1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,720 You're listening to episode 260 of the Marathon Running Podcast. 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,600 In this episode we're going to talk to Wayne Lardon, race 3 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,360 Director of the TCS Sydney Marathon, about Sydney's first 4 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:13,960 running as a 7th star. Of the World Major Series. 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,000 This is the marathon running podcast with Letty and Ryan. 6 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,720 Join us for weekly content on all things running and let us 7 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,440 take you from the starting line to the finish line and beyond. 8 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,800 Hey runners, and welcome to episode 260. 9 00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:36,800 My name is Letty. My name is Ryan. 10 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:41,200 And we are back for another week with another exciting guest for 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,360 our episode. Ryan, how are you doing? 12 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:44,920 I'm doing well, thank you. How about you? 13 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,040 I'm doing well myself. This episode's going to be very 14 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,080 exciting because although Sydney Marathon has been around for a 15 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:52,240 while. This is its. 16 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:56,640 Debut as part of the World Marathon major series. 17 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,840 And so that's Marathon #7 in the series. 18 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,760 Are you excited to add to your major marathon challenge with 19 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,120 one more marathon? I guess I mean might as well 20 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:08,480 right? I already have 6, might as well 21 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:15,160 do #7 now and then in the future #8 and #9 because Cape Town and 22 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,360 Shanghai are I think, in the trial periods. 23 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,560 I think it's a three-year trial. We can go into that in some 24 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:27,160 other podcast episode about how a city becomes a major, but I 25 00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:30,880 think they'll be number 7 and 8 and before you know it, probably 26 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,240 910-1112. Yeah, we'll see. 27 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:35,160 The City Marathon sounds intriguing. 28 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,280 I wonder what he has to say. So you just got back from 29 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:38,720 Australia after doing the interview? 30 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:42,760 No, I did not go to Mr. Elia. I actually got back from Boston 31 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,800 after doing the interview. The race director was present at 32 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:49,280 the Boston Marathon and so I was able to convince him to do a 33 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:52,720 podcast episode with me. Shout out to Track Smith, who 34 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,000 has the track house in Boston, who hosted me for the interview 35 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,080 because obviously I don't have an office space or anything like 36 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,800 that in Boston. So that was very nice. 37 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:04,760 We got a really cool area to record this podcast. 38 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,600 That's cool. Maybe you can use the office 39 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,840 again with some more exciting guests in the future. 40 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,680 Where did you get the questions that you asked the race 41 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,880 director? So all these questions came from 42 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,480 our listeners as well as some Facebook group. 43 00:02:16,920 --> 00:02:19,160 They were interesting questions. Some of them were funny 44 00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:23,080 questions that I didn't ask, such as what does it feel like 45 00:02:23,080 --> 00:02:25,160 running upside down when you're in Australia? 46 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,120 Oh, maybe you should have asked it. 47 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,200 I know, I know. But yeah, so those are really 48 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:32,280 cool questions. And then of course, I had my own 49 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,040 questions. And so we're gonna hear all 50 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:38,640 about that Q&A right now. Ryan, Are you ready to hop into 51 00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:39,920 that? Let's do it. 52 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:42,360 All right, so without any further ado, we're now going to 53 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,920 play my conversation with Wayne Lardon of Sydney All. 54 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:51,800 Right, so I'm on here with race director Wayne Lardon from the 55 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:54,240 Sydney Marathon, the new star on the horizon. 56 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:57,360 Welcome so much and thank you for doing this interview with 57 00:02:57,360 --> 00:02:58,240 me. Yeah, Thank you. 58 00:02:58,240 --> 00:02:59,760 Thanks for having me on of course. 59 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:01,600 Absolutely. I'm very excited we're here. 60 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:05,240 It's Boston weekend, so we still have some time before Sydney 61 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,840 happens, but obviously, you know, the community has a lot of 62 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:11,080 questions. Before we hop into those 63 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:12,720 questions, let's talk a little bit about you. 64 00:03:13,160 --> 00:03:16,400 Maybe we can talk about how you became a race director and your 65 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:18,560 background was running. Yeah, sure. 66 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:20,840 I've been running my whole life, really. 67 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,960 I I started out in little athletics at the same time I was 68 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:26,680 playing rugby league in Australia. 69 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,200 When I was about 12 or 13. All the other kids sort of got a 70 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:35,400 bit bigger and I stayed small. And my last year rugby league, I 71 00:03:35,400 --> 00:03:38,040 think I broke my finger in the first game, broke my arm in four 72 00:03:38,040 --> 00:03:41,640 places in my 4th game. So that was the end of my rugby 73 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:43,920 league career. And then just focused on 74 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:46,720 running. I was from a pretty rough 75 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,040 neighborhood in Sydney and running was really helpful to 76 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:56,920 keep me focused and, you know, in touch with good things and it 77 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:01,040 helped me sort of battle through many different things through my 78 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:04,600 life. Went on to university in 79 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:07,480 Canberra, had a running scholarship at the Australian 80 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,520 Institute of Sport to the university degree in sports 81 00:04:11,520 --> 00:04:15,280 science and ran in three world cross country championships, 82 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,600 SO44 world cross country championships actually, you 83 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:22,400 know, and then you know, you, it's fair to say running's. 84 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:24,720 I've been involved in running my whole life and it's a really 85 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:29,000 important part of you know, who I am and you know, the values 86 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,880 that I find important and, and it's helped me through life. 87 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,120 So yeah, it's fair to say it's a big part of me. 88 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:40,320 Yeah, but obviously your left for running goes beyond racing 89 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:44,800 and I've talked to a few friends of mine from Australia and they 90 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:48,240 speak very fondly of how you show up at the community runs 91 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,840 and you're still very involved. Yeah, I mean, community is 92 00:04:51,840 --> 00:04:55,560 important and I've been a big part of the running community 93 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,200 for a long time, so. And, you know, I like to see 94 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:01,480 what's happening on the ground and hear and talk to the runners 95 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:04,240 and see what they're thinking and just get out there and do it 96 00:05:04,240 --> 00:05:05,920 with them, you know, as much as possible. 97 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,280 Do you think that's going to change now that you went from, I 98 00:05:09,280 --> 00:05:13,320 think if I remember the stats right, you had 5000 people in 99 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,760 2022 and now last year you had about 20. 100 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:22,920 You said during candidacy we year 1/20/22 we had 5300 people 101 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,600 enter the marathon. I think we had about 4900 finish 102 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:33,880 23, We had 16,800 people enter. Just under 15,000 people 103 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:40,760 finished as a hot year 2024. Last year we had 24,500 people 104 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:47,440 register, We had 20,800 finish. This year with our first ballot, 105 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:54,000 we had 79,000 people enter the ballot and we've taken enough 106 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:57,640 registrations through to get us 35,000 finishes. 107 00:05:57,640 --> 00:05:59,640 We have, that's our, that's our goal for this year. 108 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:02,200 So the growth's been pretty rapid. 