Ego Vs. The Data: Decoding Courtney's Marathon Pace Session

[00:00] In the beginning — Gold Coast Marathon series continues. Two and a half weeks. Countdown is on — no more hard sessions, according to the great Benita Willis from Lace Up Running. Courtney Atkinson, how are you? Good, Liam — I've come off a big one today. Let's get straight into it. Big session — so we sat down and you said you've done a big session today, done a big week. Was it a hard session this morning? It was. It was the delayed marathon-prep session.

[00:31] Let's go straight into it — before we get into the marathon-prep session, because I wrote on my Strava, just listening on Wednesday if you want to know more. This is one of the biggest learnings, even just this morning — I put up my run on Strava. I ran 28K. But if you actually just looked at it, you've got no idea what it means. Nothing. And this is one of the traps we all fall into — you could go and look at it and try to analyse it and work out what the hell I've done, but unless you hear it from the horse's mouth, you're really just guessing.

[01:03] Okay, but let's rewind. Rewind, okay. Because we've had some good feedback on me being open and honest about my training, in a situation that isn't ideal. Not at all — no one's helping me train. None of the other partners I work with are really helping me train for this marathon. If anything, they're doing everything they possibly can to Achilles-heel me. Not by chance, but — I did a good four-week block—

[01:37] —where I was averaging, doing those runs like we've talked about before, running every second day. I got up to about a four-week block where I'd run 60 to 70K, maybe a touch over, on average for the kilometres. So I had some good consistency there — things were moving along, I was definitely progressing. And then I thought, I really should back off. I need a down week, I need to rest. But it wasn't an ideal week — my mind was already made up—

[02:07] —because I knew what was coming up that week. We spoke on a Tuesday; that Wednesday I headed to Canberra. I was down there with Subaru doing some car stuff for a few days, then I came back late one evening, had to drive straight back up to Brisbane to get on a plane to Cairns. I was there four days. Everywhere I went, it rained. And sometimes, from the outside, people go, oh, he's just — you know, he's just hanging out—

[02:41] —but there's a whole schedule you're up against. You're going to these places for a reason — I'm working, and I'm dictated by other people's schedules. I don't get to choose, like, 'oh, I'll just go run.' For instance, in Canberra I assumed I probably wouldn't be needed till about 9:30 in the morning, and then the call ended up being 7:45. I had a session planned in Canberra, but the reality is it doesn't even get light there until about 7:15.

[03:14] And the other thing I've found with these sessions on previous training blocks — you need time. You might think the session on your data plan, on your watch, whatever it is, says 45 minutes of running, or 50 minutes, but you need to allow ten minutes either side of that to warm up and cool down. Plus you need time allocated — and if you've got somewhere to be after that, you need time to shower and get presentable for whatever's next. So when you're travelling, you might see an hour window between commitments—

[03:44] —and you can't do anything in that time. No, that's exactly right — transport from A to B, whatever it is. So the session that would have looked like this — it was last Thursday morning. Ideally I would have liked to run an hour twenty, an hour and a half, and get some efforts in. The reality was I ran for 60 minutes and just did a build. I kept it cruisy because I didn't want to cook myself. The other thing people forget is you've got to allow time because you're sweating like a pig—

[04:14] —and you've got to get dressed to go somewhere. There are going to be different walks of life listening to us, but I'm sure anyone in business, going into a meeting, understands — you don't want to be sweating half an hour after you've just done an effort. This makes me think back to the episode we did with Allie Lyndon, about how she pursued this dream — she built a business and juggles the kids, her and her husband. What was the phrase she kept using? 'We're just cowboying it.'

[04:44] I love it — I get it. Yeah, I loved it. So that's a bit of context as to why I just decided I'm going to take an easy week, do about half mileage, take it nice and easy, rest up, and then reposition that key marathon session. Go against the grain — everyone says make sure you get all the big, heavy work done before three weeks out. I'm thinking, what's two days extra?

