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# Allie Lyndon: The Road From SLSC Queen To Marathon Debutante
- URL: https://www.inthebeginningpodcast.com/gold-coast-marathon-series-allie-lyndon-the-road-from-slsc-queen-to-marathons/
- Published: 2026-05-12T06:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-21T01:31:40.000Z
- Description: Courtney Atkinson and Liam Flanagan on Gold Coast Marathon, nutrition, Olympics & 2032 — recorded on the Gold Coast.
- Author: Courtney Atkinson
- Tags: Episodes, Gold Coast Marathon, Sports Science, Olympics, #Import 2026-07-28 20:58

*Elite surf lifesaver turned marathon debutant, Allie Lyndon joins Courtney Atkinson and Liam Flanagan a couple of months out from the Gold Coast Marathon. After more than two decades in Ironman/Ironwoman racing — including a photo-finish national title decided by 18 seconds — Allie's now training for her first-ever marathon while juggling two young kids, a coach in Kyle, and a training week she calls "Tetris." She's chasing something in the 2:30s, still learning what marathon-pace actually feels like, and figuring out fuelling on the run for the first time.*

*The conversation covers the practical reality of elite training as a mum — school drop-offs, gym sessions with the kids, a "gospel" work calendar — and the mid-run bonk that forced her to take nutrition seriously. There's a look back at her Red Bull Defiance paddle-run days that first connected her to Courtney and this running community, plus reflections on why she still chases goals of her own rather than just living through other people's stories. She's not making excuses about being new to the marathon distance — she's just getting out there and doing the work.*

## In this episode

- From two decades of elite surf lifesaving to a first-ever marathon build
- Training as a mum of two: the "Tetris" week, school drop-offs and a coach who fits around family life
- Learning marathon-pace and fuelling on the run for the first time — including the long run that ended in a mid-session bonk
- Choosing an unfamiliar carbon shoe versus racing in what she knows
- Her Red Bull Defiance paddle-run history and how it connected her to Courtney and the running community
- Why she still chases her own goals rather than just following other people's stories

## Timestamps

- **\[00:00\]** Gold Coast Marathon Series is back — introducing Allie Lyndon
- **\[01:35\]** Two decades in surf lifesaving, decided by an 18-second national title
- **\[03:40\]** How far into the marathon journey — and why now
- **\[08:49\]** Inside the weekly training structure with coach Kyle
- **\[14:34\]** The "Tetris" week: juggling training, work and two kids
- **\[22:48\]** Nutrition, shoes and choosing an unfamiliar carbon shoe for race day
- **\[25:27\]** The long run that ended in a mid-session bonk
- **\[36:52\]** Her Red Bull Defiance paddle-run history and how it led here

## Listen

[Listen on Spotify](https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inthebeginningpodcast/episodes/GOLD-COAST-MARATHON-SERIES---ALLIE-LYNDON---THE-ROAD-FROM-SLSC-QUEEN-TO-MARATHONS-e3j8bcb?ref=inthebeginningpodcast.com).

## Related In The Beginning episodes

- [Gold Coast Marathon Series 2026: We're Back](https://www.inthebeginningpodcast.com/gold-coast-marathon-series-2026-were-back/) — the season opener Allie references
- [Andy Buchanan On Marathon Pacing, Super Shoes & Why He Won't Touch AI](https://www.inthebeginningpodcast.com/andy-buchanan-the-aussie-marathon-record-holder-is-coming-back-to-defend-his-gol/) — more on pacing and shoe choices
- [Benita Willis's Final Marathon Reality Check](https://www.inthebeginningpodcast.com/gold-coast-marathon-series-benitas-final-marathon-reality-check/) — another elite athlete's marathon-pace reality check
- [The Gold Coast Marathon guide](https://www.inthebeginningpodcast.com/gold-coast-marathon/)

## Full transcript

Auto-generated transcript. Timestamps approximate. Hosts: Courtney Atkinson & Liam Flanagan.

