Transcript
Speaker: Music
Speaker: This episode is brought to you by ASICS, proud supporters of Aussie trail running and our very own Jess Jason. ASICS are known for pushing the limits of speed on the trails and that's exactly what's behind the new Metafuji Trail 2, a brand new X-shaped carbon plate positioned between two lightweight layers of foam built to help you race faster and more confidently on the most demanding of terrain.
Speaker: Head to ASICS.com.au to find out more. Hello and welcome to episode 123 of the Peak Pursuits podcast. My name is James Sieber. I'm joined by one of the regular co-hosts here, Simone Brick, who's currently looking like she's got incredible landscape, blue skies behind her, green fields, running track.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. I have actually found a pretty interesting spot for this podcast after accidentally um booking accommodation with absolutely no internet. Like even my phone has no internet and there's no Wi-Fi. I'm stuck like completely remote um as in completely non-digital for the next six days. But I have driven to find a spot to sit, which happens to be by track. managed to do that for the part when we were in Cortina and we some accommodation with wifi. and I think the the houses are all built so well there that like there's no signal came into it for my phone. So I just had to go and work from the coffee shop down the road for yeah each morning. So it was a real hardship. Yeah.
Speaker: yeah and joining Sim and have had this person on a couple of times not since they have quite a cool race over in the states that you think a few people may have heard of and has recently just taken out the overall win and I think brand new course record because a brand new event over in South Australia Holly Ranson welcome back to the show thanks James hi Sam good to be here I am right in saying that was the first year of the Baroadorf yes so good have you back Holly race this year Cool. So I want to take us back, obviously, to Western States because we haven't had you on since then. The last time we had you on was was pre-States. And I'm sure you've spoken about this a lot. But i'm I'm curious, as a fan of the sport, what was it actually like just being there for the the whole event? It's found as good as it seemed out to be. It's absolutely spectacular. The atmosphere around the race is just...
Speaker: something else It's kind of retains the feel of a small community event that's quite intimate, but it's still such a huge deal and there is so much media and media that I've ever seen at any trail race before.
Speaker: um And just the community around it, the support from the volunteers and the locals, as well as the history and the traditions that they carry on. I just haven't seen all of those things to come together in one race before. So, it yeah, it was a fantastic experience. and I would highly recommend it getting your tickets in the lottery and that keep getting them in year after year because it's certainly worth going to.
Speaker: It's obviously an event we see so many people go back year after year. Even like, is it something that you feel that that draw to, to get try and go back into the lottery and get back as soon as you can?
Speaker: Yes, I think so because I don't feel that I raced to my potential there. I think I could have a better race. I think I'd probably feel differently if I had performed to a level where I thought I can't possibly do any better than that. But I think the first time you go that you're going to learn so much that if you if you don't get back, you don't have that opportunity to put into practice what you learned and also and another year on, another year of training under your belt and all those sorts of things. So, yeah, definitely going to try and get back next year.
Speaker: Cool. we're going to see you at Tarawira or are you going to a bit further afield? No, I would like to try Black Canyon, but Tarawira is just so easy for us, isn't it? It's so cost effective. And yeah, so probably back to Tarawira.
Speaker: Cool. all right. I like it. It's good place good place to start. Yeah. When we had you on, you obviously so you were kind of leaning into the fact that Western States was going to be the goal. You guys, like you and Nick, your partner, were really setting up your lives to be able to make that happen. You had just come third, first Australian at UTA 50, and you're heading out over to America for, I think, five or six weeks, training camp, et cetera.
Speaker: What was it like to actually go in on running like that? It was a huge shift. i was so different to just have that one focus in life instead of splitting my time and energy between work, study, you know life and training. um So it could feel a bit uncomfortable at times where you know I'm not used to sitting on the couch and watching Netflix. I think I watched more Netflix in the five weeks before Western States than I had in my entire life before.
Speaker: So, yeah, for people like us that are very driven type A sort of personalities, that is kind of hard to just slow down and do that. But, yeah, you know, when you look at it as part of your overall goal to perform at your absolute best in this event, you can see that even watching Netflix has a point. So um it was, yeah, it was a learning, it was definitely a learning curve. um And I really enjoyed it actually. And I think I've got a lot out of being able to slow down and devote more time and energy to the process instead of it being something I just had to squish into the structure of every day.
Speaker: Yeah. So I listened to, I was we saying this beforehand, um a podcast that you were on and and Nick was talking about how scheduled out your day was when you are working and studying and trying to get all the training in. And I'm sure there's so many people listening to this that can completely feel that, whether you don't have to be trying to train 12, 14 hours a day, that can be just trying to fit in five, six hours, with it don't take a week, trying to fit five, six hours in a week. So it must be really nice. Also,
Speaker: If I was that position, I'd find it really hard not to just fill the day with more training or beating myself up on the phone roller for an hour or whatever it might be. it funny how the day just disappears. did start to wonder how did I ever fit in 8 to 10 hours of work on the computer. because I can easily fill it with a couple of training sessions. But once you start sleeping in till you're actually ready to get up instead of setting the alarm for 4.30am, you know, you lose a whole bunch of the day there. And then, you know, you're putting more effort into the food that you're preparing. Or when I was staying in America, I was walking to the gym and the supermarket and that sort of stuff. So just the day takes longer. And when you're going out for longer runs, you know, you're spending a lot of time preparing your nutrition and then recovering when you get home and that sort of thing. So, It actually wasn't very difficult to fill up the majority of the day just with the training and the preparation and that sort of thing.
Speaker: Sim, you're kind of nodding along as Holly talks and I'm guessing this is some of something that you've lived very much. Is it a similar experience?
Speaker: Yeah, definitely a similar experience in the way that like it's an adjustment period to begin with. ah But then it's, it is the fact that all of the things that go into making or sort of prioritizing your body and your performance to the utmost potential, they take time.
Speaker: And so days, it's not as if days feel like you've just got nothing to do. So even for the sort of type, even if you've got that type A personality brain of just wanting to do things, like, yes, um,
Speaker: After a few years, like i've ahve I've had the privilege of doing this sort of more on that full-time basis of kind of every day for a a few years of this is life. um And i'm i'm like I'm back studying now and I'm actually now more enjoying the balance of the two as opposed to all of one.
Speaker: But at the same time, I completely, and and I've stayed with other athletes. I've been around all these other professional athletes where I'm like, well, I can see how you get ahead and how you get the most out of yourself and how you perform to the level you perform because your nutrition is locked in. You have like, and you have the 30 minutes to an hour to make a really nutritious meal or like some people have someone cooking their meals for them.
Speaker: They have, The nap time in the middle of the day, there's the like the warmup, even before you get out the door for running, there's the foam rolling, the stretching, the mobility. It's almost like you create a routine out of all the little things. Holly, something Simms in there about like her feeling maybe like the optimal routine isn't 100% full-time. do you Do you feel like now you've kind of been living this for for the built-up states and post, do you feel like if you had the um money coming in from sponsors that this was just your sole focus, that would be the optimal routine for you? Well, so I kept doing my PhD throughout, even though yeah there were definitely weeks in America where I didn't get any done. But so I think I would probably always need something small on on the side. um
Speaker: i think I could do... blocks where I was just full-time and it's helpful when you're leading up to a really big race when you don't have that pressure of I need to spend hours on the computer each day but I think um over a longer term if we're talking years are i'm someone that just needs to learn and develop constantly and I think it would also be much harder for me to get back into the workforce after a few years if I hadn't been studying or doing professional development or doing any little bits of work on the side so i think Yeah, with a view to the future, knowing that this is not going to last forever. um i'm happy to integrate, yeah, little bits of other work and study here and there.
Speaker: No, I think that's, that logically sounds like it makes sense in my, in my mind, but obviously ahre you're the one living it. So it's good to hear. Okay. So let's come to Western States again. I'm sure you've, you've relived this so many times. You don't need to take us through like step by step, but when you're thinking back now, what two months or so removed from it a bit more, yeah. End of June. So yeah, just shy to just shy two months.
Speaker: What stands out to you is what went well, what didn't go well, what were the highlights, the lowlights? Oh, I'm sure everyone by now has heard about my eye thing that happened. So i went blind to my right eye, basically from the top of the escarpment, which is about seven kilometres into the race until maybe two hours before the end of the race or before I finished. and So that was probably the biggest challenge.
Speaker: hurdle, I suppose, that I faced during the day. And really, it was hard to let go of because you couldn't not notice it. It was there constantly. And yeah, normally, I guess my mindset plan would be to try and put those things to the back of my mind. But I really really struggled to to get over that. um And it was affecting, i knew that my climbing wasn't going to be the strongest, but I was relying on my good downhill running to kind of make up time. And so when I couldn't, I didn't have any depth perception, I was struggling to go down the technical downhills. And yeah, one time I was heading down to the bottom of Devil's Thumb and I had my pole down. I was just kind of really tiptoeing down there. And Emily Hallgood came flying from behind and overtook me. And like, oh, this is I was supposed to be making up places later in the race, not getting past. this It was a bit demoralising. But, you know, the people out there on the course, by the time I'd been in the States for five weeks, I think I knew someone at nearly every aid station, even the ones that my crew weren't able to go to. so some of the volunteers. So every time you got to an aid station, you get a big ah cheer up. People were trying different things like putting eye drops in my eyes anything.
