Peak Pursuits

In this episode of Peak Pursuits, Sophie Broome joins Jess and Brodie to unpack her journey to the upcoming UTK 100.  Sophie reflects on bouncing back from a tough DNF at UTA, the science and testing she’s used to refine her fueling and pacing, and how she’s balancing training with work. Jess shares her own build-up, the challenges of managing anxiety and hormones, and the mental strategies s...

In this episode of Peak Pursuits , James, Brodie, and Simone reconnect for a big week in trail running. Simone opens up about her ongoing recovery journey and navigating life with POTS, Brodie breaks down his strong return to racing at Triple Tops and what’s next at GSER, and James shares his cautious but optimistic first steps back from a stress fracture. The trio dive deep into what smart taperi...

Trail running is tough on the body — but most injuries don’t happen by chance. They happen from overload, poor communication, or the wrong kind of rehab. In this episode, James sits down with Luke Nelson , sports chiropractor, running coach, educator and podcaster, to unpack what true injury prevention really looks like for trail runners. They explore how to manage training load, why ankle sprains...

In Episode 82, James, Brodie, and Jess cover a massive week in Australian trail running. Jess shares her Kosci 50km training update (plus some broccoli-sprout science), Brodie dives into weighted uphill training and his return from injury, and James reflects on progress in his own recovery. The crew unpack the latest news shaking up the sport — from Salomon backing the Olympic bid to Singletrack t...

For this event preview, James and Brodie are joined by special guest Ben Burgess. Ben raced in the 100 mile event last year and was placed 2nd when the dust settled, and has a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm about this event! We preview the overall event and the special, yet demanding conditions in which it is held, diving in deep to the 50km and 100 mile fields. Looking forward to what will no...

The Australian trail running scene is evolving fast — but its governance, funding, and pathways are still catching up. In this interview, AUTRA President Gary Mullins unpacks the AUTRA Playbook and explains how AUTRA aims to move from advocacy to authority,  working alongside Australian Athletics, professionalising the sport as a whole, standardise events and coaching, empower race directors,...

In this week’s episode of Peak Pursuits , James is joined by Brodie and Vlad for a packed conversation on all things trail running. Vlad shares his plans for the Tarawera 100k, Brodie starts looking forward to some end-of-season events, and James speaks openly about a setback on his return journey. The trio dive deep into the state of Australia’s National Trail Championships — what’s working, what...

Nicole Paton joins the show to talk about her journey from country Victoria to representing Australia at the Trail World Championships. We cover how she discovered trail running through adventure and travel, the challenges of balancing elite performance with parenting and work, and the lessons she’s learned from injury and resilience along the way. It’s an honest look at what it takes to stay cons...

This episode is hosted by James and Jess, joined by the one and only Sarah Ludowici ! Ludo is on the comeback trail post-baby and absolutely tore it up at the Roller Coaster Trail Run. She gives us an update on life, training, and how things have changed since welcoming baby Aurora. Jess is fresh back from Europe and reflects on her World Champs experience, while James shares some positive news fr...

The dynamic duo of Nath and Fraser are back on the mics to give us a run down of how their World Champs went - with Nathan coming out top Aussie in their races and  Fraser throwing in an extra bonus race of coming third at Melb Mara since world champs!  Always wild times.  Thanks for joining us on Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod and share your thoughts,...

Welcome to Episode 79 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Sim Brick and Vlad Ixel, with a brief update from Brodie before his internet drops out. The team covers training updates, a listener question on how to stay safe and find people to run with while travelling, and results from the GTWS final, Moab 240 and the TRSA Trail...

The Roller Coaster Run is back this weekend, and James and Brodie are here to break down everything you need to know ahead of the 23k and 46k events in the Dandenongs. From course strategy to weather forecasts, they unpack how to approach the climbs, what makes this course deceptively tough, and why pacing will make or break your day. The pair run through the men’s and women’s elite fields — featu...