**Read the full transcript** 

\[00:00\] In the beginning podcast, the Gold Coast Marathon series — we are back. Courtney, I'm excited about this today because you're a question mark. Let's call you what you are. I'm not competing this year — I'll be there at the start and finish line with the microphone. Courtney, you are a question mark. We're crossing everything. We've talked through the rules you're sticking with — quick check-in on the rules, still sticking to them at the moment. So we're hoping Courtney Atkinson can take to the start line for his first ever Gold Coast Marathon.

\[00:32\] We always love bringing in someone in way better shape for a chat. This is exciting because we're joined by somebody who isn't just racing the Gold Coast Marathon for the first time, but hoping to go really bloody fast. Allie Lyndon, welcome to the podcast. Thanks guys, thanks for having me. Unlike Bronte last year, who was tackling the marathon for the first time as a first-time marathon runner, you bring a bit of sporting pedigree to the start line. I'm going to give an intro — actually, you're going to read your own, because Allie, you might be the most

\[01:05\] dangerous type of runner we've ever had on here. I don't know what to say to that. So, you'd say you're new to running — yes, but you've run your whole life at different levels. You have 20 years of elite endurance sport behind you. So there's a hidden engine in there — remember that as we talk today. So what's the engine? Where's the engine?

\[01:35\] What's this 20 years of elite... Sally? No — I've done surf lifesaving since I was about 12\. I moved up to the Gold Coast when I was 22 to pursue what was then the Nutri-Grain series. My goal was just to be the first Tasmanian woman — Matt Bevilacqua was the first male, and I managed that. I did a few years on and off in that, and I did the Coolangatta Gold — got second in the long

\[02:05\] course — one place, by 18 seconds, to Courtney Hancock. Bloody Hancock! I needed 300 more metres and I'd have mowed you down. That's honestly where it started. I actually chose surf lifesaving over track when I was growing up in Tassie. I'm not sure what drew me to surf, but that's where my passion was. I got to a point where I had to choose — did I want to go down the running path or the surf path? Surf had my heart, and that's where we are now. And then I had children.

\[02:38\] How many kids have you got? Two — my daughter turns two in July, and my son is five. So running started as an outlet from there, and yeah, I've always run. I know this is traditionally an inappropriate question, but how old are you? I'm 34 today. We pulled you away on your birthday — is it actually your birthday today? Oh God, what are you doing?

\[03:09\] Don't tell anyone — no, happy birthday! Were you spoiled this morning? Actually, yes, I did a really good session. You went in and had a good session — I love that, birthday morning session, right thing to do. Well, happy birthday. So I'm 34, with, as we've talked through, a big history of elite endurance sport, and then you have a family,

\[03:40\] and now we're into this running journey. How far into your running career would you say you are? After my daughter, I gave myself an entire year of no racing — I said, after a year, I'll look at what I can do. The goal was always to get back into running, at whatever level, but I gave myself a year to recover because that was really important to me. I'd had two caesareans, so I wanted to come back stronger. You see the likes of Genevieve Gregson and those women coming

\[04:11\] through post-birth, and it's so inspiring. But I really wanted to give myself a year to relax and build into it and embrace that first year of my children's life. I lined up in — was it October? Yes — the GC50\. I coached myself to that event, put my foot on the line in my Pegasus, which is worth noting, because now I've stepped into the running world properly. The Pegasus got me through the 21K. I was really lucky to run alongside Rainey — Rainey Rigney, who I'm now

\[04:43\] fortunate enough to train alongside after that event — she pulled me through her training run for the first 17K, and after that I was pretty well done. I think I ran 1:18, so I was happy with that. Was that your first half marathon post-kids? I'd done the Gold Coast 50 once before, but nowhere near that pace. I was invited along with Rainey and her crew, with Kyle Wiese, who's now

\[05:14\] coaching me. He's been a perfect fit for me and the family and the way we juggle our Tetris week. So that's where it kicked off, about six or seven months ago, and now you've signed up for your first Gold Coast Marathon. I have, and the weeks are going by very quickly — eight weeks out. Are you shooting for a time? Yes — I'd like to go sub-2:35\. That could be a bit ambitious. Have you run a marathon before?

