Peak Endurance

Episode 89 is an interview with Matt Whitaker, winner of the 2021 Two Bays Trail Run 56km men’s category. Matt won the race in 4 hours and 7 minutes. Matt actually also won last year on a technicality when first place was DQed. This year he won on his own merits and comes onto the podcast today to share his experiences. Running is a tough sport, and we runners are a tough bunch. However, this some...

Episode 88 is a third interview with the brilliant and prolific author Matt Fitzgerald. Last time I interviewed him about his book How Bad Do You Want It? which discusses the mindsets required for running well. This interview focuses on his latest book The Comeback Quotient, A get Real Guide to Building Mental Fitness in Sport and Life. I will read you the online description of his book: A good co...

Episode 87 is an interview and discussion with Luke Nelson, chiropractor at Health and High Performance. In this episode we discuss the issue that many runners face; Plantar Fasciitis, or PF. This is the second in a series of interviews related to the injuries runners face. I am sure you will find this series extremely helpful! If you are like the majority of runners, you may feel like you are con...

Episode 86 is an interview with the amazing athlete Maggie Guterl. Maggie made headlines when she won Big’s Backyard Ultra in 2019, a ‘last man standing’-style event run by Lazarus Lake (organiser of the infamous Barkley Marathons) which sees runners cover a 6.7km loop on repeat. Each lap must be completed within an hour and starts again on the hour and after that, it’s a battle to see which compe...

Abby Coleman (sports scientis with Precision Hydration) and I go over some running myths and listener questions: · Can you overload on sodium/have too much? Is too much sodium bad for you? · Is more than 2% dehydration detrimental to performance? · Do women and men have different hydration needs? · Can you just drink water to thirst? · What’s the most efficient way for a cool climate runner to ada...

Episode 84 is an interview with Catra Corbett. Before she was an ultrarunner, she was a drug addict, a hair stylist. a go-go dancer, a daughter, and a friend to many. The drugs led her to drop out of high school, develop an eating disorder, and damage her relationship with her family. Catra eventually found herself in jail. That was the start of her turn-around. In 1996, two years after being clea...

Episode 83 is an interview with the author Adharanand Finn. Adharanand Finn is the author of Running with the Kenyans (2012) and The Way of the Runner (2015). The first of these was the Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year, won Best New Writer at the British Sports Book Awards and was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book Award. He is a journalist at the Guardian and also writes regularly f...

Episode 82 is an interview and discussion with Luke Nelson, chiropractor at Health and High Performance. In this episode we discuss the mistakes runners make when dealing with calf strains, and what you should be doing instead. This is the first in what is going to be a series of interviews related to the injuries runners face. I am sure you will find this series extremely helpful! The link to Luk...

Episode 81 is another interview the enigmatic Lazarus Lake. Laz (real name Gary Cantrell) is an endurance race designer and director. His unusual races include the Barkley Marathons, Big's Backyard Ultra, Barkley Fall Classic, and The Vol State 500K. In 2018, he walked across the United States, starting in Rhode Island and ending in Oregon. This year he organized the Great Virtual Race Across Tenn...

Episode 80 is another interview the brilliant author Matt Fitzgerald. Last time I interviewed him about his book 80/20 which discusses the concept of running easy for 80% of your training and hard for 20%. This interview focuses on his very popular book How Bad Do You Want It? I bought this a long time ago and loved it. This book is all about the mindset required for running well. Are injuries or...

Episode 79 is a very interesting and pertinent chat with Scott Douglas. Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including R...

Episode 78 is a myth-busting chat with Brodie Sharpe. Brodie is the host of The Run Smarter Podcast and we have previously discussed RED-S, relative energy deficiency in Sport. Brodie is a physiotherapist and the owner of the Breakthrough Running Clinic. He aims to help runners expand their running knowledge and become faster, healthier, smarter runners. Ideal for injured runners & runners looking...

Episode 77 is an interview with Tristan Miller.  In 2010, Melbourne man Tristan entered the record books when he became the first person to complete 52 marathons in 52 weeks. He had sold virtually everything he owned to fund his $120,000, 42-country, globe-trotting marathon, which included all seven continents. Along the way, he clocked up more than 260,000 kilometres in the air and raised funds f...

