SPECIAL EP: LIAM FLANAGAN - UTA MILER, NO SLEEP & HE FINISHED THE DAMN THING
In The Beginning | Australian Running and Endurance PodcastShow Notes
Liam Flanagan is officially a miler finisher.
Fresh off 161km through the Blue Mountains, Liam sits down with Courtney to unpack the full UTA miler experience — the brutal lows, the hallucinations, the knee that stopped working, the wife who refused to let him quit, the crew that saved him, and the moment it stopped being about time and became purely about finishing.
A huge episode on endurance, friendship, ego, support crews, suffering, and why sometimes the best stories come from the deepest holes.
Follow the podcast on Instagram @inthebeginningpodcast Courtney on Strava Liam on Strava
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Courtney's been within 30 seconds of his predicted time at the Gold Coast Marathon, Bridge to Brisbane and the Melbourne half, so he's 80/20 against flying to Kobe to run a time he already knows. Liam ran the Blackall 100 21K after hosting Birds of Tokyo, a 9pm drive to Mapleton and four hours' sleep in the back of the car.
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Courtney ran 1:16:37 in the Nike Melbourne Marathon half, with a negative split and second in his age group, and insists nobody cares about the second bit. Both of us met Eliud Kipchoge: Courtney got his structure question answered on the finish line at the MCG, and Liam's phone tried to answer for him mid-Q&A.
A fitness influencer with 530,000 followers rode the back of a bike at 38km in Berlin and posted a PB. Courtney reckons the brands should be checking who they sign. It's Melbourne race week. Courtney's still not sure he can hold a half marathon flat out, Liam has a question loaded for Eliud Kipchoge's breakfast, and someone has just done 35 laps of Nerang's Goat Loop, 245km in 50 hours.
Liam opens with an apology. His DNF tax went down like a lead balloon, and his wife says he doubled down when Courtney called it.