Peak2Soon

In late 2015, Mark’s close family friend and neighbour Frank was diagnosed with Cancer. Frank unfortunately passed away a few short months later.  Mark was really struggling but like most blokes kept it in and started drinking heavily. To try and combat his depression and gain some control back over his life he signed up for his first marathon in Sydney in 2016.  He's many things a husband, father...

Starting his running journey a decade ago Mark Scarborough completed his first marathon in 2019 in Melbourne, it was on that day that Mark vowed he'd never run another marathon again. But, he had a big why, a ticket to the Berlin Marathon, running in memory of his step father who was one of the many Aussies who died after being diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. The pandemic had other ideas, and th...

Brooke Thomas is a star on the rise, and while she won't admit it she's one of the top trail runners in the world. Recently, Brooke was the last woman standing at Arrowtown Backyard event, nearly placing her directly on the New Zealand team for the Satellite World Championships.  That ends what has been a big year, which includes a fourth at UTA in her first showing, and being in the Top 40 women...

Coast to Kosci is one of Australia's best races, 240km from a beach in Eden all the way to the top of Australia then back down to Charlotte'Pass. Without last year's winners this race is still so super stacked, and like any year is bound to throw up some twists and surprise. Last year's winner Rob Mason lets me know about some exciting developments about the race, and also helps me try and pick a...

Stromlo Running Festival was born out of the ashes of the 2003 Canberra Bushfires, and is the brain child of Marathon Legend Robert De Castella, who did much of his training in the region throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The first run in 2009 was unlike any other running event held in Australia and was centred within the developed world-class facilities of Canberra’s Stromlo Forest Park. The festiv...

**Trigger Warning**  This piece discusses suicide and suicidal ideation.  For help in a crisis call 000. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Running for Resilience is a project in Canberra that recently set out the goal to have the Nation's Capital suicide free by 2033. It's Founder Matt Breen is one of the most optimistic peo...

One of Australia's most respected politicians Dr Andrew Leigh was recently crowned Australia's fittest politician. For those that live in Canberra it would come as no surprise, as if you're up early enough you'll catch Dr Leigh running on the trails somewhere between Mount Ainslie and Mount Majura. Dr Leigh shares his wisdom in this podcast, and a journey that's seem him run sub three hours in all...

Each year a run takes place for the Bravery Trust charity called 'The Bravery Trek'. This year Ambassador and Veteran Murray Bruce and Canberra running Icon Singh Talwar took part in this year's edition, which was 4 marathons in 4 states in 44 days. This podcast takes on a lot of their wisdom and gives you an insight into The Bravery Trek and why they both take part. If you'd like to support them...

It's not often you get to sit down and chat with the founder of a shoe company, but Sam Burke is not only a passionate Co-Founder of Tarkine, he's also a passionate runner. I really enjoyed getting an insight into what it takes to get a shoe company off the ground, and what Tarkine has in the pipeline, with some incredibly exciting projects not that far away. I hope you enjoy this chat, about an A...

Just a shortie this week, first time by myself on the podcast. I think everyone was absolutely mindblown by Big's Backyard Ultra this past week, so I do a little recap with some stats from the race. I also provide an update on what's coming up, but mainly it's just to say hello and g'day and give a shoutout to some friends running Bondi to Manly tomorrow! 

The Ultra Mediocre Runners of Canberra, is one of those run clubs you feel has been around for ever, but it might surprise you to learn that the club is just a few years old.  Born out of a couple of mates running together during the pandemic, the club now boasts over 50 members, which includes a couple of national champions, and the club also hosts the country’s toughest backyarder, The Gumby.  I...

Donna Urquhart is about to undertake the run of a lifetime, hoping to run 1,300 kilometres in Antarctica. She's also on a mission to educate and empower young girls and women to develop a love of sport and discover what is possible for them through the integration of mental and physical skills. In this chat she details how she hopes to over come a number of challenges she'll face during the run. Y...

