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Episode 51 Featuring Buffalo Stampede 100km Men's Winner Michael Dunstan!
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Welcome to Episode 51 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Jess Jason, Vlad Ixel, and guest host fresh off his incredible win at Buffalo Stampede 100km, Michael Dunstan!
Hear about how the weekend went down at Buffalo Stampede with race recaps from Jess and Michael, including a discussion on mindfulness and managing performance anxiety. Vlad then starts a discussion on the team training camps that many of the major brands are currently doing overseas, and the team discuss the other results for the week at Kunanyi Mountain Run and Xterra Dunsborough.
Buffalo Stampede Results: https://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/races/buffalo-stampede-festival-2025
Kunanyi Mountain Run Results: https://tomatotiming.racetecresults.com/results.aspx?CId=16&RId=29774&EId=3
XTerra Dunsborough Results: https://results.xterraplanet.com/results/2ba0cd35-71c1-43ea-bc8a-327cd49aea52?race=20bcb912-ee1d-4528-9117-69294baca017
*** Don’t forget, use code PPP at https://bix-hydration.myshopify.com/en-au for 20% off Bix products, exclusive to PPP listeners!***
Thanks for tuning in to Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod to share your thoughts, questions, and your own trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetter
License code: K08PMQ3RATCE215R
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Greeting
00:00:04
Speaker
Hello and welcome to episode 51 of the Peak Pursuits podcast. I'm Jess Jason and today I'm lucky enough to be joined by ah usual podcast host, Vlad Ixel. How are you going, Vlad?
00:00:23
Speaker
Yeah, not too bad. Hey, Jase.
Mikey's Race Experiences and Challenges
00:00:25
Speaker
And today we've got a special guest joining us um all the way over in the Blue Mountains. So we've got Mikey Dunstan. How are you going, Mikey?
00:00:35
Speaker
I'm good, thanks. How are you both? Thanks for having me. Yeah, good, good. How are you feeling after your big race on the weekend? um and Such an epic run. Like, I just couldn't believe how fast you're running, like over 100k. And that 100k course is no joke. Like...
00:00:52
Speaker
You're amazing. How are you feeling? ah Thank you. ah To be completely honest, I'm feeling pretty shattered. i um Yeah, I had to lay down just before this the try to try i clear my head and I just passed out for like an hour. So yeah, I feel like the weekend's taken its toll.
00:01:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's totally fair. Like, yeah, that race. So it was like 5,000 metres of up and down? Yeah, yeah. I think My watch I feel like is from comparing it with other people seems kind of accurate and I had 519. So like pretty solid in the 100. But yeah, when it comes, it really comes in that race.
00:01:33
Speaker
How did it compare to like other hundreds that you've done? Like um in terms of like difficulty? um Yeah. Like where did it sort of sit with what you've done before? Yeah, I think it's like right up there. I've done the Madeira 85, which has 4,800 in the 85 and I think it's just as challenging as that because it's like the race is bookmarked by really steep terrain and then I guess you've got the long climb from basically the bottom of Mount Buffalo all the way up to the Horn and you're kind of expected to run quite fast on the plateau where it's ah less I guess less steep but still quite technical um on the single trails up through there and so yeah yeah yeah so I think
00:02:20
Speaker
Yeah, just the toll, the steep downs of like Snake Ridge and I guess like middle track and stuff take on your body. It's a really hard hundred. Yeah, for sure.
Mikey's Trail Running Journey and Influences
00:02:29
Speaker
um Yeah, I kind of want to start off with like a bit of an intro to you though um because I don't think we've had you on the podcast before.
00:02:37
Speaker
um So like how long have you been doing trail running for and like what got you into it? Because Yeah, I feel like I haven't really heard your like story. I know you were from Perth and I met you over in Perth um when you came to do a shakeout run for Buffalo last year, um which was awesome. And yeah, you really inspired me to Hounslow, which I was super ah grateful for. But yeah, like how did you get into trail running?
00:03:06
Speaker
yeah ah Yeah, it's quite interesting. I feel like I... went through school and uni playing lots and lots of footy. And then i kind of got really, when I moved to the coast, cause I was from inland of Perth, I took up surfing and gave away footy pretty quick.
00:03:24
Speaker
And ah think over the years I was always running for in team sports and always felt like I enjoyed running. But ah yeah, I guess at the end I,
00:03:37
Speaker
took a break off, I guess, taking ah drinking alcohol during COVID and um we couldn't do much more than just get out and run around the neighborhood. So I did that for a while and was just kind of having fun working at some of my dad's PBs. So it started off as a bit of a, just a weird goal like that. And then um my friend Ben introduced me to trail running in the hills and I was blown away. Like I just had such a nice time. It felt so peaceful.
00:04:05
Speaker
and yeah from there I moved down south and I would always pack my my surfboard in the car but if it was too busy I'd just go run on the Cape to Cape and I kind of had that same sense of like freedom I was getting from surfing in trail running and I just from there got totally hooked and yeah I just never looked back on trail running.
00:04:25
Speaker
Yeah that's awesome I can totally understand how the Cape to Cape track would like make you fall in love with trail running. It's just so beautiful. Like, I feel like anyone that's not been to WA, like, has to get down there um to experience it because I feel like there's nothing that kind of compares to it.
00:04:41
Speaker
um But, yeah, so your dad was, like, quite a good trail runner then? I guess, like, maybe not so much trail running, but, like, I grew up inland of Perth in a town called Northam, and my dad was actually – like, I guess he was running the the Northern Running Club. And so, like, I would occasionally once or twice a week go down and without training in between, I'd i'd go do the 5Ks down there at Running Club and just really enjoyed the community sense of that. So I was always in and out of running and we were running in different areas around the wheat belt. And yeah, so I guess he was, yeah, definitely the one that inspired me to
00:05:21
Speaker
to get into running and um even pushed me to to train for some of our like school cross countries and stuff as a kid. So running's always been there in the background. It just wasn't until I was quite a bit older that I really like wanted to pivot into it.
00:05:34
Speaker
Has your dad ever done and the Cap Ultra that went from Northern to Perth? I don't think he has. No, no. Dad was, um we would usually run some shorter things. Like he's he's done a couple of marathons, but ah we actually like, I guess the most consistent thing we would do is like as,
00:05:51
Speaker
that whole running club we'd go to Rottnest and just do like the the Roto Marathon and 10k and 5k every year so um we didn't do the Kep Ultra. Oh that's a shame because ah that was actually my first ultra marathon in Perth that was back in 2020 uh 2012 um and yeah that race used to be like the original ultra marathon here in Perth and then I guess it just yeah people just stopped signing into it and then And yeah, it's no longer like it doesn't happen anymore.
00:06:20
Speaker
um But yeah, definitely a cool trail racer goes all the way from northern and or them to Perth. um I actually have, yeah, probably sounds a bit weird, but I actually did never knew you from Perth. um Obviously, I've seen the results um last year, but I actually never knew you from Perth.
00:06:38
Speaker
um Have you ever done any of the Perth Trail serious races or anything like that or you always been doing the longer races?
Mikey's Training and Future Goals
00:06:45
Speaker
This is actually a pretty funny story actually because I came and I listened to yourself and Lucy speak at, it was somewhere like, it was in pretty central Perth so I've always been aware of who you were but um I and followed your training and I loved using your videos and I even recommend my sister to do all your strength training videos for years. So um you've been a good influence on me for a long time. and i've
00:07:11
Speaker
But I actually was looking at doing one and I thought you might be racing it too and I was super excited and it was one of my first races before maybe Transcend. And I went to sign up and race it and I'd gone and wrecked it and everything. And I just, I left it too late and the registrations had closed. So I never did a first trial series event.
00:07:32
Speaker
but but Well, it looks like you graduated that level already with some really, really good results. um A couple of international races. um You also did the Snowdonia, UTMB 100 miler.