[05:15] So you've literally come off your key big marathon session this morning. Yep. Can I just say — I don't know if it's coming across to people listening, but there's an energy about you, a buzz. My prediction is whatever session you did this morning went really well. He's — no, no, you don't have to tell me. Walk me through it, because the vibe I'm getting from you right now—

[05:47] —is that you're a man who's very pleased, in good rhythm with whatever you put out there this morning on the pavement. It wasn't the greatest, honestly — lots of learnings, for sure. So I'll run you through it. We've obviously had Andy and Benita, everyone giving advice on sessions, and this is where I landed — I suppose it's the last one where I was trying to work out pacing and heart rates. I was like, well, what do I do—

[06:18] —we'd had a lot of conversation about that with you over the last while, a hundred percent, yeah — because Benita was leaning towards you getting a 20K effort-style session out, and Andy's session, the one he liked, was two by three K at half-marathon pace into a 12K session. So you had those two. So what do you think — I'm guessing you've made up your own? Yeah, I took a bit of inspiration from both—

[06:51] —and honestly, I asked Claude, the AI, last night. Oh really? I asked Claude, threw it all into the mixing bowl. And in the end it doesn't really matter, because you're going to get out of it what you need to get out of it. So I landed on a bit of Andy's and a bit of my own — I did run a 20K effort, mixed in with a bit of Andy's, but I didn't go quite as aggressive as Andy's. I did a 5K warm-up, then put on the super shoes—

[07:24] —I wanted my feet ready, because these were the Nike Alpha Flys this morning. Is this the first time you're running in them? I wore them for 25K at the same location a few weeks back, but I really wanted to get a longer session done in them, to make sure my feet weren't going to pull up really sore. I was a bit concerned about my plantars and arch, but after this morning I actually ended up warming down—

[07:55] —in them, which is a good sign, instead of whacking a pair of joggers back on. I'm just bringing your activity up on Strava. Better do it. So it's 4K into 12K into 4K, to make a 20K — call it a marathon effort. But I was really playing with pacing. I wanted to run the first 4K at around 3:50s—

[08:27] —glad you picked me up on that, because I would have listened back and gone, hang on, you're running at Sebastian Coe pace! It gets confusing, doesn't it — because the pacing is the 3:50s, but then you want to run the marathon at two-something. Yeah, that's where — yeah, okay. So you want — you were running the marathon at 2:50? You ran your 4K at 2:50 marathon pace? No, no. I ran — I was aiming to run the first 4K very conservatively, aerobically, at 3:50s.

[09:00] For the sake of everyone whose mind blurs when numbers come into it, let's stick with per-kilometre pace, not marathon time. Per kilometre pace, yes, okay, great — goal was 3:50s, straight into a 12K at ideally around 3:45s, into the last 4K of that 20K down around 3:40s, even dropping to 3:35s. The goal was to get a really good handle on—

[09:33] —what I believe the true marathon pace is, because Benita said, yes, let's go conservative at 3:50s. That hurt your ego. It really hurt my ego. I've had a lot of feedback from listeners going, 'you're a hundred percent 3:40s, minimum,' and I've got others in my ear going, 'you're kidding yourself, Benita knows what she's talking about.' No — the other way, going 'oh really, you're actually—' So even at the back end of the session, the—

[10:04] —two-hour session, Andy said: allow for a ten-second drop over the last twenty minutes, based on his experience of doing it as a session — when you're in race conditions, fresh, with the right fuel, you'll run it at 3:10s in training but 3-minute-K pace on race day. That gave me some real confidence — but then also you're thinking, hang on, we said we're going to be conservative—

[10:34] —flip-flopping here. Sure. Now, here's the learnings from today— Are you going to talk about it, just quickly? I don't want to spoil your ending — are you going to reference the times you ran, now that you've just set us up with what your goals were? Yes. Okay, I'll shut up then, keep going. Why? I don't want to jump in, I don't want you to — having laid out the plan, let it go unsaid. Well, this is the thing, you're a metronome, mate. Yeah, but ego—

[11:05] —ego. Okay, keep going. This doesn't get any easier for us, no matter what level — ego, and you want to push harder. So I ran the first 4K, and realistically — you said you were aiming for 3:50 per K. Exactly. And I'm like, so what have I got — 3:47, 3:46, 3:44, 3:40. Heart rate very conservative—

