1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,800 With this, we're trying to do one thing, we are trying to 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:04,840 provide you with enough information to make you feel 3 00:00:04,840 --> 00:00:08,640 completely comfortable and super excited about experiencing the 4 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:14,760 TCS Sydney Marathon. This is the marathon running 5 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:16,440 podcast and Letty Runs. YouTube. 6 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,720 Channel with Letty and Ryan, and yes, we're officially now on all 7 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:22,920 channels. Join us for weekly content on 8 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,800 all things running and let us take you from the starting line 9 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:36,520 to the finish line and beyond. Hey runners, and welcome to our 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:39,360 deep dive into the TCS Sydney Marathon. 11 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:42,160 My name is Letty Lankos from Marathon Media. 12 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,640 My YouTube channel is Letty runs and I also host the marathon 13 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:49,360 running podcast every week so feel free to check those out to 14 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,800 help you get prepared. I'm thrilled to introduce 6 All 15 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:56,000 Star guests in this video. Race director Wayne Larden, 16 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:00,840 running expert Nathan Popes from a six, Benjamin Lucas, the head 17 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,200 coach of the Sydney Marathon, Sydney Marathon pacer Damon 18 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:07,200 Lynch, Ben Rock, an incredible ambassador of the Sydney 19 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:10,280 Marathon who also hosts an amazing Facebook group that you 20 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:11,600 guys are going to have to check out. 21 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,800 And a vital member of Sydney's marathon logistical team, 22 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:18,680 Michael Young. What an incredible lineup of 23 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,320 guests that you're going to hear from and let's hop right into 24 00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:23,480 that. Let's start with words from race 25 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:31,080 director Wayne Larden. So we are absolutely thrilled 26 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,040 today to be joined by a race director, Wayne Larden. 27 00:01:34,080 --> 00:01:36,200 Wayne, thank you so much for joining us. 28 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,600 We're so lucky to have you on because we know it's invaluable 29 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:41,120 to hear from you directly as the race director. 30 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:43,080 So thank you. Yeah, you're welcome, lady. 31 00:01:43,640 --> 00:01:47,400 Maybe you can tell us what it's like right now or what you're 32 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,920 going through right now being a race director for this huge 33 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,960 event. Yeah, it's sort of what, 5 34 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,720 weeks, 5 weeks out or or close to five weeks out now. 35 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,440 So it's sort of crunch time on a lot of important things, final 36 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:03,400 documentation and plans sort of having been submitted and 37 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,800 finalizing everything sort of in preparation for everyone to 38 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:08,199 arrive. So that's pretty hectic at the 39 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:09,639 moment. As you could imagine. 40 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,400 Everyone heads down, bum up, working long hours, but there's 41 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,840 a good buzz in the office. Everyone's excited, you know, 42 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:19,560 for, you know, race weekend and race week. 43 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:22,080 So I'm feeling pretty confident with things. 44 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,560 But, you know, as always, it's events, outdoor events. 45 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:27,880 Something will pop up that will be a challenge that we'll need 46 00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:29,960 to solve before everyone gets here, I'm sure. 47 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:35,040 But we're used to that. So yeah, excited anticipation of 48 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,800 race week approaching fast. All right, so the anticipation 49 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:42,440 is running high and tell me please, what is your number one 50 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:44,960 message for all these international runners that are 51 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:46,760 going to be coming from all over the world? 52 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,840 Look, I think the important things on race week is to read. 53 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:56,160 Read information that we send to runners, especially read 54 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:59,600 information about race day, on how to get to the start, where 55 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:05,120 you need to go, where and when. Expo is asked questions at Expo, 56 00:03:05,920 --> 00:03:09,800 you know, prepare well, hydrate, you know, get some good sleep 57 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,400 in. Just don't stress, don't don't 58 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,680 waste nervous energy. It's going to be a great day, 59 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:16,760 Just come and enjoy the race, enjoy Sydney and have a good 60 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:18,680 time and. What is it that you most wish 61 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,760 that they'll remember your race? With. 62 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,480 I'm pretty confident that people like walk Away remembering very 63 00:03:25,520 --> 00:03:28,160 fondly the city of Sydney. It's a beautiful city. 64 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,640 I think people will be surprised at how beautiful and interesting 65 00:03:32,640 --> 00:03:34,680 the course is. You know, it's a really lovely 66 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,640 course that takes people right through all of the landmarks of 67 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:39,120 Sydney. On their journey to that 68 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,160 beautiful finish at the Sydney Opera House. 69 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,040 People will remember how friendly the Sydneysiders and 70 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:47,960 Australians are. We like a chat, so if you go out 71 00:03:47,960 --> 00:03:50,000 to a bar, don't, don't hold back. 72 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,800 People have a chat with you. So get to know some of the local 73 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,680 people. We'll walk away with the feeling 74 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,360 that that was probably one of the most fun bombs and the most 75 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,760 fun Abbott World Marathon major they've been to. 76 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,040 So these are the sort of experiences that we want people 77 00:04:05,040 --> 00:04:08,240 to have and remember. Share your experiences and tell 78 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:11,000 all your friends about it. Perfect and last but not least, 79 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,200 what is your must see for a tourist in your city? 80 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,839 There's so many, I mean in Sydney, you know, you've got 81 00:04:17,839 --> 00:04:21,320 Taronga Zoo, you've got Manly Beach, you've got Bondi Beach, 82 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:23,080 you've got the city itself. It's amazing. 83 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:25,480 Number of really cool restaurants in Sydney. 84 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,440 If you've got a bit of time, I'd recommend heading up to the 85 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,280 Hunter Valley wine region after the race for a few days of 86 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:33,280 relaxation. It's only a couple of hours 87 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,600 north, if you've got a little bit less time, you can head out 88 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,360 West to the Blue Mountains and see the Three Sisters. 89 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:41,880 So there's lots and lots of things to do. 90 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,080 Like honestly just depends how much time you've got. 91 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:46,640 We'll have guides too on things you can go and enjoy Bridge 92 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,880 climb, you know, a harbour motorboat sort of cruise at the 93 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:55,160 harbour cruise at sunset is a beautiful thing to do. 5:00 PM 94 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:56,640 Harbour cruise from Darling Harbour. 95 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,040 Like, they're lovely things to do with your family and friends. 96 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:01,280 So yeah, God, there's just so much. 97 00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:03,000 I could go on forever. Perfect, perfect. 98 00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:04,720 So we'll. Jot those down. 99 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,240 That's what I'm going to be doing when I'm recording those 100 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:09,520 podcasts, I'm going to ask everybody for their number one 101 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,840 favorite thing. So the wine region sticks out 102 00:05:12,840 --> 00:05:15,480 from you. So I'm going to have that and 103 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:17,200 yeah, so we'll look forward to seeing you. 104 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:18,520 Are you going to be at the starting line? 105 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:19,640 I'll. Be sort of everywhere. 106 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:21,400 But yeah, I'll, I'll be, definitely be at the starting 107 00:05:21,400 --> 00:05:22,560 line. I'll be at the finish line. 108 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:25,160 I'll be somewhere out on the course having a look at how 109 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,920 things are unfolding there. We've got a really amazing 110 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:32,360 finishes medal this year which we're going to do an unveil, so 111 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:36,080 I'm looking forward to seeing lots and lots of people having 112 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,440 those hanging around their neck on race day and wearing those 113 00:05:39,440 --> 00:05:42,440 around for medal Monday. I'm just so excited to welcome 114 00:05:42,440 --> 00:05:46,160 everyone to our beautiful city and just deliver our first 115 00:05:46,160 --> 00:05:49,960 Abbott World Marathon major and have everyone really positive 116 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:51,800 and happy and, you know, wanting to come back. 117 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:53,960 All right. Thank you Wayne for your warm 118 00:05:53,960 --> 00:05:56,680 welcome and your excitement for international runners. 119 00:05:56,920 --> 00:05:59,560 I'm already confident that the participants will fondly 120 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,120 remember Sydney's beautiful city, it's friendly locals and 121 00:06:03,120 --> 00:06:05,960 truly have a fun major experience. 122 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:08,200 We're certainly off to a great start with some takeaways 123 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,480 directly from race Director. So read all the race information 124 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:14,480 carefully, prepare well, hydrate, sleep and most 125 00:06:14,480 --> 00:06:18,040 importantly, do not stress. Just come and enjoy the race in 126 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:22,040 Sydney. Now let's continue with some 127 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,360 essential tips to get you over to Sydney without any major 128 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:27,320 hiccups. We're talking about some very 129 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,840 important pre travel essentials. First up, travel requirements, 130 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:33,720 specifically visas. You'll definitely want to know 131 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,080 that most international visitors like us will need visas for 132 00:06:37,080 --> 00:06:39,440 Australia. My biggest piece of advice here 133 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,080 is to head straight to the official Australian Department 134 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:44,920 of Home Affairs website. I'm going to link this down 135 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:48,440 below and that's where you'll find most up to date information 136 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,640 tailored to your nationality, whether you need an ETA for 137 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,120 those eligible countries or a full tourist visa. 138 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,880 And please for Peace of Mind, apply well in advance. 139 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,240 Trust me on this one. And now I will tell you the 140 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,920 process that worked out for me. I applied online with the iPhone 141 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,640 app called Australian Etai come from the United States and I 142 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,440 believe the fee was about 20 Australian dollars. 143 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,760 My application was approved super quickly and I want to say 144 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:16,000 it was less than 10 minutes. But that's not to say that they 145 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:18,200 don't have time to process cases. 146 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,920 Sometimes it takes days, sometimes weeks, so be smart 147 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,640 about it. Definitely now is the time to do 148 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:25,920 it. And the approval came via 149 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,000 e-mail, so that was that. Now for customs and entry 150 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:31,480 regulations. Australia has some very strict 151 00:07:31,560 --> 00:07:35,480 bio security laws That means you must declare all foods, plants 152 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:38,960 or animal products before coming to avoid any issues. 153 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:41,200 I always recommend checking your Australian border for his 154 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,360 website beforehand and any prohibited restricted items. 155 00:07:44,640 --> 00:07:46,880 Don't make the mistake of hopping onto YouTube. 156 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,800 They're fun to watch, but if you are the type of person that gets 157 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,160 nervous about that, just don't watch them. 158 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:56,080 Next up, I'm going to talk about some essential travel gear. 159 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,720 I'm not going to give you guys a big list because most of the 160 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:01,440 stuff is very personal, but one thing that people have the 161 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:05,160 tendency to forget is to bring an outlet converter. 162 00:08:05,320 --> 00:08:09,360 Australia uses type 1 power outlets, so those are the ones 163 00:08:09,360 --> 00:08:14,960 with the three flat pins. Those operate on 230 voltage, so 164 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:18,320 definitely bring this universal travel adapter if you don't have 165 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:21,040 it. I purchased this one on Amazon. 166 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,920 I think it was around 10 bucks. And what I like about it is that 167 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:27,640 it has USB plugs as well as USBC plugs and a regular plug. 168 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,000 Well, three regular plugs on the sides. 169 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,440 I'm going to link that in the show notes below. 170 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:34,799 So that way you don't have to do any research. 171 00:08:34,799 --> 00:08:37,720 If you just want to go grab it, it'll be there for you. 172 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,400 And since we're talking about electronics, let's talk about 173 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:42,760 your phone plan. Make sure that your phone plan 174 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,520 either includes universal texting or calling or an 175 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:49,200 international plan or be aware if it doesn't, so you can get 176 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,640 yourself an E SIM so you're not completely stranded. 177 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:54,800 I know that you can limit the amount of talking that you do on 178 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:57,440 the phone and you can do what's up messages and what's up calls. 179 00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:00,520 However, what I always find very helpful is when I'm traveling 180 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:03,880 abroad using the maps, If you don't have data to use on your 181 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,000 phone, you can't use the maps and you'll get lost and that's 182 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:08,680 the end of that. So make sure that you plan for 183 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:10,880 that. Kind of along the same lines, 184 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:14,160 your bank cards when it comes to banking, let your bank know that 185 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:16,680 you'll be traveling so your cards won't get flagged for 186 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,680 suspicious activity and then you can't use your payments card. 187 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,520 I understand that it's automatic with a lot of the banks 188 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:25,640 nowadays, but some of them will send you texts to verify that 189 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,160 you are making whatever purchase it is that you're doing outside 190 00:09:29,160 --> 00:09:31,680 of the country. And then depending on your phone 191 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:35,000 plan, again, you might have trouble being able to authorize 192 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:36,720 that. So just make sure that your 193 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,280 cards work last. When it comes to travel 194 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:41,280 essentials, I want to give you my pro tip. 195 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:43,360 Pack layers. And we'll be talking about the 196 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:46,760 weather all spread out in this video slash podcast. 197 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,120 So there'll be plenty of that. But all I'm going to say here is 198 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,560 maybe bring a little fleece or a layer or maybe a packable puffy 199 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,040 to stay warm. Also, since you're running a 200 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:59,560 marathon, make sure that you bring some throwaway clothing to 201 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:02,160 the starting line. I'm sure they'll be donating 202 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:06,320 whatever clothing is discarded to charity like they usually do, 203 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:09,080 so just do that. Also, As for packing, be sure to 204 00:10:09,080 --> 00:10:11,240 pop your running shoes in your carry on. 205 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,800 Not only do that for Peace of Mind, but also because your 206 00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:17,480 luggage might get lost. My luggage was lost two years in 207 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,360 a row traveling to Germany and that is really frustrating. 208 00:10:20,360 --> 00:10:23,320 But at least I didn't have a marathon to run the weekend of 209 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,480 my running shoes not showing up with the luggage. 210 00:10:28,680 --> 00:10:32,200 Now let's dive into where to stay when you're in Australia. 211 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:37,080 And obviously if you're watching this for this year's marathon, 212 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:39,280 then probably you have already booked. 213 00:10:39,560 --> 00:10:42,640 But if you are running the marathon in the future, I have 214 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:45,720 talked to a ton of Australians over the last few weeks. 215 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,680 And just to summarize that most people recommend to stay in the 216 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:52,840 heart of Sydney in the central business district or CBD areas 217 00:10:52,840 --> 00:10:56,120 as circular Q or the Rocks are absolutely perfect as well. 218 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:59,120 The reason being that it's incredibly convenient for all 219 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,560 your race logistics, the Expo and easy access for both the 220 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:05,520 start and the finish lines. Plus you'll be in the thick of 221 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,200 all the post race celebration. And while that might be slightly 222 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:12,320 more expensive, the sheer convenience and the overall 223 00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:16,120 experience, especially for us international travelers, are 224 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:17,960 totally worth it. Also, you might want to book 225 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,120 these hotels early because they do have a tendency to fill up 226 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:24,360 during marathon week, just like all the other majors. 