Speaker: um Yeah, there wasn't much that they could do, but it certainly lifted my spirits to see and have a chat with some of those people. And i would say that definitely the volunteers at the aid stations and the um atmosphere at Forest Hill aid station where there was like two kilometres of just... cheering crazy supporters everywhere. they were they were probably the highlights as well as the river crossing, of course, because it's ah iconic. And then, you know, that last mile to the finish line where you sort of, like you've seen it on the live stream so many times and you feel like you're in a movie because you can't believe it's actually you really there with your crew kind of running the
Speaker: to to the track and that then you're also thinking, oh my gosh, it's already over. Like this could be the only time i get to be here and we've already we've already done it. um But it actually just went past so fast. The whole day is like a blur.
Speaker: Do you know why? Well, not 100%, but I have been sent a study that they did. You know how they always do medical research with Western States runners every year? a few years back, they did a study about this blindness and they found that it is a combination of altitude...
Speaker: cold weather, wind, with all of which we had in that first part of the race. But then it didn't usually come on. Most people experienced it about 70 kilometres into a race, all the people that were in this study. So it was unusual for it to happen so early. um and it's also a lot more common in people that have had eye surgery, which is certainly not the case for me. So I really don't know why it happened to me but I've actually heard, so Christy Laurie, who I'll be racing at Transcend this weekend, reached out to me and said it had happened to her at Ultra Trail Kosciuszko. So it's not an unknown phenomenon. I just don't think it's particularly common. Interesting.
Speaker: Yeah, and is it as common in one eye? Like is it normal for it to just be one side? I'm glad it wasn't both eyes because I would have had to stop then. Yeah, me too. The unfortunate thing is there's not really anything you can do to stop it and if you're a person that gets it, you're more likely to get it ongoing. So i bought some clear glasses and I'll put eye drops in before any races that have those combination of factors, but that's about all I can really think of to do. Yeah, it's it's something that one of the ladies I coach, she had that happen at COSI during the miler.
Speaker: the did This year, just gone 2025, and it was the exact same combination of factors. And completely out of the blue, couldn't get anything to calm it down. The whole medical team couldn't get anything to calm it down. And our plan for afterwards is the clear glasses, because that's kind of all you yeah seem to be able to do. And hopefully that stops the the particles, the grit, whatever it is getting in and that combination just being a real pain.
Speaker: Yeah, I think it's something to do with the swelling potentially of the eye, but I don't yeah i don't really know. So not something you can do too much about, unfortunately.
Speaker: and did it clear up at all during the... Yeah, it went away probably eight eight o'clock at night when it started to get dark, which was good because I was worried about how it was going to go when i had to get the head torch out because it's hard enough in the day. I thought it was going to be even harder with the head torch on. But no it got progressively better as I got down to the lower elevations and the weather was warmer. I think that's probably what helped.
Speaker: How did the dynamics of the women's race kind of play out for you? Because you sort of, you you did move through the field a bit, but it was so, it was very densely packed. Your time was really fast. It's just the case of this year was so, so quick. So yeah, how did that all play out?
Speaker: Well, you know, you don't see much in the race because you, yeah, on your own most of the time, which is interesting. You have no idea really what's going on in front of behind you unless people are passing you. um but i I ran with Lauren Puretz quite a bit, which is interesting because we ran the whole Memorial Training Camp weekend together. um But then she her and Eleni Matarisi, who is the new the youngest competitor in the race, just 23 years old, they kind of got and quite a bit ahead of me on some of the climbs, which, yeah, I kind of felt that was going to happen and that I would start to catch up towards the end of the race, which did happen. I just didn't, I guess, leave myself enough time, I think, um that I probably –
Speaker: b planned my times a bit slower than what I should have done, especially when we found out the weather was going to be so perfect. I should have re-looked at that again because I had basically based it off Emily Horwood's times from last year. She finished 10th. And that was sort of realistically where I thought I might be able to finish, like at the back end of the top 10.
Speaker: So I just wrote down her splits from last year and um used those as my pacing and I basically ran exactly to plan, but it was obviously way too slow to be 10th this year. So, yeah, it was just, yeah. I mean, we had such a quality field and the weather conditions um played a huge role. in that but that's okay it's a ah lesson learned and it was good to see just how you know just how far ahead those girls are and how much room I've got for improvement do you feel like then that you could have pushed a bit harder from the start or it was more you just you waited too late to put that gear into place
Speaker: Yeah, I think I did start too conservatively and that was my plan. i hadn't, I hadn't done, even though I've done longer races, I've never actually done a hundred mile before. um and i was worried about the, yeah, the altitude, which I wasn't really accustomed to and the climbing and, um, I did expect it to be hotter than it was. Um, so yeah, i did start out more conservatively than I probably needed to,
Speaker: um And then by the time i got to Forest Hill and, you know, the part of the course that I thought I could do better on, I was probably a little under my nutrition because I've been hiking up all the canyons and using my poles, which means I didn't have hands for gels. And yeah, then I struggled to catch up. And probably when I...
Speaker: uh got Phil there as my pacer from Forest Hill he was really fresh and really excited and we probably set out a little bit too fast and um that's probably compounded the problem like being a bit under fuel I didn't have really a chance to catch up so then by the time we were halfway down Cow Street I was having a few vomits and you getting a bit whingy and walking some of the up hills and stuff that i didn't really want to but um It started to come good. I think the section from after we crossed the river to the finish line, we actually did really strongly and, yeah, passed past Emily Hall good again and then passed Eleni Matarese not far before the finish line. So it was nice to yeah nice to finish on a high passing people not being passed. Yeah.
Speaker: And in, I think it was the fastest women's like top 10 ever as as well. I think the 10th time was by far, far the quickest. And you was just looking at results now is still only an hour back off that, which an hour can sound like a lot, but that doesn't, an hour can, can be saved quite quickly just by pushing that little bit sooner. So like when you've,
Speaker: come away from the race, has it left you feeling like they're, do you feel a bit defeated were you more um motivated or like, yeah, how, how, how are the the emotions?
Speaker: Straight away afterwards, I was a bit disappointed just because I was thinking about the place and i had really hoped for a top 10. think as everyone does, because then you're automatically back in next year without having to go back to another golden ticket race.
Speaker: But, you know, the more i reflected on it and did take into account those things about how much faster the women's field was than it ever had been before. Like, I think I was... maybe an hour and a quarter quicker than Lucy Bartholomew when she finished third. So, like, you just have to take those things into account and think, you know, the context is different every year. know, I still, a lot of people probably would have pulled out if they'd had the eye issue that I had and I still... Got through it and ran the time that i predicted I would run, even though I know I wasn't running as fast as I could have done. So I guess it does. Yeah, it makes me motivated to get back there and see what I can do with a bit more training and the experience of having one race under my belt.
Speaker: And it does seem to strike me, especially when you're dealing with this level of competition and the caliber of athletes that it's obviously not with exception, but it's very rare that somebody gets this right the first time. And if they do, they're the best in the world, essentially.
Speaker: Like, yeah, even... Jen is an anomaly in this equation in a debut miler but you look at Vincent and he DNF'd last year and so like it's there's yeah I think that having that course knowledge and that understanding now and and and a bit of what now you've actually done 100 miles which sounds ridiculous to say for someone that's run a lot further than that but it's it's exciting that you're interested in chasing that ticket again to get back to that start line next year Yeah, and I think it's a race that suits me probably a lot more than CCC or UTMB does. and so And I just really enjoyed the atmosphere of it and um the camaraderie and that sort of thing. So, yeah, I choose to go back there if i if I can. And if I don't get in next year, then, yeah, maybe I'll go and check out Chamonix and, yeah, have a go there.
Speaker: Yeah. Is there any, outside of just your execution and and performance, is there any other takeaways from from the experience of Western States? um um I suppose for me, just knowing the value of having that time before to do the course for Connoissance, to acclimatise to the altitude and the weather, to meet people in the local community and really involve myself, I guess, in the whole atmosphere of the race and the people that love it. I think that was really valuable.
Speaker: And then also my crew was amazing. i think we we put in a few practices of how we were going to do the eight stations in the week before the race and that really helped. And yeah, i saw a few other people on social media were doing a similar sort of thing. So that's definitely something I would,
Speaker: I would do again if i was, yeah, or if I was doing the race for the first time, I would certainly advise people to to try that because, yeah, the difference between when we first practised and when we did it on race day was enormous. It really helps going through those these moves. So, yeah, that's fantastic.
Speaker: probably the take ways for me. did Did he time? How long it took you to do them? I think Phil might have actually had the stopwatch on to pick up Phil but I don't know. um I think altogether I ended up spending 20 minutes stopped at aid stations across the course of the race and there's 20 aid stations so I think that's not too bad. no, no that's that's not too bad at all especially when you don't have it going your way as well from the eye perspective. I'm assuming there's time spent trying eye drops like he said etc. Yeah, definitely. I did stop at the medical tent at Robinson Flat and they did some tests to make sure I wasn't having a stroke. And yeah, then there were a few other bits and pieces. So yeah, I think we actually did pretty well. I wouldn't be interested to see though how much time Jen and Riley and some of the other top girls spent at the aid stations. That'd be interesting.
Speaker: having, I think I watched from about the third hour onwards, uh, for the whole race. And I'd be surprised if it totaled more than eight to 10 minutes, ah absolute most if, yeah, cause they're, they were just coming in pack swap and go for half of them. And then for some of them, they would, they would cool down, but because it was a cool year, they were just grabbing a ice bandana. If that, at most, there was no jumping in the CTS kiddie pool. It was just in out go, um, Yeah, it's remarkable to watch because you can see how obviously it's very different if we're talking to somebody that's in the mid to the back of the field trying to beat the cutoffs like you need to take your time through these aid stations and not rush and look after yourself. But when the race can be won in a matter of a couple of minutes, like that's aid station stops.