Episode 76 is an interview with Dave Alley.  Dave is a father of five, Husband, Police Officer of 17+ years (Both NSW & QLD in various specialist fields) + Operational Skills & Tactics Instructor,  Ultra-Endurance Athlete, 3 x World Record Holder, Multiple Australian record holder, Level 2 Recreational Run Coach (Athletics Australia), Philanthropist, Business Owner – ‘Alley Health & Fitness Austra...

Episode 75 is an interview with Donnie Campbell.  Donnie, of Inverness Scotland, is an ex Royal Marine Commando with a background in a wide range of sports from Mountaineering and Kayaking to Football and Shinty. Shinty is unique to Scotland and one of the oldest games in the world. The game is similar to games such as hockey and lacrosse in some aspects and has historical roots with golf and ice...

Episode 74 is an interview with John Kelly.  John made trail running history on April 3, 2017 by becoming the 15th person to ever complete the Barkley Marathons. The Barkley Marathons in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee is known to the toughest endurance challenge ever with over 160 kilometres of tough terrain, sheer drops and thick forest.  He grew up exploring the dense mountains and forests ar...

Episode 73 is an interview with Kyle Burgess.  Kyle Burgess went out for an easy 10 miles (16k) on October 10 when he stopped to take a video. With about four miles left, he saw what looked like four bobcats, off to the side of the trail in Utah’s Slate Canyon. As he moved closer to get a video to show his family, he started to realize they weren’t bobcats, which are a smaller member of the b...

Episode 72 is an interview with Julie Emmerman. Dr. Julie Emmerman is a sport psychologist who currently works with numerous individuals on men and women’s world tour pro cycling teams, is a contract employee with USA Cycling’s High-Performance division, and provides consultation with team directors. Julie also worked with Garmin-Slipstream (EF Education First is the current incarnation) Pro Tour...

Episode 71 is an interview with Ryan Twist, podiatrist at Bayswater Foot and Ankle clinic. Ryan graduated from La Trobe University and has over 11 years of clinical experience. He gained extensive knowledge and skills as a Podiatrist from working both interstate and overseas. He has a special interest in Sports Podiatry, Sports Medicine, Biomechanics (human movement), Orthotics, Prolotherapy Injec...

Episode 70 is another interview with Travis Macy, a finisher of over 120 ultra endurance events in 17 countries. Travis is a speaker, author, coach, and professional endurance athlete. He is the author of The Ultra Mindset: An Endurance Champion's 8 Core Principles for Success in Business, Sports, and Life, which I previously interviewed him about. This time I am talking to him eco-challenge Fiji...

Episode 69 is an interview with Bernadette Dornum. Bern has a background of triathlon and Ironman but then began competing more and more in adventure racing and multisport after racing the Hawaiian Ironman world champs in 2015. Her adventure racing team Thunderbolt AR were undefeated in the inaugural 4 round national series in 2017 and made the top ten in the Adventure Racing World Series ranking....

Episode 68 is an interview with Rob Preston. Rob is one of Australia's leading navigators and endurance athletes. He started navigation as a kid through orienteering and then went on to compete for Australia for 15 years at the elite level and along with his wife Kathryn they won the World 24hr Rogaining (long distance orienteering) Championships in 2016. Rob has also been leading Australian Adven...

Episode 67 is an interview with Richard Xerri, the race director with Perseverance Events that holds races such as The Bright Festival, The P0rtsea running festival, and the upcoming (at some stage!) Buffalo Sunriser. It’s been a tough year for race directors, and we chat about how Covid has affected the racing landscape and the future of virtual and live racing in Australia. Richard;s event websi...

Episode 66 is an interview with Alex Hutchinson, the author of the book Endure; Mind, Body and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. In Endure Alex Hutchinson, Ph. D., reveals why our individual limits may be determined as much by our head and heart, as by our muscles. He presents an overview of science's search for understanding human fatigue, from crude experiments with electricity...

Episode 65 is an interview with Andre La Gerche. Andre is a cardiologist specialising in cardiac imaging, a Future Leadership Fellow of the National Heart Foundation and a NHMRC Career Development Fellow. He completed a PhD at the University of Melbourne and 4 years of postdoctoral research studying the effect of endurance exercise on the heart at the University Hospital of Leuven, Belgium, where...