109 00:06:02,480 --> 00:06:04,280 Yeah. And how does it affect you as a 110 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,120 race director? And can you, do you feel like 111 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,520 you can still act the same? Or are you too busy or too high 112 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,200 in demand now to engage in everything that used to engage 113 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:14,000 in? Well, it's, I'll always have 114 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,880 time for the community. I think that's important, you 115 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:19,680 know, being in touch with the community and knowing sort of 116 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,960 what's what's going on, what people want to see in your 117 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:28,240 event. I've definitely had to increase 118 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,560 the size of our team because there's just so much more to 119 00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,680 deliver now. I think when in 2022 when we 120 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,560 started on the journey, candidacy journey, we had 10 or 121 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:42,760 12 staff. We're up to I think 32 now, but 122 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,640 there is so much more we have to deliver. 123 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:49,560 So, you know, I'm definitely not as hands on on race day as I 124 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,760 used to be because I need to delegate a lot of the stuff that 125 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:56,800 I used to do. I mean pre 2022 or even even in 126 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:01,240 2022, I pretty well managed the start line myself and then move 127 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,080 to the finish. You just can't do that when 128 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,000 you've got an event. The size and the scale of what 129 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,480 the TCS Sydney Marathon is now. So more staff, more people, 130 00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:20,400 better delegation of tasks. And just for me, you know, race 131 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,600 week and race day, it's important that I have just a 132 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:26,480 helicopter view of what's going on. 133 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,760 Just look for troubled spots, look for ways that we can 134 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,280 improve things year on year, where we thought where we can 135 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:36,600 find growth, what we need to do to facilitate growth in a an 136 00:07:36,600 --> 00:07:40,640 organic and sustainable way. So yeah, my role has changed a 137 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:45,160 bit, but I feel I'll always stay in touch with the community 138 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:46,320 because I think that's important. 139 00:07:46,520 --> 00:07:49,480 That's awesome. Were you shocked by the amount 140 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:52,040 of people that applied for this very first time that you guys 141 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:56,200 have a star? I wasn't shocked. 142 00:07:56,800 --> 00:08:01,200 It was about where I thought it would be, but I was, I was, 143 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:05,400 yeah, I was pleasantly validated by what I thought it would be. 144 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,160 I mean, it could have been anything really, but that sort 145 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:10,920 of growth, you know, you don't see that very often. 146 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,560 And it just goes to show the power of the Abbott World 147 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,320 Marathon major's brand and how many people around the world are 148 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:22,680 just really engaged in the in the series and in in each of the 149 00:08:22,680 --> 00:08:27,160 races. So I mean, it helps in our in 150 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:29,880 our case, it helps that, you know, all of the other races are 151 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:34,320 oversubscribed and people, the smart runners, the international 152 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:36,919 runners, especially. Now let's get a ticket to Sydney 153 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,679 quick before it becomes even more difficult. 154 00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:42,600 So I wasn't surprised by the demand, but I was very happy 155 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,320 with it. OK. 156 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:48,600 And then with that, I guess 35,000, where did you get that 157 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:49,640 number from? How did you make that 158 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,800 determination that that's going to be the field size? 159 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:56,280 Look it, it was a, a number that I thought we could handle in 160 00:08:56,280 --> 00:09:01,040 terms of growth, although it's a big, it's a big leap from 20,000 161 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,440 on the start line last year to 35,000 this year. 162 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:09,240 It's a leap that we can handle with the road closure times, 163 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:12,600 with the space we have at the start with the, the new course 164 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:15,240 and the road widths and, and whatnot. 165 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:18,760 We, we probably could have gone further, but I just didn't want 166 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:23,600 to bite off too much because too much change in one year is sort 167 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:25,920 of, it's hard to digest sometimes. 168 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,800 So I think it's a manageable leap, will grow in smaller 169 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:35,160 chunks moving forward and we'll gauge that growth based on 170 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,320 participant feedback after the race this year. 171 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:43,120 I mean, for us the most important thing is, you know, 172 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,440 customer satisfaction and participant experience, right? 173 00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:50,480 So we won't know that until after we do the survey following 174 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:53,200 this year's event, we'll have a pretty good idea of what pain 175 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:57,080 points there were. I mean there always is some, but 176 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:02,360 once we determine that you know, we, we were able to deliver the 177 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,880 growth that we had this year and, and we'll, we'll get a 178 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:07,160 pretty good idea on what we think we can move it to next 179 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:09,080 year. But I would expect we'd probably 180 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:12,960 add another 4 or 5000 next year and just keep doing that so long 181 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,280 as it's going smoothly. Yeah. 182 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,360 And what do you think you guys will kept out at? 183 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,360 Because if you've seen the starting line here, you really 184 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,480 don't have much more room. You have these narrow streets in 185 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:25,720 the beginning of the race. So you can't really bring in 186 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,320 more runners except for in 2020 they had that beautiful rolling 187 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:32,040 start because of Covic and it was very spread out. 188 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,160 But here, as a runner, you almost have to make a decision. 189 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,560 Am I going to PR in this race, or is this just going to be too 190 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,720 crowded for too long? So I think Boston does great by 191 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,480 capping it out at the 30 just because it can't handle more. 192 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:46,600 Is the Sydney racecourse pretty broad? 193 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:48,560 I've never been to Australia. I don't know if the streets are 194 00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:51,560 anything like the big American cities where they're massive. 195 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:56,480 Look, the important, the most important factor for us in 196 00:10:56,800 --> 00:11:00,800 determining growth is that runner density, you know, and 197 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:05,360 maintaining I run a density that's comfortable for people to 198 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:09,840 enjoy the experience and get through the streets safely and 199 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,720 have a good time. So you know, we have capacity 200 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:16,880 now like we could, we could fit another 10,000 in now with the 201 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,560 road closure times that we have and with the pinch points that 202 00:11:20,560 --> 00:11:23,120 are on the course. So we know how many people we 203 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,800 can get through the start line, how long it will take, how long 204 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:29,240 it takes the tail to get through all of the cut off points. 205 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:30,680 So we can get the roads reopened. 206 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:34,000 And we got extra time this year from government on both the 207 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,840 Harbour Bridge and on the streets, which helps. 