\[05:44\] I don't think it's ambitious given the times you've been running. Have you run a straight-up race marathon before? No — I've done the Coastal 50-something, I've done Red Bull Defiance, I've done a lot of endurance events. 42K doesn't really scare me. But you've never raced a marathon for time. If you'd asked old me, I'd have said ‘yeah I've got a time' and not told you — but in this new space I'm in, if you're going to say it, you want to believe it. So — 2:35\. I want the start

\[06:14\] line to really shave some time off that over the next while. So what's down the track — have you thought about it beyond the Gold Coast Marathon? I have thought about it. You're obviously all in. I am all in. This could be as good as it gets — if I'm super honest, this could be as good as it gets. But I wouldn't rule out Brisbane 2032, or LA. I'm going to say it, because I believe it. So who knows?

\[06:45\] That could be hugely ambitious, and honestly it could go either way, especially with the Gold Coast Marathon being a debut. If it all goes well, that's great. If it doesn't, I've learned, and I'll line up again. That's exciting, that you're thinking that way — and remember, like we said at the start, you've got that endurance base from 20 years. That's not something you're just jumping into fresh. There are a lot of women in this space —

\[07:15\] forgive my ignorance for not having these times off the top of my head — what are Jess and Jen and Sinead running at the moment? Way, way faster. I'm just trying to give people context, because someone hearing your sub-2:35 time might then hear us talk about the Olympics and wonder what the jumps are. What did Jess run — she set the Aussie women's record in Valencia, was it low 2:20-something?

\[07:47\] I'm not sure, but that's roughly the jump we're talking about — 2:21\. So coming back to the Goldie Marathon — when did you start your training block for this specifically? Kyle's given us about a 12-to-15-week lead-in. So we're eight weeks out now. Talk us through a week — do you join their sessions on Tuesdays? I do my best to get there Tuesday and Friday, because we run in the

\[08:18\] trails, and then I always see Kyle's group on the road, always cruising along super quick. What does a week look like for you at the moment in the build? My week is different to everyone else's because I'm juggling two kids, my husband's on shift work, and both sets of parents live interstate — so it's just us, and like I said, it's a Tetris board every week. Mondays are usually about 65 minutes easy — what I'm learning is that's actually important on heavy legs.

\[08:49\] I'm learning something every week. Tuesday is intervals — this morning, though, because we're racing this Sunday, it was a bit different, but we had something like three sixes and four twos. Wednesday we'll have 20 to 25K in the morning. Thursday isn't a fixed day for me — it's where I can move things around if Tanner's at work or something comes up with the kids. Fridays are intervals again, and

\[09:21\] Saturday's an easy hour, and then Sunday we're now building into a two-hour run with a 20-minute lift, then 15 off the end of that — so two to three hours total. Explain that long run for everyone, how you structure it. It's actually the first time I've done it this way too — last week it was two hours with a 15-minute build at the two-hour mark, then 10 to 15 minutes easing back down. When you say 15-minute build, does that mean just go faster?

\[09:52\] Sorry, that was at marathon pace — I should explain that better. As you said, you're learning through all of this too, and there'll be so many listeners going through exactly the same process, even if they're not running as fast as you. It's a bit like when AFL teams draft Irish footballers —

\[10:23\] they bring them over, and even though they're elite athletes in their own right, they get thrown into a team and told to learn a completely different sport, with a differently shaped ball, in front of 80,000 people on the weekend. So you're learning it as you go too. Back to the long run — you're running two hours at the moment, and at the two-hour mark, last week it was 15 minutes at marathon pace, then another 10 to 15

\[10:55\] minutes easing off the back of that. What is your marathon pace? For 2:35 it's just sub-3:40, around 3:35s. So what does that look like in a total weekly kilometre count? Last week was my biggest week — 128K. I'm a bit different to everyone else because I'm not doing double days, I just don't have the time. So you're getting 128K done

\[11:26\] out of one run a day? Yep — solid. Still seven or eight weeks out from race day — how are you feeling? Actually really good. We've raced the last couple of weekends — the first time I've lined up and raced since the T100 10K, which you won, by the way, congratulations. I turned up to training afterwards and felt like I had to execute those sessions with the same pain, trying to keep up and

\[11:58\] push and hold that race pace, and I blew up in the last rep of every session for the next two or three weeks. I slowly realised I wasn't losing strength, I was just worrying too much about the people around me — Kyle's really levelled up now, he's quicker than me, whereas for a while there he'd had the kids and was just cruising. Now I've got to let him go those five or ten seconds.