00:07:48
Speaker
um A lot, a lot of long races. Is this kind of like the path you're going to try and stay on or any... any Any plans to some shorter races? You obviously are still young, so like you obviously have time to build up that speed.
00:08:02
Speaker
um But what what is the future going to look like? Yeah, it's interesting. I think ah I am going to head over to UTMB this year to race. So that will be like a big goal for this year.
00:08:17
Speaker
ah But I've definitely been enjoying, yeah, working on the speed in the last probably... Yeah, especially the last four to six months and and enjoying it. And I think, you know what, like racing, even Hounslow is not a short race. That was a marathon. But I think like that experience last year at Hounslow really taught me like perhaps how hard I could run 100. So I think I can see the value in racing shorter. So in the years coming and this year, I will definitely be looking to do shorter things too because I think it just helps with the longer stuff.
00:08:51
Speaker
and you are based in the blue mountains right now obviously the big mountains of perth weren't enough for you when was that uh yeah i i was no stranger to just going up and down everything in the perth hills and it was awesome it's still steep in perth ah it's just shorter but uh I went over to Madeira and on that trip I was really inspired by the locals there, just how much they loved where they were living. And, you know, they all just, you look at them and you're like, whoa, like you're strong, you're just shaped by your surroundings kind of thing.
00:09:24
Speaker
So I had visited the Blue Mountains a fair few times and really enjoyed running here. So upon coming back from that trip, I decided that I wanted to move here. And so I've been here for probably 20 months now, 21 months. So coming up on two years and yeah, like if anything, just loving it more and more as time goes on and it's ah it's a massive playground here.
00:09:49
Speaker
Yeah, that's cool that you're kind of, um yeah, I guess taking a bit of a chance, taking a bit of a gamble, moving your way. um And yeah, I think makes a massive difference if you're based around bigger mountains, bigger hills, um especially if you're racing those type type of terrains, um does make a big difference.
00:10:09
Speaker
Yeah, it would have been nice if Perth had a 1,000-meter mountain. um But, yeah, a lot of 200-meter hills. yeah Yeah. I always think how nice it would be if the Sterling Ranges were just, like, 45 minutes inland of Perth or something.
00:10:26
Speaker
Yeah. But you guys have got all the beaches, so I miss the beaches. Like, there's nothing like WA beaches. Yeah. Yeah. Have you, um like, had any, like, favourite races um that you can sort of, that come to mind? Like, what's what's your favourite race been that you've done so far? Yeah, I think, ah or I would say overseas, I haven't done many. I've just done Madeira and Snowdonia. And I would say if someone was looking for just a really good trail running experience where the atmosphere of the event and then, I guess, staying on, like, a,
00:11:04
Speaker
like a beautiful island where you can, you can be staying in accommodation at the ocean and then run up towards like a 1900 meter peak. Like, I think I felt so welcome in Madeira that like, i I, would love to go back there in the coming years to, to experience it again. it was just like, yeah, you felt like everyone made you feel like family there and the streets were lined with people cheering everyone on. So I think it was one of the best race experiences I've ever had. And then,
00:11:34
Speaker
Yeah, locally I just think it would be pretty hard to go past Stampede, like purely for the reason that just the event hub and like it's similar in the sense that I feel everyone is so supportive of everyone and Bright is such a good town hub where it just feels like you're hanging out with the trail running community of Australia for like a whole four five days and it's just, yeah, I think it's incredible.
00:12:02
Speaker
Yeah, awesome. Yeah, I actually love, butff like, Buffalo Stampede as well. It's just such a good vibe, like, such good people. Like, the weather's usually nice. Like, it was a little bit iffy this weekend, but the sun still came out by Sunday. Yeah.
00:12:16
Speaker
yeah it's just a beautiful part of Australia um so yeah let's let's jump into your race recap I reckon um so yeah just run us through like what your plan was for the race if you had sort of like a strategy um and yeah how it went like any highs and high and low points
Buffalo Race Strategy and Challenges
00:12:37
Speaker
um yeah go for it yeah no worries so ah think uh ah Going and recceing the course was really valuable.
00:12:47
Speaker
Like I realized that it in my head I had broken it up into almost sections. Like the first 50 is very net uphill. um So I knew that the first 50 was going to be pretty uncomfortable in terms of like how hard you could push aerobically without taking too much like risk of beating up your body.
00:13:08
Speaker
um so I always kind of in the past have paced pretty conservatively to heart rate but have also identified that um pacing with heart rate also has its limitations because of things like adrenaline and nerves.
00:13:24
Speaker
um So went out at the start wanting to just go pretty solid um and I was with probably a pack of like five or 10 up Emily's spur.
00:13:37
Speaker
And, but it felt comfortable, like no one was doing anything crazy, which was nice. And then, yeah, for the first three hours ran with Tyler and ah relay runner all the way to Euroban.
00:13:51
Speaker
And yeah, that was, to be honest, it took so much nerves out of it because Tyler is someone like I, really, really respect. He's just, we're chatting away about, about life and things that were just, you know, really good conversations. And, um, yeah, even like when we were out wrecking the course, uh, like he's the kind of guy that dropped out water for, for me and Ryan Lowe and things like just out of the kindness. So I felt like I was just running with a mate.
00:14:23
Speaker
Um, and then when we got to basically to the start of the big walk, uh, which is like, I guess the longest climb of the race. um I turned around and saw Mike Carroll charging up behind me. And I think I planned to going pretty relaxed up the big walk.
00:14:43
Speaker
And when I turned around and saw him, I like kind of set like a firecracker up, up me. And um yeah, I was like, it shocked some fear into me. So I ended up climbing really hard ah the whole way up the big walk, which was like an,
00:14:59
Speaker
Aaron 16 climb or something. So that wasn't really planned. And then I feel like from there, I kept running really hard up to the horn, just being like, I think knowing that if you're running running really strong, it's hard for people to gain on you um just in terms of like how hard they would have to be pushing uphill to be pulling back that gap. So um ah think the pacing and my plan kind of went out the window from there and I decided to just get to the horn as fast as possible because I think with how much downhill there is in the back stage of the course, you have to take a lot of risks to, I guess, like gain that time back. So i think I was telling Tyler that it reminded me of the race in Madeira where ah halfway through the race, you'd done most of the climbing. So I think, you know, if you could put a big gap of time in someone by halfway in the race, it's a lot less dangerous to try get home.
00:15:57
Speaker
um so Yeah, someone did that to me overseas and they put an hour into me and then we we had an even split in the last half of the race and I was just gobsmacked that they climbed an hour harder than me in the first 40Ks. So I tried to do that and see whether I could hang on. and Yeah, I ah genuinely, life for a lot of it, thought I'd gone out too hard. So it was like tough in the back end. Yeah.
00:16:21
Speaker
Yeah, how did you feel like coming back down Mount Buffalo? Like did you start to feel it like in the quads and stuff then or was it more like coming back down middle track where you started to feel it?
00:16:33
Speaker
I think I had like, ah probably like had seven hours of like probably the best running in a race I've ever done. So I think the first 70-something Ks was in about seven hours and I ah felt amazing. And then coming back through the plateau to the chalet, I felt like the warmth and the humidity come.
00:16:54
Speaker
And so i in hindsight, probably should have put ice, like an ice bandana on at the top of the big walk going down because I got halfway down the big walk and like I started to slow down on my nutrition. Like I had seven hours of like really strong, like high carb intake and then basically like Yeah, I was, it wasn't even like I was getting stomach pain, but it was like all my muscles around my stomach were just like starting to like tighten up and limit how fast I could run downhill. So that was the first sign of like, oh, like the last 25 Ks is going to be really tough.
00:17:32
Speaker
And then the big walk definitely like started to hurt. was still trying to see how quick I could get down apart from the last two Ks because that's really steep.