Happy, limitless and free is Tanya Bottomley's motto and it's early in this conversation I learn why that is. From depressed, down and almost out, to conquering mountains and so much more.  Tanya's story is one of pure inspiration, from finding the trails to becoming the first woman to attempt the Southern Seasons Miler Challenge, Tanya's story is one of perseverance and courage. This was a lot of...

The world of ultra running changed when Big's Backyard was introduced into the mix, and since then it's seen hundreds of different iterations of the race format take place across the world. One of Australia's best at the format is Jessica Smith, who was the first woman in Australia to break the 275km mark in the backyard format, which involves running 6.71km on the hour every hour until you can't...

It's not often you can sitdown with a dietitian the calibre of Lauren Nash shoot from the hip with questions. An incredible knowledge base that is only growing, Lauren also known as the thexfitdietitian is a performance dietitian that has worked with some of the world's leading athletes across a wide variety of disciplines. This was an insightful conversation, that delves into a range of different...

Running became a love for so many of us during the pandemic, and for Jake Pearce it's seen him go on an incredible journey. From hitting the wall in his first attempt at a marathon, just a year later he was running the Atacama Trail during a trip to the Americas with his girlfriend, and a love for the trails saw him race with the highest mountain in the Americas as his backdrop, in an incredible i...

**Trigger Warning**  part of this podcast discusses suicide. For help in a crisis call 000. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Simone Brick is a dominant force in Australia's Mountain Running scene, but it hasn't always been that straight forward. 'The Flying Brick' has been incredibly open about her battles with depression,...

Patricia McKibbin is a trail athlete that I look up to a lot, being from Canberra it's so cool to see someone who's training on the trails I run, competing on the world stage. She's as humble as they come, and has had some amazing performances in some of Australia's biggest trail events including a win at UTA50 and Sri Chimnoy Canberra 100, and podiums in Bright, Brisbane Trail Ultra, UTK100 and U...

Some on the east coast ultra running scene may never have heard of Michael Hooker until he blew some of the best runners out of the water with an incredible run at the recent AIS Track Invitational. The run put him as the A Qualifier for the Australian team that's heading to Taiwan for the World Championships in December. It's worlds away from where Michael was in 2017, faced with the prospect of...

Sometimes all you need is a little help in starting your running journey. I started this podcast to learn from people, and Ash Daniels is one of them. In this podcast we share some of Ash's tips and tricks behind his coaching, the balance between coaching and running, as well as some of the common mistakes we both made when we first stepped out into the world of ultra running. As a former Royal Ma...

Episdode 17 coming at you thick and fast! Brooke McIntosh gives us a unique insight into her transformation from fly in fly out worker to mindset coach. She's also going to be completed an incredibly tough run from Karratha to Perth raising money for two charities and awareness about the challenges of mental health. You can support her and follow the journey via her instagram at brookemma.rose You...

Sam Harvey is an incredible athlete who wants to dominate the world of Ultra Running. Some were surprised by his recent result at Dead Cow Gully, smashing his previous best with 101 loops, before he was medically pulled from the event, but for anyone that has followed the rising New Zealand star, they would've known he was right in the mix to win the event. With big goals on the horizon, Sam speak...

**Trigger Warning - this podcast discusses themes such as child sexual abuse. Jess Peil is a great friend and one of my biggest inspirations. An incredible runner, next week she'll be attempting to run seven marathons in seven days for the fifth time, all in the name of Bravehearts. It's a matter that's close to Jess' heart. But, outside of her incredible marathon achievements she's also a strong...

Heather Hawkins is an incredible woman.  After beating Ovarian Cancer at 47, she found running, and what started as laps around Sydney's Centennial Park, soon became winning the North Pole Marathon at minus 42 degrees celsius and plane hopping to run seven marathons across the globe in just 168 hours.  An inspirational woman and an incredible athlete, who discovered it can often be the low points...

**Trigger Warning**  This piece discusses suicide and suicidal ideation.  For help in a crisis call 000. If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Alison To is an ultra runner inspiring many through her sheer determination which she shares on her instagram ali_runs_an_ultra. But her story is one that's been a rollercoaster,  Many wi...