208 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:39,840 But we, we have capacity now. And like in fact, this year 209 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:44,400 we're still, we'll have our last 10K after the marathon on 210 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,760 Sunday. Next year that will, that won't 211 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,600 happen. It'll just be all marathon on 212 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:50,920 Sunday. So we know we've got room to 213 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:55,120 grow already. There are, it is a new course 214 00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:59,480 this year. The base elements from last year 215 00:11:59,480 --> 00:12:01,800 are there, but we've gotten rid of a few of the trouble spots, 216 00:12:02,040 --> 00:12:05,040 couple of the pinch points, we got rid of the sharp couple of 217 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,840 the sharp turns that we had last year. 218 00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,480 So it should be a much smoother ride this year. 219 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:11,600 But you know, you're going to look at all of these different 220 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:15,920 elements to determine, you know, how much you can grow. 221 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:19,520 And it all comes down to that runner density and maintaining a 222 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,080 level of comfort for them. You know, regardless of how big 223 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:23,720 you are, you just need more time. 224 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,840 And if you've got more time, then you can deliver the same 225 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:32,760 experience with 5000 more, with 10,000 more, you know, so but 226 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,360 again, there's a lot of moving pieces on race day that you 227 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,120 gotta account for. And you know, we'll, we'll know 228 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,400 how we went after the race. Yeah, that's nice that you have 229 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:43,920 expanded to a point where you can handle the expansion without 230 00:12:44,160 --> 00:12:47,000 overdoing it. How about the city? 231 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,200 Is the city super happy about the tourism that this race 232 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:53,680 brings in every year? I, well, I mean, I, I think 233 00:12:53,680 --> 00:12:56,400 we've probably got the best relationship with the city out 234 00:12:56,400 --> 00:13:00,880 of almost any of the Abbott world majors and the NSW 235 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:03,760 government and the tourism body Destination NSW. 236 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:07,640 They're our biggest partners in fact with the race and they've 237 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:11,800 been, they not only encouraged us, but they supported us 238 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:13,840 financially to get through candidacy. 239 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,440 And without that, there's no way we would have met the criteria 240 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,440 because the sort of changes we had to make were huge. 241 00:13:22,160 --> 00:13:25,360 And, and not just the financial support and the, the moral 242 00:13:25,360 --> 00:13:27,880 support and, and their belief that we could do it. 243 00:13:28,360 --> 00:13:31,480 It's, it's not just about that. It's about all agency supports 244 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:35,080 like roads, traffic and transport, ambulance, place, 245 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:40,600 land owners, local councils were all on board and are all on 246 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:44,240 board with this Abbott World Marathon major's vision. 247 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:48,640 And even now we're in, you know, them, them understanding what we 248 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:53,080 need to do to grow and not just be an Abbott World major 249 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:55,920 entitled, but to deliver an Abbott world marathon major. 250 00:13:56,280 --> 00:13:58,760 So we've got incredible support from government. 251 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:02,040 Honestly, it couldn't be better. That's amazing. 252 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:05,400 That's awesome to hear. And well, I guess let's talk a 253 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,120 little bit about we're here in Boston and you're here for the 254 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,240 first time. You said the Expo is hosted 255 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,120 basically by Adidas. What is the Expo like in Sydney? 256 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:18,440 Is it the same setup that the Expo is exclusive or do you have 257 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:24,880 a different setup? So we will have about 7500 258 00:14:24,880 --> 00:14:28,440 square meters of floor space in our Expo this year, which is at 259 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:31,280 the International Convention Centre, which is right in the 260 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,600 city, right on the edge of the water at Darling Harbour. 261 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:35,960 It's a beautiful location right next to the race hotel, 262 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,960 actually. Yeah, ASICS is the is the 263 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:43,000 footwear and apparel sponsor. And of course you walk straight 264 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:46,040 through the ASICS area when you go in after you've collected 265 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:48,520 your race bib. And they've got a nice big area. 266 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:51,680 This year. They're focusing a lot on making 267 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:55,760 sure we get that offering right to make sure we've got, you 268 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:59,200 know, that venue set up nicely so that people can flow through 269 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:03,320 those merchandise areas, which you know, sometimes can be a 270 00:15:03,320 --> 00:15:04,520 problem. And that they've got enough 271 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:08,000 merchandise for people so that, you know, they don't run out on 272 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,560 1st day or second day. So there's a lot of thought gone 273 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,400 into that. Then the rest of the Expo is is 274 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:17,920 pretty well open other than to the other major footwear 275 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,200 companies for the time being. So, but there's a really great 276 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:27,720 offering of different and relevant stall holders within 277 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:29,960 the Expo, so it'll be interesting as far people will 278 00:15:29,960 --> 00:15:32,720 have fun. Yeah, I mean, I'm always all 279 00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,160 about not just the race but also the experience, right? 280 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:38,520 So if it's set up nicely then it can work. 281 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,200 I know that ASICS is a title sponsor now of the LA Marathon 282 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:43,920 and they had it set up wonderfully, Yeah. 283 00:15:44,240 --> 00:15:47,280 What about your thoughts on how Boston is set up that you have 284 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,600 the Expo and there are pop up stores in the streets 285 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:52,160 surrounding it? Is that something that happens 286 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,880 in Australia too? No, actually I've just been 287 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,800 walking around the streets and and taking note of that, taking 288 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,240 a lot of photographs. And you know, we haven't had 289 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,680 that in the past other than maybe one or two footwear brands 290 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,520 will do something in one of their flagship stores in the 291 00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:10,240 city. But I think now we're an Abbott 292 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:15,800 World major and the massive growth of participants coming in 293 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,560 with their family and friends, you'll see a lot more of that, 294 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:21,760 especially with the exclusive nature of the footwear category. 295 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:23,520 And that's something we've got to think about. 296 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,000 You know, do you have them in the in the tent or out of the 297 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:26,880 tent? What's better? 298 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:29,240 I don't know, we'll see about that. 299 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,760 But I think it's, you know, this street right below us is super 300 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,800 vibrant. Like everyone's just wandering 301 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:38,240 around having a great time. You know, they've done their 302 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,760 thing in the Expo, they've bought their official merch and 303 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:43,800 they've seen the sponsor activations within there and now 304 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:46,800 they're outside walking in the sun, you know, having some lunch 305 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,280 and and just doing what they do. I think it's awesome. 306 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,560 It's a it's a beautiful city of Al Yourah. 307 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,680 I've never been here, but I really like it. 308 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:58,600 It's lovely. It's in some ways I think it has 309 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:01,400 some similarities to Sydney, you know, in that there's some 310 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,119 beautiful sandstone buildings, sort of mix of modern and old. 311 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,119 You know, there's a waterfront. It's it's lovely, but a real, 312 00:17:09,119 --> 00:17:11,520 really vibrant city. Yeah, and that's amazing to hear 313 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:14,560 because I think for this reason, Boston is one of my favorite 314 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,599 racing experiences because you don't just go to the Expo, you 315 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,680 do walk around the amounts of emails I've received from all 316 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,560 these different brands that have rented spaces. 317 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:25,400 Yeah. To do activations, to do 318 00:17:25,680 --> 00:17:30,040 welcoming things and shake out runs and brunches, et cetera. 319 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,840 It's been really, really cool and I think that makes people 320 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:36,560 come and want to stay for a couple days extra. 321 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:40,400 Yeah, so that was really cool. So I'm excited to to to be going 322 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,200 to Sydney and seeing how it's done there. 323 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:44,560 Sydney, I mean Sydney's beautiful people. 324 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:50,320 I mean, if you know any of the athletes who competed in the 325 00:17:50,320 --> 00:17:54,280 marathon tours and travel age group world champs last year, I 326 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,320 think most of them will tell you that it's beautiful, that they 327 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:00,520 had a great time, that the organization was exceptional. 