SE8 EP119 Dave Ridley

Geoff & Neil speak to the French man responsible for one of Sydney's booming performance focused running clubs, Jerome Dupuy.  Hear how the Delta Running Project has scaled from 4 to 100+ members over a short period of time, how they fill a pre-elite inclusive performance based niche in the community & amazingly how all 70 of their runners managed to run sub 40 min at the recent Sydney 10k event.

It's not often you meet someone who landed their dream job … but that's true of Athletics Australia CEO Peter Bromley.  Jez & Damo chat with the man that's presided in the top job during some amazing times for our beloved sport … a rich upward streak of success for our athletes, COVID & recently the puzzling Peter Bol testing story.  Learn about Peter's athletic past, his pedigree in executive business leadership, the task they've set for the Sydney Marathon as a world major, how engaging with Aussie sporting legends helps & what he learnt during COVID that's repaying in spades.

Damo and Jez talk to cowboy hat wearing, holder of the fastest known time for running across Canada, previous World Record for 24-Hour Treadmill Run champ, Author, charity founder / fundraiser, master of the mind trick, massage therapist and all round nice guy Dave Proctor … hear about his mammoth crossing of a continent, his book 'untethered', the vault, his four mind animals, the highs and lowest lows of running an epic challenge and last but by no means least … Dave delivers quite possibly our best treadmill related toilet challenge EVER :-)

Geoff & Neil talk to Tamworth local & gym owner, 400m Masters athlete, strength & 100m - 5000m running coach, past Athletics NSW Club Coach of the year & TV's Ultimate Tag semi-finalist … Jay 'Carved from' Stone.  Learn if spewing during training is a good thing, why a kettle ball is his go to & why you really shouldn't play join the dots with Neil.

Jez & Damo chat to Nike Head Coach, elite marathoner with a handy 2:17:20 PB, Melbourne based Kiwi Dave Ridley.  Learn how he's leveraged consistency to keep injury at bay, how trail running is easy :-) … why his clients must have a long term training mindset if he's going to work with them, why his wife put him in a wheelchair the day before the Seoul marathon and how drafting an elite poo-jogger wasn't an ideal race strategy.

Neil & Geoff chat to elite trail runner, coach, sports doctor, sport nutrition company co-founder and, until recently, UTA 50k record holder Dr Andrius Ramonas.  The boys learn about the ethos behind Roam's all natural alternatives to the dreaded sports gel, how Andrius incorporates sports medicine into his & his clients running and provides a fascinating insight into how you should balance carbs and fat during training & racing.

Jez & Damo round out the year by chatting to up & coming Castle Hill local 800m speedster, National Champ, 2 x World U20 Championships Silver medallist, European Diamond League competitor & US University of Washington Athlete Carley Thomas.  Learn the tips & tricks she learnt at the elite Diamond League, how she recovered from a horrific leg injury involving a speed boat, rubber ring & some concrete water, recovering almost miraculously to take her first jog 4 months in & racing 9 months later!  Learn how her team of sports professionals & several leading edge technologies came together to get her up & running again.  A lovely Aussie youngster with bags of talent & a heartwarming recovery story.

How do you take 5 hrs 12 mins off your 88 km Comrades time? ... by running a smoking 5 hrs 42 mins, coming first in the 50 year-old + age group and breaking an 11 year old masters record … that's how!  Geoff & Neil talk to Aussie 50k World Champs rep Wayne Spies, a man who just seems to get better the older he gets, who embraces a highly endearing & infectiously positive mindset based on getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.  The boys learn about his progression through 11 Comrades attempts culminating in his epic last run, running out of water with an hour to go at a sweltering World Champs in India & Wayne shares some of his most hard earned tips & tricks for pushing your distance running to the next level.

Jez & Damo speak to Olympic, Commonwealth Games & 6 time defending Australian 400 metres champion speedster Steve Solomon.  Learn of his meteoric rise at a young age, his junior records, US College time at Stanford, being the first Aussie man in 24 years to reach the 400m Olympic final & also the first Aussie since Cathy Freeman to do so.  Steve lays out exactly what he needs to do to beat the current Aussie record, delves in to how he utilises mental strength & how a sock came in handy for our number 2 favourite question :-)

Geoff & Neil reappear from a mysterious hiatus and sit back down with 'The Bull' Chris Turnbull after his epic 3856 km, 100 km+ per day (!!!), 39 day record run from Perth to Sydney.  Learn about the logistics, the closed road, the emotional, physical & mental stresses, how he worked through them plus the thousands of boiled eggs and A LOT of sandwiches.