\[12:30\] But again, the learning for me was to just go by my own watch and worry about myself. Today I turned up, focused on my own watch, didn't worry about anyone else, and felt really good — executed the session as it was asked of me. I think consistency, just ticking sessions off day by day, is all I need to do. When you're doing those sessions, are you focused on pace or heart rate? We always go off effort where possible, which I really like. We train on the

\[13:01\] Spit, and it's always windy — I'm learning that. So when we come back a bit slower on the watch, we don't panic about it, because the effort was there, the heart rate was up where it needed to be for that threshold session. As long as the effort's there, the session's ticked off, which I really enjoy. You mentioned your family setup, and your husband Tanner working — he's a fireman, and a carpenter as well. There's a unique dynamic

\[13:31\] there too, because you've both raced elite ironman your whole lives. Who gets preference at the moment? I know exactly what you're going to ask. He's currently in the off-season — he's basically the oldest bloke still going around Cairns, but he still loves it, and I can't fault him for that. What we're learning is taking our time slots and making it work with the kids, with and without them. Our Saturday runs at the moment,

\[14:02\] in his off-season, have been fantastic — my son rides his bike for a 7K drop-off, Tanner takes the pram, and I finish off my last 20 or 25 minutes. That's our beautiful morning together, everyone ticks their box. But when we're both racing or training, I think I'm starting to get the better of him now. There we go, you'll love hearing that — and I'm sure he's noticing it too. What I wanted to get your perspective on is that there'll be people racing the half, racing the full, training for the first time — maybe without

\[14:34\] your elite background, but in a similar position of managing a career and kids and everything else. Aside from making the Tetris pieces fit, what else are you doing? Are there resources you lean on, strategies you use to make it all work? I applied for a bunch of jobs — I'm actually a journalist by trade, that's what I used to do. I know, you work at a radio station, so — no, I was writing a lot, and then AI

\[15:08\] came along, and my morals just don't align with using someone else's words — I wanted it to come from mine — but that became stressful too, in terms of headspace. So I started a cleaning business, so I could control my own hours. My running comes first, then work fits around the kids — well, the kids always come first, but you've got to work to make a life. So yeah, I'm cleaning, which probably doesn't appeal to a lot of people, but it's physical, I can set my own hours, and I really enjoy it. I fit my work around our schedule — with Tanner's rolling shift

\[15:38\] work, I can work my hours around that too. It's chaos, honestly, no denying that, but I've just made it work, and I still get half an hour in the gym a week if I can. Before we get to strength — how do you actually manage the logistics each week? Is it just communication, or an online calendar, or —

\[16:08\] thank you for asking, because I'm terrible at this. I've got my work calendar, that's gospel, but fitting family stuff in there is half in, half out. Every week we write it up on the calendar on the fridge — day, night, day, night — for who's off when. Generally, if Tanner's on a day shift that rolls in, I get Tuesday and Friday

\[16:38\] mornings, and Sunday mornings, which have always been my mornings since I started running. Tanner wanted to swim too, because he said it's a key session, and I said, well, me too — he still goes down to Masters some mornings. If his shift rolls onto a Tuesday, he'll get the kids up and ready for work, I'll meet him at the station, take the kids to daycare Monday and Tuesday — that's always locked in. Once they're dropped off, I train. This all sounds very confusing, but that's honestly how it works

\[17:09\] in our heads. It sounds like a lot of moving parts, but I've figured it out — Kyle's fantastic, very adaptable to what I need. If Tanner's got a day shift, or a night shift Saturday into Sunday, I'll move my long run to Wednesday — start with the group in the morning, then just do the extra kilometres myself, or do the whole thing myself if I have to. It just

\[17:42\] adds such a great element to our life too — we can take the kids out for an adventure in the morning, a bit like what Courtney does, then they drive home and I run home. It all integrates. If I thought any of it was detrimental to the kids, I'd stop, because the kids always come first in my eyes. But what I've seen over the last five years, especially