328 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,640 But anyone coming this year or next year, whatever, they'll 329 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:05,200 love it. They will love it I'm. 330 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:08,000 Very excited for that. And with that, I guess we can 331 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:12,040 hop into some listener audience questions that we've received 332 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,160 because we like to listen to everyone listen to just podcasts 333 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,480 to see what it is they want to know about this new major. 334 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:22,200 Because you know, us runners, we're type A, we want to figure 335 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,720 out everything beforehand. So I'm going to start with 336 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:28,360 questions in regards to registration, qualification and 337 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:31,760 logistics. We're already talking about 2026 338 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,440 because the people that are in are in. 339 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,600 What about the timeline for the lottery? 340 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,560 Will the registration open in January or December ish like? 341 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:44,520 Now we we're planning already on, we're getting it all set up 342 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:46,840 at the moment. We will do our lottery at the 343 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:53,000 end of September this year. The, the, the lottery we did for 344 00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,080 the 25 event went, we, we opened that at the end of December, so 345 00:18:56,120 --> 00:19:00,000 mid-december and that went for a couple of weeks. 346 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,440 So we're, we're bringing it forward closer to the event 347 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:04,640 date. Hopefully there's a bit more 348 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,800 hype still, people having just run Sydney Marathon. 349 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,120 I think in the future we will want to go towards sort of model 350 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:14,960 that London do where you open on race day where there's, you 351 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:17,400 know, you can capitalize on the hype of the broadcast and all 352 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:20,080 the great stories and content and everything else and the 353 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,400 excitement within the running community and media. 354 00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,040 So that will be what we'll aim for moving forward. 355 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:29,440 But this year will will open at the end of September, OK. 356 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:32,680 Yeah, and as you know, the Boston Marathon is every 357 00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:36,280 Patriots Day, New York is every first Sunday of the year. 358 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,880 Does Sydney have a date like that or is it more the date can 359 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,160 switch between late August and early September? 360 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:47,960 We, so we moved our date this year three weeks earlier and 361 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,160 that was for a couple of reasons. 362 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:51,720 One was Berlin had to move forward a week with their 363 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,800 general election, which would have put it on the same date as 364 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:58,800 ours or as our traditional date. So we had to move it. 365 00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:05,440 That's reason one. Reason 2 is to to move it 366 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:07,920 forward three weeks. There's less chance. 367 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:11,960 That we'll get that warmer weather that we had in 2023 and 368 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,840 it's not no chance because it's Australia and Australia can get 369 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,600 warm. So we, we moved it for those two 370 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:20,920 reasons, weather, better weather, cooler weather and to 371 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,480 move ourselves further away from Berlin, but not just Berlin, 372 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,560 Chicago and New York as well. And the reason why that's 373 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:32,320 important for us moving forward is mainly for the charity and 374 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,400 the travel programs, right? So the same charities, the same 375 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:41,240 travel agencies selling tickets or raising money for Berlin, for 376 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,360 Chicago and for New York. So by coming forward gives us a 377 00:20:45,360 --> 00:20:49,360 little bit of clear air after London for the charities and the 378 00:20:49,360 --> 00:20:53,120 travel partners to focus on Sydney before they flick fully 379 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:56,880 over into the four marathons, Berlin, Chicago and New York 380 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,480 City. So we're going to try and keep 381 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,520 it at that last Sunday in August date and it's subject to a 382 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,640 review after this year's event as to how it went with 383 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,320 government, but we don't expect any pushback. 384 00:21:09,320 --> 00:21:13,080 So I think it will stay there. Awesome, So everyone can mark 385 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,360 their calendar, let's talk about Sydney's race start. 386 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:20,480 I guess it was a 6:00 AM race start, as you know, I'm not 387 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,200 familiar with it. Yeah, good or bad. 6:00 AM. 388 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:27,760 In Australia that's what you got because if you go any later then 389 00:21:27,760 --> 00:21:32,000 the risk of heat is much higher. Every race in Australia, every 390 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:34,400 marathon in Australia starts 67 AM. 391 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:37,520 There's not one in Australia that starts later than that. 392 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:43,240 You just have to simply because you can get warm weather even in 393 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:45,680 winter. So that's when we start. 394 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,400 We like to get up early. So, you know, everyone's gets up 395 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,320 in the in the dark and it gets to start on sunrise. 396 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,920 The, the start time this year actually 63615 for the elite 397 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,240 wheelchair race, 6:30 for for the mass race. 398 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,920 So yeah, it's it's a little bit later. 399 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:05,680 OK, Honolulu does that too, and it's beautiful because it does 400 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:07,920 heat up. And yeah, it's also very nice to 401 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,200 run and see the sunrise. Yeah, that's right. 402 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:11,320 I. Can't imagine, you know, with 403 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:12,920 the Sydney backdrop. I can't wait. 404 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:14,720 Yeah. All right, so let's talk about 405 00:22:14,720 --> 00:22:16,880 deferral options. I'm not sure how they are right 406 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:20,200 now, but somebody wants to know how or if you will add deferral 407 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,400 options for injuries, pregnancies, etcetera. 408 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:24,960 I mean, we do have a deferral policy. 409 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:28,960 It mainly focuses on pregnancy, postpartum sort of issues and 410 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,480 things like that. That's as far as it goes at the 411 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,120 moment. We review all of these things 412 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:36,920 each year. For the moment, there's no 413 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:41,240 transfers or deferrals other than pregnancy related issues. 414 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:43,040 Yeah, OK. Perfect. 415 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,280 Let's talk about legacy runners, A listener asked. 416 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:48,640 What happened to the bridge club? 417 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:50,000 I'm not sure what the bridge club was. 418 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,480 Maybe you can hop into that. Nothing's happened to the bridge 419 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:53,840 club. The bridge club is still there 420 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,560 now. The bridge club is those who 421 00:22:55,560 --> 00:22:57,120 have run 10 years. OK. 422 00:22:57,600 --> 00:23:00,360 It's just a special recognition of those who have run 10 years. 423 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:03,760 There's the blue line legends who have done every race so far. 424 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:08,680 I think there's there's only 6 left of of those runners and the 425 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:14,040 events started in 2001. So legends are 2001 to now. 426 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,000 Bridge Club are those who have done 10 events, OK 10 marathons. 427 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:20,480 So those programs are still intact and you make sure that 428 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:24,480 they get in for the race. Well, no, there's no guarantee 429 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:26,880 if you've, if you've done your 10 years that you get a 430 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:29,280 guaranteed spot. That's never been part of the 431 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,280 program. It's just recognition that 432 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,640 you've run 10 years. But the Legends, the legends get 433 00:23:33,640 --> 00:23:35,680 guaranteed entry. In fact, we pay for their entry 434 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:37,480 now and have done for quite a while. 435 00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:42,560 So they get special treatment as they should, and they're great 436 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,560 advocates for the race, so we certainly look after those guys. 437 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:47,720 Love it. LA has that, too, as you know, 438 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:51,000 they had, yeah, I think 79 runners left and their first 439 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,600 running was in 1986. Yeah, right. 