227 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:27,000 Now, once you land, how do you get to your hotel? 228 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,520 I have learned, and you will learn too, that Sydney is very 229 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,320 navigable when it comes to public transportation. 230 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,600 I personally swear by apps like Rome to Rio for planning trips 231 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,400 using public transportation. And of course, there's always 232 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:42,320 Google Map that'll help you get around. 233 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,680 Now let's talk about the events because Sydney Marathon Weekend 234 00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:50,560 isn't just about the marathon. There's actually three 235 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:53,680 incredible events that cater to runners of all distances. 236 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:57,640 Kicking off the weekend on Saturday, we have the 5K Mini 237 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:00,840 Marathon. That fun run starts at 7:30 AM 238 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,880 on McCreary St. in the Sydney CBD with a starting line cut off 239 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:08,400 of 810 AM. Participants finished at the 240 00:12:08,400 --> 00:12:12,520 iconic Opera House and the course time cut off this year is 241 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:15,720 an hour and 10 minutes. And the good news when it comes 242 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,160 to this race is that it is still not sold out, so you can still 243 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:21,680 register to be part of this excitement. 244 00:12:21,680 --> 00:12:23,440 Then on Sunday you have two events. 245 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:28,760 On Sunday, August 31st, 2025, you have the 10K which begins at 246 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,720 8:45 from Miller St. and North Sydney with a start line cut off 247 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,320 at 9:00 AM. This race finishes at the 248 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:39,320 Conservatorium of Music and it has a course cut off time of one 249 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:42,440 hour and 40 minutes, or 10:40 AM. 250 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,680 And of course then there is a City Marathon, the main event. 251 00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:50,320 The full 42.195 kilometers starting time for this race is 252 00:12:50,320 --> 00:12:55,160 going to be 6:15 AM for the elite wheelchairs and 6:30 AM 253 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:58,840 for the main marathon runners. The location in the course, 254 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,120 we're going to hop into its own different segment, so let's save 255 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,200 that for later. All right, now moving on to our 256 00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,000 next topic, the elite field. The TCS City Marathon is set to 257 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,960 feature an exceptionally strong elite field, making it a 258 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,160 historic event for Australia. And trust me, we are obsessed 259 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,240 with elite runners and we'll be covering it extensively. 260 00:13:20,600 --> 00:13:24,040 So stay tuned for that and For more information and videos from 261 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:26,360 us in the future. Now when it comes to the men's 262 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,800 elite field, the director of the Sydney Marathon, Wayne Lardon 263 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:33,280 has described this marathon is not just star studdedly fast, 264 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:36,400 but exceptionally deep. The field is headlined by the 265 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,120 greatest marathoner in history, Elliot Kiptogi. 266 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,240 And in total, there's going to be 19 athletes in the men's 267 00:13:42,240 --> 00:13:45,640 field that have run under 2 hours and 7 minutes. 268 00:13:45,720 --> 00:13:50,760 This ties the 23 and 24 Tokyo for the most sub two O 7 runners 269 00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:53,960 in the major marathon since the Tokyo Olympics. 270 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,400 Australia is also well represented by national record 271 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:02,560 holder Brad Robbins, whose PB is a two O 731 and Olympian Liam 272 00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:07,280 Adams, whose PB is a two O 839. So that will be amazing to 273 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:09,200 finally see some Australian runners. 274 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:12,320 As for the women's field, this field is equally impressive, 275 00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:15,760 featuring a global array. Leading the charge are two of 276 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,880 the fastest women in marathon history, which is Saffan Hassan 277 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:23,080 from the Netherlands, whose PB is a 2/13/44 and Bridget Kosteki 278 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:26,600 from Kenya, who has a 214 O 4 personal record. 279 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,920 Australia's local talent is also prominent with five Australian 280 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:36,720 athletes led by Jessica Stinson, who ran A22256 personal best and 281 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:41,200 Lisa Wightman, whose PB is a 2/23/15. 282 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,720 Amazing, right? I cannot wait to see what 283 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,960 happens during this race. All right, so moving on, let's 284 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:52,160 hop into our first interview to get you some insights. 285 00:14:52,160 --> 00:14:54,160 And we're going to do that by getting an invaluable 286 00:14:54,160 --> 00:14:58,680 perspective from Ben Rock, a TCS City Marathon ambassador and the 287 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:03,080 founder of a fantastic Facebook group for runners called TCS 288 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:06,200 City Marathon Support Group, which we're going to link in the 289 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:08,000 show notes. This group is absolutely 290 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,440 amazing, special and very helpful. 291 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,640 So as I said, I'll talk to Ben and he'll share some crucial 292 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,920 insights to help you navigate and enjoy the TCS Sydney 293 00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:21,880 Marathon. All right, so I'm on here with 294 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:25,720 Ben Rock, who is an ambassador of the TCS. 295 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,040 Sydney Marathon and the rock of his Facebook group that is super 296 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,640 helpful. Tons of followers now. 297 00:15:32,640 --> 00:15:35,560 So if you guys are not on Facebook yet, that's a super 298 00:15:35,560 --> 00:15:37,640 helpful Facebook group to follow. 299 00:15:37,640 --> 00:15:39,560 I'm going to link that in our show notes. 300 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,560 But Ben, welcome and thank you so much for joining me today. 301 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:43,480 Great. Thanks for having me. 302 00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:44,560 I really appreciate it. Thank you. 303 00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,600 And with that, I'm going to just start diving into all of this, 304 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,480 right? Because I mean, you're an 305 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:52,440 expert, right? You, you are Australian. 306 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,680 So you live there, you're local, and you've just been so helpful. 307 00:15:55,680 --> 00:16:00,240 And with that, let's talk about maybe a few questions because 308 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,160 I'm assuming at this point, everybody is a month away from 309 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,320 this marathon and we have sorted out where we're staying. 310 00:16:07,320 --> 00:16:11,960 But for future listeners, where are the best places to stay? 311 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:14,080 Sure. So if you look at a map for 312 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:17,360 Sydney, essentially Sydney has got a massive harbour in the 313 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,120 middle so of the of the city. So we're sort of situated around 314 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:23,240 the harbour. So it means that we have lots of 315 00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:26,480 water, we have beach fronts. So you probably can't go too 316 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:28,360 wrong with sort of anywhere in Sydney. 317 00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:30,560 Like for the marathon specifically, you wanna be 318 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:34,440 situated near the Sydney Metro line because the metro is our 319 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:38,760 underground sort of rail system that will get you to the start 320 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,680 line. So we have, there is 2 stations 321 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,280 near the starting line. So you wanna sort of feed near 322 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,400 that line to basically navigate to the starting area. 323 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:49,520 But in terms of just a, a general nice trip, you've got 324 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:51,560 some beautiful beaches down in Bondi. 325 00:16:51,560 --> 00:16:53,640 We have one in Manly that's quite nice. 326 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:55,200 There's Cronulla further down South. 327 00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:58,440 So Sydney is blessed with with beautiful coastline, beautiful 328 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,440 beaches and you can't really go too wrong. 329 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:02,680 You're not really too far away. Even if you pick somewhere out 330 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:05,240 away. Then essentially there's there's 331 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:07,680 lots of different options there. It's not too far to get to the 332 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:08,680 beach. Perfect. 333 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:12,839 But when it comes to transportation, how easy is that 334 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:16,119 for anyone to do in Sydney, particularly heading to the 335 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:17,319 Expo, etcetera? Yeah. 336 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:20,000 So Sydney public transport is probably one of the best in 337 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,760 Australia, I would say. So I like every state of 338 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:24,280 Australia. Australia is made-up of states 339 00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:27,280 like the United States. So each of the public transport 340 00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,080 systems in each of the states is different because they're run by 341 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:34,680 the actual state. So essentially in NSW we have we 342 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:38,120 can use the credit card to tap on and tap off of public 343 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:40,360 transport. So we have buses, we have 344 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:43,360 trains, we have the metro, we have ferries here. 345 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:45,760 We have the light rail as well. There's several light rail rail 346 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,040 networks. So they're essentially you can U 347 00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:52,080 use your your same credit card, even American Express cards on 348 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:54,040 that. We also have an Opal card, which 349 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,640 is a public transport card. So for concessions like for 350 00:17:56,640 --> 00:18:00,000 children, they will need to basically get an Opal card for 351 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:01,320 that. Otherwise if you're using a 352 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:04,000 credit card, it will charge you the full adult fare for that. 353 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,120 But for marathon day, you actually get free public 354 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:08,280 transport. So essentially you don't have to 355 00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,560 worry about tapping on and tapping off your card. 356 00:18:10,560 --> 00:18:12,920 That's one thing less thing that you won't have to carry with you 357 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:15,440 because you'll basically get free transport on that day. 358 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,680 In terms of getting to the Expo, it's very centrally located. 359 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,440 It's at the International Convention Centre, it's within 360 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:23,760 walking distance of essentially the CBD. 361 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:26,920 So for most places in there in the CBD, you can actually walk 362 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:28,880 to the Expo. For many people that do walk, 363 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,360 you'll be walking through Chinatown, which is a really 364 00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,400 great district for a lot of food and culture. 365 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,160 So and they have a, a market there as well for lots of cheap 366 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,320 souvenirs in, in that particular district. 367 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:42,320 But in terms of the Expo, it's quite easy to get around instead 368 00:18:42,320 --> 00:18:44,720 of, you know, one of the best convention centres in Australia, 369 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:46,920 or if not the best Convention Center in Australia, the 370 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,080 International Convention center. It's kind of like when you get 371 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:52,200 there, if it's, I'm assuming this year is going to be similar 372 00:18:52,200 --> 00:18:54,000 to last year. Last year was kind of like 373 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,480 you're going through an IKEA and you're basically going through 374 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:58,760 and you're navigating through and various different paths. 375 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:01,520 So you're just walking through various different areas. 376 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:03,840 You're starting with the big pickup, walking through the 377 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,680 Expo, looking at various different exhibits. 378 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:09,720 There is, I'm assuming would be a stage that they had the same 379 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,720 as last year with various different events that are on the 380 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,640 stage for speakers that you can sort of listen to and watch and 381 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:18,520 participate in. Potentially there's the pacer 382 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:20,040 team that's there as well that you can meet. 383 00:19:20,040 --> 00:19:22,960 So if you have any, if you're planning on joining a pacing 384 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:26,880 group and you have any questions for the Pacers, they will be 385 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:29,080 there available to answer that as well. 386 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,280 So obviously you probably want to come maybe with an empty 387 00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:34,720 suitcase in a way or have enough room in there just to buy a few 388 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:36,440 things. But obviously the whole, you 389 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:39,400 know, no new, nothing new at the marathon sort of applies. 390 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:41,680 But you know, you want to take some souvenirs home too and some 391 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,960 things to some mementos to remember Australia buy. 392 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:46,240 So it's a good place to stock up there at the Expo. 393 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:47,920 It'll be a wide variety of different things, I'm sure. 394 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:49,280 Love it. Perfect, thank you. 395 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,280 Insights that you get from your Facebook group that has been 396 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:54,800 grown. What are the top three to five 397 00:19:54,800 --> 00:19:57,320 most common questions that you received from runners about the 398 00:19:57,320 --> 00:20:00,240 City Marathon and the events leading up to it? 399 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,880 Yeah, I guess people sort of want to know when to arrive. 400 00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:05,600 So a lot of people probably have already made their travel plans 401 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,200 by now, so it might be too late to change it. 402 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:10,040 But essentially, you want to give yourself enough time to 403 00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:12,080 acclimatize to the local conditions. 404 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,560 So like I've run marathons across the world, like in the 405 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,360 United States, in Berlin, in London as well. 406 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:20,200 Essentially, you know, travelling takes a lot out of 407 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,080 your body. You're putting your body through 408 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:23,760 a lot. So I guess people are first sort 409 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,320 of travelling across the continental United States. 410 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,560 They probably aren't used to jet lag, but jet lag is a real thing 411 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:31,240 when you're sort of travelling across the other side of the 412 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:33,000 globe. So you kind of want to like give 413 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,440 yourself maybe a couple of days to accommodate and to 414 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:39,000 acclimatize to the conditions. So if you're planning to arrive 415 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,400 on Saturday, it's probably cutting yourself a bit fine. 416 00:20:41,400 --> 00:20:43,520 And then you're probably, you know, you're not going to be 417 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,960 able to live to your best because and, and put out your 418 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:48,800 best abilities because your body is still adjusting to actually 419 00:20:48,800 --> 00:20:50,680 being here. So the common question was 420 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:53,240 basically how to arrive, how to get to the Expo. 421 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,320 It's very simple. Public transport is the way you 422 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:58,880 can walk there from most of the city hotels very easily. 423 00:20:59,120 --> 00:21:02,040 So it's it's not hard to get to how to get to the starting line. 424 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:04,160 So the Sydney metro is your friend. 425 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,240 So it's that they make it dead easy with the participants guide 426 00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,520 that will be coming out. So it will tell you which of the 427 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,920 two stations that you should get off at to arrive there in plenty 428 00:21:12,920 --> 00:21:15,240 of time for your corral to start. 429 00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,480 So that's something that you need to consider as well. 430 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:19,600 And obviously, just like, you know, general things to do and 431 00:21:19,600 --> 00:21:22,000 see and, and, and enjoy while you're here. 432 00:21:22,120 --> 00:21:24,800 So now is a good time to actually make sure you're 433 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:27,560 booking all your activities in like you're expecting thousands 434 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,000 upon thousands of international visitors here over the Sydney 435 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,680 Marathon weekend. So we want to make sure that 436 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:34,800 you're booking in your activities of things that you 437 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:36,040 want to do so you don't miss out. 438 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:38,560 You don't want to get here and then go, oh, this, this tour 439 00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,600 that I had in my mind planned to do. 440 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,280 I can't do it anymore because everyone else wants to do it. 441 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:46,520 So I miss out. So if you're traveling all that 442 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:49,720 way, you want to sort of lock it in and sort of plan a few things 443 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,400 that you want to do and to make sure that you book those those 444 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,080 activities in because they are, I can guarantee you that a lot 445 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:57,200 of them will fill up. Yes, I can only imagine. 