\[18:12\] with my son, is that it adds real value to his life, and to my daughter's too — they get in the gym with us, they're on the pram or the bike. He did his first fun run the other day and asked, ‘Mum, can I wear the bib?' — he called it his number plate. If he's not running or riding with me, he's on a board with Tanner in the surf. It all goes hand in hand — I'm sure you've

\[18:43\] seen this with your own kids too — I've got a nine-year-old and a five-year-old, and my wife's doing the marathon this year as well, her first ever — she's done a half before, now she's racing the full. We talk a lot about how important it is for kids, at a young age especially, to see you doing whatever it is — surf, running — because it makes you feel good, a passion rather than a chore, and all

\[19:13\] the rest of it, because they absorb it — they're sponges. My daughter got really into cross country at school for the first time this year — she didn't finish where she wanted to, but I told her, if you want to run with me next year, let's do it, and now I'm pumped, because they absorb all that energy from you. Running, especially with kids, can sometimes

\[19:45\] feel a little bit selfish — it does sometimes, and I'm not even elite, I'm a hobby jogger, but it can feel selfish taking time away from your kids. I think you have to remind yourself that they're also seeing Mum or Dad pursuing something they're passionate about, being outside and active, and that's life. Where did you grow up in Tassie?

\[20:15\] Dodges Ferry — head down towards Port Arthur, on the way to Eaglehawk Neck. What was your childhood like, growing up outdoors — I'd imagine fewer singlets, more jumpers? No, I was really fortunate growing up in Tassie — my parents worked hard and gave my sister, my brother and me the most beautiful life. We did everything Tassie offered — camping, I rode dirt bikes, we surfed, we did surf club,

\[20:48\] soccer, everything felt normal — you don't know what you don't know. Everyone asks how you got into surf when it's snowing down there, and honestly I don't know — we'd put our wetsuits on, jump off the mountain and paddle out on the Derwent. It was a beautiful life, and I always try to get the kids back down there every few months — we're really lucky to be able to give them the best of both worlds, so they can grow. Your kids are having a ball — I've seen them on the motorbikes, living the dream. Let's go back to your marathon prep —

\[21:18\] you're eight weeks out. Strength — you mentioned the running sessions, but for a lot of people the strength side is where they fall down, and I reckon the physios around the Gold Coast are probably about two weeks away from being inundated with injuries. What do you do in the gym? What I love about Kyle's coaching is that he's actually a physio himself, so it's gone hand in hand nicely — it also shows people

\[21:48\] the importance of a personalised coach who isn't ChatGPT, someone who understands your life and who you are as a person, and the changes that happen week to week. He's given me exercises to prevent injury — for strength itself, I honestly just make it up as I go. I go to the gym and make sure I do a bit of upper body work too, because I still want to be able to paddle, surf, ride, do all those things.

\[22:18\] But at the moment I'm sort of winging it — just trying to get in once a week for that injury-prevention side. What are the main exercises Kyle has you doing? Squats, calf raises — if I have to hear ‘calf raises' one more time from anybody — single-leg squats, I don't even know what half these exercises are called, lunges, deadlifts, that sort of thing. I pick off a few of them and add a bit of upper body work as well,

\[22:48\] whatever I can fit into 30 minutes. With the marathon in mind — we've sorted your shoes, what are you running in now? We're out of the Pegasus, done with that. I'll wear carbon shoes now — the local running shop have taken me on board, so I'm really

\[23:19\] lucky to represent them as an ambassador. They've gifted me some carbon shoes — I only bring them out on race day, and I train in the Mega Blast, the Mega Blast 6, and the Super Blast. That's an Asics rotation —

\[23:52\] it goes to show, even being new to running, you can go either way — you can be really knowledgeable and overcomplicate things, or naive and fast. I kind of like it, we're just cowboying it. What about your nutrition plan? I actually saw a dietitian last week, because I figured if I want to do this properly, I need to start on the one-percenters too. I was learning my food intake wasn't nearly enough for the training I was doing — something I've probably struggled with in the past. Had I known this or paid attention to it back in my club days, things might have been different. Now I'm eating so much more, I love carbohydrates,

\[24:24\] I'm living off carbs, and I'm really feeling the difference fuelling properly around sessions — I think it's probably the key factor in improving performance right now. I hope that lands loud and clear for a lot of people out there running, because that's a mistake I used to make too — thinking I needed to be lighter to run fast, when really you just need to fuel the engine, put enough in to make it go. I learned that the hard way, I'll admit. A couple of the boys were