00:17:43
Speaker
And then... Yeah, by the time I'd got got back down to Euroban and going over ketings and everything, i my nutrition was slowing down even more. So my mental chatter was like pretty negative in terms of like I thought I was like kind of crawling by then.
00:18:00
Speaker
um But yeah, I think in hindsight, looking at the splits, I was moving better than like my brain was telling me because I just wasn't getting any nutrition in. But I definitely deteriorated pretty hard in the last three hours. But I kind of, yeah,
00:18:14
Speaker
in knew that that was a product of pushing how hard I could run for that long before it. So, yeah, middle track and that whole last ascent, like I definitely wasn't running too well, but with the finish line in sight and but and Esther like kind of like looming behind me. Gaining on you.
00:18:37
Speaker
Yeah, i I got to clear speed. I got to Clear Spot and asked how long second was. And they were like, oh, 39 minutes. And um it was was Tom. And I was like, okay, like i just got to get home and not make any mistakes. Like haven't had much nutrition, just got to get down.
00:18:52
Speaker
And then I got to the bottom of middle track and James Seaver goes, Esther's 20 minutes behind you. And I was just like, so I think the last four or five Ks, I was like, oh ah like wow, well she could do anything. She could be five minutes behind me now. So i think that was a good push to get to the end. But yeah.
00:19:11
Speaker
Yeah, that's insane. but yeah She's an incredible artist. Yeah. Esther is, yeah. Just gobsmacked at her time. Like, I think it's absolutely insane. But, um yeah, it's such a hard course. Like, I guess finishing with Dingo Ridge and then middle track and everything, you know, by the time you hit middle track, I think you've done 96Ks or something or 95Ks because the whole course is like
00:19:38
Speaker
and a bit and um yeah even like i when I got there I knew it was longer than 100ks and I was like cursing at Joey I was like i was like Joey this isn't 100 this is like going over so yeah yeah oh I can't imagine how yeah like painful that would be did you have that little um climb as well that like was in the 20k at the end or did you just get to like kind of scoot over the mountain bike tracks and finish in the oval Yeah, so we didn't have – we didn't go up Huggins and then do that um mountain bike track at all. We had like this single trail, like this undulating little single trail through the forest. But, um yeah, I think, yeah, yeah if people saw me going downhill in the last 20Ks, like I don't think I saw really anyone out on course in the downhills. But, um like, I was, like, grunting and making some weird sounds because my stomach was just so locked up. So it was like – It definitely it was like one of the hardest hardest finishes to a race ever done. So I was so relieved to get to the finish line.
00:20:45
Speaker
Yeah. um Do you think that stomach pain is like comes down to like the heat and humidity um or is there anything you would change with your nutrition plan next time?
Nutrition and Training Insights
00:20:56
Speaker
i think in hindsight something i would try was because I was trying fueling that I would potentially have used in like a miler I just think how fast the race was in terms of, I mean, it's a hundred K still, it's still really long, but you're looking at like a 10, 10 and a half hour window versus like a miler can be over 20.
00:21:21
Speaker
So I think, um, perhaps the solids I would, I would cut out and would have gone to like a drink mix and gels. I just think, um, the first thing that wanted to go was eating. And so I think perhaps listening to that, um,
00:21:36
Speaker
yeah I think that's what it probably was uh I have experienced similar stomach things before in Wales and that was also really hot so yeah it's not I'm not I'm not sure like it's it's tricky I just think there wasn't much slow going in that whole race really like the slowest movement would have been up Dingo Ridge but by then like all the damage had kind of been done because yeah I think um That's the hard part about the race is you hike up Mystic, but then basically you hike a tiny bit at the bottom of the big walk, but the rest of the course is really, really runnable. Like you kind of have to run um to move through it quickly. so it was tricky.
00:22:17
Speaker
Can you talk a little bit about the training leading up to it? Because I'm just having a quick look through your Strava and a lot of volume um in the buildup. Can you give us like an I guess, like a typical week for you and maybe some of the specific sessions you did before that 100k?
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, sure thing. So I had like a, probably a ah main six week build into that off ah of running anyway, increasing running volume. Um,
00:22:46
Speaker
I was always kind of staying steady with like five hours of basically really easy riding as well. Like it was all kind of serving as recovery or, or heat training. Like I haven't listed on Strava that it was heat training, but, um, the blue mountains is we get like hot for a little bit and really cold. So we just like heat train inside with the spin bike and some layers on.
00:23:08
Speaker
Um, but, the I guess the main thing I was doing was using the more runnable terrain here. We do have some long climbs. So one of the main ones I was using was a place called Kadamba. And it's ah it's got like an 8K climb for around 700 and then also a 6K for 600 climb.
00:23:28
Speaker
And so once a week I was doing like pretty intense interval sessions on it. So I might do like – it would be alternating through like 8 by 90 – 8x60, 8x30, then like 8x15 or like that would be like a peak one.
00:23:44
Speaker
um But they were like really intense. So I was doing them all uphill, um just trying to increase my like I guess my climbing speed and efficiency.
00:23:54
Speaker
And then I was also doing some quite long tempos. So usually I would do like 2x15 or something like that on ah on a different long run day and I was doing them in the the back end of my long runs.
00:24:07
Speaker
um The rest of my week would be ah my Mondays are always either full rest day, especially when the volume's high, I always have Monday off. um But then when the volume was lower, I would go out for a recovery ride on a Monday.
00:24:22
Speaker
all and then so all up i was running six times a week, but ah four of those days I would run strictly in zone one. So like ah really easy on the easy days and just fully take out the the guesswork of it and just run zone one to heart rate.
00:24:41
Speaker
And then my session days, they were just really challenging. So that was kind of the structure and it didn't really change up too much. It was just more focusing on making sure we're, yeah, doing it all on similar terrain to what we're going to find at Buffalo.
00:24:57
Speaker
And um yeah, trying to emulate similar elevation per 10Ks as the race. And obviously you had a couple of days off now and you said you're going to race UTMB. Anything you're going to do in the middle between now and UTMB?
00:25:12
Speaker
ah she I actually don't think I will do any racing between now and UTMB. i will probably take, yeah, a fairly relaxed approach into getting back into it. So i might not really be running and for another like 10 days or so. I'm not particularly someone who turns around quick from...
00:25:32
Speaker
um, races. So I've always been slow to it. So like late this week might have some really short spins, but almost just to move the legs, not for training. Um, and then gradual build. I think we're going to focus on like a like a month or so of like quite a lot of speed, um, and more intensity, like just focusing on getting the speed, um, things up a bit before moving into like a bigger volume box, um, closer to UTMB. So,
00:26:02
Speaker
Yeah, I haven't raced much in the past and it's always kind of
Mindfulness and Mental Preparation for Racing
00:26:07
Speaker
works well. I think I'm more concerned about the mental side of things than probably the physical. I just feel like when I pick big races and there's too many of them, I ah yeah tend to lose the mental side of things. Like I wanted to go to Korea last year and raced Hounslow and then started training to go over to the Asia Pacific and I had just – Yeah, I pulled the pin because my brain was just not in it. But I also, felt really fit, but I had no desire to race. So I just want to avoid that.
00:26:37
Speaker
That's cool. That's cool that you're pretty much, you know, kind of on your own path and, you know, you don't push races just because it's a big race or there is an opportunity. Like obviously UTA, which is going to be um in your backyard, you're still kind of like on your own path to do it at your own pace, which is, um yeah, kind of sounds...
00:26:59
Speaker
Sounds like you know an experienced runner, but you've only been running you know from Strava that I can see um properly for the past like two or three years, Ani. So is are you working with a coach? Yeah, yeah. So...