446 00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,200 I heard that the Opera House, for example, has certain amounts 447 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:03,440 of tickets for certain amounts of tours or certain types of 448 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,440 tours. That's a very important to to 449 00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:08,800 do. All right, so now that you have 450 00:22:08,800 --> 00:22:11,760 mentioned those 3:00-ish questions, let's have a little 451 00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:15,240 bit more into this Expo. So Expo navigation, you 452 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,800 mentioned public transportation, that's an easy thing to do. 453 00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:22,400 When we talk about race day, what is some advice on getting 454 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:23,880 to the starting line? Yeah. 455 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:27,880 So there's two main stations for the starting line, so that 456 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,840 you'll be either assigned as part of your corral, it's either 457 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:35,120 the Victoria Cross station or the Crows Nest station. 458 00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:37,480 So either one of those two stations that will get you to 459 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:40,040 the the starting area essentially the starts at the 460 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,200 North Sydney Oval. So there is various different 461 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,200 sort of, I guess, fences and sort of pet pens that people we 462 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,760 put into based on their bibs. So you need to make sure that 463 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,000 you're sort of arriving following the instructions 464 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,120 that's in the participants guide about how to get there. 465 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,640 You know, the facilities are sort of the same as what you 466 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,760 would experience in other world majors with the bathrooms orders 467 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:02,880 to sort of, you know, if you're bringing a hydration vest, which 468 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,800 is allowed, you know, to, to fill up your, your vests and so 469 00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:07,480 forth. So, you know, there everything 470 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:09,560 will be there that you, you, you need. 471 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,640 That is standard on the marathon day. 472 00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:13,960 So you shouldn't have to, to worry too much. 473 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,200 And there's also, I guess screens that are around to sort 474 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:19,200 of show what's happening in the starting area because you can't 475 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,280 actually see what's happening in at the starting line while 476 00:23:22,280 --> 00:23:24,880 you're in that particular area. But there'll be screens around 477 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,360 if it's the same as last year to show you what's what's going on. 478 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:28,640 So you're not missing out on too much. 479 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:29,280 OK. It's perfect. 480 00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,120 So you said two different stations. 481 00:23:31,120 --> 00:23:34,360 Is it kind of like London where London has different starting 482 00:23:34,360 --> 00:23:36,760 lines or is that just for different areas? 483 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,600 Yeah. So essentially the the starting 484 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:41,360 line is there. There, there's a single starting 485 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:45,000 line and people are pushed out to the starting lines from those 486 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,480 particular pens. So that that's the, that's the 487 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,080 way that it works. It's essentially it's AI guess 488 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:52,960 not not as big as the, the London starting area that we 489 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:55,440 have here in Sydney, but that there will be a lot of people 490 00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:56,560 there. Probably another thing to 491 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,360 mention as well is that if you are a spectator, please do not 492 00:23:59,360 --> 00:24:02,400 come to the start area. So we, they, the marathon people 493 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:05,880 have made that clear previously that they want just people who 494 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,160 are running the marathon to be at the starting line because 495 00:24:08,160 --> 00:24:10,200 it's, you know, this, they've got, you know, 10s of thousands 496 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,320 of people that they need to get to the starting area. 497 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,000 And if they're spectators that are taking up spaces on the 498 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:16,960 public transport, then that will be problematic. 499 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,160 If you are a spectator and you want to sort of get the sort of 500 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:23,440 see someone around that area, it's best to catch a train to 501 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,120 the North Sydney station and then you can see the runners 502 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:28,960 going past because essentially the North Sydney train station 503 00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:31,320 is on the the route on the course. 504 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:34,720 That's the first best opportunity for spectators to 505 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,200 actually go and, and see the the runners as they go past. 506 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:40,400 But please don't go to the starting area because it's going 507 00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:41,840 to be chaos. Perfect, perfect. 508 00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,360 And from your experience, how early do you suggest runners 509 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:49,840 arrive at the starting area? And yeah, is there a backdrop? 510 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:52,480 Yeah, a backdrop situation, yeah, important one. 511 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,480 So at the Expo, you need to make sure you drop anything that you 512 00:24:55,480 --> 00:24:58,600 need for the finish line at the at the at the Expo. 513 00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:03,000 So there's no facility to be able to drop your bag at the 514 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,480 starting line. So if you have something that 515 00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:08,000 you need for the finish, it's better to drop it off at the 516 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,840 Expo. Maybe if you're sort of staying 517 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:12,400 in a City Hotel, you might not need that facility because your 518 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,120 hotel will be very close by because all of the city hotels 519 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:18,240 are very close to the the finish line and the arrival time. 520 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,320 It will in the in the participant guide, it will 521 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:23,760 suggest when to arrive. If you're not familiar with the 522 00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:27,280 area, I would highly suggest that you'd take that advice. 523 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,720 Like if you're a local like me, then you could probably get 524 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,440 there a little bit to sort of closer to the time because 525 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:33,600 you're more familiar with the area. 526 00:25:33,600 --> 00:25:36,720 But if you're unfamiliar with the starting area, use the guide 527 00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,000 that read the guide covered. Make sure that you sort of 528 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,400 understand, you know, that all of the, I guess the assumptions 529 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,320 that the people's that have sort of built into there. 530 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,840 So like, you know, making sure that you've got plenty of time 531 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,720 to go to the bathroom, get a drink, all of the rituals that 532 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:52,280 you need to do that will be catered for. 533 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,680 So while you're in the waiting in the starting pen. 534 00:25:54,880 --> 00:25:57,400 So if you're not familiar, just read the guide. 535 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:00,280 It will give you the best advice on that as to when to arrive. 536 00:26:00,280 --> 00:26:02,200 So yeah. Perfect. 537 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:06,080 Are there any other things that you can think of that people ask 538 00:26:06,400 --> 00:26:09,040 in your group that we should mention? 539 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:10,560 Good, good question. I don't know. 540 00:26:10,600 --> 00:26:12,200 People just want to have a good time when they're here. 541 00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:13,760 Like what's happening with the after parties. 542 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:17,200 So Sydney and Australia as well. We did, we had known for being, 543 00:26:17,400 --> 00:26:19,640 you know, I guess a destination for parties. 544 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,760 So we we like to celebrate. You know, people will come here 545 00:26:22,760 --> 00:26:24,880 when you're sort of finished the marathon and you've got your 546 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,160 medal and you're wearing it around, then people, people will 547 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:28,560 come up to you. They'll congratulate you. 548 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:30,560 They will, you know, they want to talk to you. 549 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:34,880 So I guess we are generally, you know, a fairly happy go lucky 550 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,760 type place. So yeah, we'll celebrate you as 551 00:26:37,760 --> 00:26:40,320 as much as we can. And obviously you'll see other 552 00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:42,680 fellow runners as well after the marathon wearing the medals 553 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:44,600 around. So that, that would, that's a 554 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:47,280 really good way that, you know, that you can sort of enjoy the 555 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:49,720 moment with all of your fellow marathon runners. 556 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:52,320 If you like beer, then essentially like Australia's 557 00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,440 probably, you know, one of the, the capitals of beer in the 558 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,400 world. So we have plenty of wine too. 559 00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,880 But yeah, if, if having a drink after a marathon is something 560 00:26:59,880 --> 00:27:02,160 that you like to enjoy, I can, I can assure you there'll be 561 00:27:02,160 --> 00:27:03,800 plenty of opportunities to do that while you're here. 562 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,240 The Rocks is essentially A historic district. 563 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,560 There's lots of like old pubs there, restaurants, bars. 564 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,800 So it's very much a historic area and there is, I guess a lot 565 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:15,960 of, you know, opportunities to celebrate in that, that 566 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:18,480 particular zone. So I wouldn't be surprised if 567 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,880 the whole entire area is swamped with marathon finishers who, you 568 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,240 know, celebrating in that area. So it's, it's quite a beautiful 569 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,240 area and it's really a good place for people to sort of to 570 00:27:27,240 --> 00:27:29,360 wander around just generally. Perfect, perfect. 571 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,960 Australia is a beautiful place. It's you travel so far, you want 572 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,960 to have a good time while you're here and there's this plenty of 573 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,160 opportunities to do that. Marathons, as I said before, are 574 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:42,200 a stressful experience. We want to take the stress out 575 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:44,680 of your your trip while you're here as much as we can. 576 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,520 All right, so that brings us to the end of our fantastic chat. 577 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:50,720 Thank you so much, Ben, for your incredible insight on all of 578 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:53,760 this, your local knowledge and experience, especially about 579 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,160 navigating Sydney's transportation and everything 580 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:57,800 else. Thanks again for sharing your 581 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:02,440 expertise Ben. Now let's hop into the Expo some 582 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,320 more. Also known as the TCS Sydney 583 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,200 Marathon Running Show presented by ASICS. 584 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:12,360 This is your go to hub for bib pickup, last minute gear and 585 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,760 soaking up all that pre race excitement. 586 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,000 So here's some essential information that you need to 587 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,000 know about this Expo. Where and when is the Expo? 588 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,840 Let's talk about the timing and location of this Expo. 589 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,680 The Expo is conveniently located at the International Convention 590 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:33,400 Center or ICC Sydney on Level 4 at 14 Darling Dr. It's a it's a 591 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,280 true state-of-the-art venue. Make sure you plan your visit as 592 00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:41,440 the operating hours are Thursday 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Friday 8:00 593 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,840 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 594 00:28:45,840 --> 00:28:48,440 How to get to the ICC is easy with public transport. 595 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:52,160 You'll find convenient options including trains, Metro light 596 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:55,720 rail, ferries and buses that will get you to the ICC and 597 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:57,600 we'll have the link below for your planning convenience. 598 00:28:57,600 --> 00:29:00,360 But generally public transportation is very 599 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:03,080 accessible. Remember, you need an Opal card 600 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,280 or a contactless payment card or a device like your iPhone or 601 00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,080 phone to use public transportation to and from the 602 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:12,120 Expo or anywhere else. And you can plan your trip ahead 603 00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:17,080 by visiting transportnsw.info and that will also be linked 604 00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,000 below. Now, crucial information, 605 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,080 backdrop at the Expo. This is extremely important, so 606 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:24,960 listen up. There's absolutely no backdrop 607 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:27,920 on race day. I know that many marathons offer 608 00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,520 backdrop on race morning, but not here. 609 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:35,000 The only options for backdrop is going to be at the TCS Sydney 610 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,160 Marathon Running Show presented by ASICS itself. 611 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,120 So drop your back at the Expo when you're visiting or come 612 00:29:41,120 --> 00:29:44,040 back later to do it and rest assured that it'll be available 613 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:48,120 at your marathon recovery zone after you finish your race. 614 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,320 Also note that there will be no backdrop at all for the TCS 615 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:55,800 Sydney Marathon 10K or the TCS Sydney mini marathon the 5K. 616 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:58,480 So for these events, just really bring what you need for your 617 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:00,520 race. All right, shifting gears from 618 00:30:00,520 --> 00:30:04,280 the logistics to some expert insights, I'm now absolutely 619 00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,400 thrilled to introduce you to our next guest, Nathan Pope, the 620 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:09,960 running expert and representative of ASICS 621 00:30:09,960 --> 00:30:11,840 Australia. I just remember he taught me 622 00:30:11,840 --> 00:30:14,400 that it's not ASICS, it's ASICS. So I'm going to try to 623 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:16,760 consistently pronounce it correctly. 624 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,320 So ASICS is the sponsor of the TCS City Marathon and Nathan is 625 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:23,520 here to talk to us a little bit about their sponsorships and 626 00:30:23,520 --> 00:30:26,840 excitingly what you as runners can expect from ASICS at the 627 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,760 Expo. All right, so I'm on here with 628 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,400 Nathan Popes from ASICS, the official sponsor of the TCS 629 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,120 Sydney Marathon. Nathan, thank you so much for 630 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,000 joining me today. Yeah, thanks for having me lady. 631 00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:40,920 Looking forward to it. So, so am I. 632 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:44,960 So maybe we should start with the fact that ASICS is the 633 00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:49,360 sponsor of this marathon that is now also the seventh major. 634 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:53,320 So what does this sponsorship mean for the brand and why is 635 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,960 this partnership particularly significant for you guys? 636 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:58,880 Yeah, I mean, it's a huge, it's huge event for for the brand to 637 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:00,880 be involved in a really iconic event. 638 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,960 Obviously joining the major, the major marathons and it's really 639 00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:06,600 been highlighted in especially over in Australia is a really 640 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,720 important event on the the running calendar. 641 00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:11,920 So it's huge for us to be a part of it, not just from like a, a 642 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:15,040 brand visibility and sort of being at the event, but sort of 643 00:31:15,120 --> 00:31:17,760 our ability to sort of help or run at some more levels to get 644 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,600 involved in the sport, whether that's your first time doing a 645 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,320 marathon or, you know, all the way through to the elite, elite 646 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:24,680 athletes. So we just want to make sure 647 00:31:24,680 --> 00:31:27,040 that people are having a really fun experience. 648 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:29,680 And a lot of people don't actually understand that HASIX 649 00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:33,160 is actually a Latin acronym for sound mind and a sound body. 650 00:31:33,240 --> 00:31:37,040 And, you know, the marathon is really the ultimate test both 651 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:41,280 both mentally and physically. So it really aligns with sort of 652 00:31:41,280 --> 00:31:45,280 us as a brand and we're really hoping we can make a really 653 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:47,200 enjoyable experience for everyone out on course. 654 00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:49,760 Perfect, thank you for explaining that, and I think I'm 655 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:51,760 gonna start pronouncing it ASICS now. 656 00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:53,240 Is that the correct pronunciation? 657 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:54,160 Have I been seeing it? Wrong. 658 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:57,800 Yeah, I think it gets called. Gets called ASICS a bit as well, 659 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:01,320 but yeah, we can we go by ASICS. ASICS, OK, ASICS. 660 00:32:01,320 --> 00:32:04,120 So ASICS being the sponsor, you're talking about enhancing 661 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:07,040 runner experiences. We're going to be talking about 662 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,200 ordering, being able to order stuff online right now, official 663 00:32:10,200 --> 00:32:14,120 Sydney here, as well as being at the Expo and then various 664 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,000 activations. So maybe we can talk about 665 00:32:16,240 --> 00:32:19,680 online ordering of products first that are pertaining to 666 00:32:19,680 --> 00:32:22,720 this particular marathon? Yeah, So up online at the moment 667 00:32:22,720 --> 00:32:25,560 on the ASICS website is some Sydney official merch. 