440 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:55,640 It's an amazing amount of. And how many left? 441 00:23:56,160 --> 00:24:00,680 I think it was either 79 or 83 of them that were there at the 442 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:03,840 they were being honoured. It was really crazy and amazing. 443 00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:05,360 Yeah, that's awesome. Very good. 444 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:09,360 Alright, let's talk about the course and race experience. 445 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,280 People would like to know when will we get a video or a map, 446 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:19,320 and spectators want to know that too, including will this new 447 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,880 race route still pass by the oldest pub in. 448 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:26,920 The in the Rocks, Yes it will. There is a map, it's on the 449 00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,400 website. It's not significantly different 450 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,120 to last year. We've just straightened it out a 451 00:24:32,120 --> 00:24:34,960 fair bit. Like I said earlier, gotten rid 452 00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:40,440 of a couple of the pinch points, extended the southern section of 453 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:44,120 the course, which enabled us to get rid of some little dog legs 454 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:47,480 and things like that. I think the course where we have 455 00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:50,880 it now in Sydney, you won't get any better. 456 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,960 There's there's nowhere that I would want to go that would add 457 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,800 to the value or the experience of the event now. 458 00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:01,160 So I think this course will stay. 459 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:07,360 Sydney's a hilly city, right? You can't avoid the hills, but 460 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:11,280 it still takes in all of the amazing tourist icons. 461 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:13,720 So you still you run at the start line. 462 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:18,520 So the Sydney Marathon, it started as a legacy event of the 463 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,560 Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. So it's first, the first event 464 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:27,040 was in 2001, the Olympic Games started in North North Sydney 465 00:25:27,040 --> 00:25:31,400 Oval and we moved back to that original Sydney Olympic start 466 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:34,400 line last year and that was the catalyst for us being able to 467 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:36,680 make it into the major. So we still start there. 468 00:25:36,960 --> 00:25:40,440 Beautiful, huge area for people to congregate before the race. 469 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,480 It's a bit of a hub for public transport. 470 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:47,000 So you've got the fast metro train link, you've got train 471 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,280 lines, you've got buses. So it's it's really easy to get 472 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,840 to. You have a really nice wide run 473 00:25:53,840 --> 00:25:56,520 straight down from the start onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 474 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,320 You still take in all of that historic The Rocks area through 475 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,320 the CBD, you know, past all of the nice cathedrals, through 476 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,680 Botanic Gardens, through Centennial Parklands, Hyde Park. 477 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,960 It's got everything. It's, it is really one of the 478 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:15,000 most spectacular courses you'll run. 479 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,240 But it's undulating, right? So you need to do a little bit 480 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,680 of hill work. People do surprise themselves 481 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:25,520 though, in Sydney, some, some expect to run, you know, 482 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:31,920 considerable PW's, if that's a word, personal, personal worse. 483 00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,480 But they don't you, We find a lot of people actually, because 484 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,480 they're rolling hills, they're not steep hills. 485 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:41,120 You can keep your pace on these hills, and a lot of people 486 00:26:41,120 --> 00:26:44,120 surprise themselves and get relatively fast times or PBS. 487 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,040 But it's just a really interesting course. 488 00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,960 You've always got something to look at to distract you when 489 00:26:49,960 --> 00:26:52,720 you're getting tired. Yeah, you know, the crowds are 490 00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:55,240 starting to build, which is great. 491 00:26:55,240 --> 00:26:56,880 But no, it's, it's a beautiful race. 492 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,280 And the finish line, I'm gonna make this call. 493 00:26:59,280 --> 00:27:03,560 The finish line is the most spectacular of any of the Abbott 494 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,720 World Marathon Majors, running straight down Macquarie St. and 495 00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:09,640 looking at that Sydney Opera House with the Harbour Bridge 496 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,880 right there and the harbour next to it, it's stunning and you 497 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:15,560 can't get better. Hugh Brasher might have 498 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,320 something to say about that with Buckingham Palaces. 499 00:27:18,320 --> 00:27:21,680 He's backdrop up I reckon. It's Sydney Opera House for 500 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:23,200 sure. Oh my gosh, I can't wait. 501 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:24,600 I just got goosebumps when you said that. 502 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:28,320 So thank you for for doing that. So technical course, I did look 503 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:31,280 at the elevation chart obviously before we talked and I think 504 00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:34,280 it's very interesting. I also think some races are to 505 00:27:34,280 --> 00:27:35,960 be run as experienced. Yeah. 506 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:37,640 You don't have two personal best. 507 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,440 Yeah, it's just kind of fun. It's. 508 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,640 It's more in line with your New York City and your, your London 509 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,160 Marathon, right? Those courses are those events 510 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:51,040 and those courses I would probably say are the closest to 511 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:53,800 what you'll get in Sydney. Like you do those races for the 512 00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,720 wonderful experience and the sights, the sounds you know and 513 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:00,800 everything else you know. If you want to run fast, you go 514 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:05,720 to Berlin or Chicago or take her to some extent, but it's more 515 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:07,360 like New York and London for sure. 516 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,160 It's a journey, a beautiful journey. 517 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,320 Except for there was the announcement that Kipchoge will 518 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:13,720 be running a course. Yes. 519 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,880 Talk to us about that. How difficult was it to talk him 520 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,520 into it? Because we know he did Boston. 521 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:22,440 He didn't do as well as he normally does at Boston. 522 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:24,480 So we don't know. Does he do well just in flat 523 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,600 courses or hilly courses? Well, I'm hoping he does well on 524 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:32,120 hilly courses, of course, but I mean the main purpose and, and 525 00:28:32,120 --> 00:28:35,800 then the reason why I really wanted Elliot to run in Sydney 526 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:42,640 this year is to try and bridge that gap between the running 527 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:44,960 community and the general population. 528 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:49,120 You know, And one of the biggest differences between Sydney and 529 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:52,960 the other Abbott World majors is the the amount of crowd support 530 00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:57,920 that they get and that us as a new Abbott World major need to 531 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,320 build. And Elliot is the best known 532 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,200 marathon runner in the world. He's probably the only marathon 533 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:10,560 runner in the world who transcends the running 534 00:29:10,560 --> 00:29:13,600 community, has general awareness in the population. 535 00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:18,800 So the main reason is for him to help us get people out of their 536 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:23,440 houses onto the sidelines, to get the media excited for days 537 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:27,840 before the race, the the mainstream media excited for 538 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:29,760 days before the race talking to Elliot. 539 00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:33,240 And for everyone in Sydney and Australia, you know, the 540 00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:35,760 greatest marathon of all time is running through the streets of 541 00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,000 Sydney on Sunday. And they want to see him. 542 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,080 So and that once they come out once they'll come out every 543 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:42,760 year. Yeah. 544 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:46,680 So he has a real specific purpose to serve for us as an 545 00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:50,160 organization. But also he's a fantastic runner 546 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:54,280 and we want to see him run quick and hopefully win, you know, 547 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,200 and, and just lift the profile of the event. 548 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,880 Yeah, you want the Kenyan runner to win. 549 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:01,040 Let's not tell that to you Australian athletes. 