00:27:14
Speaker
uh my old house you kind of planned the season with him as well like like sorry outside of like that mental being ready for a mentally do you plan the the season um with your coach yeah yeah so my coach is Cameron Kelsell and he's a friend from Perth as well uh we went to school together and he moved over here to the Blue Mountains but he's in Melbourne now and um yeah we've been working together probably for the last three years but um I think he's really yeah helped me just focus on my the things that are meaningful goals for me or in terms of like directed me towards races and courses that I'm inspired about um and like I'll always bounce it off him like the pros and cons of a race and I know as soon as my curiosity for the races is not there and I'm racing as a means to an end like he'll remind me and it's usually
00:28:10
Speaker
a good sign to get out of there because i think, um yeah, like for example, Wales, like the reason I picked that race was I'd watched the whole highlights video and I was just in awe of the course profile and how it looked. And, you know, I think when you go in with that mindset, mindset if your race turns south and it goes sour, like you're still out traversing like an amazing landscape and you're still kind of, you're still winning in that sense. So yeah, so he's planned out like,
00:28:40
Speaker
I think he held me back over summer a lot. Like i I don't often struggle with going high volume. That's like, I love it. And it's when I'm questioning things the least. um But yeah, we, so I think just, and it's, i think it's so beneficial because when I got towards the Buffalo block, I was, I'd been raring to go for ages for training, um but just been like cycling and keeping the weeks to like eight to 10 hours of running over over summer and that's the first time I've ever done any cross training over a summer. And so they're all things that he's helping me kind of realize is that you can't always be go, go, Sounds like, yeah, sounds like a good plan and sounds sounds that you're very mature about, like, you know, your training, your racing, which is really cool to hear.
00:29:26
Speaker
And hopefully, you know, everything goes well in that lead up to UTMB and um definitely, Definitely going to be a fun experience, I think, going over there for you. And ah considering you haven't done too many international races, I think you'll be i pretty shocked by how cool Chamonix is and how big that event is. um So, yeah, we're excited to follow.
00:29:49
Speaker
Hopefully, maybe we can catch up during your UTMB block. um But, yeah, excited to see you build up to UTMB. Yeah. Maybe we'll just do a quick um race update from you as well, Jess, and how you went last week. Yeah, I actually i just had one more question for Mikey because for anyone that doesn't know, like he's an amazing musician as well and you should definitely check out his music on Spotify because it's actually incredible.
00:30:22
Speaker
um But I was wondering, do you like listen to music a lot like while you're racing and training? Yeah, it's a good question. i ah i actually, I don't listen to any music while running outside or um ah racing at all. I think I probably missed out like a little detail in why I was initially hooked on trail running is that I think like i really was interested in mindfulness. It helped me with like a lot of, i guess, like, I guess anxiety. Like I experienced a lot of ah panic attacks and stuff when I was younger. So I
00:30:59
Speaker
got heavily into mindfulness and I i saw how like trail running um kind of meshed the two up. So I think for me, I generally, when I go out trail running, I would um just try to be as present as I can with outside. But then there are exceptions. Like if I'm on a treadmill in a gym because I'm traveling or something, I would definitely listen to some tunes. And when I'm on a spin bike, I'll listen to tunes or watch a documentary. But yeah, when outside, I'll try soak it up and yeah.
00:31:27
Speaker
How about yourself? Yeah, I'm pretty much the same. um Yeah, I don't really listen to music while I'm running, just like in the gym and probably when I'm cross-training. So, yeah, interesting.
00:31:37
Speaker
But, yeah, that whole kind of mindfulness and – um like how it ties into anxiety kind of leads me into yeah like my recap as well um yeah to be honest I didn't have the day that I had kind of put in my head um it was like I was still super proud of the run um It was like always going to be a pretty challenging course for me, like being net downhill.
00:32:09
Speaker
Um, and like the field was incredible. Like, and like I was, yeah, I had to be at my best to kind of like compete with the girls on the day. Like they were just so strong. Um, and it was really inspiring to race against them. Um, yeah, not sure. i think,
00:32:27
Speaker
Just like didn't feel myself on the day. um Like just woke up, you know, like usually you feel kind of like super energetic on race morning. Like um I had like a two-week taper, which I was feeling like pretty fresh.
00:32:44
Speaker
But yeah, race morning just like. just didn't have that kind of like mental alertness. um And yeah, just felt like early on, just like my legs were super tired.
00:32:57
Speaker
I had a long time to think about why, like cause... I like wanted to pull out pretty early on, but, um, decided to push through, um, which I was super proud of myself for.
00:33:12
Speaker
um but yeah, I kind of like, yeah, thinking about it, I think like I maybe built this race up too much in my head. Like I kind of put like a lot of time and effort into it. Like it it was like kind of like the only thing i was thinking about for a few weeks. And like I went down to Bright a couple of times and like to course recce and I was like feeling super prepared. um And, yeah, I just think maybe I put too much energy into like getting worked up about the race that i when I got to the start line I was just like –
00:33:47
Speaker
kind of cooked already. But I think like I'm still kind of getting used to like managing expectations, which are kind of like coming from myself. But like, yeah, I guess like trying to incorporate mindfulness and um all that stuff to try and like chill out before the race. But yeah, I think just still learning in that space. But yeah, like obviously I was still happy to come away with fourth in like a super strong field. So um can't complain too much about that.
00:34:18
Speaker
Just I think like what I'm like kind of frustrated about was not feeling like myself and feeling like strong on the climbs. um It's just like frustrating when you've spent a lot of time uh preparing for a race and then it just kind of doesn't go the way you planned um but yeah I feel like a lot of runners go through this so um yeah I'll take it as a learning experience and move on, I think.
00:34:46
Speaker
Any questions? Yeah, I guess, I guess what, I guess like you and Mike, you don't really race a crazy amount. So when you do a race, you know, you do put a little bit more pressure on yourself.
00:34:59
Speaker
I'm actually probably a person that does put a bit of pressure on myself as well. And the way that I've been fighting that over the years is just racing more often. So then I know, right, well, it didn't go well. There's another race, there's another race.
00:35:11
Speaker
um So I never put too much weight into racing. to one event obviously the downside of that is that you can't fully prepare for every race um because just the nature of racing often um but yeah it could be like a good a good a good passageway till you kind of get to the level you want to be at as well um racing a bit more um obviously for you mike looks like it's working already it looks like you you're able to um really kind of build up correctly and then disconnect and then kind of slowly rebuild um i think for me it's a bit harder like i'll put a lot of pressure on myself and usually you know that would just not end well um but yeah maybe just you could do some more races it could help um because you've yeah shown you turn you to trail running as well um yeah and i think
00:36:08
Speaker
Like, cause I'm so new to it. I'm still quite anxious about like all the little things like nutrition. Like I was talking to you in the week leading up, I was just like, haven't been getting like enough nutrition, like anywhere near enough nutrition in my long runs. And that was like,
00:36:24
Speaker
really worrying me because I was like, oh, like, if I feel like that in the race, like, it's not going to be good. And, um yeah, just, like, really stressing the little things that kind of just built up and up and, like, ate away at me.
00:36:40
Speaker
So, yeah, I don't know. I think... you have any advice for Jess, Mike? What was that? Sorry. Do you have any advice um for Jess? I have. I think, yeah, I...
00:36:54
Speaker
I have a couple of things that really helped me and like everyone's got different ways of doing things, but I've felt the same as you. I felt so much kind of build up to this race, even like I was doing the Buffalo Socials until one week out and, you know, I was even like pressing posts on the contender posts and watching people comment like this person's going to beat me and this person's going to do that. And I just like, I was like, oh, but I like these people and so I felt like...
00:37:22
Speaker
yeah And then no one knows I was like the one sitting behind like pressing them. So I had to, I think, and I i think because I haven't raced many times, but I also every time I do race and I have another good result, my brain goes, you must be due for a bad result. And so i experienced like a lot of anxiety before the race. And the thing that's always helped me is I actually, like I do this, the Headspace competition pack, like religiously.