Speaker: Oh, it's huge. Yeah. um And I would be really interested to to run it in a hot year and just see what difference that makes. I think I probably do better in conditions where it's tougher. So yeah, maybe the conditions didn't actually play into my favour this year. But yeah, you just get what you get on the day, don't you?
Speaker: Well, and I think it it definitely played into the fact that in the women's race, we didn't really see that much attrition in the field. To be honest, neither in the men's race. Obviously, there were a couple of big blowouts. But yeah, your i ah I had you tipped to to get into that tennis position on my free tail fantasy for that exact reason, that you would play it smart and work through and manage the conditions properly. um So you didn't let me down. Don't worry. But it's it's ah like I think it definitely lays into that that tight style of of athlete. um Like the Katie Asmuth sort of comes, comes to mind from, from the past years as well. So no, and the, I guess the last thing West Estates is you spent 60 K of it with Phil running as your pacer. How, how was that experience like? It was actually really good. Yeah. Phil is awesome. He's just so systematic and organized and on top of everything, i probably couldn't have asked for a more practical um person to be there for me. was,
Speaker: he said just enough to motivate me and remind me to eat and to help me out when things were going wrong. But he wasn't annoying or nagging or, you know, chit-chatting about things that I couldn't care less about at that point in time. um Yeah, I think if he hadn't been there,
Speaker: I probably wouldn't have gone past Eleni Matarisi at the end. I didn't think I was going to catch her. And then I said to him when we went past it, he's like, you've got this now. And I said, no, there's a hill coming up. She's way better at climbing than me. She's going to get past me again. And he was like, no, you can't think that way. And he just, yeah, he was completely on to how to manage my mindset and reminding me to eat. And every time I had an issue, I've had some a bit of cramping, a bit of vomiting and stuff. He always...
Speaker: had the salt tablets or whatever it was on hand and um yeah i i think it's an awesome thing to be able to share that experience with someone i know there's a lot of chat chat about how elites shouldn't be allowed to have cases but yeah i guess it all comes down to your um definition of elite and um yeah maybe the professionals but For me, it was so awesome to have someone there and to be able to share that experience, especially with people that may never get to enter the race. So, yeah, and I think like anything can happen even to an elite runner. There was, I think a few years ago, Sally McRae ended up taking over 24 hours to do it And even um Molly Seidel, she finished in 24 hours. So yeah they are going overnight and they need that person there as a safety thing as well. So yeah, I think a blanket ban on paces for the elite runners would be, I don't think itd be good move, but it's not up to me.
Speaker: I'll just run a hypothetical by you. Now, like having had that experience you had with Phil, one of the conversations has been, you want a top 10 you run with a pacer, then you can't take your spot sort of thing. So you're allowed to choose if you want to, but if you make the top 10 and you've chosen to, then you've got a disadvantage and you can't have it knowing like having the experience you had you've you've had this year if you and obviously you were going for a top 10 would you take the pace for the first year because of the experience that it could ah like give you and also the fact that it obviously could go wrong or or are you going no um even even though it was lovely to run with phil i'm taking action i'm taking the uh the goal of getting a top 10.
Speaker: Oh gosh, that's a great question. ah I think you would have to, if that was the rule, then i would have to go without a pacer, I think, because yeah, yeah, it would be more important to try and finish in that top 10 and get invited back next year, but it would be a real shame.
Speaker: No, think that speaks to your to your mindset of that you're there for the competition. You're there to do the best you physically can. And yes, it's the experience, but that's still the the main priority. Yes. Yeah. Competition always.
Speaker: It's the only healthy way to race. All right. So post-Western States, um we've obviously just seen you race. We're we're going to see you race this weekend as well. But how did the recovery go and and how how are you then thinking about what's next? Because it obviously States is such a big deal.
Speaker: Yes. So we took about five days. We went to Hawaii after the race and just sat by the pool for or on the beach for five days, which was very unusual, but I think it was really healthy. It was a really good thing to do and just did not think about running or life or anything. um And then it was only probably a week after I got home that I found out I had been selected for Costa Cosi. there wasn't a lot of downtime where I had to wonder about what was next. I Found that out pretty soon, which was good. I do like to have a goal to work towards. So um yeah, I still thought I can have a sort of a month or so where I just do some unstructured training and do whatever feels good. And then I'll get into a solid three months block um leading up to Costa Cozzy.
Speaker: What's the process of getting into Costa Cozzy? I think a lot of people are listening, they may have heard of it, but they've never considered looking at it. Yeah, so it's an application process. You fill out a form, they ask you a few questions about what races you've done in the past, and any DNFs you've had, because they're really keen to have a field where people don't DNF. So it's only about 70 people they select and you have to have done, i think it's a 100 miler in the past 12 or 18 months and at least something within the last six to 12 months. I can't exactly remember the qualifying criteria, but yeah, they are trying to pick people that they think will make the whole 240 kilometer distance.
Speaker: What was it about Coast Cosby that drew you into it? My mindset coach, Rob, he's a past champion at Costa Cozzy and he raves about the race and how good it is. And then um other connections of mine, like Marie Connor and Joe Ward, you people that have won it before. um Yeah, they just say, again, the community, that's something that's really important to me around a race. they say it. It's just run so well and people love it. They keep coming back. And I think it's probably, i don't know about the elevation, but certainly 240 k's on road is probably something that suits my strengths quite well. so um And I also identified the unique challenge of trying to do it in under 24 hours. No one's ever done that.
Speaker: So and i I thought, well, if I can run two hundred and seventy four ks on flat ground in hours, maybe i can do up a hill. so Yeah, yeah tragically maybe well What was your, um the first time you did a 24 hours, what was the, the how how far did you run? Do you remember? i ran, yeah, 238 kilometers, but I did stop about 90 minutes before the end of the race.
Speaker: Okay. yeah All right. Yeah. So don't stop, run up a couple of hill and you'll be fine. Exactly. yeah I'm trying to work hard on my hill climbing over the next few months.
Speaker: How much elevation is there? not 240 think it's about 5,000 5,500 metres. So, it's actually for the distance, it's not massive. Okay. And I'm assuming it's pretty all gradual, runnable because it just follows the mostly the roads and back roads up.
Speaker: Yes, it does. So there's, I think, three or four big steep climbs, but the rest of it is actually either very gradual flat or there's even some downhill sections. There's some downhill running in it as well. So, and yeah, the longest climbs are about 10 or 12 k's and then there's long flat sections. So, yeah, it'll be quite interesting.
Speaker: i like I also like how before the four States, you were talking about how the the uphills are what you feel like is your weakness. And so you've chosen a race that almost exclusively goes uphill 240 kilometers. Well, it's got to be some way to move on your weaknesses, right?
Speaker: Yeah, i I think that's the perfect way.
Speaker: She should caveat that with I'm smiling and that was a joke.
Speaker: What's the current record? The fastest man to ever do it is 24 hours, 33 minutes. And I'm pretty sure the women's record is 2744. twenty seven forty four Okay. do Do you know who who the guy is that holds it?
Speaker: His name's Andrew Tucky. I think he might originally be Australian, but he lives in the yeah UK now and it was back in 2014 it was set. Oh, wow. Cool. It sounds like given that they're half an hour away and it's a 2014 record, I'm sure like, and you has got to be a pretty impressive athlete to do that. Just over a six minute pace. I might even be six minute ways. Um, yeah, that's, that's cool a cool, a cool goal for you to set. So.
Speaker: Looking at how you're feeling now, you is we'll come to um the race on the weekend in a sec, but you've kind of gone through this this phase of training. Are you feeling confident about that 24-hour goal? Is the fitness training in the right direction for you?
Speaker: Yes, trending in the right direction. i definitely need a few more solid hill climbing sessions to um to get my confidence up about that part of it. ah But, yeah, I think the race on the weekend showed me that my fitness is pretty good and maybe my climbing is improving. After having, you know, a few weeks off um after Western States, you know i wasn't...
Speaker: um thinking that yeah I'd been great shape for the race on the weekend. So i was pleasantly surprised by the time that I did. And yeah, I guess that's good signs as long as I can stay healthy and injury free all the way up to Cozzy. I think it's it's a lofty goal, but I think it's achievable if everything goes right.
Speaker: Before we talk about the race, in terms of before States, you picked up a few sponsors with TA, I think with Mount to Coast. Is that correct as well? or is it yeah so attack Fractal, to say. Yes, yes. So yeah, Fractal, yep, they came on board. It was a three-month contract. So that finished at the end of July. So we're about to have some chats and see what we do going forward there. And then Tegan and Kelly with the Endurance Edge um Australia, they helped me out with the TA. gear and yeah also having some chats with mount to coast so we'll see watch this space right how i think manticore is obviously a brand that's on a lot of people's radars um i've had an email come through about the shoes used at western states by the whole field and they come in as number three it's from like eight percent just behind ultra and then obviously hawker they they have gone big how how how have you found getting used to those shoes and because i feel like they are they are quite different like in for me in a positive way
Speaker: I'm of those people that can probably put on almost any shoe and be comfortable. I don't have weird feet or weird running style or anything that requires something special, I don't think. So I found them to be really good. I ran most of my students in the T1, which is big one.
Speaker: They're kind of faster trail running shoe. So I used those up until a Forest Hill and then I put on some carbon pleated shoes for the last bit. But, yeah, for them to be really good, really grippy in the technical stuff. and I really enjoy running in the H ones, the hybrid ones. They're super lightweight, but I don't find the grip, it's not quite right for actual trails. It's more like a gravel road sort of thing And then raced on the weekend in the M1s and it was really wet, slippery conditions in the Adelaide Hills on the weekend. And yeah, they were great, super, super grippy, super comfy. yeah.