550 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,240 Who else do you have? Do you have a list here that 551 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,400 reveals what other elite runners are going to participate? 552 00:30:07,560 --> 00:30:11,520 We, we are still negotiating the rest of the field and we won't 553 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,320 finalise the rest of the field until after London because we 554 00:30:15,320 --> 00:30:18,240 want to see how people went in London to, you know, work out 555 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:22,280 who our final, you know, who we finally will target. 556 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,320 We're talking to all of the agents now. 557 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:28,560 Already we've got an idea of you know what you know, we know what 558 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:30,800 budget we've got we know what the athletes costs. 559 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:34,480 We will see how they go, you know, on tomorrow on yeah 560 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:36,800 tomorrow and and in London and work out. 561 00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:40,280 OK, let's let's try and sort of tighten this up. 562 00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,680 And so we'll, you know, we expect to announce the final 563 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:49,040 elite field probably mid, mid to late May. 564 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:51,640 OK. Our wheelchair field is pretty 565 00:30:51,640 --> 00:30:54,640 well finalized now and it's incredible. 566 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:58,840 Does it include Marcel Hoog? Yeah Oh well so it's it includes 567 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,120 well, we're still waiting on some contracts to come back, so 568 00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:07,720 let's let's not go to absolutely 100% confirm. 569 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:11,160 But look, what I can say is it's it's the best field you could 570 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:14,720 hope for. It's got all of the guns, which 571 00:31:14,720 --> 00:31:18,320 is really exciting because you know, those elite wheelchair 572 00:31:18,320 --> 00:31:23,280 athletes are just so amazing. And if you've, you know, being 573 00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:27,120 alongside them or in a lead car or seeing them race through the 574 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:30,720 streets past you and you see the speeds that they go and how 575 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,680 technically proficient they are to get around the course and 576 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,040 everything else, that's like it's truly incredible. 577 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:39,560 So we're really excited about having like the best ever elite 578 00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:42,800 wheelchair field and we've we've increased the prize money 579 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:46,800 significantly, which is great. Another thing we introduced 580 00:31:46,920 --> 00:31:49,960 because it's important to our system to make sure we've got a 581 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,920 really robust and big local field. 582 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:57,000 So we we announced just a few weeks ago Australian only prize 583 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:00,920 money and it's significantly higher than any race ever to be 584 00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:03,240 held in Australia in terms of Australian prize money. 585 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,440 So we've got all of the top Aussies really interested in 586 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,680 racing this year, which is important because we want to 587 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:12,400 give them that opportunity to have an Abbott World Marathon 588 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:17,520 Majors experience to line up next to the greatest marathoners 589 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:21,040 in the world, to have that excitement and, and be part of 590 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,240 that elite program and feel what that's like. 591 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:27,240 So help motivate them to do, you know, move on and, and try and 592 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,080 get into the other majors and give them that opportunity. 593 00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,920 So it's quite a broad focus for us the the elite program this 594 00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:37,440 year, but it's an important one and it's it's going to be really 595 00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:38,680 exciting. That's awesome. 596 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,160 I love how the Tokyo Marathon press conference showcase the 597 00:32:42,160 --> 00:32:46,040 Japanese runners very much integrated with the other elite 598 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:48,240 field. And look at them now, the top 599 00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:49,280 ten. I don't even know how many 600 00:32:49,280 --> 00:32:51,640 Japanese men it included, but there was a lot of them. 601 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:53,920 And, and that's exactly what we want to do. 602 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:58,840 We want to make sure the top Aussies are profiled by us in 603 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,440 the media through the commentary during the race broadcast. 604 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:06,040 So, you know, everyday Australians and people from 605 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:08,320 around the world will get to know who the top Aussies are 606 00:33:09,200 --> 00:33:13,160 and, and just sort of take them on a journey with us and, you 607 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:14,840 know, try and help them as much as we can. 608 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:16,960 I love this. This is so exciting. 609 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:20,280 Let's talk a little bit about the hydration and nutrition and 610 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,240 support questions that have been submitted here. 611 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:26,320 Our questions are being raised about obviously we already 612 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,880 alluded to hot hotter weather and apparently Tokyo this year 613 00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:33,400 was very hot. The question is what steps are 614 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:36,640 being taken to avoid hydration issues like in Tokyo I think it 615 00:33:36,640 --> 00:33:38,720 was. This is about water stations 616 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,480 running out of water, etcetera. I don't think they ran out of 617 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,400 water. They might have run out of cups. 618 00:33:43,400 --> 00:33:47,040 I don't know. You'd have to ask Yasu that. 619 00:33:47,040 --> 00:33:50,760 But look, you've just got to have enough cups, enough water 620 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:53,280 and enough volunteers to get it all out. 621 00:33:53,280 --> 00:33:56,560 You know, if it's hotter, runners consume more, they 622 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:00,280 consume it more quickly and you need to get cups back refilled 623 00:34:00,280 --> 00:34:02,880 very quickly. So you've just got to plan for 624 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,600 that. And because there's a much 625 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:08,560 higher chance of warmer weather in Australia, we do plan for 626 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:11,440 that. So it's just path of the course 627 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,560 for us in terms of operation. So we've got thousands and 628 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:17,800 thousands of additional cups out on each of the aid stations. 629 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,840 There's great water supply, getting the volunteers trained 630 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:24,639 up well so they can get things refilled properly. 631 00:34:24,639 --> 00:34:26,800 But that's in a country like Australia. 632 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,120 It's definitely something that you need to take seriously. 633 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:32,760 Yeah. Speaking about water cups, the 634 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:35,800 question that comes to my mind is obviously sustainability and 635 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:39,840 nature and all that. How do you guys handle that? 636 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,440 Because I know that's an issue with all the majors because you 637 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,560 do need cups, but then I mean, nobody's going to bring their 638 00:34:45,560 --> 00:34:48,719 own water bottle and refill it. Well, it's, it's not practical 639 00:34:48,719 --> 00:34:51,719 either. And you know, some people have 640 00:34:51,719 --> 00:34:54,760 suggested that maybe you should just do refill stations that, 641 00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,880 you know, people don't want to stop if there's a line there. 642 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,480 And if you've got people not stopping for water, because 643 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:02,600 there's a line there that presents a really significant 644 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:07,160 health risk, you got to have water readily available, easily 645 00:35:07,160 --> 00:35:10,840 accessible without waiting, so people don't get tempted to miss 646 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:14,960 a drink. So, you know, in terms of the 647 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:17,760 sustainability, you know, we all look at that. 648 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:20,480 You know, there's, I don't think there's any easy answer in terms 649 00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:23,080 of sustainability for cups. I mean, that you can do 650 00:35:23,080 --> 00:35:26,600 biodegradable, recyclable cups and, and, you know, you can make 651 00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:31,080 sure, you know, the waste is managed well and, you know, try 652 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:33,600 and make sure as much as possible recycled. 653 00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:37,920 And that's, you know, that's probably where we're at at the 654 00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:41,800 moment, I think because you gotta balance safety. 655 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:44,080 Yeah, right. With sustainability too. 656 00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,920 And one thing you can't do is risk, risk the health of your 657 00:35:46,920 --> 00:35:50,400 runners. Yes, that's crucially important. 658 00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:53,560 But that's not to say we're not looking at what could be done. 659 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:57,200 And it's definitely top of mind for all of the race directors. 