00:37:50
Speaker
in the lead up to a race. And it's like, I think it's got 10 parts to it. So it's 10 days. And it's all about, i guess, like finding your anchor and practicing, like coming back to that in the lead up.
00:38:02
Speaker
So for example, my one that I picked for this race was like the sensation of my hands. And so when I'm racing and standing on the start line, I'm trying to be present with like the sensation of my hands. So I'm just like, know, the thoughts pop up, but you can kind of let them go a bit more um because I think so many of the thoughts that come up in, in taper, like I just like completely not true or they're just, they're hypotheticals that, you know, I had really bad tendon kind of pain from just tying my shoelaces to up too tightly. And in the last two weeks and like one thing I really grappled with the whole taper was, Oh, like you've got so much expectation to do well here. And like,
00:38:46
Speaker
your foot's going to hurt for a hundred K's like you're you're not even going to complete it. And so like, I think we all have those same thoughts, but I think trying to be present um and let go of that stuff. It's like, I would still get swept away in in that anxiety pre-race, but the sooner you can be like, Oh, like that's just thinking like, I've got to let that go. i think you can get to the line like a little bit fresher mentally. So for me,
00:39:11
Speaker
I think there's two parts and it's like I have like my training and my fitness and but then if I don't get to the race feeling fresh and present mentally I think my fitness is is not going to get me there alone um so ah really think the mindfulness side for me is like so, so important because otherwise i can't feel relaxed and actually just run how I want to run. So yeah, but I've actually, um I've actually done that.
00:39:40
Speaker
The headspace competition, um, course, which is, of yeah, I think it's pretty cool. i actually got Headspace just to improve my sleep and just general relaxation. And then I was looking at, wow, they got sports and competition. i was like, this is really cool.
00:39:55
Speaker
um So yeah, maybe worth checking that out, Jess. Headspace is a really, really good app in general. Yeah. even I think like the the way that I do it, like for me, it's like, I just need few really long runs to kind of feel confident that I can do the distance.
00:40:14
Speaker
And I remember first before my first 100K, I did a 75K training run just because I was scared I'm not going to do the distance. And once I did that, I just kind of like, all right, well, you're probably going to make it.
00:40:27
Speaker
um And it made it a lot easier. um And it's kind of like where I'm going towards right now, where I'm thinking about doing some longer races. I'm like, I need to do some longer runs. I need to do some longer runs, so just more for the mental side of things rather than the physical.
00:40:43
Speaker
But yeah, it's definitely a puzzle that is... You know, i've literally I think I've done over 300 races and I'm still excited over a small 10K race that nobody cares about. And, you know, you know might I might sleep only like four or five hours before that race. um So, yeah, I think it's it's good to be obviously nervous and and excited about those things. But, yeah, just finding ways that you can.
00:41:10
Speaker
not put too much pressure on yourself will make a massive difference. Yeah, for sure. And I think that's going to be a big focus for me because um as long as the recovery goes well, I'm still hoping to do UTA 50 in six weeks.
00:41:24
Speaker
um So I think next six weeks I'll be focusing a lot of and the mindfulness and trying to, yeah, really tap into that. um And I think just like trying to not maybe be like so serious about every little thing um and just like letting go a little bit could help. um
Shoe Technology and Trail Running Gear
00:41:45
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. yeah on that On that note, um sorry to interrupt, but i I also like chatted with my coach prior and i was even just discussing like i was even, I knew I was really nervous and I was like, I knew in training that when I wear a purple shirt in training, I just felt like I was kind of like almost
00:42:05
Speaker
like being a little less serious and I'd have more fun. So I wore a purple shirt on race day because I just wanted to shift something mentally and like it helped so much. So it's like there's all these little things that like I think we all have different little ways of like, you know, just changing something slightly. I was like, you know, like put purple shirt on, like go out and have fun.
00:42:25
Speaker
You're out trail running, like obviously you're going to try your hardest, but We all have those little different things and they'll all be different for us. It's just matter of like leaning into them, I think. Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome advice. and up Yeah.
00:42:37
Speaker
That's cool. Yeah. i remember when i was when I was a long time ago and I was a junior tennis player and I wasn't doing so well, um my tennis coach recommended I should see a psychiatrist. And one of the exercises and things that really helped me was – um first of all coming tennis matches with like couple of like cards like that I would write some you know saying that would obviously this is 20 years ago I don't remember what I used to write but um yeah kind of like just going back to a mantra that was bringing me back to the presence and that made a big difference for my tennis and
00:43:16
Speaker
Maybe, I don't know, could could work for running as well. But it's it's a bit different because running, obviously, once you start, you kind of, you don't stop where tennis has got a a lot of stop and start.
00:43:27
Speaker
um But maybe during that kind of like build up to the race at taper week, which is the hardest probably, you could just bring your awareness back to where you are right now and not worry too much about the race. Because in tennis, the problem in my head would just like go forward.
00:43:44
Speaker
So i would win the first three games and I'd be thinking about the next round. Before I know it, I'm losing, you know, six race, six love. um so yeah was kind of like how to bring myself learn how to bring myself to the present moment um and I think it's something with taper week that you like obviously you rate are you're training less so your mind is always on race day and what's going to happen how I'm going to go so bringing yourself back to to something that kind of puts you at right now um present kind of moment could help yeah I think that that's amazing advice yeah thanks guys
00:44:19
Speaker
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00:44:34
Speaker
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00:44:44
Speaker
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00:45:00
Speaker
So get over there, order some stuff and keep showing up. There is um a couple of news that we were going to go through this week. I will go quickly through my training week um last week on the podcast. And just as I was saying before,
00:45:15
Speaker
um you know i'm i feel good when i do some longer longer running um so i did a 50k training run on sunday so two days ago um that wasn't the plan um i got i went to drop down south to raise the um exterra asia pacific 30
00:45:38
Speaker
38k trail race the day before. um Just took my dog out for a quick 30 minute shakeout run and literally in the last 50 meters of that run rolled my ankle.
00:45:50
Speaker
um Not too bad but I was like wow maybe my ankles are like not 100% back um to where they should be um because I did roll it fairly badly at Donna Double going downhill and I've done a little bit of trail running, but not a crazy amount. So maybe yeah those two weeks weren't enough and felt like the course is actually quite technical from the 5K that I saw of it.
00:46:17
Speaker
um So I decided to not race and do a longer run on the roads. So yeah, instead of doing the race, I put a 50K run, which felt a lot harder than probably what I wanted to feel um with some strides at the end. So once I got to 42K, I started putting some one minute efforts to kind of work on that fatigue resistance, which I felt like I lost over the past few years. And ah since I've been um racing a bit kind of shorter races,
00:46:48
Speaker
So yeah, that that run was a bit harder than what I expected. But yeah, three and a half hours in the bank for a 14 hour, 13 and a half hour training week.
00:46:58
Speaker
And yeah, that's where I get the confidence, even though it could be that I'm overdoing it with training um volume. But that's where I feel confident, especially going into some longer races. And yeah,
00:47:10
Speaker
Yeah, I'm two weeks away from, i guess, my first ultra marathon in three or four years, which is crazy because just like you, Mike, I started with a lot of long races.
00:47:20
Speaker
um So I did 700k races in about a year and a half. I've probably did at least 50 to 70k trail races in a space of like three or four years.
00:47:35
Speaker
um And I felt a bit burnt out and Then I kind of went into triathlons and um kind of COVID hit and I started doing a lot a lot of shorter stuff. And I guess now as I get older, I'm kind of like, all right, well, I better get going back to the ah to the longer stuff.
