Episode 708 - Delirious West 2027 Series Check In - Paul Watkins: Somewhere Between Enthusiasm and the Taper

Ever noticed how your breathing changes once you reach the top of a hill? Hills have a funny way of showing us exactly how hard we're working. Our breathing gets heavier, our shoulders tighten, and sometimes we're so focused on getting to the top that we forget to notice what happens afterwards. This week's ZenRUN Moment is all about paying attention to your breathing after a hill and noticing how your body recovers while you're still moving. On your next run, once you've reached the top of a climb, check in with your breath. Is it still fast and heavy? How long does it take to settle? Try relaxing your shoulders, easing your pace slightly, or taking one comfortable, deeper breath. There's no need to force anything or judge how quickly you recover. Just notice what happens as your breathing gradually finds its rhythm again. This is a useful skill that goes well beyond running. When life gets stressful, we often hold tension without realising it. Learning to recognise those moments and give ourselves a little space to settle can help us respond more calmly instead of simply pushing harder. So next time you tackle a hill, remember that reaching the top isn't the end of the experience. Pay attention to what happens next. Recovery is part of running too, and learning to notice it can make your runs feel a little more relaxed and enjoyable. Small moments of awareness like this can completely change the way running feels.

Sometimes in a Delirious build, no news is very good news. Craig Maluish is a few weeks further into his journey towards the Delirious W.E.S.T. 200 miler and, at the moment, things are rolling along pretty nicely. No niggles, no dramas, just training, work and life with a one-and-a-half-year-old. Although the next couple of weeks might make things a little more interesting. Craig is heading east to support the Australian team at the Backyard Ultra World Championships, and he’s hoping to keep his own training ticking along while he’s away. There may even be a fairly decent trail run squeezed into the trip if everything falls into place. Back home, his 24-hour event is getting closer, so the training load is gradually building. And because we’re getting closer to Delirious, we also wander into something that I suspect will become a regular feature of these chats: gear talk. Shoes, socks, sticking with what works and just how much experimenting is actually necessary. For now though, Craig’s Delirious journey is refreshingly uneventful. Touch wood. 😂 Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website:https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387

Last time John Herzfeld told us he was resetting his training for Delirious. Apparently that reset needed another reset. 😂 But now, with the Delirious W.E.S.T. 200 miler getting closer, John has decided it might finally be time for something slightly radical. A proper roadmap. In this Delirious West 2027 check-in, we chat about starting again after a few quieter months, finding a rhythm without trying to do everything at once, and John’s developing relationship with strength training. There’s also some very sensible discussion about motivation, enjoying the process and preparing for a huge ultra. And then there’s the far more exciting matter of buying new running gear. 😂 🎧 Come and catch up with John as his Delirious journey starts getting properly underway. Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website – https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387

Murray Hodgson is back for his first regular Delirious West 2027 check-in, and apparently running a marathon isn’t particularly exciting anymore. 😂 Since we last spoke, Murray has been recovering from 167 kilometres at the Goulburn Valley Backyard Ultra, and it’s been a good reminder that sometimes the body gets to decide when it’s ready to start running properly again. Now the legs are coming back, Melbourne Marathon is next, and Murray has given himself a fairly ambitious little target for what he’s casually describing as his “42K jog”. But his attention is already being pulled towards the longer stuff. We chat about how his Delirious training is starting to take shape, the rather large training weeks he has planned for early next year, and why learning how his body recovers could be just as important as piling on more kilometres. There’s also a Bali Backyard Ultra to organise, some early Delirious gear thinking, and a possible new strategy for dealing with snakes. I’m not entirely convinced about that last one. 😂 Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year. Delirious WEST event website:https://deliriouswest200miler.com.au/ Event Facebook group:https://www.facebook.com/groups/1428304207182387

Well, this is a little different. I’m usually the one asking everyone else about their Delirious training, but Ben Pyman has decided it’s my turn to answer the questions. 😂 So for the next six months, Ben is taking over the interviewer’s chair and following my own journey towards the Delirious W.E.S.T. 200 miler. For this first chat, we go right back to where running started for me, from growing up on King Island to rediscovering it in my twenties and eventually wondering whether I was stubborn enough to take on something as ridiculous as Delirious. We also revisit my slightly complicated history with this race, including the very different experiences of 2025 and 2026, and what I think needs to change before I line up again in March. Apparently I’ve now publicly committed to more strength training, losing a few kilos and actually fixing the cable machine that has been providing me with a very convenient excuse not to use it. Ben may regret agreeing to hold me accountable. 😂 This is the start of my Delirious West 2027 journey, and this time I’m on the other side of the microphone. Thinking about taking on Delirious West yourself? If the stories in this series are giving you that little itch to be part of it, have a look at the event details and see whether 2027 might be your year.