660 00:35:57,480 --> 00:35:58,840 It's something we think about a lot. 661 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:00,800 Right. And I mean, at the same time, 662 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,680 Australia does really well with their recycling in general. 663 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:05,520 Yeah. And I think we kind of have to 664 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,920 look at it as a whole. Like, look, you're in the United 665 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,080 States right now where there's still plastic bags all over the 666 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:13,000 place. I live down in Florida and I 667 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,640 actually when I first moved there, I asked them about why do 668 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,760 we still have plastic bags. And there was some conversation 669 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:23,720 about it being for the next 5 years, you can't even bring that 670 00:36:23,720 --> 00:36:27,800 up again as an issue. So we're looking at everything 671 00:36:27,800 --> 00:36:31,160 as a whole and I think Australia does much better than a lot of 672 00:36:31,160 --> 00:36:34,160 other places already. I think Australians care a lot 673 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,240 about the environment. I mean it's a big part of, you 674 00:36:37,240 --> 00:36:39,240 know, where we live and we're surrounded by water. 675 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,000 A lot of us spend a lot of time at the beach and out in the sun. 676 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:50,280 So Aussies are very conscious of sustainability, doing well in 677 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:52,440 sustainability. You know, there's various 678 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:56,280 levels, right? And there's events who have 679 00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:59,800 different budgets and can afford to do different things and, and 680 00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,080 more things. And you know, we've, we've got 681 00:37:02,080 --> 00:37:05,960 someone who is now employed and part of their role is 682 00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:07,840 sustainability. Like we couldn't afford to have 683 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,760 something like that before we were in Abbott World Marathon 684 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:13,200 major. And you need that sort of 685 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:16,440 thought permeating the business because there's so many 686 00:37:16,440 --> 00:37:18,960 different areas where you can have an impact on 687 00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:21,600 sustainability. But it's a journey. 688 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:25,240 And as long as everyone's positively thinking about the 689 00:37:25,240 --> 00:37:28,280 journey and doing bits, then it's heading in the right 690 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,000 direction. And some can get further quicker 691 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,520 with budget and and whatnot then others can. 692 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:36,080 But as long as we're all thinking about it and we're all 693 00:37:36,080 --> 00:37:39,560 heading in the in the same direction, I think we'll have an 694 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:41,400 impact. OK, perfect. 695 00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:45,720 I like this. All right, let's talk about race 696 00:37:45,720 --> 00:37:51,040 bag drop off. Apparently in 2024 there was 697 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:56,120 Expo race drop, but the temperature was cold. 698 00:37:56,400 --> 00:38:00,400 Yeah, it's unusually cold. So, and that's, that's just 699 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:05,440 given the the sort of nature of Sydney's landscape and the fact 700 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:09,800 that we closed the main access Rd. from start to finish with 701 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,400 runners, that being the Harbour Bridge. 702 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:16,760 The way we do it in Sydney is we do pre Bagdrop at Expo, we 703 00:38:16,760 --> 00:38:20,240 transport bags to finish, we line them all up ready for 704 00:38:20,240 --> 00:38:22,680 people to grab their bags when they finish. 705 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:27,840 We don't do Bagdrop from the start to the finish because 706 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:30,080 there, you know, it's presenting too much risk for things to go 707 00:38:30,080 --> 00:38:31,880 wrong and bags not getting there on time. 708 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:34,640 And when you've got people who've dropped at the start and 709 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:37,080 they don't get there at the finish on time, that's a bigger 710 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,880 problem, people having to think about what they want at the 711 00:38:39,880 --> 00:38:42,600 finish and put it in a bag and, and have it dropped at the 712 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:44,880 finish line. And, you know, and what we do is 713 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,400 we encourage people to wear old garments and that's all 714 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:51,400 collected, all of it's collected and given to charity. 715 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:54,160 So, you know, that's the way we do it. 716 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:58,200 It's the way that it works best for us in Sydney with the course 717 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,840 and the routes and stuff like that we brought, so we'll 718 00:39:00,840 --> 00:39:02,560 continue to do that. So people just got to be 719 00:39:02,560 --> 00:39:03,600 prepared. OK. 720 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,440 So it's the same as in New York where you drop your bag off the 721 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:09,600 day before and then you bring clothes that you want to donate 722 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:12,280 your funnest robe that you have. Yeah. 723 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:13,760 And do that. OK, so it's the same. 724 00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:17,440 Let's talk about unique experience of Sydney. 725 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,400 And I think we've covered a lot of these questions already, but 726 00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,400 I guess my own question is, now that you've been here in Boston, 727 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,520 I love staying really close to the Boston Commons because of 728 00:39:27,520 --> 00:39:28,840 the experience I want to soak in. 729 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:33,960 What areas in Sydney do you recommend that people go to? 730 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:35,840 Obviously, you're going to recommend all of it because 731 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:36,960 people have different experiences. 732 00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:40,240 But if you want to be somewhere where everything is walkable, 733 00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:45,400 Expo and in those areas. I mean, the most convenient if 734 00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:48,600 you've, if you're flying in or driving in from outside of 735 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,880 Sydney, the most convenient is the CBD. 736 00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:56,320 You know, however, those hotel rooms will fill out. 737 00:39:56,880 --> 00:40:01,000 So there's also the opportunity to stay not far away. 738 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:04,960 And you've got areas like Bondi Beach, like Coogee, like Manly 739 00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:07,400 Beach where you can stay. You get a ferry from Manly Beach 740 00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:10,520 into the city could Bondi, you've got a train line that 741 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:12,560 goes into the city and then you can get across to the start 742 00:40:12,560 --> 00:40:14,400 line. You've got inner W which is a 743 00:40:14,400 --> 00:40:18,480 bit more. Fashion sort of oriented than 744 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:20,960 than the CBD and your train lines straight into the city 745 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,040 too. There's so many options, but you 746 00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:26,080 know, I would recommend if it's your first time staying in the 747 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:30,360 CBD, which is surrounded by harbour, It's a shopping 748 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:35,400 district, it's a walk to Expo, it's a one metro station hop 749 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:38,280 from the city to where you get off at the start, just one 750 00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:42,120 station. So it's very convenient, but 751 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:44,320 there's so many options. So I mean, Sydney's beautiful, 752 00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:47,000 all of it. So you can go anywhere really. 753 00:40:47,360 --> 00:40:49,480 It depends on what your priority is and how long you're staying 754 00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:50,880 for. And you might even stay in the 755 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:53,800 CBD for a couple of nights, then go to stay in Manly for a few 756 00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,560 nights, or or Bondi or Cronulla or somewhere else. 757 00:40:56,560 --> 00:40:59,720 Or you might go up to the Blue Mountains after the race or 758 00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:01,200 before it and then come into town. 759 00:41:01,640 --> 00:41:04,360 There's wine area up in the Hunter Valley, You might go up 760 00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:05,920 there for a couple of days. It's beautiful. 761 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:09,960 Do some wine tours and whatnot. But there's just so much to see 762 00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:12,640 in New Suffolk. There's the state of NSW, the 763 00:41:12,640 --> 00:41:15,000 city of Sydney, but all of NSW. Lovely. 764 00:41:15,720 --> 00:41:17,680 That's nice. And, and it's nice to to hear 765 00:41:17,680 --> 00:41:20,520 that recommendation as well, just because obviously for us, 766 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:24,080 this is not gonna be hopefully a short weekend trip, right? 767 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:27,200 Because if you're coming from the US, Australia's a long way 768 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:29,080 away and so you don't wanna just hop. 769 00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:31,640 Don't hop in and out. Stay a week at least. 770 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:36,440 You, you gotta, you know, and Australia's so big too, right? 