[11:36] —this is feeling like tempo work to me, very comfortable, and I'm thinking no stress at all here. And then, about 3K later — you idiot, really, you idiot — because the purpose of the session was actually meant to be conservative and easy. But here I am going, well, maybe I should be at 2:45, then I can go to 2:40, then 2:30 — the mind races very quickly ahead. So yes, I did go a little—

[12:08] —bit quicker, but the heart rate was very conservative, everything felt good. Got into the 12K, and this is where I got a bit of a wake-up call on the ego — for the first half of that 12K I bumped it down to probably more like 2:40 to 2:45. Still very conservative — but then I moved back into target marathon pace, around 3:45s. Then the heart rate started to—

[12:41] —slide. Yeah, I can see it. So at that point I'm starting to go, look, I'm still very comfortable, but I'm not sure I can hold a marathon at this effort. I don't know. And how far into your run are you here, at this point? Probably 15. I'm just quickly looking at your heart rate during this — are you monitoring this with a chest strap or off your wrist? Chest, of course — because of the learnings from last week with Dr Luke at SCU—

[13:14] —I now understand what those numbers actually mean, on your watch and on your chest strap. So at 15K, your heart rate looks like it's sitting at about 155. Correct, probably averaging that. I would have liked the first 4K to be conservative, under 150, which I probably was. Yeah, definitely — it looks like you broke through the 150 threshold at around—

[13:44] —12K. So this is where — I haven't raced in a long time, so I'm going by feel, but I'm also not trusting my gut a hundred percent, because I'm going, but my heart rate's telling me this. It started to slide up towards the higher 150s, and that's not an area I believe I can run a marathon at. This is good information, because I think the key thing to communicate here, for people who might be running the marathon for the first time and following this series, is understanding that—

[14:15] —you're saying, I've made a mistake based on fuel, but you're also looking at data that says above 150 isn't marathon-sustainable. A hundred percent — so I'm using both, feel and data, watching the data at the same time and trying to correlate it into a feeling. Because in the end, it's a feeling, right? I've been travelling the last seven days, not sleeping properly, doing all that — so the reality is my heart rate's probably a bit cooked anyway. And just on that — how much—

[14:46] —do you think the ego in that first 4K section affected the heart rate through that next 12K? I don't think it affected it much at all — it just probably didn't serve the session with the right purpose. But this is where the ego really hit, because we got through the 12K, my heart rate's a bit higher than I'd have liked, but still very comfortable — and I'm at this stage thinking, realistically—

[15:17] —my marathon pace right now, in today's training session, isn't 2:41. I don't think it'll run out at — well, you'd want it around 3:41 per kilometre. However, it's probably not 3:45 either — it's in that window. So you've really tightened your per-K window. A hundred percent. But then going back to what Benita said — if you want to start conservative and guarantee a great day out, why not—

[15:47] —start at 3:50s? Very conservative, but I get her point, that it's going to be a good day for me. If I want to push a bit, I've got to come down — using Andy's analogy, drop ten seconds — I'm probably going to put myself in a bit of a world of hurt after that 12K. So then I went — hit my lap split going into the last 4K—

[16:18] —I think I dropped to 3:20. So according to your Strava here, you've only done three K's — but I'm going to assume— No, no. I went 3:27, then 3:36, then 3:40, and then it looks like you've gone into your recovery kilometres. No, no — I've done 4K at 3:44s. How long was your warm-up? 5K. Okay, and then I've done 4K at 3:44 kilometre pace—

[16:50] —then I've done 12K, or 11.98K, at 3:41s, and I've actually hit split six seconds late — I stuffed the split up. Well, there you go, you stuffed the split up — don't get angry at me, I'm just reading your Strava data. I don't — then, for the last 4K, I can see 4K at 3:34s. But this is where the ego hit, because I ran the first K when I went to go a bit faster and let it roll a bit—

[17:21] —then I ran, I think, a 3:27, or something — which obviously is nothing— You would never run that in the marathon. Exactly. So — the data's there, I look at it, and I see you, two and a half weeks out. To me, it looks like you're in great shape. To me, it looks like you've got a decision to make with what you just talked about — Benita's advice, Andy's advice, your own — it's going to land somewhere around both. What do you feel, two and a half weeks—