Speaker: Um, yeah, as long as they can make me a really fast shoe for the road stuff and the track off trips, uh, yeah, I'm in. That's all you need. Yeah. No, I think yes, the, the M1s is something that's been grabbing a lot of people's attention. Um, and even just like the people like Coach have had a lot of questions about, about them and getting them. So it's, it's just, it's impressive to see a brand that's gone from seemingly zero, two years or two and a half years ago to, to where they are now. So it's good to hear that you've enjoyed the shoes.
Speaker: Yeah, it's crazy how fast they've grown. I think they'll be making waves in Australia in the next little while. I know they've definitely got some plans to support some of our races here. So, it'll be interesting to see what happens. Yeah, including I saw Costa Cosi.
Speaker: but Yes, yes, they are naming rights for Costa Cosi. Yeah.
Speaker: Well, yeah, that's like the opposite. That was a good plan. Yeah. Um, how did the race and the weekend fit into the the build towards coast? Cause um Well, sometimes I just choose to do races that take my fancy, not because they have any strategic purpose, but Sean, who runs Ultra Series SA and Ultra Series WA, he's a good mate of mine and I just felt like I needed to support him. i love racing. I love the Adelaide Hills and it's close to home, so why not? It was a new event and we kind of wanted to help Sean put that on the radar and it sounded great, you know, running sports
Speaker: the vine to stein, he called it, because you're running from the Viennes of the Barossa Valley to the German town of Harndorf and you get a stein as a prize. So good. i'm I'm such a sucker for a stein. it Like, I'm so i'm sold.
Speaker: You know't know how many prizes for ultra runs are some sort of alcoholic beverage container? Yeah. Yes. There's so many. I've got many wine cups. There are so many. It's definitely a bit of a carryover from a different era, but you can use a slime for anything. It's chocolate milk. It could be your water, your electrolytes, if you want to put Bix in there.
Speaker: I've been growing houseplants in them. Oh. In my prizes. Oh, nice. I like it. like that. things Yes. So, yeah, it was a good race. Like, it's very adventurous. All Sean's races are very unique and have um unexpected elements that crop up in them. But, no, very beautiful. It's all lots of – baby highland cows and lambs and ducklings and all kinds of wildlife and and stuff out there.
Speaker: um And yeah, it basically follows the Heisen Trail. So um yeah, a lot of people would know that as one of the famous hiking trails that goes north to south through SA. So yeah, it's a great race and I think it's going to grow a lot. So hopefully we can attract some more competition to the race next year.
Speaker: I'm a fan of the fact they have a 50 mile or an 80 K distance. That's a personal, yeah. Something that I like to see more of and not less of. So I yeah appreciated that that was on the, uh, on the list of, of distances for them.
Speaker: Yeah, there was a really big range of distances. Actually. i think there was maybe half a dozen races. Yes. Yes. That's a different conversation, but I appreciate the 50 mile aspect to it. So that's great to see. And you've got transcend coming up this weekend, Brody and I did a preview for it. And I read every last minute realized that you were, as we were recording about to race 125 K the next day. So that kind of changed a little bit, but then also we both backed the fact that you probably just come through anyway, with a, as, uh, as Nick says, a bit of a Kenworth engine in you. So,
Speaker: How, how are you now are thinking about transitioning from 125 race one Saturday to the next Saturday, you got 65 K over WA. Yeah, it's interesting. I haven't done a back-to-back like this before and, um, going from Yeah, 125 to 65, I'll have to up my game and and go a bit faster, especially with Kelly and Anna racing.
Speaker: But yeah, I'm actually looking forward to seeing how I back up. I think if I can do nearly 200 Ks of racing in a week, that should be a really good foundation for Costa Cosi. And yeah, to look to see how I can increase my pace, you know I've got that whole 12 to 17 hour, I've got that base covered, I think. But um to be able to see if I can actually go faster over the shorter distance, I'm looking forward to seeing how that works and yeah how the legs feel a week after Baradol. I think it'll be interesting because I noticed that the week of the race totaled, which makes sense when the race is 125k, 190k for the week, and then coming into this week. So what's training looked like last week and what will it look like this week for you?
Speaker: Yeah, so I didn't really taper much for the race. I was over in Kiama doing a bit of a training camp there. um And because i don't have access to any hills where we live in SA unless we drive to Adelaide, which is three hours away. So I wanted to make the most of that. And I i smashed myself up and down the hills, decided I was going to try and take every Strava QOM. that I could find out there. like I follow on Strava and it was every single run. it was just popping up. i was It was very impressive. was like, either you run everything very easily fast or you are sending these.
Speaker: Yeah. No, I did a few easy runs along the coast. It's so stunning there. It's beautiful. But when I was doing the hills, I was yeah really giving it a go because that was what what I was there to do. So um i just didn't do a long run in the week before.
Speaker: barrad off I still did a couple of speed sessions and a couple of easy runs. um So yeah, it did end up being a very big week, but this week will be very quiet. i'll just i it I rode my bike today. I didn't run. And I'll just do a couple of little runs over the next couple of days and then um into Saturday. i do think I saw a QOM on your ride today though.
Speaker: Really? Yeah. Well, I think I averaged 25 kilometers an hour, or so...
Speaker: Sometimes you don't get to try. There's probably not much competition around here. It's ah not the world's nicest riding rid spot. it Yeah, it looked a little bit loopy. When you said speed sessions in the week of Baradoff, what's speed for you at the moment? How...
Speaker: So I'm trying to raise my lactate threshold because the speed is a limiting factor for me. I never, I didn't grow up running. I'm not a fast runner. I'm fast over long distances, but not fast over short distances. So I'm working on At the moment, 10 by 2 minute threshold intervals around it. i was using grass track in Kiama. So yeah, like 330 pace-ish for 2 minute intervals with a 90 second recovery and that's fast for me. That's hard.
Speaker: yeah Have you done that sort of work any time recently?
Speaker: I've always tried to include at least a speed session. um Prior to going to America, I was going down to Adelaide every week and I would get on the track. There's a track can hire in the northern suburbs there and I would do some form of that. but yeah mixing up the duration of the intervals not specifically always working on threshold stuff um so yeah that's been the advice from my new coach Andy DuBois to work on the threshold stuff so I'm going to try and chuck a couple of sessions a week in of that um up until Cosi i like it are you enjoying that style of session?
Speaker: No I hate it would run short distances if I liked the pain I had a feeling I'm with the answer. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? um It's definitely good for me. But no, I even get up in the morning and go, oh my gosh, I have to do this session. But it's good for people to know that. like We don't all enjoy every session that we do. Sometimes it's hard to force yourself to go and do it. But yeah, you probably feel better for it once it's done.
Speaker: I'm saying that. Yes. And if you're in a race like Transcend and you're trying to run fast, you'd be like, well, I've done it in training and i've made myself do that. So I've got to do it now. Yes, exactly. And it's good for the mental strength as well, because it's a different type of pain. i'm pretty ah like I'm pretty used to now the pain of this is long and slow and it's drawn out, but it's painful in a different way to that fast lactate stuff.
Speaker: Yeah, it sounds like a very good addition to the routine, especially now when you are still, Coast to Cozzy is end of November? Yeah, 20th of November, so I've still got a fair bit of time. Yeah, still got a fair bit of time. It's a good time to work on something that's identified as a gap, definitely. Yeah, for sure. It's good to have a focus and to, yeah, I think getting faster the shorter distances will make me faster at the longer distances. Definitely.
Speaker: Will those two-minute reps slowly become like three-minute reps and four-minute reps and stuff? Like is it the threshold going to build? Yes, that's the idea. i just have to be able to hold the pace. And at the moment, it's all I can do to hold that pace. for Well, maybe if I get on a proper track, I'll be able to hold a faster pace. But on the grass, footy ovals and stuff, yeah, it's a struggle. So, um yes, I'll slowly build it up or reduce the um recoveries or, yeah, something like that. Keep progressing it as I can.
Speaker: nice Cool. All right. We're going to hand over to Sim, see if we can get an update from you. Let's see if the internet's going to going to hold. ra watch You can tell us where you are and why it looks so beautiful.
Speaker: Yeah, I think it's hopefully working. I'm just on a delay. So once I've edited this, thankfully I'm the editor. I'm very thankful to for that because I'm the one making the trouble. um But yes, I am in Italy currently. I'm in a tiny little, staying in a tiny little town called Prado Valentino, um but I'm have been around and about Italy, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein the last three weeks. um
Speaker: So I've been on a bit of an adventure. um However, the last three days before today, I went and hiked the Trofeo Chima course over three days. And then now race day is this coming Saturday. So that's why I'm kind of just staying in one spot trying to recover and uh freshen up because uh a road trip where you change location every one to two days does not bode well for energy um i will say yeah um it was beautiful though um but yeah essentially like uh the whole point of my current trip is less about performance and races and a lot more about
Speaker: rebuilding my endurance and my ability to climb and my mountain confidence and trail confidence and all those sorts of things so like I started with the race in um Schnellstelle Alpine Trail which was beautiful but a horrible idea to do a five days four days off the plane um that um Went about as expected when I'm four days off a plane with no altitude acclimatisation and climbing to 3,200 metres. Like, it was shocking.
Speaker: um And I was so slow. But at the same time, it was beautiful in that way of like, okay, this is the beginning. This is kind of breaking the back of what the mountains are again and getting a bit more used to it. And I did have one descent there where I could send the descent. And I was like, okay, I'm feeling it.
Speaker: I then died the next 15K, but I felt it for like 4K. you know um we got there. um And then, yeah, essentially now ah I have hiked the chemo course and –
Speaker: My mind is blown. It is beautiful. It is everything I expected, thankfully. Like it was nothing harder or worse or crazier than I expected and I knew what to expect and it is still absolutely everything I love about the mountains.
