In the Beginning Podcast

The Gold Coast Marathon is done, the legs are cooked, and Courtney is already quietly looking towards another marathon in November. This week, Liam and Courtney unpack what proper marathon recovery should actually look like — from the science of damaged muscles and suppressed immunity to Michael Shelley’s far simpler philosophy: go on holiday, have a beer and let the brain switch off. They also re...

The 2026 Gold Coast Marathon Series has crossed the finish line. Courtney is officially a marathon finisher, stopping the clock in  2:42:10  in his first proper race marathon. But this is not a victory-lap episode. It is the full, honest breakdown of the experiment: the conservative start, the 28km stitch, the legs that faded from 35km, the nutrition that worked, the training volume that did not q...

It's Gold Coast Marathon eve and Courtney's quietly walking back his pace targets — head-to-toe black, poppers prepped, and a new plan to cruise rather than chase. The boys break down the elite fields, debate whether run-club flags are peak cringe or peak belonging (the answer surprises them), and dig into why Chinese shoe brands like Li-Ning are about to disrupt running the way they disrupted car...

One week. That's all that's left to Gold Coast Marathon. Courtney is officially into taper mode ahead of his first marathon, and Liam finally puts a prediction on the table. But should marathon runners even be obsessed with finishing times? The boys dive into what has changed most in running over the last decade, why modern shoes have completely changed the sport, why "finding your ra...

Two weeks to go. With Courtney heading away on holidays, this week's Gold Coast Marathon Series is a little different. Instead of the usual chat with Liam, Courtney jumps behind the microphone solo while driving back from his final marathon session to take you inside his final major marathon workout before race day. From a 30km marathon session with the crew to pacing battles with Tim Rigby, n...

Cape Town joins the World Marathon Majors, Sydney gets shuffled down the calendar, and suddenly the running world is staring at nine majors instead of six. With the Gold Coast Marathon now just weeks away, Liam and Courtney dive into the changing marathon landscape, training realities, race-day decisions, headphone debates, city-vs-city marathon rivalries, and whether the running boom is still cli...

With just  two and a half weeks until the Gold Coast Marathon , the countdown is officially on. Courtney breaks down his biggest marathon session of the block - you can find it here on STRAVA A 28km workout, what the data says about his fitness, and why travel, poor sleep and questionable nutrition are making this marathon build anything but textbook. Liam puts him on the spot about goal pace, rac...

The boys are back and counting down to the Gold Coast Marathon. Courtney has been feeding 14 years of Strava data into AI to see what it thinks he's capable of running on the Gold Coast. The results? Surprisingly accurate on his injury history… and wildly wrong on his marathon prediction. Meanwhile, Liam accidentally finds himself making national news after pitching a bizarre solution to the Logie...

Three and a half weeks out from the Gold Coast Marathon and the boys take the podcast on the road to the Southern Cross University Exercise Science Lab. Courtney feels right at home amongst the VO₂ testing gear, altitude bikes and sports science equipment as he reconnects with one of his first sports scientists from over 25 years ago. Alongside Dr Luke Del Vecchio, the conversation dives into the...

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 al...

With just over four weeks to go until the Gold Coast Marathon, Benita Willis from Lace Up Running is back to bring some calm, clarity and hard-earned marathon wisdom. Courtney opens up on his “every second day” marathon experiment, the long runs he’s finally banked, the shoes he’s chosen and the pace he’s thinking about for race day. Benita talks recovery after marathons, why recreational runners...

Courtney is stressed, Liam is chirpy, and Episode 88 lands right in the middle of a massive endurance week. We dive into the chaos behind Red Bull Race The Sun, the weather worries, Gold Coast Marathon chat, Andy Buchanan feedback, Liam’s post-UTA reflections, and the countdown to Courtney’s first race marathon. Big week, big rain, big pod. Follow the podcast on Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Half marathoners — this one is for you. Andy Buchanan is back on In The Beginning — and this time we’re going straight to the top. The fastest Australian marathoner ever joins Courtney ahead of the Gold Coast Marathon weekend to talk all things half marathon, marathon training, race-day pacing, super shoes, his YouTube journey, and why the half marathon is a completely different beast to the full....