[17:52] —out, you're going to run the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon in? Right now — I don't even know what it equates to. This is the beauty of — what's your per-kilometre pace, do you think you're going to average? I'm going to take a stab today — I'm probably in that 3:40 to 3:43 range by the time I get there. Call it 3:43 per kilometre, to be on the safe side—

[18:23] —I'm bringing up a marathon pace chart. Oh God, I hate this — this is the one thing Aussie runners have got to get more across — just ask AI, mate, it's probably quicker. 3:43s equals what marathon? The biggest learning — it's a 2:37, Liam.

[18:53] You're always better. Yeah, so here's the big thing in a nutshell — and not everyone — Sorry, just before we move on — 2:37 — will you be pleased with that? Yeah. There's a 'yeah' said with a raised eyebrow. Probably not — but I say yeah because you can only work with what you've got. Of course. And this is what I want — not everyone's—

[19:26] —going to agree with me here, but I hope some runners out there will take something from this: having a goal time and wanting to do something is great, but you also need to set realistic goals. That's exactly why I answered the way I did — am I happy? No. But would I be happy? Yes — because if I run it out the way the training is suggesting, that is the goal.

[19:57] You can hope all you want in sport — and I'm not saying that when you race you can't race out of your skin and get a better result, that might come down a few minutes. But you have to have realistic goals. And that sets up the next thing: if you're too concerned about a GPS split on your watch and not guided by your body and feel, you're going to shortchange yourself either way—

[20:29] —it's a guide, but what I'm relearning, going through this, is — because that's what's happening, I just haven't done this for a couple of years — you have to listen to your body and understand: okay, now I'm feeling my legs are doing something, they've gone over that threshold, I'm not just tapping along any more, I'm actually putting pressure through them—

[21:00] —and that might be okay for — I don't know how long I'll last at that. I might last 8K at the end, in that situation I might last 5K of my last 10K, but I don't know — and that's the fun of it. This is such — for everybody listening, this is a bit of a different episode from the ones we've put out before about the Gold Coast Marathon, and even the regular weekend episodes, because it's so specific, around one training session—

[21:31] —I'm sitting here across from you getting a really interesting perspective, because we never did one of these when you were still competing at elite level — but seeing you tap back into training like this, with intent and structure, I'm getting kind of dialled-up elite Courtney right now, in that you're relearning a lot of this stuff that was habitual for you for so long. It's a really cool insight — even though elite athletes—

[22:01] —seem superhuman to us in every sport, ultimately they're still just people, using not-too-dissimilar coaching and training techniques to everybody else. They're just better at it, or they've done it for longer, or they've got certain biological factors that let them do it at a high level — but ultimately the tools they're using are the same. A hundred percent. So when you were going through that, saying—

[22:32] —you said you're probably like, I look happy. Do you know the best thing about sport — everyone misses this. Well, not everyone. It's the process. Yeah, yeah, it's the fun— Don't use that word. The excitement is in the process of understanding what makes it all click — because if you'd said the word 'journey,' we'd have been done. It's not a journey — I'm not interested in the journey, I'm interested in today. But that's all built up over—

[23:03] —like we've been talking about this over weeks, and there's been some key — I was late to the party a little bit with the targeted sessions. If you'd had a 16-week block, or were able to train every day — maybe that's half the fun of it too, that I haven't overdone it. I've only done a couple of these sessions. So you'll get to the start line— When I'm ready, when I've done these sessions — it's not like, you hear a lot of marathoners, or even when you were training for the Miler and starting to go, 'I—'

[23:33] —just want to get to the start line, I'm cooked.' I'm the complete opposite — I'm like, jeez, I wish I had another few weeks up my sleeve to knock off a few more of these. But the reality is, you don't get that. Maybe that's the happy balance — if you're someone running a marathon and you're at the stage where you're going, I just want this over, this is awful— Yeah, but again, that's a feeling, right — going back to how you were lining up this morning, it's not — while we—