Welcome to Episode 78 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Sim Brick and Vlad Ixel and covers a deeper discussion on the World Champs including where trail running is at as a sport in Australia compared to other areas of the world and some of the areas we see as athletes where improvements could be made. Tied into this is a li...

Welcome to Episode 77 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Brodie Nankervis and Vlad Ixel and covers everything World Champs, including Vlad’s race recap in the short trail, their thoughts on the overall winners, our Aussie results and more. Our Aussie team did us proud! Results: https://canfrancpirineos2025wmtrc.com/live.html...

In this episode we give free reign to Nathan Pearce and Fraser Darcy to chat all things Uphill and Mountain Classic at WMTRC, recorded before they arrived in Spain. Hear about their preparations, how they are feeling going into the race and the usual banter you would always expect from these two! Any questions for their part 2 post race, comment or message them through! Thanks for joining us on Pe...

Welcome to Episode 76 of Peak Pursuits, your go-to podcast for trail running in Australia and beyond. World Champs week is upon us! So this week Sim and James sit down with Charlie Hamilton to talk about all things World Champs, after a brief Hownslow 17k recap from Charlie and an update from James and Sim. Hear their thoughts on who the courses suit, who amongst the favourites of each race they t...

Welcome to Episode 75 of Peak Pursuits, your go-to podcast for trail running in Australia and beyond. This week, James is hosting and is joined by Vlad and Blake Turner, both live from Spain as they prepare for the Canfranc World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. Hear first-hand their impressions of the brutal short-course profile, the art of pacing on European terrain, and how they’re bal...

Trish McKibbin returns to the show ahead of representing Australia at the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships. In this episode, she reflects on navigating relative energy deficiency (RED-S), the lessons learned from Tarawera and APTRC and how changes to her nutrition, recovery, and training have reshaped her approach. We also discuss the balance between family, work, and elite-level p...

Welcome to Episode 74 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Sim Brick, Jess Jason, and a special guest Robbie Rorich who is training in Font Romeu with Jess! Get to know Robbie and his approach to trail running, hear how Jess is feeling ahead of World Champs, get an update from Sim, answers to listener questions and more! Resul...

Hounslow Classic is just around the corner, and our friends at SingleTrack have assembled a stellar field of Australia’s best trail athletes to battle it out in the blue mountains this weekend! James and Brodie dive into the course and discuss the fields in both the 17km and 42km. There will be some fierce battles across all races, what are you looking forward to? ***Don’t forget, use code PPP at...

Miah Noble is a trail runner on the rise in Australia, with a slew of impressive runs under her belt already that have earned her a spot on the team representing Australia at the WMTRC this month. Alongside that though, Miah has been on a much more important life journey as she finds new strength and joy through recovering from an Eating Disorder. Eating Disorders affect so many in our sport in a...

Welcome to Episode 73 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Sim Brick, Brodie Nankervis and Vlad Ixel and covers the top Aussie results of UTMB Week! Hear our top Aussie overall and category results from every race distance and the crews thoughts on some of the standouts or the hard days. To everyone that got out there and race...

Matt Crehan returns to the show ahead of representing Team Australia at the 2025 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships, where he will also serve as team co-captain. In this conversation, Matt reflects on a fourth-place finish at UTA100, a rollercoaster race at Lavaredo marked by both joy and stomach issues, and how his mindset toward running has shifted from pure performance to rediscover...

On this episode of Peak Pursuits, we sit down with SJ Miller — mother of three, high school teacher, and one of Australia’s highest-ranked trail runners. From her breakout in 2014 at Buffalo Stampede to her return to the national team in 2025, SJ shares the highs and lows of racing at the pointy end while juggling work, family, and life on the move as a Defence Force family. We talk through her UT...

Welcome to Episode 72 of Peak Pursuits, your ultimate podcast for everything trail running in Australia. This episode is hosted by Sim Brick, Brodie Nankervis and guest host Nathan Pearce as Nathan prepares to race at ETC this week. Start off by hearing an unfortunate update from Brodie that sparks a discussion on guilt, dealing with injuries, and decision making as an athlete, before Sim thankful...