00:47:51
Speaker
um So yeah, this is going to be my um the five peaks in Adelaide in two weeks time will be my first ultra marathon since 2021. twenty twenty one um which is yeah a long time.
00:48:04
Speaker
So, yeah, I'm happy to bank in a 50K longer run, even though it was on the roads, and I'll probably have to stay on the roads for the next few days just to give my ankle a bit of time.
00:48:15
Speaker
I am excited about doing a longer race and hopefully some even longer than that later in the year. um But I did want What's your plan for like recovery of the ankle?
00:48:30
Speaker
Like just stay off techie terrain or anything else? Yeah. Yeah. So I think like, so like, yeah, my ankles are fairly strong. I remember like going through my Instagram a few days ago and I've posted a video where I'm like jumping on the side of my ankle.
00:48:45
Speaker
Yeah, I've seen that. Yeah, so my ankles are quite strong. So i do think we did kind of mention that before we started recording. So the last three times that I did roll my ankle, including including a few days ago, it was all in the carbon plated trail shoes. um So I'm thinking that maybe I need more time to kind of get used to the carbon plated trail shoes. I do run obviously with super shoes on the track and threshold on the roads. Yeah.
00:49:17
Speaker
but i only really running them maybe like once a week. Maybe that's not enough or maybe um running with carbon-plated trail shoes on technical terrains is not worth it, um just that risk of something going wrong.
00:49:35
Speaker
Yeah, I'm kind of like in the two minds about running shoes right now and I guess that's a good thing. when you don't have a shoe sponsor, you have the freedom to try a lot of different shoes. I'm trying a lot of shoes, but at the same time, you know, it was almost easier when I was with the North Face because I would just have one or two shoes that I can choose from. And, you know, you kind of just keep running in them and you don't even worry about shoes that come out. But now I like, you know, kind of like trying a lot of shoes and seeing what works, what doesn't.
00:50:06
Speaker
And the last few shoes that I've, well, I have been running with them, the, um, the Hawker Tectone X and the Adidas Ultra, the Ultras, the carbon plated ones, the really high stack ones.
00:50:22
Speaker
I really like them. I like both of them. But at the same time, you know, I've right i've been running, you know, for 10 on years on the trails and I've never rolled my ankle and now I've rolled it three times in the past year and a half.
00:50:36
Speaker
um So, yeah, that kind of got me questioning about the shoe choices. and Yeah. yeah Actually, it's cool to ask you, Mike, what what are you running in? What are your thoughts about carbon-plated shoes on the trails?
00:50:50
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah, did this is like such a timely conversation. No, I don't. And this is, yeah, this is such a thing I've been exploring too. And I was like, yeah, looking at so many different carbon shoes before Buffalo, thinking like I want a carbon shoe to race Buffalo in. So um I even went there and recceed with a couple of different carbon-plated shoes.
00:51:12
Speaker
and yeah very quickly like in the recce I was just like this is just hurting my feet and on the downs i was like you know i thought the race was not going to be that technical but even some of the fire trial downs were just like quite an uneven rocks and I just like for any speed I was gaining I was just losing in terms of I just wasn't running down fluidly like I would in a non-carbon plated shoe so I ended up going the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro, which I trained in quite a bit.
00:51:44
Speaker
And so it's a super a super foam, but no plate. And um like, I can take that shoe out on a fire trail and feel like I'm running fast, but I can also run down the most techie trails here.
00:51:58
Speaker
And so I think there's a place for carbon shoes in my training, but like, I will only use it on really like, like Kadamba for example is like just a perfectly groomed um uphill fire trail and like i'll I'll run in carbon plate shoes for my sessions in that. But when it comes to anything with mixed terrain, ah I'm of the, yeah, I'm of the opinion that I'd prefer to race in a non-carbon for now.
00:52:24
Speaker
It's funny that you say that because this morning I was about to order there a pair of them, um of the La Sportiva's. and i was like oh tribe and trail in perth got them actually in store maybe i'll just have a quick look at them to make sure that the stack height is not like crazy high um before uh before i get up here um but yeah i've seen a couple of people um erasing them lately and a lot of good reviews so maybe i am maybe i should give that shoe a try but yeah i feel like i feel like we're not far away from
00:52:58
Speaker
you know, getting a good carbon trail running shoe. Um, but it's just not there yet. And like, I feel like, you know, obviously I've, I've rolled my ankle a million times on the trails, but usually I would catch it and then it's not a bad role and I can just continue running.
00:53:15
Speaker
But with a carbon plated, when you roll it, there's no turning back. It's a really bad, um, roll and it hurts like, you know, on this easy jog a few days ago, um i was in a lot of pain for for for about five minutes till it kind of settled down.
00:53:32
Speaker
Um, when that would never happen without a carbon plated without a carbon plate, sorry, in the shoe. mean, like I've seen, I've seen the new Adidas, but they only come out in, um, 2026.
00:53:45
Speaker
twenty twenty six They look a bit closer to the ground. So I think that that's the problem when you have a carbon plated and a stack height just makes it so dangerous. Um, so yeah.
00:53:56
Speaker
Yeah. I opted for like a lower profile carbon plated shoe at Buffalo in the end. Um, just cause I was worried about like the techie bit, the techie parts. Um, but my, like the bottoms of my feet got like shredded up. I don't know why. Like, I think maybe I wasn't used to like, cause I hadn't done too many runs in them.
00:54:17
Speaker
Now I've got like massive like blisters on the balls of my feet. Yeah. It's just so painful.
Trail Running Teams and Their Evolution
00:54:24
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. Huge race is, like, really hard. Yeah, it makes a massive difference on the roads and runnable stuff, like, massive. But um once there's a bit of kind of rocky technical terrain, it's suddenly, like, you don't know if it's worth it, if that risk is worth it. and And I'm sure that we'll see some, you know, better...
00:54:46
Speaker
carbon plated technology coming soon. I know that Salomon did, i don't know if you guys heard about that research that they did that it doesn't really add too much and they probably not going to go um in that path of adding a carbon plated to any of their trail shoes.
00:55:05
Speaker
um Where on the other side, I think one the other brands are going in that direction. mean, I think if you have a look, you know, in the US, a lot of people are racing carbon plated shoes, especially the Adidas Ultras.
00:55:21
Speaker
um A lot of people are racing them and in in those runnable US trails. But yeah, I feel like we're not far away, but maybe not there just yet.
00:55:32
Speaker
Yeah. But, yeah, talking about Salomon, I don't know if you guys saw that um team announcement that they did over the week. I feel like it's been everywhere on social media and um felt a bit more like ah a cycling team reveal rather than a trail running um brand.
00:55:53
Speaker
and Did you guys see much of that on social media? No, I didn't. i but ah so I saw the photos and I also saw that they – sponsored the Milamani trail runners from, um which is pretty cool.
00:56:07
Speaker
I thought that was rad. So, but yeah, i um I haven't seen too much more than then all the the press photos that came out. Yeah, so they did a full full-on presentation um with the team, like pretty much like, you know, a cycling team before the tour where they brought in all the athletes and um Lucy was one of them. They had a couple of, you know,
00:56:30
Speaker
You know, some of the older runners, Ryan Sands and people that have been with Salomon for a while were there and some younger um athletes as well. So I think it was about 30 people that had it as a live stream event.
00:56:45
Speaker
Yeah. So yeah, big launch and kind of, you know, same kind of uniform. And um I guess in a way what Adidas Terex has been doing um for the past few years where they're trying to bring this team feel into trail running.