[24:05] —work on 12-week blocks, and while the ChatGPTs or the AIs, or whatever programme you use, and even your actual human coaches like Benita, work on data collected over the years and understand the individual — ultimately, at the end of the day, you're the only person who can sit inside your own brain and understand how your body's feeling in the lead-up to an event or a training session. Going back to the process — what I'm excited about, for anybody—

[24:37] —entering any event, specifically the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon, the half, the ten, the five: if you've put yourself through a process in the lead-up to the race, regardless of how it goes on the day — great, bad, whatever — you'll come away with a level of understanding, having learnt something about you, your body, the way you run and train and prepare. That's all I'd ever want for anybody going into running — if you go through a—

[25:09] —process and learn something about how you run — you might even find out you don't like running, and that's okay too. But the outcome of the finish line is one thing; the other outcome, of understanding yourself as a person, as an athlete, physiologically, is so invaluable. And you can't get that sitting in front of a computer screen. No, you can't. But talking about computer screens — we've been talking about AI a little — I'll give you a—

[25:39] —rundown of what Claude pulled out of today's session, knowing it's got all my history now. Yep. This is the back end of Strava you can look at — it's analysed this morning's session, given me some output. Then we'll get into what I was thinking about this morning too — the things I hadn't thought about, like — my shorts. Not happy with my— Oh, you're not happy with the shorts?

[26:10] I'm not happy with my shorts this morning — there's a few things I want to touch on, but first — I've plugged it into Claude. What did you think about the breakdown this morning? It gave the heart-rate story — it's trying to work out LT2, still believes my LT2 is around 150, which I'm not sure about, I think it might be a touch higher — but it thinks I hit LT2 by kilometre 3 of the—

[26:41] —main set, roughly at 3:47 kilometre pace. For the scientists out there — if you're saying my LT2 is 3:47, what do you think? I'd be interested if anyone's really into it. Jump in the comments and let us know what you think — because it's still saying my heart rate's down at 128 to 132 at LT1. And then it notices — yep — that you've got some travel toll, it's calling it that—

[27:13] —from the travel over the last week. So the drift on the heart rate's probably a bit higher than you'd expect if you were completely fresh. Decoupling was 4.1%, which is a positive signal — I agree, anything below 5% is a reasonable conclusion. Don't use today as your marathon-pace benchmark, it says — don't use today— Because the travel toll shifted your physiology too much. So it—

[27:44] —am I right in saying Claude thinks you can run faster? It sounds like it — the underlying fitness for a 3:40 marathon pace is real. So yes, it's saying I can go quicker — but I don't believe Claude yet, I'm not sold on it, but it's making some conclusions. Two things to watch before the next quality session: take some genuine rest tomorrow— Of course. —check the resting heart rate while you're walking, whatever it—

[28:16] —it won't be doing that, and the body's going to absorb today. Well, that's common sense. Okay, so onto — that's the session, the data, the numbers, the nitty-gritty. I love it — that was a 28-minute deep dive. Do you want to get into your other, non-data drama? Yeah, let's do it quickly, because there's—

[28:46] —going to be runners out there doing the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon, the half, and the Southern Cross University 10, who've already bought their clothes, got their shoes, probably know exactly what gel they're having. Where are the problems? This morning, my total nutrition was a dirty 7-Eleven coffee on the way there, and I threw a Red Bull on the dashboard as I drove past—

[29:18] —and that's the extent of my nutrition. So that's the other thing Claude should say — you've fuelled like a beginner for this hard session. I probably haven't really trialled the nutrition the way we've talked about. Have you refuelled since you got home? I have. Honestly, it doesn't seem like you've refuelled well enough — we're being a hundred percent transparent in this run-up, Liam. My fuel on the way home — I've—

[29:49] —spent literally three minutes at home, had a shower, was back at 7-Eleven — big advocate for 7-Eleven — got a big chocolate milk— That was the protein. —the protein hit — a chocolate croissant— And I don't know, a sneaky coffee. That's all you put back into your body after? I had another Red Bull straight after I finished running too. Alright, look, getting sugars back in quickly. Big chocolate milk—

