My Story

When I say “today I ran 50km” most of my friends will ask : “why?!” and I actually cannot answer that... but I can tell you my story!!

On the 5th of January 2018 I was in a pub in New Zealand drinking a beer with my girlfriend and lighting the last cigarette of my packet and suddenly decided “ok last one, I quit after this!!”. What a challenge that was!

I tried to keep my hands busy at every moment of the day, at the start I kept an elastic band around my wrist that I played with every time I thought about smoking but that quickly became not enough, I needed a bigger distraction…. I needed to do some kind of sport, so why not running?

At this time I was living in Tasmania and what a beautiful place for running. I started to run 3km, 4km, 6km, 10km, and then decided to run the Run The Bridge 2018 race (#rtb18) to test my self. 10km finished in 42.01 !!

From there I put more of my focus in running and searched for what I wanted to achieve. With the plan to move to Toronto later on in the year, I checked what was happening there for races!!

I decided to plan a run with no set distance or limit of time just try to see where was my level and how far I could push myself... 35km in many many hours ( I don’t remember exactly how long I ran but it felt like I was gone for a good 5 hours). Definitely not the level for a marathon but a half marathon? Yeah sure! And to put more of a challenge on myself? I set a goal at 1:30!

Then the day came.. I’m in Toronto, at the start line and it’s time to do it!

I finished with a time of 1:27!! And it was decided, I finally found my new hobby!!

During this time I decided to look more into the running community. I wanted to train properly and to find others to run with, I found @nightterrorsrun crew and decided to join. This was one of the best ideas I had!! Here I met a big range of runners, some casual social runners, some who were running 40km often, and then I heard some people speaking about 50, 60, 100 km... I was interested!

I trained to beat my half-marathon time - succeeded at the Chilly Half marathon 2019 (1:25:20). I trained for my first marathon Road2Hope Hamilton marathon 2019 and finished with a sub 3hr (2:58:47)!!

Nothing could stop me running now. It was time to jump into a bigger challenge and what else other than ultra marathon distances!!

II returned to Australia at the end of 2020 and straight away started to look into ultra marathon races. In July 2021 the first 100mile race in Tasmania was scheduled and I was there on the start line with a goal of a sub 24hr….

After 24h 52min 42sec I crossed the finish line in 1st place.

During the race a lot of things happened in my body and in my mind and I realised more than ever that ultramarathon running requires incredible strength in both.

It was important to me to learn how to train smarter and understand the body and movement in more detail, therefore since Tassie Trail Fest 2021 I have completed a diploma of running coaching specialising in ultra distances. I am now a qualified UESCA (United Endurance Sport Coaching Academy) running coach.

In 2021, after some training changes and renewed determination, I returned to Tassie Trail Fest to defend my title, I finally reached my goal and broke the 24h mark with a time of 23:23:43 on the TTF 100mile. Passing the finish line in first place again completely blew me away but the feeling of beating my PB was the ultimate reward.

Ultra running is so addictive, there are always new races and personal challenges to achieve. In 2023 I competed in my first backyard ultra: Hysterical Carnage. What an experience and incredible test of strength for the mind and body! This race proved to me that ultra running is just as much a mental race as it is physical. This year I am going for the ultimate challenge: I am going for the title of TripleCrownunder Grand Master! It consists of completing 3x 200mile races within a calendar year: Delirious West in February 2024, Irrational South in May 2024 and Unreasonable East in August 2024. Let’s Go!!!!

If you have any questions please feel free to email me or contact me on social media! And if you are interested in coaching for your next race I am here to help, I love sharing my knowledge and experience and to love to see you smashing your goals!!

EVENT HISTORY

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