Speaker: um I just think that it's a cool place to be where almost part of me is almost more worried about making the fricking cutoffs than competing um at this race. Um, because it's a race that's like one for the women in seven and a half hours, but like, I think the cutoff is 11.
Speaker: Um, and even like, I got a good idea of like the actual, um, uh, how fast that is when I was chatting to some people at the refuges about the fact that I was racing the Centero Roma is the name of the trail. And, It's the 52K. And they're like, oh, so what's your aim? Like 20 hours?
Speaker: And I was like, um the cutoff is 11. So I was like, no, I have to go quite a lot faster. um And it's, yeah, it's crazy just because the start, like the first bit, it's all up a road. It's fine. um And all the way up to, I'm going to say 14K, really not too bad. Also the last...
Speaker: 8K, not too bad. You almost like technical Italian, technical Euro trail and you're fine. The middle of there are sections you are like on chains going up and down things where like you cannot fall. You will actually go off a cliff if you fall and if you let go of that chain. um Hence why we have to wear a helmet. Hence why my brother, when he hiked it, he was actually clipped in, in all of these spots.
Speaker: And meanwhile, I'm making my way down them going, I know you don't. technically need to, but my brain would actually kind of appreciate being clipped in some of these spots. um But we don't race with a harness. So that's fine. If you look at all the information on this trail, it tells you to take a harness.
Speaker: um We don't race with it. it is And which is, it is fine. It's just like you have to go slow because one wrong move is actually very consequential in some of the passes.
Speaker: But I think ah the scariest part in some ways is just that all the stuff between where like my watch is telling me I'm on a flat section is like you're hopping across very ah non-organized boulder fields for the most part. Yeah, that sounds absolutely nuts, Sim.
Speaker: Can you go into an event like this with expectations or is your only expectation or desire to try not to fall off a cliff?
Speaker: Yeah. um I think I actually resonated with what Holly said before of like the first time you do something, you learn a lot. So like my main aim this year is essentially to learn as much as I can so I can come back in two years time and actually compete. um So on the whole, my like overall aim is just to push myself as hard as I possibly can, knowing,
Speaker: that it's a learning curve. Um, and I still think I can do decent for sure. i just, um, I just know that there's a lot that can go wrong and it's going to be damn hard. So my I guess my expectation, i want to go under 10 hours in an ideal world.
Speaker: Like I think on my best day I can do eight and a half. Um, but at the same time that expectation alone scares me or that like, even like that's one of those ones where i'm like, Oh, that feels hard it' scary.
Speaker: So it's, it's an odd one in a way where I'm going to try knowing that trying may actually result in not doing great. Um, but yeah, at the end of the day, just making the finish line will be this, this trip's mission ticked off.
Speaker: Is it motivating to be on a start line and sort of still have some aspects expectations or goals for you at the moment, or is this really just the motivation is just the adventure of it?
Speaker: No, like that it's still, I'm still motivated by performance. And so I will still have a crack for as long as having a crack makes sense. Um, so what Like essentially, like i'm I'm going to go out with time splits in my mind with um where I want to be in the field in my mind.
Speaker: And I will stick to that and hope it all pays off. But it's I guess where my my mentality is at is just I will probably let go of that expectation a little bit quicker and sooner at the wit because my overall goal is that consistency and rebuild.
Speaker: It's not I'm here to destroy myself and... like absolutely get the most out of this one race. It's, I am in a rebuild and that is fine. So I'm still going to start like I am racing this to the best of my capacity.
Speaker: But if something goes wrong, if things are feeling off, like I'm not willing to come across that line so destroyed that I can't yeah keep building. Yeah, that makes sense. Is there anything after this event wise for you in Europe or is this the only, the last event you're doing?
Speaker: I have Swiss Peaks Marathon two weeks later. Oh, course. Okay, yeah. Yeah. So, but again, yeah, not not too fast. It's exciting to see. Like, the the way you're talking about the course, I don't know if it's something that's intriguing me. I'm sort of scared by the sound of it, but also it sounds incredible and beautiful. So, it's definitely one that may be. is on the ah the list to to to see, but I'm sure people listening that might be a bit more adventurous than me, a bit more brave, ah very keen to see how how you go and what the experience is like out there. A quick update from myself, I was on next last week and not not too much really happens in in the case of a week, but my, like the kind of adductor technology had is improving, which is nice. started shockwave and that's, and and I've never had it before. It's a very interesting experience. Holly, have you ever had shockwave or anything? No, I haven't. What's it like? it's um It's really weird because it's like it's a sound wave. So it has like this this sharpness to it. um And then they they put it on the tendon or the part of the muscle that's like essentially the worst. And then what my osteo said is is we're kind of drawing a line at a 7 out of 10 pain. So if you hit that, let me know. But otherwise we'll try and like really work on it. And fortunately I didn't find it particularly painful. So that would, that bit was fine, but it sounds like it can be in the right spot. Very, very sore, but it's weird. Cause you know, when you go and get a massage or you get kneeling, you stand up and within like an hour, you're like, Oh, I'm sore. I can really feel where those needles have gone in for this one. It sort of does the opposite. And so you stand up and immediately there there was relief.
Speaker: And there's no sore period afterwards. So it's kind of wow like the sore period is during. So you definitely get the the pain for the gain, but it it is counterintuitive a little bit. um So hopefully that that works.
Speaker: Because we're not really sure why it's gone so bad. like So it'ss it's bilateral and it's gone very like advanced, but then it decided to not give me a single issue whilst we did the TMB. So it's a very weird presentation for it. I'm not complaining because we got through the fastback and it was fun. i wasn't thinking about...
Speaker: It the whole time, but it would be, yeah i mean, obviously, whenever someone's injured, it's always nice to actually be running rather than, well, I am running, but not running more so. But it's coincided with a couple of friends here are training up for Adventure Race. I think it's the Adventure Race World Championships in Corsica in about seven weeks. Uh, including Ellie Jackson, who, Sam, you'll recognize that name from some local racing that she's a a four peaks winner and yeah just been came second to camera. So, uh, they're, they're doing some insane training days of kayaking and hiking and bush bashing and mountain biking, but. It coincides with them doing hiking and me doing hiking. So joined them on Sunday for a few hours of their five or six hours that that they were doing. And that was good fun. It's it's kind of a nice way to experience, ah to get outside, slow down a little bit, and also just sort of pick a line up the hill that doesn't involve any trails and because they want to get on rocky surfaces for Corsica.
Speaker: ah So that that would that was good fun. But otherwise, it's a slow process. But hopefully, there's a bit of a bit of light. there There was only one event I was looking at for this year, which is the local one, Run Up Omari, Matt Doré, who I do the Riverina series with. That's another race that he has.
Speaker: uh that i would have really liked to do but that's only five weeks away i think and that's 33k so ah over trails and at the moment i'm running 8k on pancake flat road so i don't i don't think that will be happening but that's okay it's uh it's a shame it's an awesome course and it's up in coriom which is sort of if you're driving from albury across to cossey you go through coriom and then kankobin and over so you're up quite high i think the highest point is maybe 16 1700 meters um but you get some pretty spectacular views and some nice trails up there but next year i said that last year as well so we'll say that again for one more year but it's a it'll make it worth when you get there exactly and it's i think the thing i said this last week i think part part of me and maybe i've i've created this into existence but when you have so long off and you try to reload and i holly kind of like you're saying but the
Speaker: the personality type I don't like to do things kind of half in half out so i I knew that something at some point was probably going to not be super happy about the the reloading process and trying to get back into training so I've i've never had a tendon issue never had really any injuries before the the bone injury last year um from running that is so it's just something new to manage and something I can learn from as well from a coaching perspective so it's it's always interesting Sometimes they're like um having something to build for, like so many people um need that for motivation, but then often there's a point where that's actually detrimental if you're too motivated to get back um and it's your body's not ready to handle it. So I think you are you're in a good spot. It's just a frustrating spot to be.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. So it's just just just being patient, doing the right things, listening to the people looking after me. um And yeah, it's it's always, it's the hardest point I always find is the moment when you start to get a bit of forward momentum and then suddenly you get impatient. yeah And that's that's kind of where I feel like I'm getting to, but I've got very, very recent experience with that. So I'm aware of it. So it will be it will be fine. And hopefully next year is a little bit smoother or at least I make one or two start lines. So No, it will be all good. You and me both.
Speaker: A quick break in the show to share what we are loving about the new ASICS Metafuji Trail 2, the shoe built for runners chasing speed on the most demanding of terrains. If you're racing ultras or you're just loving moving fast when on the trails, this shoe is about to become your new go-to.
Speaker: You probably know the Metafuji Trail as Asics's pinnacle trail racing shoe. Well, version 2 comes with a big update, a completely redesigned trail specific carbon plate using a new X-shaped construction. The idea is simple, more propulsion on the climbs, more control and confidence on the descents.
Speaker: Now that plate sits between two layers of foam, Flight Foam Leap up top and Asics' lightest and bounciest foam yet paired with Flight Foam Blast Plus cushioning underneath. So the ride stays light, responsive where you want it, stable where you need it and keep you moving with oomph deep into any ultra.
Speaker: Paired with the tried and tested Asics Grip outsole with 3.5mm lugs gives you plenty of traction and a Solite sock liner equals stepping comfort that is unrivaled in this category, especially for those long days out.
Speaker: And this shoe hasn't just been tested by the elites, it's already been raced by them. Tom Evans and Ben Dieman wore an early prototype of this exact shoe to a stunning 1-2 finish at Trail Running's biggest mountain 100 mile event, UTMB.