\[24:56\] training for Osaka in the middle of summer, running up and down the Spit — I thought, given their pace compared to mine, it wouldn't be too bad for me to hang on. That session was the hardest thing I've ever done. I somehow drove home, had a shower, and fell asleep on the couch with the kids running wild around me, towel still on my head, basically unconscious. I had no energy, I was so sleepy, I felt like I was going to

\[25:27\] fall over mid-session — I basically fell through the door and asleep on the couch. That's when I realised I had to start using gels and things like that — I think it's hugely important, especially for women, to keep everything ticking over properly. On that — did you go and find that dietitian yourself, or did someone recommend her? Because we had a dietitian come and speak to us before the Sydney Marathon last year, and the feedback was that it's something people getting into running just don't

\[25:57\] understand well enough. I honestly didn't realise, and she's helped me — I was lucky, having been in sport a while, that I found Steph, who's the dietitian for the Australian kayaking team. She's got a beautiful background, and she's helped me understand that your meals should look very different depending on the session you're about to do, which I didn't know — I've been learning that these last couple of weeks, still growing my knowledge. It's been fantastic, and I've really

\[26:29\] been missing having that support — living off the kids' leftovers isn't enough, and I didn't understand the importance of fuelling before and after sessions. Are you racing this weekend? We've got the Gold Coast 30\. Good luck to everyone racing that. How will you approach fuelling on course — gels, sports drink, have you got to the trial stage yet? I was actually going to trial the endurance fuel —

\[27:04\] I've been using it in training, along with the gels. For a while I thought I'd just have to run on gels the whole way, but now I'm learning that at the Gold Coast Marathon I can grab drink bottles on course, which might sit better than gels. That's actually what this weekend's about — trialling it. That's an Andy Buchanan-ism too, he always talks about practising your race-day nutrition —

\[27:34\] you'll learn this weekend what sits well and what doesn't. So — nutrition, shoes, we've got you across the name of your own shoes now. Do you have a race strategy in mind? For a lot of people the marathon's about survival, but yours is much more of a time-based effort — negative split, even split, what's the plan?

\[28:06\] Honestly, I'd say I'm still in survival mode. Kyle and I haven't spoken about it in detail yet — I think we'll get through the next few weeks and then figure out how we're going to approach it. I learned at the T100 10K that I went out way too fast — he wanted to yell at me to pull it in, but said the best way to learn is to make the mistake. I think our third kilometre was 3:09 or something,

\[28:36\] and I thought, I need to pull this back, I'm going to blow up badly. The men's winner of that race ran something insanely fast — I can't remember the exact time — I genuinely thought he'd cut the course, he was so far ahead. I did blow up straight into the headwind and had to hold on all the way home. Then when we raced again recently at the Robina running festival, we said, we're just going to sit on 3:20s per K, and we did — it was smooth, it felt nice.

\[29:07\] So looking ahead, I'd imagine we'll just aim for a time, try to hold it, hold it, hold it, and then survive as long as we can from there. Coming up to a more elite level, is there something you've learned, something that's clicked for you along the way?

\[29:38\] Give us some examples. I mentioned earlier, sticking to my target pace really got to me after that T100 10K — you want to finish your last rep with a bit of a kick, and I kept getting to the last rep and just blowing up. It really came down to staying in my own lane, doing what I need to do, not worrying about anyone else. I think my biggest learning, actually — here we go —

\[30:09\] is from this past weekend. We had a long run planned with a 20-minute stretch at marathon pace, and I didn't do it — my daughter had a fever of 39.2\. In the early hours of Sunday morning I felt my long run slipping away, but I couldn't leave her. Old me would have panicked, thinking there goes the 32 or 35K I needed. Instead of panicking, I got up, fuelled myself properly, and my

\[30:39\] dad, who's up visiting from Tassie at the moment, took my son out for a bit while I said I'd be back. I got 16K in with my daughter in the pram in the morning. I messaged Kyle and asked what to do about the afternoon — the plan was to get the last hour and a bit in, with the 20-minute lift, but that wasn't going to happen either. The day just got away from us, my daughter was unwell, I couldn't leave her. I snuck in half an hour and just