00:57:02
Speaker
um So obviously that the we see a lot of guys are on and girls are on those trail camps right now. um But they felt like they're taking the next step. So they have apparently got like a team physio a team strength coach and nutritionist you know psychologist and so on um so looks like Salomon is really pushing towards that team um ah kind of vibe obviously trail running is so different because the races are different you know the distances and so on but it feels like they've
00:57:39
Speaker
well it's a shame Simone is not on on on the pod today but from the outside it feels like they're pushing away some of their national athletes and really focus on that one big international team and giving them a lot of support um from the outside as well so Adidas has been doing it a little bit you know Brooks has been doing it a little bit um but looks like this was like a big step forward towards one team with, I guess, shared resources, um which is pretty cool. Obviously makes it now even harder for, I guess, runners to do well when you have a full team behind them.
00:58:20
Speaker
um So I don't know exactly how it's gonna work because obviously everybody's racing different races, but I know that added us from the outside, of course, um do focus on a few races.
00:58:34
Speaker
and then trying to bring most of the team there, some people from the team there and some support from the outside like physios and so on. um But yeah, it was kind of cool to see it from the outside. And I don't know if that's the way the sport is going towards, but it definitely feels like it with more money is being thrown.
00:58:55
Speaker
into supporting those athletes um and definitely grateful like the next generation building up i guess in the sport and having a lot of support because i think like if you're upcoming and you know coming from that road or track background there isn't too much support you might have your own coach and you know, so on. But if you're also part of the team, you'll have a lot of support in races, have, you know, probably a strength coach, a dietitian that can help you and so on, um which is really cool, really cool to see. What do you guys think about all of this kind of, I guess, cycling team structure that those trail running teams ah are kind of going into?
00:59:41
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's um really cool. Like I think – um like all of that support is going to help the athletes so much. um And like, I think creating that kind of team environment, like it comes back to what were talking about before. Like, I think it probably helps with mindset a little bit just to like take your mind off yourself a bit and like put your mind on others and like more of like a team focused mindset in the sport is like definitely good. um Yeah, it's really cool to see.
01:00:13
Speaker
Yeah, I totally agree as well. Like even – just for example, from the weekend, just staying in shared accommodation with like other athletes. It's like I was learning things off, off Charlie and Mikey. And I think it's always going to be good bouncing just ideas of different people. And whether that's like a different professional, whether it's a physio or nutrition, like I i don't think you can, you can lose from having more, more knowledge to draw on and more people's experience. Like I think,
01:00:44
Speaker
yeah, it also would feel like a big family. I feel like trail running is such a team sport in the sense that the trail runner you are today is like very influenced by all the people you've run with and learned things off and yeah, who have supported you along the way. So it's cool.
01:01:02
Speaker
I wonder one day if they're going to go very deep into it and get like the same coach and like, cause obviously cyclists, um, cycling teams, like, you know, the big teams would have very clear training and almost similar goals. And, and obviously trail running is so different. Like Courtney will be training a lot different than their you know, under 23 athletes that would be focused on shorter stuff.
01:01:27
Speaker
um But would be interesting, like down the track, will they kind of bring one coach that coaches the team or a team of coaches that are really kind of coaches the team? And I guess, you know, the next step to that would be like the whole team is supported by one nutrition brand, um you know, supported by, you know, another like, you know, kind of like a full team kind of sponsorship.
01:01:51
Speaker
um I think it would take a bit of time, but it's definitely the direction it's going to. um You know, I've spoken with Brooks about sponsoring their whole team on the bigs.
01:02:01
Speaker
um you know very kind of small scale, but I do feel like we're going to get to that point where teams are like you know like cycling teams where you kind of come into this whole, um I guess, network of support from brands and not just one brand. And then, yeah, same on the coaching and and strength and nutrition and so on.
Race Results and Reviews
01:02:25
Speaker
But yeah, definitely exciting exciting times in our sport. It's becoming more and more professional. i think that added us the whole team vibe there is, I mean, really cool. Like, you know, the team camps are becoming, I guess, more important for those brands. And you see that a lot of the athletes are going to those team camps.
01:02:47
Speaker
um So yeah, really, really cool. I guess if you're a younger trail runner, there's a, there will be a lot of opportunities down the track to join um some of those teams and,
01:02:58
Speaker
and really kind of create a path for yourself in this sport. Yeah. A hundred percent. Um, should we go through some results? Uh, you need to jump off Mikey or?
01:03:10
Speaker
No, it should be good. Yeah. I can stay on. All right. Cool. Did you, um, want to go through the Buffalo results for us? Yeah. Let me just grab them up. no worries.
01:03:23
Speaker
All right. Sweet. so wow. we It's a lot of different races, eh? um so oh it's got us starting with the groms so i'll quickly jump through this junior trail it's just for in case there's a little grom out there listening and they get get inspired but we had 2k junior ah archie morley wow he's between 10 and 13 and he cranked to 813 for a 2k trail race that's pretty epic Willie Morley and then in third place James Zeri and then in the the women we had Eliza Walker wow 825 she cranked it as well Matilda Zeri and then Anna ah or last name Rocho 5k is kind of cool because we had Kate Avery took out the the female in the 5k family fun run so she's obviously
01:04:16
Speaker
ah pregnant at the moment and still enjoying the trails. So that's sick to see Kate still ripping it up out there. ah Isabel Winsbury and then Naomi warmer Warner in third. And the men, Tim Malone, Angus Miller, and then in third place, Harmon Hoodkamp.
01:04:32
Speaker
So moving on to the longer races, the 10K Sky Sprint was there actually about 11K with So than a longer than a little bit longer, but in first for the men, uh, we had Blake hose in 52 56. So pretty cranking time. Uh, second is in best, uh, 53 53. And then Dan Trevina women's SJ, uh, Sarah Jane dongers and then Jess Ronan and Belinda door. And they were super close.
01:05:06
Speaker
So all within like a minute. So that's pretty rapid. Um, 20k Skyrun was a super close run. a ah I was staying with Charlie and got to chat to him after. So in the men's 20k Skyrun, Charlie Hamilton took out first in one hour 41.49.
01:05:27
Speaker
Young Gun, local to Bright, James Barnett came in second at 1.41.59. So only 10 seconds behind behind Charlie. So that one's pretty exciting.
01:05:39
Speaker
James is obviously in flying form um and it's got bright future ahead of him. And then third was Andrew Gattonby in 1.43.12. So i don't think leading into it, we expected the 20K to be that competitive. And, you know, Charlie's time was like 3.40 gap and there's some technical trails in there. So that was a rapid race. So cool to see.
01:06:03
Speaker
In the women's, Bridget Lunn coming first in two hours and seven minutes, 43. So... ah so That's an awesome first result for her on the single track trail team.
01:06:14
Speaker
Second was Demi Caldwell in 208.42. So really close again. and then third, Laura Gillard in 208.55. So like all these top threes for the 20K are basically within a minute.
01:06:28
Speaker
So that was super stacked. um And the bright ultra 100K, that's pretty awkward. First place was Michael Dunstan in 10 hours, 29.17.
01:06:40
Speaker
Um, second place overall ah should add is Esther Shillag in 10 hours, 51 25, which is absolutely mind boggling. Um, so second male, uh, was Thomas Dade in 11 07 21 and then third Tyler Wyndham in 11 20 55 in the women's, uh, young Bridie temple in 12 hours, 32 05, uh,
01:07:01
Speaker
and the women a young gun bridie temple in twelve hours thirty two o five ah Worth noting that last year, that time would have won ah her the Bright Ultra 100K. So she's up against some pretty stiff competition with one of the best trail runners in the world with Esther, um which is so cool. That was a real highlight for everyone, seeing someone so world-class over here racing. So cheers to Esther for coming along and throwing it down.
01:07:30
Speaker
And in third place was Hannah McRae, who I believe is from Tasmania, and she was seven minutes behind Bridie in 12.39.05. So that's some really fast racing there as well.
01:07:41
Speaker
And then lastly for the individual events, 42K Sky Marathon, um which was on the Sunday. First place in the women's was Mia Noble, who is, she's had an amazing couple of, I guess her last few events she's won. She won Double Donner as well.