668 00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:29,240 So that'll be going on sale I believe early August around the 669 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,680 5th. So you can actually notify your 670 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,480 by e-mail at the moment. But yeah, we're going to have 671 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,520 sort of head to toe Sydney Marathon inspired kit. 672 00:32:37,600 --> 00:32:42,560 So hats, shirts, jackets, shorts, yeah, little accessories 673 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:43,320 as well. And. 674 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,920 And a part of that collection, there's also some First Nation 675 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:52,360 artists inspired from apparel as well, from Indigenous artist. 676 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:55,080 So it's really cool to sort of explore that side of things as 677 00:32:55,080 --> 00:32:57,040 well. So yeah, you can jump online, 678 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:00,280 order, order some apparel. And at the Expo we're going to 679 00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:04,080 have some jackets, some bottles and things of that as well. 680 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:06,680 And it's also going to give you the opportunity to sort of come 681 00:33:06,680 --> 00:33:09,160 through the Expo and get some custom printing on that on that 682 00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:11,520 kit as well to get your name on the shirts and things of that. 683 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:14,880 So really customized experience, hopefully for people to sort of 684 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:17,960 take home wherever they're from and and sort of Rep that merch 685 00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:19,520 and let everyone know that ran Sydney. 686 00:33:19,520 --> 00:33:22,520 So it's gonna be really, really awesome to sort of have that 687 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,960 head to toe story from us as a brand. 688 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,040 So there's also a special edition Nova Blast colourway 689 00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:31,120 coming out for the Sydney Marathon. 690 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:34,520 So yeah, it looks really nice. We just popped up on our socials 691 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:37,280 recently as well, so you can have a look at look at that. 692 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:39,640 So that'd be really cool. Special edition colourway 693 00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:41,880 that'll be available at the Expo as well. 694 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,800 So you can search on our six website, the Sydney Marathon 695 00:33:44,800 --> 00:33:47,400 Collection. And there's yeah, male, female, 696 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:51,720 head to toe stuff. So really, you know, get 697 00:33:51,720 --> 00:33:54,160 yourself kitted out looking good on race day. 698 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,360 A lot of the materials are really nice as well. 699 00:33:56,720 --> 00:33:59,160 So can be sometimes a bit tricky with weather. 700 00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:01,960 So, you know, you can have a look at, you know, jackets on 701 00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:04,480 there or if you're looking for sort of more of a lighter weight 702 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:07,720 style, there's singlets and and shorts and tops and so plenty to 703 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:09,679 look at online there. Perfect. 704 00:34:09,960 --> 00:34:13,360 And can you maybe give us a little bit of a behind the scene 705 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:16,520 as to the race gear? Because a lot of Expos, you and 706 00:34:16,520 --> 00:34:20,639 I just talked about that offline run out, right? 707 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:23,520 And the danger of that is you want to order it online. 708 00:34:23,520 --> 00:34:27,159 But I feel like purchasing stuff at the Expo is kind of part of 709 00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:32,120 the whole marathon experience. Talk to us about how Essex has 710 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:35,320 been working on preventing that and kind of getting a count on 711 00:34:35,320 --> 00:34:38,400 how much gear they need, because I'm imagining that's super hard. 712 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:41,440 Yeah, it's always tricky to know, you know, how busy and how 713 00:34:41,440 --> 00:34:44,199 how much stuff is going to sell. And it's obviously an icon event 714 00:34:44,199 --> 00:34:47,280 and people want to have memorabilia from the event. 715 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:49,800 So yeah, I guess jumping online is going to be a really 716 00:34:49,800 --> 00:34:52,520 important aspect to get to get your gear. 717 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:56,600 We're also going to have quite a bit of space in that Expo from a 718 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:58,920 footwear point of view, apparel as well. 719 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:01,960 We're going to have a range of our meta run apparel, which is a 720 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:05,640 really performance based head to toe kit for race day. 721 00:35:05,640 --> 00:35:09,320 So, and also a lot of our footwear on offer as well. 722 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,720 So whether that's, you know, daily trainers, so like your 723 00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:15,160 Nimbus and your Kayano shoes that are really going to help 724 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:17,560 you just get through that marathon if that's your your 725 00:35:17,560 --> 00:35:19,080 goal. And then if you're looking for 726 00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:22,240 sort of chasing down a PB and a faster time, we've got a lot of 727 00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:25,320 our performance stuff as well. So like the Super blast, super 728 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:28,480 popular shoe for us, and also a lot of our carbon plated meta 729 00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:30,760 speed range as well. So there'll be plenty of stuff 730 00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:32,920 to look at. So make sure you get in there 731 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,560 and soak it up the atmosphere as well because it'd be, it'd be 732 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:36,400 awesome. Perfect. 733 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,840 I appreciate that. And I mean the only Essex Expo 734 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:42,960 that I have been to was the LA Marathon because Essex is a 735 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,000 sponsor of them too. And it was kind of beautifully 736 00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:49,320 done how you get your bib and everything and then you walk 737 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:53,040 through the Essex area, which is fairly large and then you go to 738 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:55,040 all the vendors. Can you talk to us a little bit 739 00:35:55,040 --> 00:35:58,160 about the setup that Essex had in mind for this particular 740 00:35:58,160 --> 00:35:58,880 Expo? Yeah. 741 00:35:58,880 --> 00:36:01,160 So we, we just came off Gold Coast and obviously that's a 742 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,160 really big event for us over here. 743 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:05,520 I'm in Australia. So it's, it's sort of taking of 744 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,040 some of the, the learnings from that. 745 00:36:07,040 --> 00:36:08,760 But it's just gonna be a much bigger space. 746 00:36:08,760 --> 00:36:11,440 So we're gonna have a lot of opportunity for sort of photo 747 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,640 walls, message walls. We can write things on there and 748 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:17,720 regularly personalized and then obviously have a really big 749 00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:21,040 space for, for people to browse through products and stuff as 750 00:36:21,040 --> 00:36:23,520 well. So it's gonna be gonna be really 751 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,280 big, but it's, it's really designed that you can sort of 752 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,880 once you collect your bib, filter through that ASICS area 753 00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:32,360 and you just snake through and, and experience all the stuff 754 00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:34,640 we've got set up. And then before you head out to 755 00:36:34,640 --> 00:36:36,680 a lot of the other vendors around, around the place as 756 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:38,840 well. So great spot to, to get any 757 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:41,320 last minute stuff as well. If you if you forget anything 758 00:36:41,320 --> 00:36:44,080 'cause there's gonna be a lot of running product there, which 759 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:45,320 would be awesome. Perfect. 760 00:36:45,640 --> 00:36:48,640 And last but not least, let's talk about some Essex 761 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:52,360 activations around the town. Shakeout runs. 762 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:56,000 What do you guys have going on to for all the participants of 763 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,560 this beautiful marathon? Yeah. 764 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,000 So there's going to be a lot of a lot of activations and 765 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:02,200 excitement around the whole week. 766 00:37:02,200 --> 00:37:04,200 We're going to have a bit of a shakeout run. 767 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,480 They're still going through the process of what that's going to 768 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:08,360 look like to keep an eye out for that. 769 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,480 But we're going to have, you know, activations out on course, 770 00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:14,760 particularly that last sort of kilometer. 771 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:16,640 We're going to be have a nice activation there when you're 772 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:20,320 coming down Macquarie St. before you hit the finishing line. 773 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:22,600 And that's going to be when a lot of people are going to be 774 00:37:22,600 --> 00:37:25,840 hurting late in the marathon. So hopefully we can really kick 775 00:37:25,840 --> 00:37:28,160 start you and get you get you through the finishing line. 776 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:31,480 And then after the finishing line as well. 777 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:33,320 We've got a really nice recovery zone. 778 00:37:33,960 --> 00:37:38,240 So all you need to do to access that is to subscribe to our 106 779 00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:40,680 loyalty program. And that's going to be a really 780 00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:43,000 nice little recovery zone. It's going to be physio 781 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:45,400 rubdowns, which would be very much welcome. 782 00:37:46,120 --> 00:37:48,520 Also compression boots if you're familiar with that. 783 00:37:49,560 --> 00:37:52,800 And a really nice little photo moment you can grab in front of 784 00:37:52,800 --> 00:37:55,680 an ASICS branded area. So you can sort of share that on 785 00:37:55,680 --> 00:37:57,880 your social with your family and friends and make sure you're 786 00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:00,520 you're finished strong and you made it through the marathon. 787 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:03,680 So there'll be a nice little spot after the after the race as 788 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:07,080 well to get around it's. Amazing, so you get it all 789 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:08,640 covered? You got the shake out run. 790 00:38:08,760 --> 00:38:11,440 Where can people find out about these events? 791 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:13,800 Yeah. So the the shake out run, still 792 00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,440 in the process of working that through. 793 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:18,520 We're sort of deciding on location of where we can get the 794 00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:22,360 most, but that'll be sort of come out through our socials and 795 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:25,600 things like that. And yeah, I just keep an eye out 796 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:27,360 for that the whole week. There's going to be a lot of 797 00:38:28,040 --> 00:38:30,120 things popping up and things to get excited about. 798 00:38:30,240 --> 00:38:33,160 Perfect. Thank you so much. 799 00:38:33,160 --> 00:38:36,880 I really appreciate you Nathan, and I look forward to seeing you 800 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:38,960 at the Expo. Yeah, looking forward to. 801 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,560 It all right, so now that you're all geared up, let's talk about 802 00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,720 the course itself. The TCS Sydney Marathon 803 00:38:46,720 --> 00:38:50,000 presented by Astix has an official elevation profile with 804 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:55,320 an overall elevation gain of 313 meters, that's about 1027 feet 805 00:38:55,400 --> 00:39:00,320 and an elevation loss of 396 meters, which is roughly 1300 806 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:04,160 feet, giving it an overall net elevation loss of 83 meters, 807 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:08,600 which is approximately 272 feet. So that's a lot of hills if you 808 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:12,800 compare it to the other majors. Now, to ensure the best possible 809 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:17,360 experience for the anticipated 35,000 participants, the course 810 00:39:17,360 --> 00:39:19,880 has undergone significant, thoughtful changes. 811 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:23,280 These improvements include an easier run in the earlier stages 812 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:26,960 with fewer turns, an extension of the Anzac Parade, a 813 00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:31,080 simplified 1 loop section through Centennial Park, and a 814 00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:34,600 crucial change to the 35 kilometer mark on Moorpark Rd. 815 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:38,560 removing that uphill battle and allowing for a stronger finish. 816 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:41,280 Fingers crossed, but that's the extent of my knowledge. 817 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:44,360 Full disclosure, I have never run the Sydney Marathon, nor 818 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:47,840 have I been anywhere in Sydney other than the Sydney Airport 819 00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:50,720 from a layover in Bali. So that's why I'm incredibly 820 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:53,400 grateful to bring you my conversation with Benjamin 821 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:56,200 Lucas, the head coach of the TCS Sydney Marathon. 822 00:39:56,200 --> 00:39:58,360 What an honor. He's going to walk us through 823 00:39:58,360 --> 00:40:01,200 the course, splitting it up into segments and. 824 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:05,080 He'll talk to us about running, tangents and so much more, so 825 00:40:05,080 --> 00:40:09,320 please enjoy our conversation with head coach Benjamin Lucas. 826 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:15,840 All right. All right, so I'm on with Ben 827 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,880 Lucas, the head coach of the Sydney Marathon. 828 00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:20,840 Ben, thank you so much for joining me today. 829 00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,640 Letty, fabulous to be here. Thank you so much for having me 830 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:24,600 on. Of course, of course. 831 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:28,040 And I'm so grateful for you to give us your time for this 832 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:30,840 course breakdown because who's better for this job you've been 833 00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:32,280 doing this marathon for how long? 834 00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:34,600 And how long have you been head coach of this race? 835 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:38,160 Yeah, great. So yeah, I ran my first Sydney 836 00:40:38,160 --> 00:40:43,960 marathon 17 years ago, so this would be like my 9th Sydney in 837 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:49,680 2009. I had 101st timers I trained to 838 00:40:49,680 --> 00:40:51,920 run their very first marathon in 2009. 839 00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:54,920 So that was pretty, pretty epic. And at that stage I didn't have 840 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:57,400 any association with the marathon. 841 00:40:57,440 --> 00:41:01,680 I was just owner of a gym owner that liked running and like 842 00:41:01,680 --> 00:41:05,000 getting people into running. Yeah, I mean, at that stage I 843 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,480 think there was probably about 1000 people running the full 844 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,400 marathon, if that. And I've been the head coach. 845 00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:16,920 This will be my third year as Sydney Marathon head coach and 846 00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:22,440 very exciting year for our first year as a world major and 35,000 847 00:41:22,440 --> 00:41:25,600 runners and this year's Sydney Marathon, the the largest 848 00:41:25,600 --> 00:41:28,520 marathon in Southern Hemisphere history. 849 00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:30,040 So yeah, really exciting there's. 850 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:34,240 Going to be a very exciting race for that reason and another 851 00:41:34,240 --> 00:41:37,760 reason also, I heard that there is a huge percentage of these 852 00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:42,040 runners being first timers. Yeah, so I think it's somewhere 853 00:41:42,040 --> 00:41:47,000 it's in the 30s, it's around, you know, 35%, so 1/3 of the 854 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,600 field running their very first marathon. 855 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:52,800 So it's a incredible, incredible stat, you know. 856 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,080 I mean, I'm guess, you know, all around the world, obviously 857 00:41:56,080 --> 00:42:00,400 running is on an exponential curve, but especially here in 858 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:03,680 Sydney, anytime, any day of the night, you see people running in 859 00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:07,240 parks, around the harbour, run clubs is just, it's just huge, 860 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:11,320 all ages, all cultures. It's fabulous to see. 861 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:13,680 That's pretty amazing. And do you know anything about 862 00:42:13,680 --> 00:42:17,360 the demographics where these 30 ish percent of people come from? 863 00:42:17,360 --> 00:42:21,040 Is it Australians or are they just lucky people that got a 864 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:23,320 bib? It's a good good mix of the 865 00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:26,080 both. I, I believe there's roundabout 866 00:42:26,840 --> 00:42:32,120 of the 35,000 like 8 to 10,000 are coming from overseas either 867 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:35,040 from the ballot or travel groups. 868 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,760 And then we have, yeah, a strong contingency of of local runners 869 00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:42,320 either running for charities or through the ballot as well. 870 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:46,840 It's absolutely amazing and just imagining that Sydney being a 871 00:42:46,840 --> 00:42:50,920 first marathon given its course, let's hop into that a little bit 872 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,840 because obviously we've all seen the charts out there of the 873 00:42:53,840 --> 00:42:57,360 seven world majors and Sydney is said to be the hardest. 874 00:42:57,400 --> 00:43:02,280 Yeah, I mean, I guess it's my hometown marathon, so I know 875 00:43:02,280 --> 00:43:05,320 every street back to front, inside Ella Run, pretty much 876 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:06,760 every one of them every single week. 877 00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:10,120 So I don't find it that bad really. 878 00:43:10,120 --> 00:43:13,880 And I've run a lot of the world majors, I guess because it's 879 00:43:13,880 --> 00:43:16,880 just the sceneries just so beautiful and I just love 880 00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:20,000 running around it much. I don't I don't find it's that 881 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,240 bad. Really like it it it might be 882 00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:24,840 statistically wise, but I think once you're out there running 883 00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:28,000 it, I think you just enjoy it so much you forget about the the 884 00:43:28,000 --> 00:43:29,720 inclined. Love it, I love it and I hope 885 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,360 you're, I hope you're right because I currently reside in 886 00:43:32,360 --> 00:43:35,840 Florida and the Max elevation I can get on a 20 mile run is 887 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:38,040 maybe 3 feet a metre. Yeah, yeah. 888 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:39,440 Which is pretty. Ridiculous, but. 889 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:43,280 We'll be running a couple more bridges prior to Sydney, but 890 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:47,040 let's hop into a mile by mile ish course breakdown. 891 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:50,600 Or maybe you can breakdown this race to us in any segments that 892 00:43:50,600 --> 00:43:55,360 makes the most sense. Well, how I like to do it for my 893 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:59,440 own running and how I do it for my my runners and my run clubs. 