\[31:10\] ran, got another 7K in, and finished the day around 23K total. I went to bed thinking, that actually felt really good — better than nothing. I didn't wake up on Monday thinking I had to make up the kilometres or the missed session. Old me would have been panicking that this was the worst thing that could happen to my goal, but in reality it probably helped — I got a couple of extra hours of sleep in those early hours, felt a bit more rested,

\[31:41\] and executed today's session well. Sunday's done, don't worry about it, move on to next Sunday. That's such a big message — I remember Benita drumming this home last year on the show, that one of the worst things people do when they miss a session isn't missing it, it's punishing themselves trying to cram it into the next day. If it's gone, it's gone. That's right, and life happens — that's how we're rolling with it, not every session is going to

\[32:15\] feel good, not every one is going to feel terrible, but consistency has been the key. The guys I run with really push that message — get those heavy legs moving, even when you feel terrible, keep them going, and it pays off. I'm definitely feeling the benefits of that. And Benita said this too — having someone to bounce it off is key, because when you're on your own, second-guessing yourself, it can spiral.

\[32:46\] Having someone there, not necessarily to be accountable to, but just someone to talk to, makes the biggest difference. Here's a question you might not know the answer to — if things go well at the Gold Coast Marathon and you hit that time, Courtney might be able to answer this — how does it actually work? Does Athletics Australia ring up and say, hey Allie, we've seen you're running well, keep going? Because going back to

\[33:18\] what you said earlier about dreaming of Brisbane, of LA — is there any actual communication with the governing bodies, or do you just hope they've noticed? Honestly I have no idea. I have looked into what I'd need to run to be recognised over 10K —

\[33:48\] I think it's sub-33 minutes. I said to Kyle the other day, give me six months and let's go for sub-33, I think that's very doable. If you're in the low 32s you're definitely looking at a good selection standard for something — although with ChatGPT throwing in that I'm ‘old,' they're usually looking for younger athletes coming through. But I mean, you run the time, and that's the one thing across all the Olympic sports —

\[34:18\] whether it's triathlon, kayaking, whatever it is — the result is the result. It's there, you can't argue with times, with comparisons — you just go and produce the result, and in the end it looks after itself. Well, you're two years younger than Jen, four years younger than Jess, fifteen years younger than Sinead — so when you're talking about younger athletes coming through,

\[34:50\] I think you'd technically qualify on that front. No excuses — if you get out there and run, people notice. That's the first thing. And once you start putting up the times, you get onto the list for whatever team or squad it might be — they start scrolling down looking for names. It's exciting, it's fun. Do you still cross-train, given your background, now that running's become your pure focus? How much time are you still getting

\[35:20\] in for the paddling and everything you mentioned wanting to maintain strength for? I swam for the first time in about six months the other day — I'll introduce more of that when I can, but time's so limited that as long as the run's done and I've had half an hour in the gym, that's the priority. Honestly, we're a bit cowboy about it, I don't recover properly — I should go to RMC, they're fantastic, but only occasionally, not as much as I'd

\[35:50\] like. I'd love to stretch, I'd love to have that time, but as soon as I'm through the door I'm back on mum duty. We've got a pretty adventurous lifestyle and we just keep rolling with it — hiking, whatever it is — I don't tell myself I can't do something because I've got to run, it all just works together. That's probably also the most helpful thing — being able to switch off

\[36:22\] completely, because especially these days, with new people getting into running, it can become totally all-encompassing, something you think about 24/7\. Being able to switch off is honestly the best thing. Something I was thinking about when you mentioned your adventurous life — before you walked in I was telling Liam that we actually all crossed paths before. At Red Bull Defiance, we were trying to work out whether it

\[36:52\] was pre- or post-COVID. Why did you get into Red Bull Defiance in the first place? For anyone listening who hasn't heard of it, it's a two-day adventure race, probably 10 to 13 hours each day. We actually sat in the same raft together one year. I held my own there — I've always been in the first boat, every time.

