EP 89 - THE SUN GOT BEATEN & THE CHAINSAW CAME OUT
In The Beginning | Australian Running and Endurance PodcastShow Notes
Red Bull Race The Sun is done — and Courtney is running on fumes, half an hour of sleep and one very useful chainsaw.
This week on In The Beginning, Courtney breaks down the madness of directing one of Australia’s most unique endurance events: fallen trees, flooded roads, teams chasing sunrise, one team beating the sun by just 16 minutes, and another missing it by only four.
Liam and Courtney also dive into the new wave of running events, treadmill “ultras”, the Guardians League surf racing concept, shoe brand battles at marathons, sporting fashion, Liam’s post-ultra knee reality check, and Courtney’s Gold Coast Marathon experiment as race day gets close.
From trail nerds to HYROX crews, gym runners, influencers and everyday runners, this episode lands on one big point: running has room for everyone.
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More from In The Beginning | Australian Running and Endurance Podcast
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.
Liam wants anyone who DNFs a sold-out marathon to pay 25% more to enter next year, refunded when they finish. Courtney isn't buying it.