894 00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:02,600 So we're broken down into, into kilometres here in Australia. 895 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:08,240 So I've got, I've broken down every five KS to the finish. 896 00:44:08,240 --> 00:44:12,440 OK, so, so the first 5 kilometres, so we're starting in 897 00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:15,360 North Sydney. It's called Miller Street. 898 00:44:15,360 --> 00:44:18,560 So there's a short incline. It's it's good for me because I 899 00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:23,160 can visualize every single St. on this so short incline. 900 00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:27,120 And then we're downhill to the Pacific Highway and the Harbour 901 00:44:27,120 --> 00:44:29,000 Bridge. So it's gonna, it's just 902 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:32,080 beautiful, amazing. I mean, I love just running over 903 00:44:32,080 --> 00:44:34,760 the bridge when you're on the footpath, but let alone running 904 00:44:34,760 --> 00:44:38,280 down the middle of the Sydney Harbour Bridge with thousands of 905 00:44:38,280 --> 00:44:41,400 other runners, it's pretty, pretty amazing, pretty iconic. 906 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:46,040 So yeah, so short incline downhill and then we're across 907 00:44:46,040 --> 00:44:47,320 the Harbour Bridge. Yeah. 908 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:49,960 Tips to runners. Don't get carried away here now, 909 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,280 Yeah, I know you want to run hard. 910 00:44:52,280 --> 00:44:54,520 I know that there's the energy, there's running across the 911 00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:57,280 bridge lines, but just maintain your pace, control your 912 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:01,360 breathing, hold back and just just soak up the the beautiful 913 00:45:01,760 --> 00:45:05,520 environment and atmosphere. OK, so next K so 5 to 10 914 00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:08,480 kilometers. So it's quite, quite flat with 915 00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:12,080 some small undulation. So we're going through Piedmont 916 00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:17,640 Harris St. and then we've got, we've got again, amazing views 917 00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:21,240 over Darling Harbour. So we can settle into our race 918 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:25,200 pace here. So from 5 to 10 KS, because it's 919 00:45:25,200 --> 00:45:29,640 flatish, it's a good section to settle into race place, find 920 00:45:29,640 --> 00:45:31,600 your rhythm and start to feel good. 921 00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:36,960 OK, Then the next, so 10 to 15, this is a little bit more 922 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:39,400 challenging. So we're through Barangaroo 923 00:45:39,680 --> 00:45:43,200 again, beautiful harbour. So we're going under the Harbour 924 00:45:43,200 --> 00:45:45,920 Bridge now. So we've been over the bridge 925 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:48,800 now we're coming around going under the Harbour Bridge. 926 00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:50,920 So against keeping our race pace. 927 00:45:52,400 --> 00:45:56,560 OK, so we're actually got some uphills, so through the rocks, 928 00:45:56,560 --> 00:46:01,520 the CBD and Hyde Park. And then the climb, first pretty 929 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:06,720 decent climb begins on Oxford St. which I live at, which I am 930 00:46:06,720 --> 00:46:08,760 right now, and Flinders. OK. 931 00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:12,920 So this is our first kind of biggish climb in the 10 to 15 932 00:46:12,920 --> 00:46:15,800 KS. So shorten your strides, stay 933 00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:19,840 relaxed, keep your good posture. And also that's one of our first 934 00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:22,680 big crowd sites too, Taylor Square. 935 00:46:22,680 --> 00:46:27,680 So we've got a, a real big LGBT IQ plus community here in Sydney 936 00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:29,880 and that's where they're going to be based and that's where 937 00:46:29,880 --> 00:46:33,080 their celebrations are going to be out of that Taylor Square. 938 00:46:33,080 --> 00:46:35,520 So we're going to have lots of energy coming from there too. 939 00:46:35,640 --> 00:46:40,120 So 10 to 15 decent incline running past Taylor Square. 940 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:44,040 There's going to be huge energy from our LGBT IQ plus community 941 00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:46,000 there too. OK, Then we're rolling straight 942 00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:51,720 into 15 to 20 KS. So this is getting long flat 943 00:46:51,800 --> 00:46:55,280 stretches, so the next 10 you're going to be able to make up some 944 00:46:55,280 --> 00:47:00,240 time because it's largely flat. So from 15 to 20 kilometres, So 945 00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:04,840 Flinders St. onto Anzac Parade, so long flat Blvd. 946 00:47:05,040 --> 00:47:10,120 We're going past Moorpark, SCG and Allianz, so 3 of Australia's 947 00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:14,960 biggest stadiums right there on your left again. 948 00:47:14,960 --> 00:47:17,840 So we're dialing in our pace here, OK, Make sure we're 949 00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:21,800 staying hydrated and focused. OK, So I've gone around a few 950 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,040 turns there. Now we've got an out and back, 951 00:47:25,120 --> 00:47:29,920 so from 20 to 25 KS on a yeah, it's going to be, it's called 952 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:33,720 Anzac Parade and it's just a flat out and back. 953 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:39,280 So we can really go hard there. So it's a slight incline going 954 00:47:39,280 --> 00:47:43,160 out, slight decline going back, but you won't really even note 955 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:45,360 of us. So it's one of the the best 956 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:48,400 sections for you to just focus in lock in. 957 00:47:48,640 --> 00:47:51,760 So we've got Outback Anzac Parade. 958 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:56,720 All right, So then from there, from 25 to 30 we're back. 959 00:47:56,720 --> 00:48:01,200 We're going around Centennial Park, so one of Australia's most 960 00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:04,520 iconic parks. We do a full lap of. 961 00:48:04,520 --> 00:48:08,400 So it's scenic shaded, it's a nice peaceful loop. 962 00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:11,520 By the time we're at 25 to 30, the crowds have kind of 963 00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:13,320 dispersed a bit. OK. 964 00:48:13,320 --> 00:48:17,800 And it's it's gentle, it's kind of slight rolling terrain. 965 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:19,240 OK. It's one of the most mentally 966 00:48:19,240 --> 00:48:22,960 refreshing segments because we're in the shade. 967 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:24,920 It's pretty much flat. Now. 968 00:48:24,920 --> 00:48:27,600 This is where runners obviously start to fatigue. 969 00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:32,280 So from the 25 to 30 K areas, this one, we've got to make sure 970 00:48:32,280 --> 00:48:34,840 that we're staying fueled and hydrated. 971 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:39,640 OK, so now, so we've finished the Centennial Park Loop and now 972 00:48:39,640 --> 00:48:41,680 we're heading back into the city. 973 00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:46,320 So we're going back past those stadiums, OK, And now we've only 974 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:50,280 got 10 to 15 KS to go, so we're really going to put in. 975 00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:52,760 So keep your rhythm, keep a steady effort. 976 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:56,920 And we're starting to visualize that final 7 kilometres. 977 00:48:56,960 --> 00:49:01,200 Yep. OK, Now again, our last incline, 978 00:49:01,200 --> 00:49:04,200 so 35 to 40. So we're going around the 979 00:49:04,200 --> 00:49:07,160 Botanic Gardens into Circular Quay. 980 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:10,160 So again, absolutely beautiful scenery. 981 00:49:10,160 --> 00:49:13,440 It's shaded there too and we're getting more and more crowns 982 00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:17,280 there. And the Opera House is insight. 983 00:49:17,440 --> 00:49:21,920 So I like to use a mantra for myself when it starts to I just, 984 00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:25,080 I just say good, happy, strong, good, sappy, strong. 985 00:49:25,080 --> 00:49:29,640 I feel good, I feel happy, my body feels strong, Good, happy, 986 00:49:29,640 --> 00:49:32,280 strong, good, happy, strong. And this is where all your 987 00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:35,880 training comes to light. OK, so we're finished. 988 00:49:36,080 --> 00:49:40,600 We're at the top of the Botanic Gardens, turning onto Macquarie 989 00:49:40,600 --> 00:49:45,240 St. final 2 kilometers. OK, so here we go. 990 00:49:45,520 --> 00:49:50,520 So running past Hyde Park, then coming down Macquarie Street. 991 00:49:50,680 --> 00:49:54,680 So it's a good change. So our course starts on a 992 00:49:54,680 --> 00:49:59,960 downhill and it finishes on a downhill, so 2 kilometres down 993 00:49:59,960 --> 00:50:02,400 Macquarie St. Huge crowd. 994 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:04,520 It's going to be the biggest crowds ever. 995 00:50:04,600 --> 00:50:09,120 Obviously many people out to see Kipchoge, but I want to see 996 00:50:09,120 --> 00:50:12,960 Letty as well, I'm sure for the final two KS. 997 00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:17,440 So again, shoulders back, chest proud, soak it all in. 998 00:50:17,440 --> 00:50:21,960 You're about to finish of 7th world major for the first time 999 00:50:21,960 --> 00:50:24,360 in history. And then we finish at the Opera 1000 00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:28,120 House what I believe is the world world's most iconic finish 1001 00:50:28,120 --> 00:50:30,920 line of any world major or of any marathon. 1002 00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:33,560 And congratulations, you've finished a world major marathon. 1003 00:50:33,560 --> 00:50:36,960 There we go. Wow thank you, you make it sound 1004 00:50:36,960 --> 00:50:41,120 super beautiful and I feel like every Australian I talk about 1005 00:50:41,120 --> 00:50:45,640 Sydney too has been saying that how scenic it is for running and 1006 00:50:45,720 --> 00:50:47,600 now I can't wait to see it. I hope it doesn't. 1007 00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:49,760 I hope it lives up to the expectations. 1008 00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:54,680 It, it, it can't not, you know, So, yeah, you know, across the 1009 00:50:54,680 --> 00:50:58,480 Harbour Bridge, through the rocks, you know, initially the 1010 00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:00,320 Opera House, it's just magnificent. 1011 00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:02,120 It sounds, it sounds really amazing. 1012 00:51:02,480 --> 00:51:04,560 So from all the inclines you mentioned, which ones are the 1013 00:51:04,560 --> 00:51:07,480 hardest ones? And not just hardest because of 1014 00:51:07,480 --> 00:51:10,440 elevation, but also because of the fatigue as we accumulate. 1015 00:51:10,440 --> 00:51:16,600 That. Yeah, so it would be the the 30 1016 00:51:16,600 --> 00:51:20,160 ish K mark, 3032 K. So when you're heading out Lady 1017 00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:26,000 Macquarie's chair, so like around circular key like that 1018 00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:30,200 one, the incline isn't the hardest, but you're so fatigued 1019 00:51:30,440 --> 00:51:32,920 at that spot and you just want the race to be over. 1020 00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:37,040 So that, that, that's definitely one of the, the harder ones. 1021 00:51:37,080 --> 00:51:41,080 But yeah, the, the, there's no one, there's just many 1022 00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:45,400 undulations throughout as opposed to a, a heartbreak here 1023 00:51:45,400 --> 00:51:48,120 at any stage. But I would say, yeah, Lady 1024 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:50,560 Macquarie's chair is probably our most challenging incline. 1025 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:55,240 So, and and that's with the ground, ground 10/7 or 10 KS to 1026 00:51:55,240 --> 00:51:56,000 go. OK. 1027 00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:58,600 So that's pretty late in in the race. 1028 00:51:59,280 --> 00:52:02,360 So with that, in your coaching experience, obviously you've 1029 00:52:02,360 --> 00:52:04,480 coached people through the Sydney Marathon before and 1030 00:52:04,480 --> 00:52:06,960 obviously you've also dealt with people who have blown up. 1031 00:52:07,200 --> 00:52:10,040 What do you think is the biggest mistake that runners make during 1032 00:52:10,040 --> 00:52:14,160 this particular race? Yeah, look, I've known hundreds 1033 00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:19,200 of runners over the years that are amazing runners and this 1034 00:52:19,200 --> 00:52:23,160 strategy just goes out the window come race day. 1035 00:52:23,400 --> 00:52:28,840 I was just feeling so good the 1st 10 and instead of sticking 1036 00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:33,520 to my, you know, five minute 430, whatever it is, I decided 1037 00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:37,800 to run four 10's. And it's like, you know, so I 1038 00:52:37,800 --> 00:52:41,360 just tell my runners that, you know, we, we've worked to a goal 1039 00:52:41,360 --> 00:52:45,040 pace, you know, and you've got, I don't care how good you feel, 1040 00:52:45,120 --> 00:52:48,600 you stick to it, You know, So that, that's where I see the 1041 00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:51,160 biggest challenge where people, they get swept up in the 1042 00:52:51,160 --> 00:52:55,000 emotion, They get swept up with the crowds or kind of bitter 1043 00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:57,160 ego. They see people running past 1044 00:52:57,160 --> 00:52:58,640 them, which they don't like either. 1045 00:52:58,800 --> 00:53:02,760 It's just like, no, fortunately that we've got the amazing 1046 00:53:02,760 --> 00:53:06,680 technology there to pace us. You know, I'm, I'm, I'm from a, 1047 00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:09,000 we didn't used to have watches like this. 1048 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:12,280 I used to just have times written on my arm about where I 1049 00:53:12,280 --> 00:53:16,440 should be at 51020K is written in Texta, you know, so now we've 1050 00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:19,640 got these amazing things. Just stick to your race pace, 1051 00:53:19,680 --> 00:53:23,520 stay hydrated and make sure that you're having enough fuel as 1052 00:53:23,520 --> 00:53:25,120 well. They're they're the, they're the 1053 00:53:25,120 --> 00:53:29,000 things that I see runners come unstuck for is going too hard, 1054 00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:32,040 too early, not hydrating and not having enough fuel. 1055 00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:36,280 OK, OK, so the usual. And as to obviously we can't 1056 00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:38,280 control the weather so there's no point in looking at the 1057 00:53:38,280 --> 00:53:41,720 weather, but obviously there's a history of Sydney marathons and 1058 00:53:41,720 --> 00:53:43,560 weather. I was looking up some of the 1059 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:48,400 YouTube stuff available and I see a lot of runs where people 1060 00:53:48,440 --> 00:53:50,640 and spectators are wearing T-shirts. 1061 00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:53,680 At the same time people are telling me, OK, this is a chilly 1062 00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:56,000 run, this is a colder temperature of the year. 1063 00:53:56,200 --> 00:53:59,200 So what's the truth here? Yeah, OK. 1064 00:53:59,320 --> 00:54:05,560 So temperature is gonna be look in, in the teens most likely. 1065 00:54:05,560 --> 00:54:10,280 That's so it's gonna start off in the morning probably, you 1066 00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:14,920 know, 11:50 and then it's gonna warm up to, to the teens, maybe 1067 00:54:14,920 --> 00:54:18,720 1517° more than likely. I mean, that, that, that's 1068 00:54:18,720 --> 00:54:21,160 pretty good for us. So I'm happy to, to be out 1069 00:54:21,160 --> 00:54:22,640 running in a singlet in that weather. 1070 00:54:22,760 --> 00:54:25,760 So like we're, we're just coming into spring. 1071 00:54:25,960 --> 00:54:28,280 So it's been interesting the last two years. 1072 00:54:28,280 --> 00:54:33,000 So last year was cold and windy, and that was in September, our 1073 00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:37,280 spring, and the year before that was one of the hottest Sydney 1074 00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:40,760 marathons it's ever been. And it was like late 20s, early 1075 00:54:40,760 --> 00:54:43,640 30s, you know, and that was too hot. 1076 00:54:44,960 --> 00:54:47,240 So, yeah, obviously we can't control the weather. 1077 00:54:47,240 --> 00:54:51,880 We're seeing more and more marathons these days in pretty 1078 00:54:51,880 --> 00:54:55,080 extreme weather conditions just happening all around the globe. 1079 00:54:55,440 --> 00:55:00,520 And you just have to temper your expectations with the weather. 1080 00:55:00,560 --> 00:55:06,360 You know that if it somehow miraculously is a 35° day, well, 1081 00:55:06,480 --> 00:55:09,640 you just might not hit your goal, goal race. 1082 00:55:09,920 --> 00:55:12,240 And that's, that's fine. And it's not because of you 1083 00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:16,080 might have to knock it off 1015% just because of the, the weather 1084 00:55:16,080 --> 00:55:17,480 that day. And we just have to deal with 1085 00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:20,320 the conditions. It could be pouring rain, you 1086 00:55:20,320 --> 00:55:23,080 know, like it's just, that's just life, unfortunately. 1087 00:55:23,080 --> 00:55:25,640 But we're going to go there. We're going to prepare as good 1088 00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:28,280 as we can and we're going to deal with the conditions as good 1089 00:55:28,280 --> 00:55:30,480 as we can as well. And the view of that is that 1090 00:55:30,480 --> 00:55:32,480 every runner has the same weather. 1091 00:55:32,480 --> 00:55:35,920 They're dealing with it too, so the results will reflect that. 1092 00:55:35,960 --> 00:55:38,560 Yes, Yeah, yeah, yeah. That, that's it. 1093 00:55:38,560 --> 00:55:42,840 And you've seen many times in in Boston, in London, that there's 1094 00:55:42,840 --> 00:55:47,280 been freakish weather events and the the times have changed 1095 00:55:47,280 --> 00:55:49,040 accordingly. Yeah, absolutely. 1096 00:55:49,280 --> 00:55:51,080 Well, hopefully that won't be an issue. 1097 00:55:51,400 --> 00:55:54,200 Do you have any other last minute or I guess we have a 1098 00:55:54,200 --> 00:55:57,480 month to go, but tips for runners, for people that have 1099 00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:00,080 never been to Sydney that are going to be running this 1100 00:56:00,120 --> 00:56:02,960 beautiful marathon for when it comes to running this course? 1101 00:56:03,440 --> 00:56:05,040 So what have I got? Yeah, I've got plenty. 1102 00:56:05,040 --> 00:56:08,200 So I mean training, you know, with your long runs, making sure 1103 00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:10,000 that you're including some elevation. 1104 00:56:12,280 --> 00:56:15,760 I would also focus on downhill running as well. 1105 00:56:15,920 --> 00:56:19,920 Like people focus on uphill running, which is great, and 1106 00:56:19,920 --> 00:56:23,000 then they might walk the downhills, but there's plenty of 1107 00:56:23,000 --> 00:56:28,280 downhill places in in Sydney in the race that you can make up 1108 00:56:28,280 --> 00:56:32,160 time as well. So I would encourage runners to 1109 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:36,040 practice downhill running at pace too, because that's a great 1110 00:56:36,800 --> 00:56:40,200 place to be able to make up time on the marathon course. 1111 00:56:41,440 --> 00:56:45,440 Obviously hydrate well. It's going to be dry and quite 1112 00:56:45,440 --> 00:56:50,880 cold, so you kinda underestimate how much fluid you need when 1113 00:56:50,880 --> 00:56:53,360 it's dry and cold. So make sure you stay hydrated. 1114 00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:55,880 Yeah. I mean, I like to think about 1115 00:56:55,880 --> 00:57:03,320 the course in 5K blocks, about what I need to do in each 5K of 1116 00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:06,320 those 85K blocks. So I broke it down for your 1117 00:57:06,320 --> 00:57:11,320 runners to do that visualization along the course about my form, 1118 00:57:11,360 --> 00:57:13,560 about where I am. Yeah. 1119 00:57:13,560 --> 00:57:17,680 And I love having a mantra as well, just to keep in my head. 1120 00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:21,200 The aid stations are going to be very regular. 1121 00:57:21,200 --> 00:57:26,080 So we're going to have obviously water and Powerade out on 1122 00:57:26,080 --> 00:57:29,960 course. I think you had a a question 1123 00:57:30,240 --> 00:57:33,440 about running the angles on the course too. 1124 00:57:33,600 --> 00:57:39,160 So I mean, if if you run too wide, because it's quite a windy 1125 00:57:39,160 --> 00:57:42,760 course, okay. And if you stay too wide on it, 1126 00:57:42,960 --> 00:57:47,800 you could run an extra 500 meters over the 42.2. 1127 00:57:48,080 --> 00:57:52,400 So try to run a bit closer to the corners and potentially 1128 00:57:52,400 --> 00:57:56,080 running smart lines could save you up to half a kilometre. 1129 00:57:56,080 --> 00:57:58,920 That's good. That's absolutely necessary for 1130 00:57:58,920 --> 00:58:02,600 a course that has this many tangents and turns. 1131 00:58:02,760 --> 00:58:05,600 And I heard that the course was actually changed just for this 1132 00:58:05,600 --> 00:58:09,600 year to make it not as sharp of turns, right? 1133 00:58:09,680 --> 00:58:13,280 Yes. So a number of turns were taken 1134 00:58:13,360 --> 00:58:17,440 out and some of the incline, I think about about 100 odd meters 1135 00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:19,640 of incline was taken out of the course too. 1136 00:58:19,760 --> 00:58:22,680 So it's flatter, less turns faster. 1137 00:58:22,840 --> 00:58:24,720 Let's go. Perfect for mass consumption. 1138 00:58:25,200 --> 00:58:30,280 Ben, thank you so much and hopefully I will get to meet you 1139 00:58:30,280 --> 00:58:32,520 in person. There will be 100 shakeout runs. 1140 00:58:32,520 --> 00:58:35,160 I'm sure we'll get to catch up. Thank you so much. 1141 00:58:35,160 --> 00:58:35,840 All right. Pleasure. 