Speaker: If you want to check it out, head to asics.com.au and we'll go much deeper with a full review on MetaFuji Trail in an episode coming up soon. Holly, going to move on to a question we got from one of our Patreon subscribers, Jeremy. And just as a reminder, if you didn't know, we have ah Patreon for PP shoots. That's where you can ask all our questions. We give you heads up when the guests are coming and get early releases of all the podcasts that come out as well as some bonus ones. But from jeremy it starts off i'm going to read the whole thing because it's very positive and i like it it goes woohoo it's holly looking forward to this one a question are e elites and pacers for most mid and back of pack packers the pacer helps with motivation reminds you to eat stops you from quitting keeps the sleep demons away how different is this role for someone at the pointy end of the field did you and phil have a plan for specific tasks he needed to help with ah help you with during the run or did it evolve naturally
Speaker: a Great question. Yes, we did have a plan. Both Phil and I are planners. We like to plan everything. So the first thing he was to do, well, first he was on my support crew for the first two aid stations. So I think his job was shoving ice in my pack. And then he was to meet me at the corner of Forest Hill Road, where you come up from the course and join onto the main road there and find out from me what I wanted at the aid station, if there was anything specific, and then he could run back and let the team know what my extra needs were. um And then once we started running together, so his job was to do all the mental maths of how far um in front my competitors were or behind and let me know whether they were gaining on me or whether I was gaining on them. So he was managing all of that. and So he was using his phone to stay in contact with the the support crew and the live tracking of the race to find out um how I was going pace wise. And then
Speaker: There were other things that, of course, you can't predict that would come up. So when I got sick, he was, yeah, helping me, just trying to remind me about nutrition, like when to eat and that sort of thing, and then trying different things when the gels weren't working, like let's stop at this aid station and get some chips or whatever.
Speaker: I said to him at one point, I've got a cramp in my back. And he said, I've got some salt chews. Do you want one of those? and um And then just, yeah, motivational speaking as well what kind of thing and telling me I could catch up to people. Got my head torch out of my pack when it got dark and helped me put that on. um And then he would say, let me run ahead into the aid station. He'd he'd say, you go grab some watermelon or whatever. I'll stay behind, fill your bottle up and then I'll catch up with you. after so that's how we sort of worked it it was very useful it sounds like you did a very good job and it kind of to jeremy's question about from a motivation reminding to eat stop me from quitting obviously if it goes bad keep the sleep demons away like it potentially a slightly different um extreme of it because you are out there for less time so the sleep demons unless something's gone really wrong is not going to hit you too hard but it sounds like it's very much the same thing it's just everything's a bit faster
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. And maybe there's other things that he would be thinking about for me in terms of the race craft, the strategy and you know where are the competitors that wouldn't be happening with the the back of the pack. But I think it's really helpful. And you know I've asked him to come and crew me and pace me at Costa Cosi. So he obviously did a pretty good job.
Speaker: Yeah. Is there anything that you guys identified as like a mistake you made in the crewing or the the pacing side of it? Oh, I don't think we picked anything up. I would probably just say, as I said to you before, I think we probably went out a little bit too hot, but we're both excited and, you know, feel was really fresh and... The atmosphere of Frost Hill is just so motivating that you kind of yeah you can't really help with it. Yeah. I'm just picturing Phil just full gas the line.
Speaker: Down during the street. All these people cheering and Phil's like, how good is this? Look at all these people cheering. yeah Actually, that reminds something you didn't talk about. I think you maybe you quickly mentioned it. But the reason you're over in Perth is to help Phil. That was kind of the primary reason. What is the project that he's doing? So he is going to run a solo backyard ultra for a week, so 168 hours. ah It's partly a personal challenge to see if he can do it and also it's partly to raise money for charities. So he's partnering with Channel 7's Telethon and raising money for disadvantaged kids.
Speaker: Oh, wow. That's awesome that he's being able to kind create that other side to it to to raise money. And I've got to assume that the reason he's decided to go down this route is because you have to have the number two always always there for the assist. That's exactly right. I think he's always wanted to find out just how far he could go if it wasn't up to the second person. um And I'm not sure really where the number one, six, eight,
Speaker: came from. I knew when he was originally planning this project, he just wanted to see how long he could go for. But you I think it's probably the crew and everyone else is going to fatigue before Phil does. I think we have to put a number on it. Otherwise, we'd be there for weeks.
Speaker: Yeah, because his best is 118, it? 119, I think. 119, yeah. Yeah, I think. Jeez, it's 50 hours more than what you've gotten before. But again, I think he did, is that the time that he ran a 17-minute 5K like a day or two later? Yes, exactly right. Yeah, and he did the last loop in about 33 minutes or something. So yeah, I definitely believe that he's got it in his.
Speaker: Yeah, it's going to be going to be fun to watch. and wasn't I was trying to work, I saw in your socials, was trying to work out as exactly what the project was and and why but that makes a lot more sense. so That's going to be, it's going to be fun to follow along.
Speaker: Yes, there's going to be a live stream. There's going to be a lot of social media around it. So yes yeah, I'm sure you won't be able to miss it. It'll come up in the algorithms. Yes, no, I'm sure we'll get absolutely berated by it in a good way. Yes.
Speaker: All right, we'll move on to a couple of the news stories. I should say, actually, for anyone that's listening and wondering what's happened to Sim, she had some internet issues. So it's just Holly and I on here. So Holly's going take up the co-host in a bigger way, step up and help me bring this one home. We have a couple of conversations, one a bit heavier, one just talking about UTMB.
Speaker: uh when i make the run sheets and i put the information in for the recording for whoever's on i'm obviously putting in what's coming up and then the results for each week and i noticed that last week we put a race in that didn't have any results from this week and then realized that it had actually been cancelled the same again was happening for this week where there was another race um which so the this week's was like Manchester Trail Run and then the Mount Coother Trail Festival, which was going to be on this weekend. And both got cancelled, both in Southeast Queensland. I reached out to somebody up there and I just asked what's going on. And essentially they said that it comes down to, they've had to cancel it due to numbers and event clashes. And it got me thinking about...
Speaker: a conversation that I had with Nigel Preston from Singletrack in the interview we did for him and it was talking about how many runners there are at the marathons and at the fun runs and yet we're struggling to kind of get that runner to come across and try trails for the first time especially at the more lower key the lower price point events that ah typically have a shorter distance as well and so maybe you can't fill out the marathon but you could get 500 in the 10k for example because that's the logical step for people and And his point was that the calendar is not saturated or not overly so. It's just, we just need to attract that next people. So it's just sort of brought up those those thoughts again. And there were three points that kind of came to my to my head. The first one is the potentially the need for race directors to communicate a bit more openly between each other. And and if there is going to be a date change or even just if youre if you're selecting dates, does there need to be some some communal calendar that everyone agrees on just to sort of help promote running in in that area. So even though runners aren't torn about having to choose which one they want to do, um like I said, why trail running isn't reaching more of that fun runner, road runner. And then also,
Speaker: there is the the bigger question about the big scale events. So let's take like the the buy UTMBs, for example, or even the single tracks, which have a higher price point, they really take people's focus. But as everything's getting more expensive, are they actually sort of monopolizing the budget that we have for events? And so we're not able to go to the local ones anymore. So those were like my thoughts. We will never have answers to this because we're not the right people for this. But Holly, what are your thoughts on on all of that?
Speaker: Oh, I definitely think a central database or some place that race directors can collaborate to sort out their dates would be fantastic because I know I've been in that position before where there's two or three races on the same weekend or fortnight and you have to choose between them. um But I think it probably might come down to Autra being more proactive in terms of reaching out to run clubs and promoting trail running events or potentially giving out free entries to trail running events at some of these bigger road running events just to get people in to come and try and um or maybe running clinics so that road runners can have an introduction to the trails and find out that it's maybe not as daunting or as scary as they thought it would be. um
Speaker: Yeah, I guess there's a lot of things you could probably do in that space. But yeah, it all comes back to collaboration and having you know a central point where people can communicate about it, doesn't it?
Speaker: It does. And the last thing you said there actually is really interesting. It's something I never thought about though Ultra have this list of endorsed coaches, people that have to meet certain requirements for Ultra to want to basically say, hey, this is where you can go and choose a coach that's recognized and and qualified, etc.
Speaker: But they could be leveraging that to say, hey, would you go and we'll we willll pay you to go and run a clinic for free in Melbourne or Dandenong's or Bright or whatever it is. That's obviously very Victorian based, but you get the idea. um yeah that That does bridge that gap between, well, this looks really cool, but it also looks really intimidating and I don't know how to run on trails. What shoes do I need? How do I go uphill? How do I go downhill? Do I need a full backpack or do I just go and run?
Speaker: Yeah, and just advertising at some – like if you went to Sydney to surf and handed out flyers for whatever you know shorter trail races are around the Sydney area, I think you definitely get people signing up. I think it's just a problem that people don't really know about it or they're not thinking about it when their head is in the road scene.
Speaker: Maybe it's just something that hasn't really entered their consciousness yet. So, yeah. Yeah, and I think it's it's tricky when obviously you have – local races or local ish races on the same weekend. And you kind of think surely they could have chatted to each other and yes, they could have also there's often certain dates that work, whether it's personal reasons or it's because you're fitting it around other, ah other events that you, that you run. And, but I think there are are other countries where they license events through the national body and that also comes with their insurance, et cetera. So they're able to say, yeah, you can do the event, b can't do that weekend because X is doing it 20 K down the road and that's going to be a clash.