01:08:00
Speaker
um 407 58 which for that course is pretty rapid um second place sophie broom 411 54 third place julia anderson uh 413 27 and were all going up dingo ridge in sight of each other so that was one of the most stacked races of the weekend and everyone was yeah pretty excited about that one um and jess you were you were there in fourth and we were, yeah, saw that video of you chasing them down on Dingo Ridge and yeah, we were all barracking for you. So it was, um, that was a crazy race. And then in the men's, Mikey was pretty dominant. Uh, so Mikey Demiwanti is coming first with three hours, 27 45.
01:08:44
Speaker
Uh, he's training partner from Canberra, Jack Brand in second, three hours, 41 10. And then third was, I think it's Hannah McCray's partner, Gerald McPherson. Um,
01:08:55
Speaker
yeah i think that's right hopefully uh and three hours 44 10 um so yeah some great times there again and then we'll just name the the winners of the relay so we had for the 100 uh team beer mile athletics club was the winner of the hundred k relay in 1001 17 so some great running there um the women's it's uh Team, it's about the friendship in 12.08, so another cracking time as well. And then for the mixed relay, Team Her Trails was the winner in 12.22.59.
01:09:28
Speaker
And then our Grand Slammers, there's a lot of events at this. ah Jared Owen was the 72K Grand Slam. So for those who don't know, that's the 10K on the Friday, the 20K on the Saturday, and then the 42K on the Sunday, which is actually quite difficult because...
01:09:48
Speaker
They're all steep races and because they're short of the intensities up high. So first male was Jared Owen, and Jared did, yeah, the combined 72Ks in six hours 52, 59.
01:10:00
Speaker
Jared's a monster. is ah He did so well last year um in the Ultra Grand Slam. And then Lauren Rook, yeah, took out the women's Grand Slam in eight hours 32, 47, so really strong as well.
01:10:16
Speaker
um And then Bright Ultra Grand Slam, which is, yeah, yeah quite the undertaking, 10Ks, then 100Ks. And then, yeah, after running 100Ks, you line up the next morning super early after not much sleep and do the marathon that you did, Jess, which is so hard on the body. That's insane. so Yeah. Yeah. my house My housemate Jeremy May ah took out the men's exercise Ultra Grand Slam 1847.39 and he said the marathon was the hardest thing he's ever done in his life. um
01:10:50
Speaker
He's got a blister where his whole bottom of his foot is just like flesh. So, so grim to look at. ah and then And then the women's Ultra Grand Slam winner was Kate McMunn in 2509.18. So i was, yeah, blown away by how fast all the races were.
01:11:11
Speaker
this year it was really exciting I think yeah across the men's and the women's it was just a really really stacked stacked year and I just yeah I think everyone had a and epic time just battling it out yeah it was such an epic weekend like really showcased um how the sport's progressing um yeah definitely like on the men's and women's sides which is really exciting Um, and we also had Koonani mountain run on the same weekend, which had, um, some more like really exciting races this year. They had, um a vertical downhill. So usually they have a VK, um, like uphill, but, uh, this year they decided to switch it around, which is pretty brutal.
01:12:00
Speaker
um but In the women, we had Jill Lyle in first place, i Charlotte Blake in second, and Steph Austin in third. um So she was actually doing this the day before the Mountain Classic, so I'm not sure if she was kind of like taking it easy the day before. Yeah.
01:12:26
Speaker
Yeah. And then in the men, we had Joshua Eastgate in first place, Matthew Dames in second, and Brett Godden in third. So well done to those speedy downhill runners.
01:12:40
Speaker
um So then in the mountain run, which is the, I think it's 24-ish K, and that's the one that's part of the Golden Trail series. um So in the women, um we had Katinka Von Elster-Wellseed in first, and she was flying. She won by 10 minutes, which I wasn't surprised about. Like I'd run with her a couple of times, but leading up she came down to Bright for our course recce weekend and she was absolutely flying which is so good to see because last year she did get the golden ticket um to go over to Europe but then unfortunately got injured and couldn't race so
01:13:21
Speaker
I'm just so happy to see her um doing well and bouncing back from that injury. well done to Katinka. And then backing up from the ah vertical downhills, Steph Austin in second place um and our very own from the podcast, Simone Brick in third.
01:13:40
Speaker
um She's had an incredibly rough week leading up. so so proud of her for getting to the start line and getting it done. Like she's such a tough cookie.
01:13:50
Speaker
um Yeah, kudos to her. um And then in the men, so we had the great Leo Peterson in first place, um followed by Toby Lang in second and Thomas Banks in third. um So, yeah, it'd be interesting to see how the Golden Trail series unfolds totals are stacking up now um we can probably talk about that in our next golden trail series episode um so then we also had the ultra which is think it's like um
01:14:30
Speaker
And in the women, we had Nicole Patton in first place um and then Alice McGushin in second um and Claire O'Brien-Smith in third.
01:14:43
Speaker
So well done to those ladies. And then for the men, we had Ben Burgess in first place, Andrew Gaskell in second, and Adrian Dealer-Nugrade in third.
01:14:57
Speaker
So well done to those runners for crushing the ultra. um And yeah, there were a few other races that were on that weekend, but I think, yeah, we've covered sort of like the more competitive ones.
Upcoming Trail Races Preview
01:15:09
Speaker
So yeah.
01:15:10
Speaker
I think we'll leave it at that and move on to Xterra over in WA. Yeah. that's um So this is the first time they have that as an Asia-Pacific championship.
01:15:21
Speaker
Really beautiful spot. So they had the trail marathon, which was... Well, sorry, I had the World Cup short course, um which was like the main event. So an off road swim, bike and run.
01:15:39
Speaker
And I was just looking at the results and looks like some of the people that raised that also did the trail race the next day. um so being a short track off road um ah rice It was a pretty short race, so the winner ah did it in 37 minutes and most of the guys and girls were all around the 40 minutes. So some of them backed backed onto that trail marathon the next day. um And first place from Denmark was Jens Emil in 2 hours 51.
01:16:13
Speaker
Pretty much 30 seconds behind him, Tom Fisher, who also raised the day before the the short course, and Lissom Ben in third place.
01:16:24
Speaker
And then in the females, Petra Gerjohn won the females in 3.33, followed by Malika Bencroft in 3.37.
01:16:36
Speaker
And third place, Arinen Bencroft. and third place araing histon um in three hours and 43. So yeah, it looks like a a good chance for some of the elite triathletes, off-road triathletes to also get onto the trail racing um side of things in that event.
01:17:00
Speaker
Obviously i wish I would have raised it, but yeah, didn't and hopefully we'll be back there next year. So yeah, busy racing weekend in Australia this week. And next week, a couple of things coming up next week.
01:17:15
Speaker
um Jess, you going to go through what's coming up next week? Yeah, so there's sort of three big um trail races coming up this weekend. So we've got the Jagbilani Challenge, which is in Sydney um on Saturday.
01:17:33
Speaker
and then we've also got the Lithgow Ridgey Ditch Trail Run over in Lithgow, New South Wales. And then the Surf Coast Trek, which is down on the Surf Coast Trail.
01:17:45
Speaker
in victoria so um yeah looking forward to chatting about the results from those races next week but otherwise oh i've another episode done episode 51 um yeah but it's been it's been a long ride and we have some cool interviews coming up as well in the lead up to some of the golden trail races and uta and yeah a lot to come um but Thank you, Mike, for joining. It was cool listening to your story and I'm sure that um there's a lot more to come and hopefully we can have you on before or after UTMB.
01:18:21
Speaker
i Excited to hopefully meet you there and maybe if you're back in Perth, catch up for a run as well. um But yeah, thanks a lot for coming on and we'll see you guys next week.
01:18:36
Speaker
Yeah, thank you so much having me. Take care.