1142 00:58:35,840 --> 00:58:37,760 Thank you for having me on. I look forward to seeing you out 1143 00:58:37,760 --> 00:58:39,800 on course. Thank you coach, this was super 1144 00:58:39,800 --> 00:58:42,760 helpful and it was nice to kind of get a visual of what is to 1145 00:58:42,760 --> 00:58:45,040 come. And since we are talking what 1146 00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:48,080 what is to come on the course, let's talk about hydration and 1147 00:58:48,080 --> 00:58:50,560 nutrition. You'll be well supported on the 1148 00:58:50,560 --> 00:58:54,000 course with electrolytes and water you'll find at every 5K 1149 00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:55,320 mark. So you'll find them at the 1150 00:58:55,320 --> 00:59:01,520 5K10K152025303540AS indicated with AW on the Sydney Marathon 1151 00:59:01,520 --> 00:59:03,320 course map. And the electrolytes that you'll 1152 00:59:03,320 --> 00:59:05,520 be finding there is going to be Powerade. 1153 00:59:05,760 --> 00:59:09,560 Also, you'll be able to find gels and the gel sponsor is Goo. 1154 00:59:09,960 --> 00:59:13,600 Goo will be available at the 20 kilometer and 30 kilometer drink 1155 00:59:13,600 --> 00:59:17,240 stations and you can find that on the course map marked with 1156 00:59:17,240 --> 00:59:20,040 the letter E. Quick reminder, if you have 1157 00:59:20,040 --> 00:59:23,520 never used Goo and never have used Powerade and you have a 1158 00:59:23,560 --> 00:59:26,560 weak stomach, just bring your own hydration and gels. 1159 00:59:26,640 --> 00:59:29,280 Hydration vests are allowed at this marathon. 1160 00:59:31,520 --> 00:59:34,080 Now, this was all for the course, and if it has not eased 1161 00:59:34,080 --> 00:59:36,920 your mind yet, then maybe it's time to think about whether or 1162 00:59:36,920 --> 00:59:38,640 not you should join a pacing team. 1163 00:59:39,040 --> 00:59:41,480 And with this marathon, you're absolutely in luck. 1164 00:59:41,480 --> 00:59:44,360 There are 1,000,000 official Pacers available. 1165 00:59:44,360 --> 00:59:46,360 Well, maybe not a million, but there are going to be a 1166 00:59:46,360 --> 00:59:50,080 fantastic 120 of them and they're available in five minute 1167 00:59:50,080 --> 00:59:54,000 increments starting for those trying to run a super speedy 240 1168 00:59:54,000 --> 00:59:56,440 marathon, which is super exciting, right? 1169 00:59:56,440 --> 00:59:57,840 Here's the thing about pacing though. 1170 00:59:57,840 --> 01:00:01,280 In my experience, it's all about trust and sometimes it can be 1171 01:00:01,280 --> 01:00:04,560 pretty unpredictable. I remember doing the LA Marathon 1172 01:00:04,560 --> 01:00:08,360 years ago and just blindly joining the 315 pace team 1173 01:00:08,520 --> 01:00:12,080 without actually talking to the pacer beforehand and at mile 12 1174 01:00:12,080 --> 01:00:15,320 I was absolutely dying and asked him how we were doing with the 1175 01:00:15,320 --> 01:00:17,240 pace. The pacer told me that he was 1176 01:00:17,240 --> 01:00:20,760 planning on banking tie in the first half and then slowing down 1177 01:00:20,760 --> 01:00:24,040 for the second-half, which as you can imagine, totally didn't 1178 01:00:24,040 --> 01:00:26,600 work for me. I lost them at mile 14 and 1179 01:00:26,600 --> 01:00:28,480 burned out. And ever since then I've been 1180 01:00:28,480 --> 01:00:32,040 really skeptical about Pacers. And if I ever use a pacer, I 1181 01:00:32,040 --> 01:00:36,520 always make sure to talk to them about their pacing plan prior to 1182 01:00:36,520 --> 01:00:39,280 running with them. And for this marathon, I did 1183 01:00:39,280 --> 01:00:42,000 exactly that. Which is why we have our next 1184 01:00:42,000 --> 01:00:45,920 interview with official pacer Damon Lynch of the TCS Sydney 1185 01:00:45,920 --> 01:00:49,200 Marathon. He's one of the 345 Pacers and 1186 01:00:49,200 --> 01:00:52,240 tells us exactly what we want to know about their pacing plan, 1187 01:00:52,440 --> 01:00:55,520 their strict guidelines for the Pacers and so much more. 1188 01:00:55,520 --> 01:00:59,160 So I'm really happy to share my conversation with Damon Lynch. 1189 01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:07,600 All right, so welcome Damon Lynch, official pacer of the TCS 1190 01:01:07,600 --> 01:01:09,880 Sydney Marathon. Damon, thank you so much for 1191 01:01:09,880 --> 01:01:12,320 joining me today. Thanks lady, and it is great to 1192 01:01:12,560 --> 01:01:16,200 chat to you today and obviously there's a lot of excitement with 1193 01:01:16,200 --> 01:01:18,200 the TCS Sydney Marathon coming up. 1194 01:01:18,240 --> 01:01:21,960 Exactly, tons of excitement and that's why we're here, because 1195 01:01:22,000 --> 01:01:26,560 of how strategically difficult this marathon is due to 1196 01:01:26,560 --> 01:01:29,320 elevation and turns and other things. 1197 01:01:29,320 --> 01:01:33,280 So we wanted to chat with you as a pacer about all of that. 1198 01:01:33,520 --> 01:01:36,520 So that way people travelling from abroad that have never been 1199 01:01:36,520 --> 01:01:39,720 to Sydney or have never run the Sydney Marathon know how to work 1200 01:01:39,720 --> 01:01:42,360 with a pacer from the Sydney Marathon. 1201 01:01:42,360 --> 01:01:44,840 Awesome. And I don't know whether yeah, 1202 01:01:45,640 --> 01:01:48,880 yeah, you're, you're saying that it's quite undulating or hilly. 1203 01:01:49,680 --> 01:01:52,920 I think it's a, a, quite a nice course and I, I think that 1204 01:01:52,920 --> 01:01:57,520 everyone will actually enjoy it. It's it's, I would say, and I'm 1205 01:01:57,520 --> 01:02:00,280 biased here, one of the most scenic marathons you'll run. 1206 01:02:00,320 --> 01:02:02,160 That's what we keep hearing. However. 1207 01:02:02,160 --> 01:02:05,480 You know there are the charts out there that list all 7 majors 1208 01:02:05,800 --> 01:02:09,240 and they list Sydney as more difficult as the notoriously 1209 01:02:09,240 --> 01:02:13,040 difficult New York Marathon. Yeah, look at, I think there's, 1210 01:02:13,520 --> 01:02:16,480 there's ups and downs. I actually like the the 1211 01:02:16,480 --> 01:02:19,200 undulation on there. So if you look at that, I have 1212 01:02:19,200 --> 01:02:24,320 run Chicago very flat Sydney's. I enjoy the the, the ups and 1213 01:02:24,320 --> 01:02:26,080 downs that you get. So you get a bit of relief as 1214 01:02:26,080 --> 01:02:29,720 you, as you as you go along, but it is challenging from a pacer 1215 01:02:29,720 --> 01:02:33,520 point of view. So, you know, but I think 1216 01:02:33,520 --> 01:02:35,600 everyone will really, really enjoy the course. 1217 01:02:35,640 --> 01:02:38,200 Yeah. So maybe we can start by talking 1218 01:02:38,200 --> 01:02:41,200 a little bit about how you became a Pacer, how many Pacers 1219 01:02:41,200 --> 01:02:46,880 there are and what somebody needs to do or where somebody 1220 01:02:46,880 --> 01:02:48,600 needs to be in order to be a pacer. 1221 01:02:48,600 --> 01:02:51,000 Because I think from our previous conversation I learned 1222 01:02:51,000 --> 01:02:54,360 that you don't really have to live in Sydney to be a pacer for 1223 01:02:54,360 --> 01:02:56,520 the Sydney Marathon. Yeah, look, that's absolutely 1224 01:02:56,520 --> 01:03:00,000 correct lady. And look, I've been running 1225 01:03:00,000 --> 01:03:03,160 myself and running marathons for about 10-10 years. 1226 01:03:03,400 --> 01:03:09,560 And I, I've done a, a number of different pacing duties at 1227 01:03:09,560 --> 01:03:12,200 different, different runs. I started off with pacing some 1228 01:03:12,200 --> 01:03:14,680 10K events and some half marathons. 1229 01:03:14,800 --> 01:03:17,680 I've pasted Sydney. This will be my, this will be my 1230 01:03:18,160 --> 01:03:21,400 third time pacing in Sydney and I paced last year and I paced a 1231 01:03:21,400 --> 01:03:24,680 couple years before that. I've also also done some 1232 01:03:24,680 --> 01:03:27,360 marathons in, in other cities around Australia. 1233 01:03:27,480 --> 01:03:30,600 I think with the, with the pacing team, the pacing team 1234 01:03:30,600 --> 01:03:33,560 itself is, is quite big and, and very diverse. 1235 01:03:33,560 --> 01:03:39,240 We have around about 120 paces across various times, typically 1236 01:03:39,240 --> 01:03:44,040 every 5 minutes up to five hours and then we then we then we have 1237 01:03:45,720 --> 01:03:48,440 large intervals post post the five hour mark. 1238 01:03:49,200 --> 01:03:54,360 I am running at 3 hours 45 and there are a number of paces that 1239 01:03:54,360 --> 01:03:57,560 sit in in. So for example, myself at 3 1240 01:03:57,560 --> 01:04:01,560 hours 45, I will start in in one chorale, but there'll be another 1241 01:04:01,560 --> 01:04:04,000 chorale with a three hour 45 group as well. 1242 01:04:04,640 --> 01:04:06,840 Typically we have two to three people there. 1243 01:04:07,880 --> 01:04:11,640 We wear flags so we're very noticeable and we welcome 1244 01:04:11,640 --> 01:04:14,480 everyone to, to tack on and, and, and enjoy the atmosphere. 1245 01:04:15,360 --> 01:04:19,320 Our role there is really to to provide that support, keep the 1246 01:04:19,320 --> 01:04:22,600 team motivated and and keep them going and and have a fun day. 1247 01:04:22,640 --> 01:04:24,480 That's impressive. I mean, I've never heard of a 1248 01:04:24,480 --> 01:04:26,200 marathon having that many Pacers. 1249 01:04:26,200 --> 01:04:28,520 Is that something that's just specific to Sydney? 1250 01:04:28,520 --> 01:04:30,360 Oh. Look, I think I think we've got 1251 01:04:30,360 --> 01:04:33,760 more Pacers than than most. And what I'm amazed about is 1252 01:04:33,760 --> 01:04:37,120 that we we start at 2 hours 40. So you know, we've got some 1253 01:04:37,120 --> 01:04:40,080 serious fast runners in there doing, doing the pacing, which 1254 01:04:40,080 --> 01:04:44,680 is which is very exciting. But I think, I think the Sydney 1255 01:04:44,680 --> 01:04:47,960 is really taken on board that, that they love this, they, they 1256 01:04:47,960 --> 01:04:51,440 love the paces being there and they, they, they really enjoy 1257 01:04:51,440 --> 01:04:52,920 the, the atmosphere that's out there. 1258 01:04:53,160 --> 01:04:56,600 The group itself very diverse. As I said, we've got people from 1259 01:04:56,600 --> 01:04:58,320 all, all different countries in there. 1260 01:04:59,400 --> 01:05:02,400 I got involved because I was an experienced pacer from some 1261 01:05:02,400 --> 01:05:05,800 other events. But I also, you know, I run with 1262 01:05:05,800 --> 01:05:08,240 a local club here called the Sydney Striders who are very, 1263 01:05:09,560 --> 01:05:12,800 yeah, they're very active in the pacing of various events around, 1264 01:05:12,920 --> 01:05:16,400 around Sydney and, and, and NSW, the state of NSW. 1265 01:05:16,400 --> 01:05:20,880 So that's where I really got my lead into into the group itself. 1266 01:05:20,920 --> 01:05:24,360 And you are one of the local Sydney Pacers? 1267 01:05:24,360 --> 01:05:27,240 How many non local Sydney Pacers are there? 1268 01:05:27,360 --> 01:05:29,960 Yeah, I think there's, I don't have the exact numbers, but 1269 01:05:29,960 --> 01:05:33,920 we're looking at, we're looking at probably, probably 50 to 60% 1270 01:05:33,920 --> 01:05:36,680 are outside of Sydney. That said, some of the people 1271 01:05:36,680 --> 01:05:38,400 are returning. We we've got a number of people 1272 01:05:38,400 --> 01:05:41,800 from internationally and Interstate in Australia who, who 1273 01:05:41,800 --> 01:05:45,240 are returning as Pacers. We have a very collegiate group. 1274 01:05:45,440 --> 01:05:49,040 So we we're very active on our WhatsApp groups talking about 1275 01:05:49,040 --> 01:05:51,640 what we're doing and where we are and what we're running at 1276 01:05:51,640 --> 01:05:55,240 the time. We also have a strong set up in, 1277 01:05:55,240 --> 01:05:57,520 in, in Sydney itself for, for the paces here. 1278 01:05:57,520 --> 01:06:00,440 And some have travelled from Interstate to, to join these, 1279 01:06:00,640 --> 01:06:03,880 what we call the Sydney Marathon Run Club, which is a a fantastic 1280 01:06:03,880 --> 01:06:08,240 initiative where we run these events each month where we will 1281 01:06:08,240 --> 01:06:12,800 lead as pace groups. And we're getting a quite a few 1282 01:06:12,800 --> 01:06:15,160 100 people attending these events each month. 1283 01:06:15,160 --> 01:06:18,120 And we've been stepping up the caves at kilometres or in your, 1284 01:06:18,280 --> 01:06:23,720 in your sense miles and, and getting a sense from, from them 1285 01:06:23,720 --> 01:06:26,640 and they, they get to be familiarized with who we are and 1286 01:06:26,640 --> 01:06:29,040 what we're doing. And, and it's a, it's a really 1287 01:06:29,040 --> 01:06:32,760 good way to actually bring together the team and feel like 1288 01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:35,960 we're, you know, as I said, collegiate or a, a, a real team 1289 01:06:35,960 --> 01:06:38,080 environment there as, as the pacing group. 1290 01:06:38,120 --> 01:06:40,880 Sounds amazing, but let me ask you this. 1291 01:06:41,040 --> 01:06:44,320 What does it take to become a Sydney Marathon pacer? 1292 01:06:44,960 --> 01:06:49,640 Do the times that you run or the time that you pace, does that 1293 01:06:49,640 --> 01:06:52,560 time have to be a lot faster, faster than your racing time? 1294 01:06:52,800 --> 01:06:56,560 Because I cannot imagine not living in a city and then pacing 1295 01:06:56,760 --> 01:06:59,800 runners having that responsibility for a marathon 1296 01:06:59,800 --> 01:07:01,040 time. That might be, you know, their 1297 01:07:01,040 --> 01:07:01,960 goal time. Yeah. 1298 01:07:01,960 --> 01:07:04,320 Look, that's a really good question. 1299 01:07:05,560 --> 01:07:09,400 The raw thumb here from a, from a pacing point of view. 1300 01:07:09,400 --> 01:07:13,480 And you know, if I look at my sort of where I sit versus where 1301 01:07:13,480 --> 01:07:18,720 my racing time is, typically you're looking at a, a variable 1302 01:07:18,720 --> 01:07:22,360 of about 20 to 30 minutes from, from your, you know, from your 1303 01:07:22,360 --> 01:07:26,560 pace time, sometimes a bit more. Simon Wolfsniser, who's the, 1304 01:07:26,600 --> 01:07:30,520 who's the coordinator of the, of the pace team. 1305 01:07:31,280 --> 01:07:35,320 He's very scientific around ensuring that he's got the right 1306 01:07:35,320 --> 01:07:37,480 people in there to run those paces as well. 1307 01:07:39,280 --> 01:07:43,080 So look, we, we, we generally have, we generally have a 30 1308 01:07:43,080 --> 01:07:46,440 minute, I would say a 30 minute buffer there from our, our 1309 01:07:46,440 --> 01:07:48,640 racing time versus what we what we do. 1310 01:07:48,880 --> 01:07:52,520 And that's important so that we can have the ability to talk 1311 01:07:52,520 --> 01:07:55,800 and, and, and support the team or support the group around the 1312 01:07:56,000 --> 01:07:59,160 around the pace bus as we run around the the marathon course 1313 01:07:59,160 --> 01:08:00,400 itself. Yeah, OK, awesome. 1314 01:08:00,400 --> 01:08:01,920 I, I love it. Thanks for clarifying that. 1315 01:08:01,920 --> 01:08:04,800 I feel like we're gonna be in good hands no matter where our 1316 01:08:04,960 --> 01:08:08,680 Pacers are now from. So you mentioned you have 1317 01:08:08,680 --> 01:08:11,960 increments of about 5 minutes, so starting two hours and 40 1318 01:08:11,960 --> 01:08:14,000 minutes, which is absolutely amazing. 1319 01:08:14,600 --> 01:08:17,319 How can runners identify their Pacers? 1320 01:08:17,359 --> 01:08:20,200 I'm assuming they're gonna wear flags on race day morning. 1321 01:08:20,359 --> 01:08:22,200 Yeah, look up. We're, we're all kitted up. 1322 01:08:22,240 --> 01:08:28,720 So we have a full uniform red singlet ASICS gear obviously 1323 01:08:28,880 --> 01:08:32,479 being sponsored by ASICS the the event itself. 1324 01:08:33,200 --> 01:08:36,319 But we wear, wear these large flags, teardrop flags from the 1325 01:08:36,720 --> 01:08:39,600 that, that we that we have at the back of us. 1326 01:08:39,600 --> 01:08:42,080 So that we're quite noticeable with the times on there. 1327 01:08:43,160 --> 01:08:45,880 We'll be there visible at the start in the different corals. 1328 01:08:45,880 --> 01:08:49,399 So we will welcome people to join us on that. 1329 01:08:50,240 --> 01:08:55,200 In addition to that, the Expo itself, we are, we have a, we 1330 01:08:55,200 --> 01:08:59,680 have a stand at the Expo and people are welcome to come up to 1331 01:08:59,680 --> 01:09:03,080 us and talk about the strategies of the of the marathon itself 1332 01:09:03,080 --> 01:09:07,000 and get to meet some of us as we're as we're at the Expo as 1333 01:09:07,000 --> 01:09:08,040 well. OK, perfect. 1334 01:09:08,399 --> 01:09:12,040 My next question is going to be about how the Pacers run. 1335 01:09:12,040 --> 01:09:15,680 Obviously I'm not asking you know of a four hour pacer 1336 01:09:15,680 --> 01:09:17,319 supposed to bring you in in 4 minutes. 1337 01:09:17,319 --> 01:09:22,080 I mean 4 hours 4 minutes would be nice, but how do they pace? 1338 01:09:22,080 --> 01:09:24,479 Do they, are they all kind of the same? 1339 01:09:24,479 --> 01:09:28,000 Are they told to slow down on the ways up and then catch up 1340 01:09:28,000 --> 01:09:31,640 when it goes down? Also for the course, first half, 1341 01:09:31,720 --> 01:09:35,279 second-half, do they do negative splits or steady? 1342 01:09:35,279 --> 01:09:37,160 How how how are they instructed to work? 1343 01:09:37,160 --> 01:09:40,640 Or is each pacer different? No, we're, we're, we're actually 1344 01:09:40,640 --> 01:09:44,560 given quite strict instructions around how we, how we pace here. 1345 01:09:44,680 --> 01:09:47,880 Sydney, as you alluded to before, is quite an undulating 1346 01:09:47,880 --> 01:09:51,399 course. So the first 5K from the start 1347 01:09:51,399 --> 01:09:55,640 is generally downhill crossing the Harbour Bridge, which is 1348 01:09:55,640 --> 01:10:01,120 quite an iconic landmark in itself, but largely downhill for 1349 01:10:01,120 --> 01:10:03,880 the 1st 5K. So we would expect that we're 1350 01:10:03,880 --> 01:10:08,920 slightly above or faster than our target pace at that point in 1351 01:10:08,920 --> 01:10:10,960 time. But we're not gonna go you know, 1352 01:10:10,960 --> 01:10:16,040 we're gonna be within that 32nd range by the by the end of the F 1353 01:10:16,240 --> 01:10:20,400 1st 5K because it is undulating. There may be some variables of 1354 01:10:20,400 --> 01:10:23,880 five seconds here or there on, on each kilometre that, that we 1355 01:10:23,880 --> 01:10:26,040 run. But when we get through halfway, 1356 01:10:26,040 --> 01:10:30,680 we should be with within 30 seconds of our target time and 1357 01:10:30,680 --> 01:10:33,960 we continue to to main maintain that right up until the end. 1358 01:10:35,480 --> 01:10:39,520 We have we have marked ourselves interestingly at the at the end 1359 01:10:39,680 --> 01:10:41,960 end of the event based on our splits as well. 1360 01:10:41,960 --> 01:10:44,320 So there's a little bit of pressure on us to, to ensure 1361 01:10:44,320 --> 01:10:50,120 that we also make sure that we come on time for the, for the 1362 01:10:50,120 --> 01:10:53,280 bus as well. So it is a, it's a, it's a, it's 1363 01:10:53,280 --> 01:10:56,200 an interesting dynamic. We try to stick, stick as as 1364 01:10:56,200 --> 01:10:59,160 even as possible throughout whilst, you know, ensuring that 1365 01:10:59,160 --> 01:11:01,920 people on the uphills that we don't burn people out up on the 1366 01:11:01,920 --> 01:11:03,200 uphills as well. I love it. 1367 01:11:03,200 --> 01:11:05,840 I love that it's organised like that and that you don't have 1368 01:11:05,840 --> 01:11:08,080 this whole guessing game of. How is this? 1369 01:11:08,080 --> 01:11:09,800 Particular pace or gonna pace me? 1370 01:11:09,960 --> 01:11:14,200 Are they gonna try to run negative splits afterwards when, 1371 01:11:14,200 --> 01:11:16,200 you know, maybe I don't have that in the tank, but they're 1372 01:11:16,200 --> 01:11:19,320 going out too fast. And I've, I've dealt with a lot 1373 01:11:19,320 --> 01:11:23,200 of races where I've just since then not used Pacers for that 1374 01:11:23,200 --> 01:11:25,680 reason, but I like that Sydney is organized like that. 1375 01:11:25,960 --> 01:11:28,800 So with that, how do you guys handle 8 stations? 1376 01:11:28,840 --> 01:11:32,840 Do you guys stop, walk through or do you just kind of continues 1377 01:11:33,240 --> 01:11:35,720 continue to go steady as you mentioned? 1378 01:11:35,760 --> 01:11:39,400 Yeah, look, Paces will continue to to go through in 1379 01:11:39,400 --> 01:11:41,760 circumstances particularly towards the end. 1380 01:11:41,760 --> 01:11:44,960 I what, what, what I've experienced myself is that where 1381 01:11:44,960 --> 01:11:49,280 runners are really working hard to keep up with us, I will help 1382 01:11:49,280 --> 01:11:52,280 out by taking some, you know, grabbing some drinks or some 1383 01:11:52,440 --> 01:11:55,400 gels or other things for those, for those runners. 1384 01:11:55,600 --> 01:11:58,520 But the important thing for us is that we continue to maintain 1385 01:11:58,520 --> 01:12:01,320 that equal pace throughout as much as possible. 1386 01:12:01,320 --> 01:12:03,120 So we will continue to run through. 1387 01:12:03,360 --> 01:12:06,280 We do provide notice to the, to the teams and the, and, and the 1388 01:12:06,280 --> 01:12:08,240 nutrition stops are, are quite large. 1389 01:12:08,640 --> 01:12:12,000 There there will be plenty of room for runners to peel off 1390 01:12:12,160 --> 01:12:16,120 their grab their fluids or whatever they whatever they need 1391 01:12:16,120 --> 01:12:19,120 at that point in time and tack back onto the onto the pace bus. 1392 01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:22,080 OK, perfect. Now my next question is gonna be 1393 01:12:22,080 --> 01:12:27,040 about the course cut off times. What is the course cut off time 1394 01:12:27,040 --> 01:12:29,640 for Sydney? Yeah, so good question. 1395 01:12:31,040 --> 01:12:34,600 Yeah, we are crossing over some pretty major motorways. 1396 01:12:34,600 --> 01:12:38,720 So the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it carries a lot of traffic 1397 01:12:38,720 --> 01:12:43,040 normally and fantastically for this event, the athletes will 1398 01:12:43,040 --> 01:12:45,320 actually get to run over the bridge, which is, you know, an 1399 01:12:45,320 --> 01:12:49,120 amazing experience. It's a real iconic landmark of 1400 01:12:49,160 --> 01:12:52,200 of the city. So we do start early. 1401 01:12:52,880 --> 01:12:56,280 We're we're starting the race from 6:15 for the wheelchairs 1402 01:12:56,520 --> 01:13:00,320 moving into Leeds and then 630 onwards for the corrals. 1403 01:13:00,480 --> 01:13:04,520 I think 8:15 is, is roughly the last, last point for the last 1404 01:13:04,520 --> 01:13:07,360 wave there. And there's a seven hour, 7 hour 1405 01:13:07,360 --> 01:13:10,240 cut off from there for the, for the course. 1406 01:13:10,400 --> 01:13:14,160 There are a few sweepers as paces in our pace team. 1407 01:13:14,280 --> 01:13:17,640 And what they will do is they'll they'll ensure that the the the 1408 01:13:17,640 --> 01:13:19,560 runners ahead of that seven hour. 1409 01:13:20,760 --> 01:13:25,000 There may be circumstances where if someone is unable to, you 1410 01:13:25,000 --> 01:13:27,280 know, keep in front of the sweeper that they may be asked 1411 01:13:27,280 --> 01:13:31,520 to move to the side. But 7 hours, 7 hours cut off to 1412 01:13:31,800 --> 01:13:34,200 to finish the event. And that's seven hours starting 1413 01:13:34,200 --> 01:13:37,720 when the last corral starts or when the last runner of that 1414 01:13:37,720 --> 01:13:40,840 certain corral starts. Last corral, Yeah, last last 1415 01:13:40,840 --> 01:13:42,440 corral start. Last Corral. 1416 01:13:43,000 --> 01:13:44,600 Yeah, yeah. OK. 1417 01:13:44,880 --> 01:13:49,520 And As for intermediate cut off points, you know how Tokyo has 1418 01:13:49,760 --> 01:13:53,040 certain marks that you have to hit almost like check in points. 1419 01:13:53,360 --> 01:13:57,120 Does Sydney have that too or is that more of an overall 7 hours? 1420 01:13:57,360 --> 01:14:02,080 It yeah, no, no specific in you know, interim cut off points. 1421 01:14:02,080 --> 01:14:05,680 We we work towards that 7/7 hour finish time. 1422 01:14:05,760 --> 01:14:08,880 OK. And for those that get swept, 1423 01:14:09,320 --> 01:14:12,880 are they being taken completely off the course or are they able 1424 01:14:12,880 --> 01:14:16,960 to finish on the on the sidewalks and then eventually 1425 01:14:16,960 --> 01:14:19,880 get a medal when they cross the finish line and then it just 1426 01:14:19,880 --> 01:14:21,640 doesn't count towards their major time? 1427 01:14:21,640 --> 01:14:22,880 Or how does that work with Sydney? 