EP 83 - COURTNEY ATKINSON "THE INTERVIEW" - OLYMPICS, REGRETS, RED BULL & THE MINDSET BEHIND IT ALL
In The Beginning | Australian Running and Endurance PodcastShow Notes
A different one this week. After 83 episodes, Liam turns the mic fully onto Courtney Atkinson for the most in-depth chat we’ve ever had about his career, mindset and life in elite sport.
From the proudest win of his life in a schoolboys 3000m, to the biggest regrets of his Olympic career, to the handshake deal that started a 25-year relationship with Red Bull — Courtney opens up on the moments, decisions and personality traits that shaped everything.
There’s stories about racing Simon Lessing as a teenager, the mentality that both helped and hindered him, why he never fully accepted help, what drove him, whether he fulfilled his potential, and why he still believes building a huge aerobic base is one of the best gifts you can give a young athlete.
If you’ve ever wondered what really made Courtney Atkinson tick — this is the episode.
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More from In The Beginning | Australian Running and Endurance Podcast
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.
Noosa Triathlon is 11 days away, so we’ve pulled the best of coach Dan Atkins from last year’s Road to Noosa series into one episode, in race order. Dan is an Olympic coach and coaches world champion Matt Hauser, and he takes you through the whole course: reading the ocean and getting through the surf, swimming wide of the turn cans, spinning the first 10K of the bike, getting down Garmin Hill, running the first KM 10% slower, and the food, sleep, race breakfast and Saturday jobs for these last 10 days.
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.