Liam is back from the 100 miler and learning the fine art of actually resting, while Courtney’s Gold Coast Marathon experiment hits the six-weeks-to-go mark. The boys talk marathon goals, heart-rate reality checks, trail shoes, the running boom, London Marathon’s two-day idea, race-day filming etiquette, fake bibs, and why the Gold Coast Marathon might need a baby blue “first marathon” bib for Cou...

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, f...

It’s race week for Liam’s UTA 100 miler in the Blue Mountains. The training is done, the mandatory gear is checked, Nick is locked in as crew, and now the hardest part might be waiting for the start line. Courtney and Liam talk race-week impatience, the reality behind ultra prep, poles, pacing, family priorities, community support and the mental trick of “chunking” 160km into people and moments. P...

Former elite Ironwoman Allie Lyndon joins the Gold Coast Marathon Series with one seriously interesting story. After years in surf lifesaving — including chasing the Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series, racing the Coolangatta Gold, and building a huge endurance engine — Allie is now all in on running. She’s a mum of two, juggling training around family life, shift work, a cleaning business, and the chaos...

Liam is one week out from his 100 miler and the reality is starting to bite. This week on  In The Beginning , Courtney is back from Europe and the boys dive into Liam’s final UTA 160km race prep — nutrition bags, mandatory gear, night running, salt and vinegar chips, Pop-Tarts, crew spreadsheets and the growing nerves before heading to the Blue Mountains. Courtney also shares what he learnt runnin...

JET LAG, RHYTHM RUNNING & HALF MARATHON FUEL — GOLD COAST MARATHON SERIES Courtney is back from Europe, jet lagged and already testing the rules of his marathon experiment. This week we talk travel fatigue, why international flights can hit like a hard session, Courtney’s mountain running detour through Austria, and the big lesson he’s learning eight weeks out from Gold Coast: rhythm running m...

Courtney is in Salzburg while Liam is off the tools for the week, so we’re bringing back the best educational moments from the 2025 Gold Coast Marathon Series. This episode pulls together the key advice from Benita Willis, Britt Caling and Michael Shelley — covering goal setting, pacing, long runs, injury risk, recovery, nutrition, race morning, warm-ups, cadence and how to approach the Gold Coast...

The Gold Coast Marathon Series continues with Benita Willis from ‘Lace Up Running’ back in the coach’s chair. With around 10 weeks to go, Benita breaks down where half marathon and marathon runners should be right now, how to structure the week, why hills matter, how to use parkrun properly, when to practise nutrition, what to do about niggles, and how to keep the whole build in perspective. Liam...

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, de...

The Gold Coast Marathon Series is back for 2026. After an unforgettable first year following Bronte’s journey from half marathoner to marathon finisher, Liam and Courtney return with Benita Willis from Lace Up Running , more first-timers, more experts, more half marathon focus and a brand new challenge for Courtney — The Experiment. Whether you’re chasing the full, the half or just trying to make...

Courtney checks in from Hervey Bay after a few days boating on the west side of Fraser Is, while Liam gives a proper update on Miler training, his crew chief and why this week finally felt like a turning point. The boys rip into some of the wildest stories in sport right now — robot half marathons in China, Paris Marathon going cup-free, the no-phone magic of The Masters, Hyrox taking over, and wh...

Every runner knows the feeling — the body is holding up, but the mind starts to feel the grind. This week the boys unpack the ups and downs of a big training block, from breakthrough sessions and building fitness to the mental fatigue that can creep in when the repetition starts to bite. Liam reflects on his biggest week yet in the lead-up to the miler, while Courtney shares why time away from con...