\[37:24\] I've always been the only female up the front of the boat during the paddle-run leg — that's how it works. On the Friday evening before the two-day event there's a prologue, a short run and a paddle around the cans and back in — your surf background would have suited that well. Then the next day we'd race the boats, six of us to a boat, I think.

\[37:55\] That'd be right — must have been around 2020 to 2022, I just looked it up, not that long ago. I was in the middle boat, by the way, with my mate Ed — in your boat too, which is the key part. Did you fall out at all? No, we didn't — there were about 32 boats and we were boat 16, smack in the middle of the field, right on the average.

\[38:26\] That was funny, because I was running with David Rhodes — friend of the show, friend of all of ours — the other week, and he'd told me about your running before the T100 10K. I was hobbling along in the background, and by the time I finished you were already on stage collecting your trophy. Then Rosie showed me your Instagram and I saw you'd raced Red Bull Defiance too — I'm well behind you there, but you need to find your way back to that event, Courtney.

\[38:56\] We met each other through it, actually — pre-training, we brought Sarah Berry up, the running journalist from the Sydney Morning Herald, and took her out on the Worry Track, then up into the Nerang trails on electric mountain bikes. I remember it — mountain biking's one of those things, like dirt bikes, where you take a bit for granted once you've got the hang of going downhill, so I thought I'd play it safe. I took them up the fire trail, up to the top of

\[39:28\] what might have been the second Goat Loop, for those who know the Goldie trails — it drops off pretty steep. I told them just don't hit the front brake too hard on the way down, and about 30 metres in I realised no one had followed. I'd come down alone, had to turn around, and we walked the bikes back up while Sarah and Kerry stayed put. I ran into Kerry at the Wings for Life run on the weekend, great to see her.

\[39:58\] Small world, in this endurance community — but it's a growing one. Running's never been more popular. Aside from the goals you've set yourself as a runner — a bit ambitious, no? I love it, I love it. Why has running called to you now, when surf was what called to you early on?

\[40:29\] I think it's an outlet for me from motherhood and the stresses of everything that comes with it — when I run, I'm just running, everything else falls away. I always ran even back when I was training for surf club — I'd swim a session and then run, and my morning wouldn't properly start until I had. Which is probably why the Coolangatta Gold suited me so well, given the run leg in it. I found a kind of meditation in running, and I think that's why I've kept going. I always felt like I had unfinished business with it.

\[40:59\] It's not that I didn't love it, I just loved surf more, and I had — I still have him in my life now — Donnie, who was my coach, we'd travel interstate together for competitions, and my whole lifestyle was built around surf club. That's where my best friends are, that's where I was drawn. Running's probably calling to me now because I need something for myself at this point in my life. I'm still so competitive, I won't deny it, I still want goals.

\[41:30\] I still think there's a huge value, whether you're a mother or whatever else, in still having something that's yours. It's important for me personally to keep striving for something, and this is my goal right now, so I'm going for it — I think everyone should. That's a beautiful note to finish on, Allie Lyndon. I think for a lot of people following along, what they love about these series is not just having their own

\[42:01\] goals, but following other people's stories through the running community — and yours is one a lot of people will want to follow, potentially all the way to 2028, maybe even 2032, if things go well. I think I've got a race on my hands now — what are you looking to run? I'm the opposite to you, I won't throw a number out there — he's being a coward about his time. What I will say, Allie, is I think

\[42:33\] there's every chance I'll be calling a sprint finish down the blue carpet on marathon day. You could call it — nothing would make me happier than calling a sprint finish down the blue carpet between Allie Lyndon and Courtney Atkinson on Gold Coast Marathon day. I'm putting my excuses out early, Liam, every — I still can't believe it. Last year, chatting to Bronte each week, I remember going down and taking photos and video at the GC

\[43:04\] 30 — that's this weekend, actually. Then Gold Coast is right after that. So good luck to everyone racing the GC30, Allie — use it as your practice, practice your nutrition, your shoes, whatever you need to work out. We'll fill everyone in next week on how it goes. And a big shout-out to the running shop —

\[43:34\] TRS, down on James Street in Burleigh — the most local business supporting local athletes, exactly what we want to see heading into our home marathon. Thanks for your time, Allie. Thanks guys, thanks for having me. Good luck with the training. Thank you.