Speaker: um which as you said, again, kind of comes down to ultra having more of a governance aspect to it and being able to take, take a bit of control away from the race directors, but in order to create a better experience for the participants and also eventually the race directors. And hopefully we don't see races that disappear off the calendar.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. And I think it would be great to streamline the racing calendar so that you get more of the top contenders at the same races because it it does get spread pretty thin, you know with so many options available and so many different distances and terrains. And I guess just the expense of travelling around Australia too, because it's a big country and it takes a lot of time and money to to travel. But yes, if we had fewer, better quality races, we'd get a more competitive field, I think.
Speaker: Definitely. That makes me think about Transcend actually. And they're doing their live stream this year, which is awesome. And if you listen to the preview, myself and Brody are going to be involved in that, which we're both looking forward to from the sense of only UTA really has a live stream before this. So we love what the guys there are doing. And the other one is their money. They've obviously got the cash up for grabs for the 65k, but they've also got the gold there as well.
Speaker: Do you think that, probably more more so the money side, but from a attracting elite competition, do you think that's what events need to do to do that? Or is just a depth of com competitive field enough to attract people to...
Speaker: From my perspective, the biggest attractor would be if the race directors offered assistance with the travel costs for competitors. um Because I think even when there's good prize money on the line, and this is why I had actually opted, I wasn't going to go to Transcend until ah the project with Phil kind of came in and changed that. But...
Speaker: even if you think you might win $2,000, by the time you fly two people to the other side of the country, spend three nights in accommodation and hire a car and then spend $200 on race nutrition, you've already spent that prize money and you're not even guaranteed to get it because anything can happen on race day. so for me, yeah, it's the travel costs that, and I think it's probably cheaper to fly two or three key athletes that will then attract other people to come than it is to put up a massive prize pool. But it's obviously attractive that they've got these extra sponsors in there giving the gold because that's something unique and that's definitely, it's very WA. So I think it works well and that's probably has attracted a field as well. So maybe, yeah, that's something else to think about being, having a point of difference in terms of the the prizes that you offer.
Speaker: Yeah, I think it what we see, know, obviously we have the platform to talk about it, but if, and and and I agree, I think the best thing race directors can do is, is offer not just free entries, but also accomate like accommodation supports or travel support to enable a select number of people. Obviously there's only so far that can go. um But then it doesn't show an initial return. It's not going to suddenly get another 50 people aware of it that year. um as Nobody, with a few like very few exceptions, have a good enough social profile that them putting a post about this race is going to drive numbers. But it does mean that we then talk about Transcend.
Speaker: And they hear about it and people start to think, oh, that actually sounds really interesting. I don't really do anything in August. I'm fed up of winter. Let's go to WA and make a week of it and go do some cool trails that are completely different. And so it has that knock on effect. Whereas you're right, if it's just the money and you kind of think, well, I could go and win that. And yes, I could get a race with a few good people. But do I really want to go on a four hour flight and spend three grand to go and race something when, as you just proved, you probably got something local near you that maybe it doesn't have the depth of competition, but it serves the purpose.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. Yes, it's it's a tough one. and Yeah, and I certainly want to support race directors as well. um But yeah, when you're flying all over the country and, you know, just come back from Western States, which, you know, funding that whole trip was like a small house deposit. So yeah, it does stretch you thin. And um yeah, I guess there's maybe some combination of ways that they can put things together but you look at what um sean casler's done with the melbourne front yard ultra getting you know meg eckert and um sarah perry to come over i'm sure that was a big investment for him but he sees it as a long term like we're going to sell that event out for 10 years in a row now um so yeah i guess it's maybe just future focused instead of the immediate return on investment yeah i did see that announcement that's really really cool to see yes very impressive yeah
Speaker: The other thing that's obviously very on people's minds, we're 10 days, 11 days away from ah OCC and PTL starts in a week's time is UTMB finals are on. I'm not sure what when these came up, but I noticed that the elite lists were on there. So they're meant to be the top ranked runners for each distance.
Speaker: The first thing that struck me is, and I was having a conversation with Ben Burgess maybe a month ago, and we were trying to list the people, especially for UTMB, who we thought might turn up. And we couldn't come up with that many names.
Speaker: And I'm not really sure why when I'm looking at the list people. It is absolutely incredible. And obviously we pay attention to these lists all the time. If even 70% of these people can make it to the start line and they choose to stay in the races, like we're seeing a and level of depth of competition that I just don't think we've ever seen before. And when you've got...
Speaker: On the women's field, you've got Courtney DeWater, Riley Brady. They've just came off the third place, second place finish at States. um Ruth Croft, defending champion, Fu Zhao Zhang, Abby Hall, Lucy Bartholomew, Samai Buddha. like And that's just going through the first eight names. you've you've just yeah it's It's incredible to see. um Oh, it's absolutely so deep. Yeah, there's 20 people on that list that could win the race. It's incredible.
Speaker: Yeah. And I think that UTMB is one of those races where everyone, i feel like they they want to have the day there. And so it probably, it does really open up for a surprise, like one to five names in that top 10 that could completely, and I think UTMB, just like Western States could make a career. Like it it can, take I think it has that power to turn you professionally. That's what it seems, seems to do. So Yeah, there's there' a couple of names in the in the women's 100 mile that I'm really interested to see. Rachel Entricoon is one, Henrietta Albon is another. um Is there any anyone in the the women's or the men's fields for for any of these races that's stuck out to to yourself, Holly? Oh, I'm really impressed with how quickly some of these athletes are turning around their races. Like Clarice Arnold, for example, who's just, she seconded Hard Rock. Hard Rock, yeah. And what was that, 33 hours or something? And it just looks like so, so hard to turn around and be racing again within I don't know, six weeks or less. I'm just so impressed. I'm interested to see how she goes. But like you, Rachel Endrican, definitely. Yeah, Courtney DeWalter, she's on the list. that That'll be interesting to see how she goes.
Speaker: Yeah. well Do you, like if you had an entry to UTMB or like ah a hilly mountainous 100 mile, do you feel like you could have been ready for it?
Speaker: done um Well, I was into actually just withdrew CCC entry today. so I was on the list, but um I don't think I would have been ready to have the best performance I was capable of um because I really enjoyed having a couple of weeks off after Western States. And I don't think I would have had that luxury if I really had needed to to turn it around and I would have had to go to Europe, you know, a couple of weeks ago and really put in a big block in the mountains. And that yeah, think that's a great thing.
Speaker: I don't know. i think for people that have been doing it professionally for a while, I think they're probably more um capable of doing that sort turnaround. But I think it would have probably led me to a bit of burnout.
Speaker: yes yeah and think as you said before when when your life is set up to the point where you can just recover and that's the self-focus and especially if you're then getting paid to do it so there's no external pressure of that it does really change the uh the context but yeah you're right there are so many people that are trying to do the backup which is yes you hope you hope yeah you hope it you hope it goes well but you know that it's not going to for a large percentage of them based off past past year's experience which sounds really mean to say but that's just it's It's true. yeah Yeah, it'd be interesting to see how Abby Hall does as well after her DNF at Western States to see whether, yeah, she's in a better mind, frame of mind for UTMB.
Speaker: Yeah, I think there's a few of those names that are in for UTMB or sorry, for for really any of the distances that DNF'd at States. So um the I guess the most notable one is, you're still checking his name, still there, Jim Womsey's in for the men. Killian Jornet is still technically in for the men. I don't think it doesn't sound like we're going to be seeing him. And I, I personally be surprised if we see Jim Wamsley. I think we might see him in CCC rather than UTMB. I don't get, we saw last year that he didn't feel ready. He didn't want to compromise worlds. So he dropped down to ACC. So maybe he does that again. um And then in the, in the men's Dan Jones and Hans Troyer for the for CCC, both DNF. So there's a ah fun little kind of line of, of, ah I don't know, to follow along with, with that one as well. I think, was it,
Speaker: Was it Ingveld Caspersen who DNF'd right at the mile 99? Was that her? I think it was. yes Yeah. yeah So she might be out for some, um what do you call that?
Speaker: it's nots exactly yeah It's not revenge, but I think it's redemption. Redemption, that's it. yeah That's the word. Yeah. So um from an Australian perspective slash living in Australia, we in the UTMB. So this is just going off the top list. There are more runners which we'll go through next week and we'll actually go through all the Aussies in there. But just looking at the top ranked list, you've got Lucy Bartholomew and Steph Austin in UTMB, Meg Sinclair and Mikey DiMuantis in CCC and then Jess Jason, Sophie Lynn and then also Beth McKenzie is in for OCC. So yeah, There are definitely more Aussies in there. We will will cover them next week, but in in the top ranked list, it's pretty pretty fun to see. i think i I'm excited to see how Sophie Lynn does. Having seen her at at UTA, I think this will be an she's definitely going into the trail scene now. So this is this is exciting. Yeah, very exciting.
Speaker: All right, let's go through the results. I'll start us off with some international ones. So as always, Ian Best, he has taken out place at KMV de Criol. We're going to be reading Ian's name out a lot in the upcoming weeks. I think he has quite a few VKs planned, but this one 1000 meters in less than two k which it just blows my mind that there's actually tracks that steep that they can go up. yeah But he did it really well and not so much a trail running result.