1428 01:14:23,120 --> 01:14:27,000 They will be able to will be able to run on the sidewalks 1429 01:14:27,000 --> 01:14:30,040 there. If we look at the course itself, 1430 01:14:30,600 --> 01:14:37,240 the last the last four or 5K is easily accessible on footpaths 1431 01:14:37,240 --> 01:14:40,360 to finish the course itself. Perfect, perfect. 1432 01:14:40,760 --> 01:14:44,920 And I guess you know, you've explained a lot with the pacing 1433 01:14:44,920 --> 01:14:48,560 groups. Anything that you think would be 1434 01:14:48,560 --> 01:14:51,880 logistical advice for runners planning to run or join with the 1435 01:14:51,880 --> 01:14:55,240 pacing group on race day? Anything they can do to best 1436 01:14:55,240 --> 01:14:57,760 succeed with that? Look, I think the the important 1437 01:14:57,760 --> 01:15:01,520 thing is to identify us at the at the start start point. 1438 01:15:01,520 --> 01:15:06,200 So the start is at Saint Leonard's Park, which is quite a 1439 01:15:06,200 --> 01:15:11,320 large Parkland and it is a fantastic place to, to meet the 1440 01:15:11,320 --> 01:15:12,920 places. We'll be visible there. 1441 01:15:14,400 --> 01:15:19,160 And, and if they see us at the, at, at the start of the corals, 1442 01:15:19,760 --> 01:15:22,720 come up and say hello, introduce yourself to us. 1443 01:15:24,200 --> 01:15:26,120 Just tack on and, and have a good time. 1444 01:15:26,120 --> 01:15:28,680 We are very visible. We, we have the big flags there. 1445 01:15:28,680 --> 01:15:31,360 It's not like we're, you know, yeah, we, we sneak in at the 1446 01:15:31,360 --> 01:15:33,320 last moment. We're going to be there visible 1447 01:15:33,680 --> 01:15:35,880 and and we welcome people to, to join us. 1448 01:15:36,040 --> 01:15:38,040 We want to have fun. We want them to have fun as 1449 01:15:38,040 --> 01:15:40,480 well. It, it will be good. 1450 01:15:40,960 --> 01:15:44,640 And as I said before, we we also, we also at the at the 1451 01:15:44,640 --> 01:15:47,800 Expos, if people have questions beforehand, they can talk to us 1452 01:15:47,800 --> 01:15:50,400 around, around. That Damon, thank you so much. 1453 01:15:50,400 --> 01:15:52,000 I really appreciate your insight. 1454 01:15:52,000 --> 01:15:55,160 Thanks lady, and it's been an honour to to to chat with you 1455 01:15:55,160 --> 01:15:58,280 and I really look forward to seeing you in Sydney in what is 1456 01:15:58,280 --> 01:16:00,840 it 5 less than five weeks now. It's not very, very long alive. 1457 01:16:00,880 --> 01:16:02,160 No, it's right around the corner. 1458 01:16:03,240 --> 01:16:04,840 Thank you, Damon. Thanks lady. 1459 01:16:05,120 --> 01:16:08,160 Wow, that was awesome. Thank you so much Damon, for all 1460 01:16:08,160 --> 01:16:10,840 the incredible insight. It's clear that we're in truly 1461 01:16:10,840 --> 01:16:13,880 good hands with this pacing team, whether you choose to run 1462 01:16:13,880 --> 01:16:18,280 with them or not. All right, so now let's address 1463 01:16:18,280 --> 01:16:21,160 some other marathon related questions that are floating 1464 01:16:21,160 --> 01:16:24,000 around on the Internet. Let's talk about corral 1465 01:16:24,000 --> 01:16:26,480 assignments. Runners will be assigned to 1466 01:16:26,480 --> 01:16:29,760 specific Corrales based on the estimated finish times a couple 1467 01:16:29,760 --> 01:16:32,720 of weeks prior to the race. Now, if you are not solo 1468 01:16:32,720 --> 01:16:35,120 travelling and you have somebody with you and they want to 1469 01:16:35,120 --> 01:16:38,920 spectate, the marathon spectator guides will be available on the 1470 01:16:38,920 --> 01:16:41,520 official TCS Sydney Marathon website. 1471 01:16:41,800 --> 01:16:44,640 Let's talk about the weather. Nobody knows, right? 1472 01:16:44,680 --> 01:16:47,160 You can keep tracking your weather app because I can't give 1473 01:16:47,160 --> 01:16:49,880 you more information than that except for travel smart and 1474 01:16:49,880 --> 01:16:52,320 bring layers. Be prepared for any weather 1475 01:16:52,360 --> 01:16:55,720 possible hydration vests and nutrition on the course. 1476 01:16:55,720 --> 01:16:58,640 We've already talked about that and Sydney is one of the races 1477 01:16:58,640 --> 01:17:01,080 that lets you bring your own hydration vest. 1478 01:17:01,360 --> 01:17:04,920 But obviously make sure that you check the official race guide on 1479 01:17:04,920 --> 01:17:08,000 the website for any specific restrictions or sizes closer to 1480 01:17:08,000 --> 01:17:09,760 the event. And now one of my favorite 1481 01:17:09,760 --> 01:17:13,880 topics, pop up events, shakeout runs and celebratory events post 1482 01:17:13,880 --> 01:17:16,640 marathon. I will be collecting all of that 1483 01:17:16,640 --> 01:17:19,040 information, everything I can find and post them on our 1484 01:17:19,040 --> 01:17:21,360 socials. So if you want to see what is 1485 01:17:21,360 --> 01:17:24,360 out there, I'm going to release that schedule on our social 1486 01:17:24,360 --> 01:17:26,920 media, which I'm going to link below, probably check the 1487 01:17:26,920 --> 01:17:31,120 Instagram. All right, so for our last but 1488 01:17:31,120 --> 01:17:34,760 certainly not least segment, I am super excited to introduce 1489 01:17:34,800 --> 01:17:38,720 Michael Young, a personal friend of mine, but also someone who is 1490 01:17:38,800 --> 01:17:42,800 involved in the logistics of the TCS Sydney Marathon onto this 1491 01:17:42,800 --> 01:17:46,080 video slash podcast. Michael has run the Sydney 1492 01:17:46,080 --> 01:17:50,040 Marathon multiple times, lived the experience, and he's here to 1493 01:17:50,040 --> 01:17:53,160 drop some serious knowledge. He's going to offer us some 1494 01:17:53,160 --> 01:17:57,640 practical advice, some insider advice and a lot of information 1495 01:17:57,640 --> 01:18:00,400 for out of town runners. He'll touch on the culture of 1496 01:18:00,400 --> 01:18:04,440 Australia and he'll make sure that you enjoy the race and make 1497 01:18:04,440 --> 01:18:07,400 Sydney a truly unforgettable experience. 1498 01:18:07,400 --> 01:18:14,520 So let's hear from Michael. All right, so I'm on here with 1499 01:18:14,520 --> 01:18:18,040 Michael and seasoned Sydney Marathon participant and 1500 01:18:18,040 --> 01:18:20,120 personal friend of mine. Michael, thank you so much for 1501 01:18:20,120 --> 01:18:21,680 coming on and speaking with us today. 1502 01:18:22,440 --> 01:18:25,840 Thank you, Lenny. You are the lucky 1 to be picked 1503 01:18:25,920 --> 01:18:29,200 to talk to me about all of this because not only are you one of 1504 01:18:29,200 --> 01:18:31,960 the few people I know from Sydney, but you've also done 1505 01:18:31,960 --> 01:18:33,920 this marathon a ton of times. Sure. 1506 01:18:34,000 --> 01:18:37,320 So I ran the first Sydney Marathon back in April 2000, 1507 01:18:37,320 --> 01:18:40,480 which was the Olympic trial for the Olympics that year, held in 1508 01:18:40,480 --> 01:18:45,520 Sydney, September 2000, then run next year, which was the first 1509 01:18:45,520 --> 01:18:48,760 official, official Sydney marathon as we see it today. 1510 01:18:49,160 --> 01:18:52,400 And on and off ever since then of course has obviously changed. 1511 01:18:52,400 --> 01:18:55,320 The first course was out to the Olympic Stadium in Western 1512 01:18:55,320 --> 01:18:58,680 Sydney. Now we're all city based and 1513 01:18:58,680 --> 01:19:01,200 I've seen the growth. We've gone from 2 1/2 thousand 1514 01:19:01,200 --> 01:19:03,680 way back then to where we are this year. 1515 01:19:03,680 --> 01:19:07,160 We've got 34,000 registrations. So the size change has been 1516 01:19:07,160 --> 01:19:10,920 enormous and of course it brings the unique challenges with it as 1517 01:19:10,920 --> 01:19:13,880 well. It does bring unique challenges 1518 01:19:13,880 --> 01:19:17,240 and we will talk about that. But first you love Sydney and 1519 01:19:17,240 --> 01:19:19,760 everyone that knows you knows that you love Sydney and the 1520 01:19:19,760 --> 01:19:21,800 marathon. So maybe tell us what you love 1521 01:19:21,800 --> 01:19:25,120 so much about your city, but mostly about the race. 1522 01:19:26,320 --> 01:19:28,440 I think what visitors are going to find, the international 1523 01:19:28,440 --> 01:19:31,760 visitors are going to find is that we don't take life too 1524 01:19:31,760 --> 01:19:33,320 seriously. You know, there's things in life 1525 01:19:33,320 --> 01:19:35,800 you do take seriously. But Sydney side, as Australians 1526 01:19:35,800 --> 01:19:40,200 we tend to really try and look for the funny side of things and 1527 01:19:40,200 --> 01:19:42,280 we're very relaxed about things. So that's Sydney. 1528 01:19:42,400 --> 01:19:45,800 We're an outdoor country and Sydney's very outdoor, being a 1529 01:19:45,800 --> 01:19:50,200 harvest city with great beaches, but also a beautiful inner West 1530 01:19:50,200 --> 01:19:52,440 and outer W where you go up into the Blue Mountains. 1531 01:19:52,440 --> 01:19:55,240 We've got it all there, whether you want to do trail running or 1532 01:19:55,240 --> 01:19:57,400 whether you want to do running by the beach or whether you want 1533 01:19:57,400 --> 01:20:00,440 to be running around the city. So the Sydney Marathon course 1534 01:20:00,440 --> 01:20:02,920 really takes advantage of all of that if you look at it running 1535 01:20:02,920 --> 01:20:05,960 over the Harbor Bridge as the sun comes up on the last day of 1536 01:20:05,960 --> 01:20:08,040 winter. And then traverse your way 1537 01:20:08,040 --> 01:20:11,040 through what is a beautiful, modern, clean city. 1538 01:20:11,640 --> 01:20:14,640 It's just wonderful to run. It really is quite refreshing. 1539 01:20:14,640 --> 01:20:16,400 It's tough. It's a marathon and it's not 1540 01:20:16,400 --> 01:20:18,840 going to be an easy marathon for a lot of runners that aren't 1541 01:20:18,840 --> 01:20:21,800 prepared for it. It's a challenging course, but 1542 01:20:21,800 --> 01:20:24,200 it's also stunningly beautiful overall. 1543 01:20:24,800 --> 01:20:27,800 And the finish line area down into that Opera House as you 1544 01:20:27,800 --> 01:20:30,760 come down Macquarie Street is something that you really have 1545 01:20:30,760 --> 01:20:33,520 to experience. You know, we talk about right on 1546 01:20:33,520 --> 01:20:35,880 Hereford, left on Boylston. I can tell you as you go 1547 01:20:35,880 --> 01:20:39,760 straight down Macquarie St. to the Opera House, it is so 1548 01:20:39,760 --> 01:20:41,920 iconic, it's unbelievable. You're going to love it. 1549 01:20:42,800 --> 01:20:46,800 I can't wait to see it. And you were, you know, making 1550 01:20:46,800 --> 01:20:49,280 it even more exciting by mentioning all these different 1551 01:20:49,280 --> 01:20:51,400 sites. But you also mentioned talking 1552 01:20:51,400 --> 01:20:54,760 about winter. So here most of my listeners are 1553 01:20:54,760 --> 01:20:58,440 in the Northern hemisphere. Winter to to us means cold. 1554 01:20:59,480 --> 01:21:01,760 Sorry that beep. Winter to us means cold. 1555 01:21:01,760 --> 01:21:03,720 But I know it's the opposite for you guys. 1556 01:21:03,720 --> 01:21:07,320 So let's talk about the weather. And I know huge disclaimer, you 1557 01:21:07,320 --> 01:21:11,720 are not a weatherman and weather can vary depending on, you know, 1558 01:21:11,840 --> 01:21:15,080 various different things. But in your experience, what has 1559 01:21:15,080 --> 01:21:17,880 the weather been like? Because we have to one pack for 1560 01:21:17,880 --> 01:21:21,080 our whole trip but also marathon day, right? 1561 01:21:23,200 --> 01:21:25,720 Yeah, if you're, if you're coming down here for a week or 1562 01:21:25,720 --> 01:21:29,640 so, you need to pack layers. Best advice I can give you if 1563 01:21:29,640 --> 01:21:32,600 you're going to stay in NSW or stay in Sydney is packed layers 1564 01:21:33,240 --> 01:21:36,240 because the days can be warm, the mornings cool, the nights 1565 01:21:36,240 --> 01:21:38,040 will be cool. The marathon's on the last day 1566 01:21:38,040 --> 01:21:40,160 of winter. But when you look back 1567 01:21:40,160 --> 01:21:43,200 historically over the last few years, that last weekend of 1568 01:21:43,200 --> 01:21:46,840 winter has been warmer than two weeks later when the marathon is 1569 01:21:46,840 --> 01:21:50,160 traditionally run. So you might strike a warm day, 1570 01:21:50,440 --> 01:21:53,440 I'm pretty sure you're going to strike a cold start. 1571 01:21:54,080 --> 01:21:56,480 And again, you bring a layer of clothing to leave at the start 1572 01:21:56,480 --> 01:21:57,800 line. You can discard it there, It 1573 01:21:57,800 --> 01:21:59,480 goes to charity. That's what we all do. 1574 01:21:59,480 --> 01:22:02,720 You just get a cheap top, throw it off at the start line, gets 1575 01:22:02,720 --> 01:22:06,200 picked up, goes to charity. The odds of having a warm rice 1576 01:22:06,200 --> 01:22:10,480 are probably about 30 or 40%. And by warm I mean something 1577 01:22:10,480 --> 01:22:17,840 that's around 16°C, probably something in your 5565°F area. 1578 01:22:18,160 --> 01:22:21,160 It could land that, but we're starting early. 1579 01:22:21,760 --> 01:22:25,840 You've got a 630 start for the able bodied fields. 1580 01:22:25,840 --> 01:22:29,920 You've got a 615 start for the wheelchair races and it should 1581 01:22:29,920 --> 01:22:32,080 be cool at that stage. It definitely won't be warm or 1582 01:22:32,080 --> 01:22:34,200 humid at that point. I don't think we're going to 1583 01:22:34,200 --> 01:22:35,760 have a hot race. That would be unusual. 1584 01:22:35,760 --> 01:22:37,880 We've had one in the last five or six years. 1585 01:22:37,880 --> 01:22:42,040 So if you think of how Boston actually goes, you'll get the 1586 01:22:42,040 --> 01:22:44,240 odd year at Boston where it's really hot and then you'll get 1587 01:22:44,240 --> 01:22:46,080 that normal type of average weather. 1588 01:22:46,480 --> 01:22:51,520 I predict that it should be nigh on perfect marathon running, 1589 01:22:51,520 --> 01:22:54,240 unless it's unusual. If we have a normal average day 1590 01:22:54,240 --> 01:22:56,760 for the last day of winter, it should be very pleasant. 1591 01:22:57,280 --> 01:22:59,000 But as you said, a lot of rhythm man. 1592 01:22:59,600 --> 01:23:02,040 And who knows, it could end up with pouring rain, right? 1593 01:23:03,280 --> 01:23:05,080 So we're not going to hold, are you accountable for that 1594 01:23:05,080 --> 01:23:08,080 statement and your prediction? But thank you so much for 1595 01:23:08,080 --> 01:23:09,880 telling you telling us about that. 1596 01:23:10,280 --> 01:23:13,120 But let's hop into some other areas that are going to be 1597 01:23:13,120 --> 01:23:16,760 interesting for our audience, which is Sydney culture tourism. 1598 01:23:16,760 --> 01:23:19,040 You kind of already spoke a little bit about the Sydney 1599 01:23:19,040 --> 01:23:21,760 attitude that I'm really looking forward to because I love 1600 01:23:21,760 --> 01:23:25,080 sarcasm and I love humor and I love laid backness. 1601 01:23:26,040 --> 01:23:28,160 So we'll find all of that in Sydney. 1602 01:23:28,200 --> 01:23:30,480 Plus we'll also find a whole bunch of sites. 1603 01:23:31,200 --> 01:23:35,960 What are the number one through 5, maybe 6 sites that you 1604 01:23:35,960 --> 01:23:38,440 recommend for someone that is coming to Sydney? 1605 01:23:38,680 --> 01:23:42,360 And let's say they're coming on an American schedule, which is a 1606 01:23:42,360 --> 01:23:46,520 short trip. OK, so lady, I know that you're 1607 01:23:46,520 --> 01:23:48,680 really looking forward to seeing Kangaroos. 1608 01:23:49,800 --> 01:23:52,680 I can tell that one of your favorite favorite, favorite 1609 01:23:52,680 --> 01:23:54,520 mammals that you really want to go and see. 1610 01:23:55,280 --> 01:24:00,280 So that one's an easy one and probably, probably good advice 1611 01:24:00,280 --> 01:24:04,760 is you don't need to go paying for expensive harbor cruises to 1612 01:24:04,760 --> 01:24:07,240 go on the harbor. We have ferries. 1613 01:24:07,920 --> 01:24:12,200 So very much like you can in New York or San Francisco or other 1614 01:24:12,760 --> 01:24:15,600 sea based or harbor based cities, you can actually get 1615 01:24:15,600 --> 01:24:19,240 public transport ferry across the harbor. 1616 01:24:20,120 --> 01:24:22,800 Our transport system is all what we call tap on, tap off. 1617 01:24:22,800 --> 01:24:25,200 So if you've got a credit card or a debit card, you just tap it 1618 01:24:25,200 --> 01:24:29,880 on the right reader to start and you tap it off when you get to 1619 01:24:29,880 --> 01:24:32,120 the end of your journey. There's no special cards 1620 01:24:32,120 --> 01:24:33,960 required. You can just do that with your 1621 01:24:33,960 --> 01:24:37,920 normal credit card. So I would say a trip, a trip 1622 01:24:38,040 --> 01:24:41,680 across to Taronga Zoo from the Circular Quay in the city that 1623 01:24:41,680 --> 01:24:44,560 will take you to see koalas and Kangaroos and so on. 1624 01:24:44,560 --> 01:24:45,880 So you can stay in the city for that. 1625 01:24:46,680 --> 01:24:52,400 There are plenty of zoos and koala parks around and you know 1626 01:24:52,400 --> 01:24:54,480 people from Google that, but there is one that's just a ferry 1627 01:24:54,480 --> 01:24:56,640 right across the harbor which is Taronga Zoo. 1628 01:24:57,240 --> 01:25:00,040 You could do a ferry ride down to Manly as well if you wished. 1629 01:25:00,400 --> 01:25:02,200 You can walk across the Harbour Bridge. 1630 01:25:02,240 --> 01:25:06,520 Obviously the Opera House is a big one and with the Opera House 1631 01:25:06,520 --> 01:25:11,120 is this great little bar slash cafe slash restaurant called the 1632 01:25:11,120 --> 01:25:16,160 Opera Bar which is 1 level down at the Opera House and look 1633 01:25:16,160 --> 01:25:17,680 straight towards the Harbour Bridge. 1634 01:25:17,680 --> 01:25:21,440 It's a beautiful spot to have a nice coffee or a drink in the 1635 01:25:21,440 --> 01:25:23,640 afternoon on a lovely Sydney day. 1636 01:25:24,560 --> 01:25:27,840 The classic beaches such as Bondi Beach, they're all within 1637 01:25:27,840 --> 01:25:30,440 reach either through Uber or through public transport. 1638 01:25:30,840 --> 01:25:34,160 And there is a beautiful walk that I'd suggest runners can 1639 01:25:34,160 --> 01:25:36,720 either use as a loosening run. You can use it to get out of a 1640 01:25:36,720 --> 01:25:41,320 jet lag, which is Coogee to Bondi. 1641 01:25:41,880 --> 01:25:46,360 Now your listeners can Google Apps, but Coogee Beach to Bondi 1642 01:25:46,360 --> 01:25:50,080 Beach, it's 8 kilometers, it's right along the seaside. 1643 01:25:50,080 --> 01:25:53,360 It's absolutely beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. 1644 01:25:54,080 --> 01:25:57,960 So that one's a good one to do. There is a bridge climb, so you 1645 01:25:57,960 --> 01:25:59,680 can actually climb to the top of the bridge. 1646 01:25:59,680 --> 01:26:01,880 Some will do that. It needs to be booked. 1647 01:26:01,880 --> 01:26:05,760 A lot of these things would need to be booked for those that have 1648 01:26:05,760 --> 01:26:08,360 a bit of spare time up into the Blue Mountains. 1649 01:26:08,360 --> 01:26:10,480 So the Blue Mountains is a day trip. 1650 01:26:10,840 --> 01:26:14,960 It's West of Sydney. It's about 90 minutes to 2 hours 1651 01:26:15,200 --> 01:26:19,600 inland from where the Harbour Bridge actually is and that is a 1652 01:26:19,600 --> 01:26:21,760 beautiful spot where I do my trail running. 1653 01:26:22,120 --> 01:26:24,080 They're not actually mountains. They're called the Blue 1654 01:26:24,080 --> 01:26:27,840 Mountains because they take a haze of blue on particular days. 1655 01:26:27,840 --> 01:26:30,080 They look magnificent. So that's another thing that you 1656 01:26:30,080 --> 01:26:32,200 can actually do. There will be plenty to do. 1657 01:26:32,200 --> 01:26:36,560 Look, even just going to a pub or a cafe or walking around town 1658 01:26:36,560 --> 01:26:39,760 down by the Opera House, the Rocks area is magnificent as 1659 01:26:39,760 --> 01:26:41,280 well. It's all going to be pretty 1660 01:26:41,280 --> 01:26:42,920 busy. What we saw last year when we 1661 01:26:42,920 --> 01:26:46,120 had the candidate marathon was a lot of international visitors 1662 01:26:46,120 --> 01:26:47,760 with the age group championships. 1663 01:26:48,120 --> 01:26:50,080 So the city will be busy. It will be buzzing. 1664 01:26:51,840 --> 01:26:53,040 Perfect. I appreciate that. 1665 01:26:53,040 --> 01:26:56,080 And I've been taking notes and we'll put all information in the 1666 01:26:56,080 --> 01:26:57,720 show notes. What we're gathering from you 1667 01:26:57,720 --> 01:26:59,560 here. And you've already kind of 1668 01:26:59,680 --> 01:27:02,680 talked about my next topic, which is travel logistics. 1669 01:27:02,920 --> 01:27:06,960 There is no sweet card as we would find them in Tokyo, Japan, 1670 01:27:06,960 --> 01:27:09,880 etcetera. So you mentioned everything is 1671 01:27:09,920 --> 01:27:13,360 very easily payable by card. What about public 1672 01:27:13,360 --> 01:27:17,480 transportation, buses, subways? Is that safe and is that what 1673 01:27:17,480 --> 01:27:22,160 people do in Sydney? Yeah, it's all very safe and 1674 01:27:22,240 --> 01:27:25,960 that credit card will get you on any form of public transport. 1675 01:27:25,960 --> 01:27:30,040 In NSW. We have a metro system, a train 1676 01:27:30,040 --> 01:27:32,280 system, a brand new one throughout the city, which 1677 01:27:32,280 --> 01:27:35,640 opened last year. We've had portions of that metro 1678 01:27:35,640 --> 01:27:38,320 system in the outer W that have been open for five years. 1679 01:27:38,320 --> 01:27:40,520 It's clean, it's beautiful and actually when you see the 1680 01:27:40,520 --> 01:27:42,720 stations, they're a work of art. They are beautiful. 1681 01:27:43,320 --> 01:27:45,960 The metro is what is most likely to get most of the runners from 1682 01:27:45,960 --> 01:27:47,560 the city across to the start line. 1683 01:27:47,720 --> 01:27:51,360 That would be the choice. There's also a heavy rail system 1684 01:27:51,360 --> 01:27:54,040 underground that runs at the same point across to North 1685 01:27:54,040 --> 01:27:56,360 Sydney. We've got light rail, which are 1686 01:27:56,360 --> 01:27:59,080 trams above ground that also run up and down. 1687 01:27:59,080 --> 01:28:01,200 As well as the buses. You'll find the transport system 1688 01:28:01,200 --> 01:28:04,800 throughout Sydney. The city area is is really, 1689 01:28:04,800 --> 01:28:07,880 really suitable and very, very easy to use. 1690 01:28:07,880 --> 01:28:09,360 And the other thing is you can always ask. 1691 01:28:09,360 --> 01:28:11,200 Sydneysiders are very friendly with that. 1692 01:28:12,200 --> 01:28:16,080 If you're a foreigner and you're in town, just ask. 1693 01:28:16,240 --> 01:28:18,080 The Sydneysider will point you in the right direction. 1694 01:28:18,080 --> 01:28:21,120 There's plenty of transport around throughout the whole CBD 1695 01:28:21,120 --> 01:28:23,280 city area. Circular Quay, there won't be 1696 01:28:23,280 --> 01:28:25,840 any problem there. It's all well signposted and 1697 01:28:25,920 --> 01:28:28,480 it's all very simple. We try and keep things simple 1698 01:28:28,480 --> 01:28:29,720 because we're pretty simple people. 1699 01:28:29,720 --> 01:28:32,200 So you'll see a big M for metro, and you'll see a big T for 1700 01:28:32,200 --> 01:28:34,400 trains. You'll see a Big L for light 1701 01:28:34,400 --> 01:28:36,600 rail, and you'll see a big B for buses. 1702 01:28:36,600 --> 01:28:37,760 And there you'll know where to go. 1703 01:28:39,280 --> 01:28:40,920 Nice. I wish everything in life was 1704 01:28:40,920 --> 01:28:43,560 that a easy and simple, straightforward. 1705 01:28:44,120 --> 01:28:48,080 So speaking about, you were kind of mentioning certain areas in 1706 01:28:48,080 --> 01:28:50,240 Sydney, certain neighborhoods and I know you and I talked 1707 01:28:50,240 --> 01:28:53,400 about places to stay. Obviously most people that are 1708 01:28:53,400 --> 01:28:56,160 going to Sydney, unless they're absolutely crazy, probably have 1709 01:28:56,360 --> 01:29:01,120 booked their trip already. But for future runners of Sydney 1710 01:29:01,120 --> 01:29:04,200 or maybe if somebody wants to switch, what are some good areas 1711 01:29:04,200 --> 01:29:08,680 to stay in for marathon logistics, Expo logistics and 1712 01:29:08,680 --> 01:29:11,400 having a good experience so you know, you don't stay in a 1713 01:29:11,400 --> 01:29:14,040 neighborhood that has nothing to do with the race. 1714 01:29:15,160 --> 01:29:16,440 Yeah. So you look, you're coming a 1715 01:29:16,440 --> 01:29:21,880 long way and I'm a firm believer in this, I really am, that you 1716 01:29:21,920 --> 01:29:25,400 should start as you should stay as close to the finish line as 1717 01:29:25,400 --> 01:29:29,160 you possibly can if the finish line is in an area that's well 1718 01:29:29,160 --> 01:29:32,560 populated and part of the city. So if you look at where it 1719 01:29:32,600 --> 01:29:34,600 finishes, it finishes in Circular Quay. 1720 01:29:34,600 --> 01:29:38,560 So anywhere in Sydney's central business district, which takes 1721 01:29:38,560 --> 01:29:41,440 up about two or three square kilometers would be suitable. 