple of weeks ago um and her time was 4 hours 15.
Speaker: um And then the male winner was Oleg puzz Pozanov in 3 hours 48. then in the half marathon, the first female was Jess Reynolds in 1 hour 54.
Speaker: And then the first male was Scott Biffin in one hour 45. And then over in South Australia, we had ah the Trail Summer Series, um the fourth iteration, which is in cle Cleland. um And that one had a long, short and medium course.
Speaker: So... In the short, ah the female winner was Meredith Norman in 50 minutes and 47. The male winner was Matt Hooper in 46, 48.
Speaker: And then in the medium course, the female winner was Lisa Davis in 1 hour 20. And the male winner was Shannon Govindan in 1 03.
Speaker: one hour or three And then lastly in the long course, ah the female winner was Margot McIntosh in one hour 37 and the male winner was Camilo Lor Chavez in one hour 32. Fantastic.
Speaker: fantastic um and We had a race up in Queensland called the Trail Run Epic. I believe there was a 27K where the winner was in the women Katie Furness in 2 hours 38, 36, Erin McGuffick second in 2 hours 56, 50, and Amelia Turner in 3 hours 2, 10 for third.
Speaker: And in the men, Trent Ward was first in two hours 25. Nicholas Mengoni was second in two hours 51. And James Golden was third in three hours and 39. And it looks like, yeah, Katie's time was the second fastest there. So she was second overall. So nice work, Katie.
Speaker: um And then there was also an eleven k And the winner was Stephanie Pumper in 108.21 and Aaron in So that was the trail run epic And that's the results we have for this week. We've got a bit coming up next weekend, big weekend of racing. We've got the Surf Coast Century in Victoria um in the 100K. We have Jill Fowler, Jade Bucklow, Yeve, Brady, and Josh Goding all running in the 100K. That one...
Speaker: The 100K there usually brings a pretty strong field and we've had seen some some great performances from some some of our best athletes over the years. So it's got a bit of history there as well. So it's a cool one down on the surf coast.
Speaker: um We've got Hounslow Classic coming up. in the Blue Mountains, one of the single track events. I think James and i are going to do a little mini preview this evening. So that should come out hopefully around the time of this episode as well. It didn't look like it was going to be super competitive. So me and James hadn't um hadn't planned to do a preview and then we got an updated list and there's all these new people on the list. So we're going to do a little preview for that one. It does look like it's going to be pretty competitive as it has been in previous years. Jess is a previous winner. 42K, is that right, Jess? Or second?
Speaker: First? ah Yeah, first. First? Yeah. yeah when's like When I said first, then I was like, oh, wait, did I get that wrong? Fantastic. So you got any tips for people running Hounslow, Jess?
Speaker: but um I was actually coaching Britt through her race plan yesterday. oh fantastic. I don't know. I think the first half is a lot easier than the second half, as everyone knows, um and then they're separated by, like, a five k kind of road stretch. So yeah, I don't know, play to your strengths a bit, like maybe take the first half a bit easier than you think. um And then use that road stretch to like get nutrition down,
Speaker: like cool yourself down. i think it's going to be like quite sunny and it gets like really exposed out there. There's no tree cover really. um Use the river crossings to cool yourself down. I remember lying in that river for like a couple of seconds when I raised the horse and like using ice as well, like chucking ice down your top. Yeah.
Speaker: But, yeah, like the last staircase is going to hurt. say just No matter what. and Some good tips there. Anyone racing? Enjoy.
Speaker: um Yeah, the icing seems to be people have been doing that the last... few years that I've seen it on definitely been a feature real Western States vibe because it even looks a bit like that like with the visuals and stuff of it's different obviously different canyons but I think like this the vibe looks similar in the Blue Mountains I mean it's like the benefit of single track events over UTMB they usually have a lot of ice and like a lot more yeah like the aid stations uh yeah like a bit more set up for the heat I think
Speaker: Fantastic. Well, good luck anyone who's racing Hounslow on the weekend. We also have the Wiluma Classic ah in New South Wales, Sydney Trail Spring Series, first ah first race in St Ives in New South Wales, Goldbra Gold Rush Queensland, Whitsunday Trail Fest in Queensland and the Mighty Jarrah Trail Run in WA. So, fantastic. A bit happening across the country, some big races. So, it'll be exciting to see what goes down over the weekend. Jess, what have you got coming up, recovering, getting back into normal life?
Speaker: Yeah, I'm actually heading up to Hounslow. So I'll be there on the Saturday. I've got an athlete racing the 17K. So, yeah. get Coaching duties.
Speaker: Yep, which will be nice. And then I'll actually fly into Perth um and I'll stay there for a month. so huh cool. I'll get to keep Europe tan for a bit longer.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, fantastic. Are you going to visit family or what what's ah what are you heading across to Perth for? um Yeah, my brother's going to be there. I haven't seen him for two years because he lives in Canada. Oh, wow. um And also, my unfortunately, my puppy over there um is like not doing too well, but he's 19, so he's had a really long and amazing life. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. That would be special to go and spend some time with him. um yeah Fantastic. All right. And then have you got any racing coming up at the end of the year? Like what are you working towards now?
Speaker: Yeah. So i've I can't really say actually. Oh, you're you're also attending the race that cannot be named. I feel like we've had like four people say that in the last month. a um Yeah, I'll be going to Asia for a race that I'm pretty excited about.
Speaker: Fantastic. Very exciting. All right. Well, good luck with the with the bill. I'm sure we'll we'll hear from you again soon. Sophie, what's the what's what's going on in Boulder? What have you got on for the rest of the the summer? Are we here to autumn yet? well You know, it's fall here, autumn. Oh, yeah. Sorry, fall.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. ah Racing definitely slows down a little bit, um you know, as as we're heading into into the cooler months. But I'm coming back to Australia again. Yeah. Um, and I'll race, uh, Mount Kosciuszko 50k, um, when I'm back. So we, trade off Christmases in Australia and then with my boyfriend's family over here. So and on the Christmases that we do here, we go back in late November. So it just happened to be during that race. So we'll kind of swing by, ah the East coast before heading to Adelaide and and do that. Amazing. So you spend some time down here over summer, like into Christmas.
Speaker: Amazing. I'm sure that'd be nice to get a, maybe get away from the cold. The cold will hit you'll get away and then you'll come back when you want some cold. Exactly. Exactly. When I want to ski again. So yeah, yeah it's, it's quite nice to come back with a tan in January. Yeah.
Speaker: Great. Well, we'll be excited to see you later in the year at COSY. Yeah. um Good luck with the with the training and enjoy ah the fall, sorry, in Boulder.
Speaker: That's correct. um It's been so good to have you on. Thank you so much for joining us and, yeah, excited to talk to you again in in the future. And, Jess, thanks for giving us a great recap and and well done again to both of you at OCC. It was awesome to see you racing.
Speaker: Awesome. Thanks so much.