Speaker: And I was really trying to work out actually where this was, but there's the Asia Pacific championships for the Spartan beast and Joe Hepton took out the win there in her distance. So I think that makes her kind of the Asia Pacific champion of that. So Joe, we've obviously seen behind behind Andrea the,
Speaker: uh warbenton trail fest but at set like a blistering time and then again at buffalo stampede so it's cool to cool to see joe succeeding on multiple trail formats or adventure formats which is pretty cool um holly you're gonna take us to a couple of races to get started on the domestic season okay um so we had run lara pinta which is a stage race on the lara pinta trail out of our sprees So in the Malbunker, which is the longer course, um, over the four stages with a cumulative time of 13 hours, six minutes, 59 seconds, Carl Harrison was the men's winner overall. And Lauren Friskin was the women's winner in 15 hours, 53, 49. And then in the
Speaker: race overall with a combined time of 12 hours, 28 minutes and seven seconds was James Butler winning the males and Alicia Anderson won the females with a time of 11.26.18, which that was actually faster than the men's winner. So that's very impressive.
Speaker: Very cool. Very cool. Okay. so moving on to the Baradol from essay So, um yes, as you mentioned earlier, James, I the winner of the 120K, which also had a sneaky five kilometres extra on there. So it's actually So in And the first male was Jared Allen in
Speaker: Then had a 50 mile course. So Sonia Jansen won in 11.09.37 Luke Butler was the first male 10.52.28. Then stepped down the 55 kilometre race where Sheena Akiard won female in 7.05 Nick Muxlow won the race in 4.54.
Speaker: then step down to the fifty five kilometre race where sheena aquiard won the female race in seven oh five and nick muxlow won the male race in four fifty four Then again, down to 37 kilometres, where Naomi Galbraith won the female race in 3.47, and Zane Gerstlauer, sorry if I pronounced that wrong, was the first male in 2.48.
Speaker: And last one, 16 kilometre event, Anna Pearce was the first female in 1.31. one thirty one And Rurik Simon was the first male in an hour and 14 minutes. Wonderful. Okay. We'll come across to Victoria. We've got the Surf Coast Wonderfuls Trail Run.
Speaker: For this one, um we've got in the 75K, Julian Bramucci took the win for the men 8.1329. And in the women, there was only one entered and So moving on to the, wow, this is lots of men, in the 50K, a name that's, if anyone's into the road scene, is going to find a bit familiar, Joel Tobin White.
Speaker: He's on, at least it used to be, I think he still is, on the FKT for the Kudos podcast. So really cool to see him stepping into the trail scene on his Instagram post. Brody sent me this. He said, found my love of running again at trailspluswonderfuls50k, even better to get the win in a course record. So Joel has incredible speed. And if this is the way that he's seeing his running going, it would be quite exciting name to be transitioning across.
Speaker: Yeah. um Then so that was, yeah, Joel went in the 50K. And then Tuscany Rue took the win for the women in 613.59. In the forty two k Rob took the win for the men in And Tania for the women
Speaker: The 25k Pat Gibney took the win in 229.31 and Matilda Moore for the women in 240.34. I think that is, that's all the races there. And then coming across to Devil Bend trail run in the 21k Samuel Bork took the win for the men in 117.17 and I know we haven't said very much at all this year. ah Tom Dade was in third in 121.23 so that's good to Good to see Tom back on a start line. And Scott Bailey was in the middle of them at 120.52. For the women, Brooke Palmer took the win there and won 35.17. The 12K was won on the men's side by Joel Howell in 4607 and on the women's side by Aisha Benjema in 5305.
Speaker: Cool. Take us to Glenbrook, Holly. seeing. So in the Glenbrook Marathons, in the 42.2k event, the men's winner was Alexander Matthews in 3 hours 10.06 and female winner was Charlie Simpson in 4 hours 03.40. Then we had the kilometre event. so Gabriel
Speaker: and Lee Hawkes, the female winner in 3 hours 19.05. And in the 25 kilometre event, we Henry Hugman winning the male event 1.45.36 and Anne-Marie taking out the female event in 2 hours 9 minutes and 46 seconds.
Speaker: and admarie cook taking up the female event in two hours nine minutes and forty six seconds Awesome. And then lastly, we'll come to the Yarra Bilba Trail Festival in Queensland in the long course. This was won by Matthew Cooper in 1.20.25 for the men and then the women's Katie McLean in 1.34.18, the medium course. was won by Raphael tru Trulio in fifty fifty one and Katie Furness in 59-39. And then finally in the short course, you've got Amal Warakuli in 26-51 and Esther in
Speaker: Coming up a couple races this weekend, we've got obviously Transcentrails, which we've spoken about. And again, if you haven't listened to already, go listen to the preview Brody and I did. For that one, the live stream is starting at five thirty am m Western Australia times at 7.30am East Coast time. and we're running all the way through I think until about 4pm East Coast time. So it's ah it's a good good stint. You're going to have a lot of local knowledge, some East Coasters calling in like myself and the famous Dave Stewart. If you've been to basically any race in the East Coast, you've heard Dave's voice bellowing across the microphone calling you in. Then up in the Northern Territory, you've got Run Your Outback Trail Festival.
Speaker: In Queensland, you've got the Granite Grit Trail Challenge. and this is a backyard ultra format, which isn't something that we typically cover, but it's a 5K trail run, and they only do a 24-hour maximum, so the last lap becomes a race, which, for the the sake of not getting people to stay up for multiple days, especially the crew, I quite like this format. I think it's ah that that last lap would be spicy.
Speaker: Yes, yes, I like that too. Much more manageable than staying up for a week on end. Yeah, yeah, which yes is going to feel very real for you very shortly. Staying in Queensland, we've got the Corunda to put Port Douglas Trail Ultramarathon Victoria is the final round of the fed hit of the Riverina trail running series of the series that that I co-run, Fed Hill trail run, which feels really weird that we're already seeing the final round.
Speaker: come up to us and then the trails and tails in Coopnik, New South Wales and the Corunda to Port Douglas. i'll put that one in twice. um I've made a mistake here somewhere. That one might be in Tasmania or Queensland. I'm not really sure. I apologize for doubling up on that one.
Speaker: Yeah. yeah um I think there was also one in Tasmania that I may have missed. There was also one down there. Wonderful. Holly, thank you for staying on to help me bring this one home Whilst we've been going through the results,
Speaker: It just but made me made me think about, is there any race in Australia that, not like thinking about competitiveness or anything like that or prize money, is there anything that's like, I really want to get to this one day for you? ah Definitely the GPT minor.
Speaker: And I also have never been to Ultratark for Ziosco. um And a race I have been to but not done the longest distance is West Westminster. So that's also on the Larrapinter Trail. I've done a couple of short shorter distances, but I'd really like to have go at the 231 kilometre event one day. That'd be exciting. That's a very good mix of events there.
Speaker: Yes. What about you Have you got any bucket list runs in Australia? Oh, um, yes, to, ah to, to a degree that there's actually a couple events that want to do next year that are local to me, but ones that have just always been to do. So Bogland to Hotham is, is one that I really want to do. I want to do the full 64, but next year I'll, I'll hopefully aim to do the 35 and then Razorback run.
Speaker: I just love it up in the high country around Mount mount mount Feathertop. So those, those two closer when ben burgess went to west max last year he just kept raving about it so i i can't say that the like the trail itself has ever been a big draw card but everyone i know that's gone has really enjoyed it and it's a completely new environment it'd be completely different trail so that definitely does does make me uh quite quite curious for that one as well so Yeah, I think that's the that that as there's definitely a lot that are around. um actually And actually, having been down to KMR, Kanani Mountain Run last last year, the trails there are incredible. The mountain is like... The only word I can use for it is powerful. It's kind of the same feeling, which if you ever go to Mount Bogong, where Bogong Questathon is and Alpine Challenge uses, like you just, yeah, there's a lot of power in that mountain. um And that's what I got down in KMR. And then it leans to the more technical side of things, which I i enjoy. So yeah, ga going down for for probably the 65K or if they ever bring it back, the the eighty five k they're going to run for national champs next year would be would be good fun to do.
Speaker: Yes, I think I am going to line up for that one, actually, the 80. Oh, cool. five Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. That's exciting. Yes. Yes, I am excited. I'll go home to Tassie and spend a few weeks down there and do that race. And then um the Three Peaks race, which you probably haven't heard of, which is a sailing and ultra running event.
Speaker: Yes, I have heard of that because someone I coached has been reached out to by think one of the boats to do it. Oh, wow. Okay. So that put it on the radar. So do you know, like, are you able to do KMR and that? Because it the same weekend or is it the weekend after? No, it's the weekend after. So KMR is the weekend before Easter and then Three Peaks actually starts on Good Friday.
Speaker: Oh, fun. Cool. That'd be a cool one. Yeah. It's and it's it's nice to nice to hear that you are going down there because the the general conversation, that there's a lot more momentum behind the national champs next year. It's actually the first time we're doing the Australian trail mountain and trail running championships. And it's good to know that we're going to have have one of the the key runners showing up. I was only, because I'm going for three peaks anyway. So my background, as you probably know, is in sailing. And so, you know, my dad's sailing on on one of the yachts in the race. um And then I was like, oh, KMR is the weekend before.
Speaker: I'll just go down and stay with family for an extra a week. You know, it's easy for me. So it worked out well, the timing. but but You're doing well with just happening to be in the right place for quite a key race at the right time. It's happening with Transcend and then KMR. I know. It's back-to-back races. It's becoming a real thing. Yeah, brilliant. Wonderful. Holly, thank you so much coming. It's been great to catch up. It's awesome to hear about everything that's going on. Good luck for the build toco to Costa Cosi. Obviously, good luck for this weekend. And we're excited is to follow along.
Speaker: Thanks, James. been great to be back on pod. Thanks your support. Wonderful. Before you go, thanks again to ASICS for supporting the show. If you're chasing speed on the trails, check out the Metafuji Trail 2. New carbon plate, elite proven, built to race.
Speaker: Head to asics.com.au to find out more.
