It All Starts With Something

Welcome to the journey to the highest point in Australia

“We all have to start somewhere, and doing something is better than nothing at all. Start small so you don't get discouraged and give up. Remember it is all about consistency.”

Khloe Kardashian

Did I envision a Kardashian kicking off this blog? Probably not. But to Khloe’s credit this quote is one that I resonate with, because it can apply to a variety of different situations. The quote itself is from Khloe’s show “Revenge Body.” It featured men and women aiming to get into shape after difficult points in their lives.

Now, I don’t know why it happens, but many people, myself included, have taken steps to change their lives following certain events. For mine the end of a long-term relationship was the catalyst. At the time I was deeply unhappy in my marriage, I was a shell of the person that I saw myself as throughout my childhood and schooling life, and food was my comfort.

Often, I would buy food to eat in my car, and living near the Casey shops I would volunteer to do the grocery shopping knowing that I could devour a bag of chips or block of chocolate before coming home. But no matter how much I ate it was never enough, and the way the mind works is that once you feel a connection to something you’ll keep doing it repeatedly and it becomes an addiction.

Deciding to go our separate ways was the best thing for both of us, it ended mutually, and as a result both of us have been able to move on with our lives and find happy beginnings elsewhere. But if I rewind back to the start of this blog and Khloe’s quote you would think that this post is about revenge, well, you’d be wrong.

I’ll take you back to October 30, 2018, I used to have Mondays and Tuesdays off work, and after my break up I’d moved into a group house with my best mate Josh. In the weeks settling into my new lifestyle, the night before I’d partied just a little bit too hard on what was effectively my Saturday. Waking up on this day after consuming more than a dozen beers I went and weighed myself and was stunned to see the scale spit back 140.8kg. I’d never been that heavy and it hit me like a ton of bricks that my secret eating was slowly killing me. I’ve always been active and loved sports, but as recent studies have shown you can’t out exercise a ‘bad diet’, and as I’ve learnt in recent years it’s all about balance.

This moment was defining. The way I felt after seeing my weight absolutely shocked my system. Within 20 minutes I was dressed and heading down to the Bonner Ovals with Josh. It had rained overnight, but I was determined to get through 5 kilometres, what ensued over the coming 48 minutes was a battle of the mind, yes that’s right it took me 48 minutes to complete the run.

This run shifted my mind-set and I saw the need to do something. The next six months I changed my diet, and involved a combination of gym, walking and running. I’d started somewhere and now it was all about remaining consistent. Within this period I dropped 30 kilograms and was a completely different person, I was far happier and looking forward to what was to come, but I never dreamed my running journey would take me to where it has so far.

But it was a slow burn for a year, despite it playing a key role in my weight loss I stopped running and didn’t pick it up again until the pandemic hit. It saw the creation of ‘Race a Raider’ a concept by a guy I’m glad to call my friend Jamie Bradnam. Essentially it gave regular fans the chance to run 5 kilometres virtually and try to beat their favourite player. At a time when nothing else was happening I really grew to love running 3 times a week. I caught the bug, a group of random people on twitter added me to a running group called the ‘2zoners’ and I ended 2020 running 2000km for the year which for me was absolutely mind boggling. During this year I first experienced trails, and it came with a bang in December, I thought it would be a good idea to try and do the ‘Kosci Neverest Challenge’ virtually. I ran up and down Mt Ainslie for around 6 and a half hours.

As time went on I started running on the trails, interacting with some cool people on Instagram and immersing myself in the Canberra running scene. I ran my first marathon in April 2021. The marathon in a way is a good metaphor for life. You have your really good bits where you're feeling on top of the world, and you feel like nothing could ever bring you down. Then you have those moments of complete and utter helplessness. I hit the wall at 19km from home and limped to the line. To complete that marathon despite the adversity I faced was one of the most emotional moments I’ll never forget, I immediately embraced my amazing girlfriend Cassandra, my biggest supporter, on the line, as she knew exactly what sacrifices I’d gone through to get to this point and was incredibly supportive every step of the way. Months later I took on Kowen Winter Trails Marathon during a bye week in football season not knowing what to expect, I made the cut off time, but wasn’t fast enough to qualify for 6 Foot Marathon.

In between this marathon and my first ultra I started running 5 kilometres in every suburb of Canberra, Holder is next on the list, and I’m determined to one day finish it. During Canberra’s second lockdown I thought it would be a good idea to give running at least 10 kilometres a day for as long as possible a crack. It grew a mind of its own and saw me run 1,249km over the 100 days without a rest day. Unfathomable for someone who only a few years earlier struggled to get through 5 kilometres. More than a $1,000 was raised for the Stroke Foundation, which completely blew me away.

My biggest single running challenge however was Stromlo 50km, an event that had been postponed and when it came race day I certainly wasn’t at my best, and after 8 hours including 6 of not being able to hold anything down I finished the race beating the cut off, once again getting emotional at being able to fight off the mental demons. I’ll write about it at some point heading into Kosci, but mind set and how you approach things can make all the difference.

A week before Stromlo I took part in a charity event based on ‘SAS Australia’ for the Terry Campese Foundation. It saw us go through a particular set of challenges inspired by military exercises. I was pushed to my absolute limit during the 30 hours of this challenge, I had a point to prove that I was more than my outside appearance. I finished it battered and bruised, and for months I had inflammation of my Xiphoid Process, it took a trip to the doctor before I was cured, however I wouldn’t change a thing and I hope that my journey so far can inspire those to get out and give it a crack, and not be fearful of what others might think.

I battled with this for a year, I ran so many kilometres solo, I contemplated joining a trail group called Elevate and a social running group called Running 4 Resilience. However, it took me months and months to bite the bullet to get to them, and now through both I’ve met so many different people that are now good friends and running mates. Some have been incredible mentors that have helped me grow as a runner as well, and I’ll forever be appreciative of them, including my amazing coach Shiree, taking time out to help the novice.

I’m starting this blog because we’ve already got enough podcasts in the world and as someone who works in radio I already talk enough and writing is so therapeutic. I recently spoke to Brumbies Legend Benny Alexander (as I do every Friday) who has had success through his blog ‘Struggling’ which he’s taken up post football. I was telling Benny I wanted a space to detail my running journey leading into Ultra Trail Kosciuszko, as I felt like there wasn’t enough characters on twitter, and it didn’t feel right writing so many words on each Strava post.

So strap yourself in because this is going to be a no-holds barred, brutally honest account of the highs and lows of training for a 100km event as someone who is 100kg+ if you were to tell me nearly 4 years ago this is where I would be at I would’ve called you crazy. Now you know a little bit about my journey and where I’ve come from I hope you enjoy the ride and get something out of it, by no means is my word gospel, but I thought it would make a fascinating read to go into the mind of someone preparing to go on a journey.

If you want me to explore any themes or want to know anything drop me a line on my socials, I’ll be more than happy to answer any questions. Let the journey begin!