771 00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:40,720 And so much to do just in Sydney and NSW you could do one week 772 00:41:40,760 --> 00:41:45,080 and you know it's not even going to be enough for Sydney if you 773 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:46,680 want to really make the most of it. 774 00:41:46,680 --> 00:41:48,680 Depends if you've got the opportunity to come back again, 775 00:41:48,680 --> 00:41:50,200 right? But you don't want to come for 776 00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:54,080 less than a week. 5 days maybe? Yeah. 777 00:41:54,640 --> 00:41:56,280 But you guys have different leave here too right? 778 00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:58,320 In Australia we get a month holiday, you get 2 weeks. 779 00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:03,160 Two weeks is a perk here. I mean, obviously it's not even 780 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:06,560 required by law to have vacation really. 781 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,520 It's a perk, Gee, and usually it's two weeks. 782 00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:12,160 So a lot of people are scamming, especially the ones travelling 783 00:42:12,160 --> 00:42:14,680 for the majors. If they're doing other majors, 784 00:42:14,680 --> 00:42:15,760 you're going all the way to Tokyo. 785 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:17,080 You need that extra travel time, so. 786 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:18,520 You might want to stay in Sydney. 787 00:42:18,520 --> 00:42:20,360 Yeah, there's this move over there. 788 00:42:22,200 --> 00:42:26,840 All right, so let's talk about whether guides and Pacers will 789 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:30,040 be listed by getting a Well, first of all, do they get a 790 00:42:30,040 --> 00:42:31,920 medal? And then is that a World Major 791 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:38,280 Medal star? We so guides, guides and Pacers 792 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:40,320 will be recognized. Yeah, they're, they're running 793 00:42:40,320 --> 00:42:43,120 the race. And I feel personally, 794 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:48,880 especially the guides, they do an incredible service to their 795 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:52,520 runners and to the community and they should be recognized 100%. 796 00:42:53,240 --> 00:42:55,480 There's like I wouldn't even dream of them not getting a 797 00:42:55,480 --> 00:42:58,560 medal, right? Like absolutely 100%. 798 00:42:58,880 --> 00:43:00,360 That's awesome. And they'll be in the results. 799 00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:01,560 They've started, they've finished. 800 00:43:01,840 --> 00:43:04,400 Not only that, they've helped someone and and given them an 801 00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:07,240 experience they might not ever have had if they weren't doing 802 00:43:07,240 --> 00:43:08,160 it. And that's amazing. 803 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:11,200 Yeah, it's it's more than running the running for more 804 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:13,720 than one person actually. So that's really cool. 805 00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:17,800 Let's talk about cultural tips, right? 806 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:21,080 Some of us are more aware of cultural differences than 807 00:43:21,080 --> 00:43:22,560 others. Some people just travel. 808 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:25,920 I personally love going somewhere, at least learn how to 809 00:43:26,200 --> 00:43:28,880 speak hello, thank you in a different language. 810 00:43:28,880 --> 00:43:30,960 Luckily, we don't have to do that in Australia. 811 00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:35,600 But what are some other things, customs that Australians do or 812 00:43:35,600 --> 00:43:38,800 don't do? We shorten words a lot. 813 00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,720 We, we create nicknames for someone just cut off the last 814 00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:45,720 letter or two or everyone gets a nickname in Australia. 815 00:43:45,720 --> 00:43:49,480 Generally you'll work it out. It's, I mean, Aussies are, 816 00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:53,280 they're really friendly. They love a chat to you. 817 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:57,080 You know, people will be surprised at how friendly people 818 00:43:57,080 --> 00:44:00,040 are in Sydney and in Australia. And I think I'll have a great 819 00:44:00,040 --> 00:44:02,760 time. But you it's, it's, it's not 820 00:44:02,760 --> 00:44:06,760 that different to anywhere else. We, we, we have fun, we talk to 821 00:44:06,760 --> 00:44:09,160 people, we're interested in the dialogue. 822 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:13,560 We like meeting people. You know, we love good food. 823 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:17,120 There's great restaurants in Sydney, there's awesome pubs, 824 00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:22,400 awesome bars, great beaches. There's just so much for people 825 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:25,640 to enjoy in Sydney. And one of the big things that 826 00:44:25,640 --> 00:44:29,560 we want to distinguish ourselves from the other Abbott World 827 00:44:29,560 --> 00:44:34,400 majors is we want people to we, we want to own our runners from 828 00:44:34,400 --> 00:44:39,760 the time they enter, get off the plane, at the airport, the whole 829 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:41,360 of race work. We're going to curate 830 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,520 experiences with the local businesses, food offers, 831 00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:47,440 shopping offers, all this stuff leading up to event day. 832 00:44:47,440 --> 00:44:49,280 We're going to have pre race events. 833 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:53,600 But most of all we want to make sure everyone has the best party 834 00:44:53,880 --> 00:44:57,720 afterwards and has a great time and that we're facilitating that 835 00:44:58,120 --> 00:45:01,680 and that they go home and tell everyone what a ball they had. 836 00:45:01,680 --> 00:45:05,200 And Sydney is known as the funnest Abbott world, Michael 837 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:08,520 Major. So that's one of our goals and 838 00:45:08,520 --> 00:45:11,440 that reflects the nature of the people that we we love to have 839 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,120 fun, we have a good time and we want to make sure everyone who 840 00:45:14,120 --> 00:45:17,840 comes to the TCS Sydney Marathon presented by Essex has the same 841 00:45:17,840 --> 00:45:19,720 experience. I like that. 842 00:45:19,760 --> 00:45:22,520 Here's a lot of the majors. I mean, Boston has Fan Fest 843 00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,320 afterwards, yeah, but a lot of the majors don't really have 844 00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:26,440 that. So you're training all these 845 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:30,640 months and you're like me right now, not drinking alcohol while 846 00:45:30,640 --> 00:45:33,640 you're training for this race and then afterwards. 847 00:45:33,640 --> 00:45:35,000 You want to let your hair down? Yeah. 848 00:45:35,280 --> 00:45:36,400 Right. I love. 849 00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:39,760 This, well last year for example, and we'll have it again 850 00:45:39,760 --> 00:45:41,880 this year, we had the pool party. 851 00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:45,600 So it's a top of a nightclub in Sydney. 852 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:50,080 It's a pool bar that was booked exclusively for finishes medal. 853 00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,400 You show your medal, you get in, you get a free drink. 854 00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:55,440 You can hang out on a rooftop bar in the sun having a great 855 00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:58,440 time with DJs. For the age group Champs, we 856 00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:02,040 booked the biggest nightclub in Sydney, 3 1/2 thousand people 857 00:46:02,040 --> 00:46:04,320 partying into the night with top DJs. 858 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:07,040 We had a couple of other after parties booked at different 859 00:46:07,040 --> 00:46:10,320 locations so we want to facilitate a good time. 860 00:46:10,880 --> 00:46:12,360 I love this. I have never heard of such a 861 00:46:12,360 --> 00:46:15,000 thing and I'm already I'm already liking this. 862 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:16,560 There you. Go. 863 00:46:16,560 --> 00:46:22,040 All right. So let me see, I guess, did I 864 00:46:22,040 --> 00:46:24,120 cover everything? Is there anything that you would 865 00:46:24,120 --> 00:46:30,720 like for us to know about Sydney that sticks out to you that is 866 00:46:30,720 --> 00:46:33,080 different now that you're doing the tour and you're travelling 867 00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:37,680 to the majors? Yeah, I mean, look, I, I, I 868 00:46:37,680 --> 00:46:41,480 think plan well in advance. If you haven't booked 869 00:46:41,480 --> 00:46:44,960 accommodation, I would start doing that soon for sure. 870 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:49,840 You know, the the thing also to remember is this is our first 871 00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:53,560 year as an Abbott World Marathon major and we're taking a giant 872 00:46:53,560 --> 00:46:56,480 leap already. But we're not going to be able 873 00:46:56,480 --> 00:46:59,440 to do everything in one year. But we will listen. 874 00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:03,080 So if you have great ideas and feedback or whatever, tell us. 875 00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:08,280 We listen and we will, we will grow each year and you'll see 876 00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:11,400 the changes and and we'll grow quickly. 877 00:47:12,000 --> 00:47:16,200 But we're just really excited to be welcoming so many people from 878 00:47:16,200 --> 00:47:19,760 outside of Sydney to come and enjoy the TCS Sydney Marathon. 879 00:47:20,080 --> 00:47:21,760 And look, I know people are going to have a ball. 880 00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:23,240 I love it and I want to come back. 881 00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:26,200 Wayne, thank you so much. You're welcome. 882 00:47:29,760 --> 00:47:31,800 Thank you so much, Wayne, for hopping on. 883 00:47:32,120 --> 00:47:35,000 We really appreciate your time and thank you for all the 884 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:36,920 insight that you provided us with. 885 00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:39,840 And again, thank you to Track Smith for hosting us. 886 00:47:39,920 --> 00:47:42,840 It must be exciting that they get to be a major marathon this 887 00:47:42,880 --> 00:47:44,480 year and I'm sure it'll be a good one. 888 00:47:44,520 --> 00:47:48,760 Yes, it sounds like this one is the toughest 1, the steepest 889 00:47:48,760 --> 00:47:51,840 course, but potentially the biggest party. 890 00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:54,080 I'm very excited to be going to Australia. 891 00:47:54,080 --> 00:47:58,120 I'm also very excited to see and meet some Aussies because he 892 00:47:58,120 --> 00:47:59,680 made them seem like very awesome. 893 00:47:59,760 --> 00:48:04,440 Some friendly and fun people. Everybody gets a short nickname, 894 00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:06,120 Rye. What's your nickname? 895 00:48:06,240 --> 00:48:08,920 Let? Well, let's move on and see you 896 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:10,920 next week. Have a good week of running. 897 00:48:14,320 --> 00:48:16,960 Thanks for tuning in. For more information, go to 898 00:48:16,960 --> 00:48:22,680 www.marathonrunningpodcast.com or check us out on all channels.