1722 01:29:41,440 --> 01:29:44,520 And it's all budget dependent, but the advantage you've got 1723 01:29:44,520 --> 01:29:47,520 coming out of Europe or coming out of North America is the 1724 01:29:47,520 --> 01:29:52,520 exchange rate on your dollar or euro gets you a cheaper room 1725 01:29:52,520 --> 01:29:56,080 than it does for an Australian. So I would say if you're coming 1726 01:29:56,080 --> 01:30:00,480 this far and you're spending that much on planes to get here, 1727 01:30:00,800 --> 01:30:04,680 don't quibble about 50 or 100 bucks for a night at a hotel. 1728 01:30:05,040 --> 01:30:08,440 Stay somewhere where it's a good location, where you know there's 1729 01:30:08,440 --> 01:30:10,600 going to be a lot of activity, where there's lots of 1730 01:30:10,600 --> 01:30:14,560 restaurants, things to do. And that area around the finish 1731 01:30:14,560 --> 01:30:17,960 line, Circular Quay, that whole area there, the Rock, Circular 1732 01:30:17,960 --> 01:30:24,320 Quay, the northern part of the city, there's ample hotels, all 1733 01:30:24,320 --> 01:30:27,560 good quality international class hotels to stay at. 1734 01:30:28,200 --> 01:30:31,160 And if you book early enough, the prices tend to be 1735 01:30:31,360 --> 01:30:34,680 reasonable. Obviously with the marathon now 1736 01:30:34,680 --> 01:30:37,600 growing in popularity, those prices go up over marathon week 1737 01:30:37,600 --> 01:30:40,760 and marathon weekend and the most popular hotels sell out 1738 01:30:40,760 --> 01:30:43,720 pretty quickly. But I would always stay in those 1739 01:30:43,720 --> 01:30:46,160 sorts of areas where there is activity. 1740 01:30:46,160 --> 01:30:48,240 You know, after the race you're not far from your hotel. 1741 01:30:48,240 --> 01:30:50,160 You can have a shower, you can go down and have a drink, you 1742 01:30:50,160 --> 01:30:53,000 can have a coffee, you can watch others finish, you can do all 1743 01:30:53,000 --> 01:30:55,000 those sorts of things. Rather than thinking I've got to 1744 01:30:55,000 --> 01:30:58,080 get on train now and I've got 40 minutes to get back to my hotel, 1745 01:30:58,640 --> 01:31:01,200 that kind of spoils it. And you know, when you Add all 1746 01:31:01,200 --> 01:31:03,560 this up, the money that we spent on running, which is meant to be 1747 01:31:03,560 --> 01:31:07,040 a cheap sport and particularly for international travelers, 1748 01:31:07,040 --> 01:31:10,480 just just spend a little bit extra because the memory will be 1749 01:31:10,480 --> 01:31:13,960 that much nicer for it. I love that. 1750 01:31:13,960 --> 01:31:17,160 I completely agree with you and that idea of having the 1751 01:31:17,160 --> 01:31:19,880 convenience of staying close to the finish line just because, 1752 01:31:20,200 --> 01:31:22,240 you know, you don't want to just run. 1753 01:31:22,560 --> 01:31:25,520 I mean, I guess you can, but there's always the aftermath of 1754 01:31:25,520 --> 01:31:27,520 the running. So let's talk about that a 1755 01:31:27,520 --> 01:31:30,360 little bit. Things to do after you get done 1756 01:31:30,360 --> 01:31:31,880 running. Grab a beer. 1757 01:31:31,880 --> 01:31:34,320 Where should people go? What areas of the city? 1758 01:31:35,360 --> 01:31:38,520 OK, so with the finish at the marathon, it look, it's really 1759 01:31:38,520 --> 01:31:41,480 busy at the finish line. It's really busy. 1760 01:31:41,480 --> 01:31:44,400 It's beautiful. Once you pass that finish line, 1761 01:31:44,960 --> 01:31:47,640 you're actually walking alongside the Opera House steps 1762 01:31:47,640 --> 01:31:49,600 to get to the athletes recovery area. 1763 01:31:50,200 --> 01:31:52,040 And that's your best place for selfies. 1764 01:31:52,280 --> 01:31:54,520 The number of selfies that I saw the international visitors 1765 01:31:54,520 --> 01:31:57,000 taking they're looking back towards the Opera House steps of 1766 01:31:57,000 --> 01:31:59,640 the city marathon finish line. It's it really is iconic. 1767 01:32:00,080 --> 01:32:03,280 So then as you make your way back to your hotel, that whole 1768 01:32:03,280 --> 01:32:07,200 city area on a Sunday afternoon down towards the harbor will be 1769 01:32:07,200 --> 01:32:09,400 busy. The pubs are open, there's lots 1770 01:32:09,400 --> 01:32:13,360 of outdoor dining. So assuming the weather's OK, if 1771 01:32:13,360 --> 01:32:17,000 you haven't sort of booked anything or you don't know quite 1772 01:32:17,000 --> 01:32:19,440 where to go, head to the rocks, head to the pubs, have your 1773 01:32:19,440 --> 01:32:21,240 metal on. You'll start up a conversation 1774 01:32:21,240 --> 01:32:24,720 straightaway and you'll probably make friends for life if you 1775 01:32:24,720 --> 01:32:26,520 stay there long enough. You might not remember who they 1776 01:32:26,520 --> 01:32:30,440 were the next morning, but you will make friends for life and 1777 01:32:31,400 --> 01:32:33,720 very open and we're very happy with that. 1778 01:32:33,720 --> 01:32:38,560 So people seeing runners in the city that afternoon after the 1779 01:32:38,560 --> 01:32:40,800 race, you'll be welcomed, no doubt about that. 1780 01:32:41,520 --> 01:32:44,000 But that's where a lot of the activity will be. 1781 01:32:44,000 --> 01:32:46,960 It'll be towards the Rock, Circular Quay, Barangaroo. 1782 01:32:48,000 --> 01:32:51,160 Now central city area is like most major cities, right? 1783 01:32:51,160 --> 01:32:53,960 It's no different than that. So you get big tall glass 1784 01:32:53,960 --> 01:32:56,640 buildings, you get some restaurants and cafes. 1785 01:32:56,640 --> 01:32:58,640 At St. Level you have lots of retail, 1786 01:32:59,440 --> 01:33:01,840 but you don't have a lot of what I would call the hotels, the 1787 01:33:01,840 --> 01:33:04,480 pubs, the areas where people convene, standing on the 1788 01:33:04,480 --> 01:33:07,320 sidewalk having a drink, a coffee or whatever. 1789 01:33:07,320 --> 01:33:09,520 You'll get that through the Rocks area, you'll get that down 1790 01:33:09,520 --> 01:33:12,280 at Circular Quay, down at Barangaroo, you'll get some of 1791 01:33:12,280 --> 01:33:15,120 that as well. Where the Expo is is a little 1792 01:33:15,120 --> 01:33:17,000 bit away from that, down at Darling Harbour. 1793 01:33:17,000 --> 01:33:21,040 And Darling Harbour right now is going through a total rebuild, 1794 01:33:21,040 --> 01:33:22,920 refurbishment in a lot of those areas. 1795 01:33:22,920 --> 01:33:26,680 So the Convention Center down where the Expo is, it's, it's 1796 01:33:26,680 --> 01:33:28,440 easy to get to again, you could take transport. 1797 01:33:28,440 --> 01:33:30,800 Most people can walk it. It's not a difficult walk to 1798 01:33:30,800 --> 01:33:33,320 walk from the central business district down to the Expo. 1799 01:33:33,760 --> 01:33:35,680 And there's bits and pieces down there as well. 1800 01:33:36,320 --> 01:33:38,480 So it probably depends, lady, what you're looking for. 1801 01:33:38,720 --> 01:33:40,000 You know, we have our own Chinatown. 1802 01:33:40,000 --> 01:33:42,440 Chinatown on a Sunday afternoon is always busy. 1803 01:33:43,440 --> 01:33:45,960 The beaches are always busy. You could even head off to Bondi 1804 01:33:46,560 --> 01:33:48,880 Sunday afternoon after the marathon and go down and have a 1805 01:33:48,880 --> 01:33:51,520 nice meal down there looking at the waves coming in, have a 1806 01:33:51,520 --> 01:33:54,080 coffee, have fish and chips on the beach if you wanted to, so 1807 01:33:54,120 --> 01:33:57,280 there'll be plenty of options. Very nice, very nice. 1808 01:33:57,880 --> 01:34:02,240 And I forgot to ask, but let's talk about some other pre race 1809 01:34:02,240 --> 01:34:07,200 things such as shakeout runs and festivities or I guess 1810 01:34:07,200 --> 01:34:10,040 activations they call them now, kind of like they do in Boston, 1811 01:34:10,040 --> 01:34:13,600 right? The Boston Expo is limited for 1812 01:34:13,600 --> 01:34:16,960 vendors for shoes, So what happened was that there's going 1813 01:34:16,960 --> 01:34:20,920 to be a bunch of pop up stores and I know that ASICS is in 1814 01:34:20,920 --> 01:34:23,160 charge of the Expo in Sydney as well. 1815 01:34:23,160 --> 01:34:26,160 So I'm assuming the competitors are probably also going to try 1816 01:34:26,160 --> 01:34:28,320 to do something like that. Have you heard anything about 1817 01:34:28,320 --> 01:34:30,840 that? Look, I think, I think they 1818 01:34:30,840 --> 01:34:34,240 probably will. It's really worth noting that 1819 01:34:34,240 --> 01:34:36,280 this is our first year as a major. 1820 01:34:37,200 --> 01:34:40,920 So it's going to grow from here. There will be things that those 1821 01:34:40,920 --> 01:34:44,160 that have been to London and to Boston and other major marathons 1822 01:34:44,160 --> 01:34:46,160 would say, oh, it doesn't have this or it doesn't have that. 1823 01:34:46,840 --> 01:34:51,240 So I'm not sure you'll see a lot of pop up activity outside of 1824 01:34:51,240 --> 01:34:54,440 what you're seeing in the Expo. I'm not sure you'll see that. 1825 01:34:54,840 --> 01:34:58,040 I do know that Sydney Marathon are engaging local businesses to 1826 01:34:58,040 --> 01:35:00,120 come on board and to encourage that. 1827 01:35:00,120 --> 01:35:02,560 So I'm pretty sure we'll see some of that with local 1828 01:35:02,560 --> 01:35:04,960 businesses. I do think it's going to be one 1829 01:35:04,960 --> 01:35:09,720 of these things that grows over time and going to be an organic 1830 01:35:09,720 --> 01:35:11,920 growth lady rather than just something that we go, Oh my 1831 01:35:11,920 --> 01:35:13,760 goodness, look at that, the whole town's on board. 1832 01:35:14,360 --> 01:35:16,760 When I say Sydney siders are pretty laid back and pretty easy 1833 01:35:16,760 --> 01:35:20,120 going, that also means we tend to sleep in on a Sunday and it 1834 01:35:20,120 --> 01:35:22,160 takes a lot to get us out of bed and to get us active. 1835 01:35:23,000 --> 01:35:26,600 So what we'll see also is you'll see some areas of the marathon 1836 01:35:26,600 --> 01:35:30,480 course that are heavily spectated and others where there 1837 01:35:30,480 --> 01:35:33,000 won't be a lot of spectators. When we're on the far reaches 1838 01:35:33,000 --> 01:35:37,960 around that 22 kilometer mark down Anzack Ave. it'll be sparse 1839 01:35:37,960 --> 01:35:40,560 for spectators in that area and that'll grow over time. 1840 01:35:40,560 --> 01:35:44,400 I know that'll grow over time. So there will be activity. 1841 01:35:44,600 --> 01:35:47,280 I can be very transparent and say it's not going to be like 1842 01:35:47,320 --> 01:35:49,640 Boston in the lead up to the marathon at this point. 1843 01:35:49,680 --> 01:35:52,360 That will take time to grow in Sydney for sure. 1844 01:35:52,920 --> 01:35:55,400 But I do know the team internally at Sydney Marathon 1845 01:35:55,400 --> 01:35:58,240 are doing a great job on getting local businesses on board and 1846 01:35:58,240 --> 01:36:01,440 becoming part of this. And I think as they see more and 1847 01:36:01,440 --> 01:36:04,280 more runners coming in and more and more internationals, that 1848 01:36:04,280 --> 01:36:06,320 will grow. Perfect. 1849 01:36:06,720 --> 01:36:10,960 And word on the street is that you are hosting A shakeout run. 1850 01:36:11,080 --> 01:36:15,240 Is that something that we can mention here on the podcast, or 1851 01:36:15,240 --> 01:36:19,080 is this something that's more for locals and friends of yours? 1852 01:36:19,680 --> 01:36:23,160 No, it's not for locals. The intent definitely is to do a 1853 01:36:23,200 --> 01:36:29,160 shakeout run on the Saturday. I have to see what my schedule 1854 01:36:29,160 --> 01:36:31,680 for the marathon itself is going to be on the Saturday as well to 1855 01:36:31,680 --> 01:36:34,320 figure out a time. But Lydia, that is the intention 1856 01:36:34,320 --> 01:36:38,080 and one of the things we did last year with the age group 1857 01:36:38,080 --> 01:36:41,520 runners was to take them on the last three kilometers of the 1858 01:36:41,520 --> 01:36:44,280 course. Because I'm sure others will 1859 01:36:44,280 --> 01:36:46,080 speak about the course and I'm sure you're interviewing others 1860 01:36:46,080 --> 01:36:49,000 around the course itself. But if you wanted to have a 1861 01:36:49,000 --> 01:36:53,040 Sydney equivalent for Heartbreak Hill, then that comes at about 1862 01:36:53,040 --> 01:36:57,680 the 39 1/2 kilometer mark in the Botanical Gardens. 1863 01:36:57,760 --> 01:37:00,960 You're down the bottom by the ocean, by the harbor, I mean, 1864 01:37:01,200 --> 01:37:03,600 and you're heading back up towards Macquarie St. 1865 01:37:04,400 --> 01:37:09,440 It's a tiny little rise for about 800 meters or so it seems. 1866 01:37:10,280 --> 01:37:13,160 And I can recall taking the age group runners over that part of 1867 01:37:13,160 --> 01:37:15,320 the course last year before race day. 1868 01:37:15,320 --> 01:37:17,480 And I said to them as we were going, look, it doesn't feel 1869 01:37:17,480 --> 01:37:19,720 much now, but just wait till you run. 1870 01:37:19,720 --> 01:37:23,280 This little piece here has more walkers than runners during the 1871 01:37:23,280 --> 01:37:25,840 marathon. And sure enough, after the 1872 01:37:25,840 --> 01:37:27,920 marathon itself, when we all caught up again, I said, oh, my 1873 01:37:27,920 --> 01:37:31,000 goodness, I couldn't believe how that felt after 39 kilometers. 1874 01:37:31,000 --> 01:37:34,520 I said yeah, it catches you. So the intent with the shakeout 1875 01:37:34,520 --> 01:37:36,040 is to do the last three kilometers. 1876 01:37:36,040 --> 01:37:39,320 It's a 5 kilometer shakeout from the Opera House steps and do the 1877 01:37:39,320 --> 01:37:41,560 last three kilometers of the course, which gives you the 1878 01:37:41,560 --> 01:37:45,120 experience of going up that little hill and then down into 1879 01:37:45,120 --> 01:37:47,640 Macquarie St. towards the finish line so you're aware of what's 1880 01:37:47,640 --> 01:37:49,720 coming. So yes, the intent is to do a 1881 01:37:49,720 --> 01:37:51,080 shakeout. I do have to check my own 1882 01:37:51,080 --> 01:37:53,640 schedule on the Saturday to make sure what the timing would be. 1883 01:37:54,000 --> 01:37:56,680 There is a 5 kilometer race going on in the Botanical 1884 01:37:56,680 --> 01:37:59,120 Gardens which is our mini marathon for Sydney on that 1885 01:37:59,120 --> 01:38:02,000 Saturday, but that can all be worked in for sure. 1886 01:38:03,280 --> 01:38:05,040 Very good. All right, I'm looking forward 1887 01:38:05,040 --> 01:38:07,400 to that one and I will keep everyone posted. 1888 01:38:07,600 --> 01:38:11,000 Now let's talk about that Sunday race and your loved ones that 1889 01:38:11,000 --> 01:38:13,920 travel to Australia with you. Where is the best place for 1890 01:38:13,920 --> 01:38:17,720 those spectators to see you? Maybe once or twice on the 1891 01:38:17,720 --> 01:38:20,840 course if possible. Yeah, it's easy to see. 1892 01:38:21,000 --> 01:38:24,000 It is easy to see everyone twice. 1893 01:38:25,720 --> 01:38:28,440 It actually can also be those that are really quick on their 1894 01:38:28,440 --> 01:38:30,640 feet when they look at the course map, they could actually 1895 01:38:30,640 --> 01:38:35,920 see three times, but if you want to see the runners twice and be 1896 01:38:35,920 --> 01:38:40,680 guaranteed of seeing them twice, you would see them at the Rocks. 1897 01:38:41,800 --> 01:38:44,680 So as they come back through the Rocks to head up through the 1898 01:38:44,680 --> 01:38:47,800 city, the Rocks area, it's a party zone. 1899 01:38:48,520 --> 01:38:51,400 So there are elements in the Sydney Marathon as you go around 1900 01:38:51,400 --> 01:38:53,600 the course with these entertainment zones, they've 1901 01:38:53,600 --> 01:38:55,680 been set up deliberately. They have some form of 1902 01:38:55,680 --> 01:38:59,640 entertainment going on and they have a really good buzz going 1903 01:38:59,640 --> 01:39:02,200 on. So the Rocks area is one place 1904 01:39:02,200 --> 01:39:05,360 to see the runners coming through and I think from memory 1905 01:39:05,360 --> 01:39:09,360 that's about the 11:50 to 14K mark, something like that. 1906 01:39:10,200 --> 01:39:13,440 And then you're only a 5 minute walk to the finish line, 10 1907 01:39:13,440 --> 01:39:14,840 minute walk to the finish line from there. 1908 01:39:14,840 --> 01:39:17,400 So you could then go back up to Macquarie Street and see the 1909 01:39:17,400 --> 01:39:19,000 runners coming down Macquarie Street. 1910 01:39:20,000 --> 01:39:23,200 Now you've got another option, you can go up into Oxford St. 1911 01:39:23,600 --> 01:39:26,840 which is about the 15 to 18 kilometer mark. 1912 01:39:26,920 --> 01:39:29,680 At the top there there's Pride Corner, which is just a 1913 01:39:29,680 --> 01:39:34,720 wonderful, wonderful area. We have a wonderful community 1914 01:39:34,720 --> 01:39:39,080 here, our gay community, and Pride Corner is exactly what it 1915 01:39:39,080 --> 01:39:41,200 says. It's a lot of fun as well. 1916 01:39:41,520 --> 01:39:44,880 So there's an area there with cafes, a lot of activity going 1917 01:39:44,880 --> 01:39:46,440 on. You can see them going up Oxford 1918 01:39:46,440 --> 01:39:48,680 Street and then out onto the course. 1919 01:39:48,680 --> 01:39:50,600 You can see them coming back down Oxford Street if you 1920 01:39:50,600 --> 01:39:52,760 wished, or you could walk down towards Hyde Park. 1921 01:39:53,280 --> 01:39:56,120 So if you look at the maps, and that's what I'd say, take a good 1922 01:39:56,120 --> 01:39:59,600 look at the maps and you can see points where people can walk 1923 01:39:59,600 --> 01:40:03,040 from one point to the next in plenty of time to see the 1924 01:40:03,040 --> 01:40:05,880 runners coming through. And the transport for that in 1925 01:40:05,880 --> 01:40:10,280 many cases is reasonable, but it's more likely to be walking 1926 01:40:10,480 --> 01:40:13,440 given the street closures that we have in the city on Marathon 1927 01:40:13,440 --> 01:40:15,800 Sunday. OK, perfect. 1928 01:40:15,800 --> 01:40:17,920 So we'll put that in the notes as well. 1929 01:40:17,920 --> 01:40:20,200 Thank you, Michael so much. And is there anything else that 1930 01:40:20,200 --> 01:40:23,360 you think is important to know for people travelling and have 1931 01:40:23,360 --> 01:40:25,480 never been to Sydney and are doing this marathon? 1932 01:40:26,920 --> 01:40:28,840 Oh, absolutely, come with an open mind. 1933 01:40:29,480 --> 01:40:32,960 Look, leave all of the things behind of what goes on in 1934 01:40:32,960 --> 01:40:35,920 marathons and what goes on at majors and yadda yadda yadda. 1935 01:40:35,920 --> 01:40:38,720 Just come in with an open mind. Be prepared for a really good 1936 01:40:38,720 --> 01:40:41,840 relaxing time. Don't get stressed about it. 1937 01:40:42,080 --> 01:40:44,800 Make sure you sleep well, make sure you prepare well. 1938 01:40:45,160 --> 01:40:47,000 And the thing with the Sydney course, the one thing I would 1939 01:40:47,000 --> 01:40:52,360 say is it's a, it's very much like Boston in the sense that as 1940 01:40:52,360 --> 01:40:54,280 we know with Boston, if you don't manage that course, it 1941 01:40:54,280 --> 01:40:56,240 manages you and it can be quite painful. 1942 01:40:56,240 --> 01:40:59,080 Well, Sydney's the same. If you really train for Sydney 1943 01:40:59,080 --> 01:41:02,240 in a way that works, you'll have a great time on course and 1944 01:41:02,240 --> 01:41:04,880 you'll really enjoy it and you'll probably set a PB even 1945 01:41:04,880 --> 01:41:08,200 though it is the hilliest course that we've got in the marathon 1946 01:41:08,200 --> 01:41:11,280 rages at the moment. You will set APB if you prepare 1947 01:41:11,280 --> 01:41:13,600 for it. If you don't prepare for it and 1948 01:41:13,600 --> 01:41:17,040 come in completely under prepared and still want to work 1949 01:41:17,040 --> 01:41:20,200 hard, it's going to be painful. It's not a course that's going 1950 01:41:20,200 --> 01:41:23,280 to give you anything easily if you're under prepared for it. 1951 01:41:23,280 --> 01:41:26,320 So do be prepared and what that means pre race is when you're 1952 01:41:26,320 --> 01:41:28,640 coming across, make sure you sleep well, make sure you eat 1953 01:41:28,640 --> 01:41:30,840 well, make sure you're hydrated. But we just come in with an open 1954 01:41:30,840 --> 01:41:34,200 mind and be open to conversations with people. 1955 01:41:34,600 --> 01:41:38,160 The more that you fold in in a relaxed way with Sydneysiders 1956 01:41:38,160 --> 01:41:40,720 and Australians in general, you will have a good time. 1957 01:41:40,720 --> 01:41:42,600 Don't be shy, because Australians are not shy. 1958 01:41:43,960 --> 01:41:46,040 Very good. I'm looking forward to seeing 1959 01:41:46,040 --> 01:41:48,800 all that and I'm looking forward to running with you, Michael. 1960 01:41:49,920 --> 01:41:53,840 I can't wait to see a picture of that kangaroo and Letty together 1961 01:41:54,360 --> 01:41:57,320 in that little embrace, knowing how much you love our Kangaroos. 1962 01:41:58,320 --> 01:42:00,560 Thank you, Michael, for your insights and your tips. 1963 01:42:00,560 --> 01:42:04,320 I can't wait to travel to Sydney myself now, and I'll also be 1964 01:42:04,320 --> 01:42:07,280 sharing your shakeout run. So again, follow our socials 1965 01:42:07,280 --> 01:42:11,640 because I'm going to be posting that there now. 1966 01:42:11,640 --> 01:42:15,080 I'm going to share some of the ideas of what I want to see 1967 01:42:15,080 --> 01:42:17,440 while in Sydney. I will be traveling solo. 1968 01:42:17,440 --> 01:42:20,120 I have some friends that are going simultaneously, but I kind 1969 01:42:20,120 --> 01:42:22,520 of really like a solo trip too because it gives me that 1970 01:42:22,520 --> 01:42:25,280 flexibility just from one thing to the other. 1971 01:42:25,440 --> 01:42:28,240 So what I really want to see is the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 1972 01:42:28,240 --> 01:42:29,600 I don't know if I'm going to do the climb. 1973 01:42:29,680 --> 01:42:32,200 I do want to see the Sydney Opera House, the Sydney Opera 1974 01:42:32,200 --> 01:42:36,240 House bar, Toranga Zoo, which I'm going to travel to by ferry. 1975 01:42:36,360 --> 01:42:38,880 I want to run by Bondi Beach, Manly Beach. 1976 01:42:39,000 --> 01:42:42,000 I also want to see Koji Beach. My hotel is going to be close to 1977 01:42:42,000 --> 01:42:44,240 Hyde Park, so I'm going to definitely check that out. 1978 01:42:44,240 --> 01:42:47,200 I also would like to see the Royal Botanic Gardens. 1979 01:42:47,280 --> 01:42:50,680 I want to hang out in the Rocks, I do want to see the fish market 1980 01:42:50,680 --> 01:42:53,720 and the Queen Victoria building, and maybe I'll hit the 1981 01:42:53,720 --> 01:42:56,600 Australian Museum. Of course again, if you have 1982 01:42:56,600 --> 01:43:00,120 more time and are excited to leave the city, there's tons of 1983 01:43:00,120 --> 01:43:03,160 stuff to do and there are amazing websites to check out 1984 01:43:03,160 --> 01:43:05,960 for that. But that concludes my video of 1985 01:43:05,960 --> 01:43:08,840 everything you need to know about the Sydney Marathon. 1986 01:43:08,960 --> 01:43:12,040 If you have any additional tips or you feel like I forgot 1987 01:43:12,040 --> 01:43:15,680 something, be sure to post that in the comments below or sent me 1988 01:43:15,680 --> 01:43:18,120 a message. I am super excited to go to 1989 01:43:18,120 --> 01:43:21,880 Sydney and I hope you are too. Thank you so much for tuning in 1990 01:43:22,000 --> 01:43:27,160 and until next time. Thanks for tuning in. 1991 01:43:27,320 --> 01:43:32,160 For more information, go to www.marathonrunningpodcast.com 1992 01:43:32,400 --> 01:43:48,040 or check us out on all channels. The.