[30:21] —ticks the box on protein, chocolate croissant just because— Because they're calling to you. Who doesn't love a chocolate croissant, it's everything, right? And then I had to get the car to a service, so I grabbed a coffee on the run. Right, so fuelling — you didn't do well. So, work out what you're going to do on the day. No, I haven't — that's what I was running through in my head during the warm-down, going, we missed that mark. My decision will be — Andy talked about—

[30:51] —this — he used more of a sports-nutrition fluid, something like Maurten, by the sounds of it — gels in my case, because I'm not going to have an elite bottle out there on course, so I'm probably leaning more towards gels. Would you go Maurten? I'd probably lean SiS — personal preference, honestly. If I were buying my own sports nutrition I'd go Maurten or SiS—

[31:23] —SiS sometimes seems better but a bit harder to get in Australia, so I'd go Maurten, just as easy. What I want from them is a high-carbohydrate mix in a 500ml bottle. Beautiful — so would you have someone hand it to you? I'm not sure if that's allowed, can you take those on course? I don't know — as an immature—

[31:55] —sidebar, I don't know if it's allowed, but we probably should have checked this with the good people at Gold Coast Marathon. It's ASICS Gold Coast Marathon first — I've done it before, I did it for Reedy a couple of years back when I was belting around with a backpack on, on a bike, and I think it's fine — you could get away with it. So maybe carry some gels as an emergency backup — I won't rely on course nutrition at all, except for water—

[32:26] —and I'd love them to have a Red Bull at 30K, honestly, but realistically they'll probably put Coke out on course. If only you knew someone at Red Bull who could coordinate something— We won't be at the finish, but they won't be out on course. Okay, so that's fuel and nutrition — clothing: we've talked about how much we love the Salomon trail shorts, which I do, and I think they're an amazing short — didn't think I'd be saying this, Liam, but I need a shorter short—

[32:56] —they're not suited to the marathon. No, I'm not going to run in — I think they're nine-inch, they're built for the trails. Some people run in fivers, mate — I hate to say it, but I've been leaning towards more basic running shorts. Mate, it's the marathon — a pair of Gold Coast sun shorts would be great if they had a liner, but they don't. I think our good friends at Nike are probably—

[33:26] —sending some — I did get an email from our good friends at Nike after we talked about their new mesh setup, the Airflow range — there's some kit on the way, I believe, for us to sample. I'm looking forward to trying it, no guarantees, because you want to make sure it runs well. I'll definitely try the shorts and singlet, and if they're good with the tech in there, I'm not going to push back — but we'll see where we land. The Nike ACG Radical Airflow—

[33:57] —I just want to make sure we get the correct terminology, that's the range — some of it looks like it's come straight out of Miami Vice. If we get one of the long-sleeves— I'm not wearing that. But if we get one of the singlets— Singlet, yes, okay, I'll try the singlet. What did you run in this morning? I just ran in a merino top — I actually run in merino on the Gold Coast. So no dramas with the top half, it's just the shorts. You're happy — how did the shoes pull up? Shoes are good.

[34:27] You're happy with the shoes? I'm not going to change shoes at this stage — I've had, I'll mention, a couple of brands send me shoes to try, but at this stage, with a marathon coming up, you stick with what you know. After this, we'll see where it goes. But there's no way, two and a half weeks out, we're changing out of the Alpha Flys — that's what's in the cupboard. What I'd love, once everything's locked in, is a post up—

[34:57] —of you, we should almost get a carousel up on Instagram — Courtney's picks for the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon. I kind of want to go incognito. No — if I fail— No, no, no, Courtney — that's why I'm talking about it, whether we win or we learn, be in all the new gear, recognisable — full neon setup. You're going to be wearing the hat down over your eyes, thinking you're going incognito — I'm going to be on the start and finish line with a microphone in—

[35:28] —my hand — you think I'm going to let you start or finish that marathon without a bit of fanfare? Absolutely no chance. What else do you need for a marathon that I haven't thought of? Sunglasses. Oh, good question — running sunglasses. Should we get in touch with the people at Oakley? I've got plenty of Oakleys lying around. But will you wear them? That's a good question — I tend not to, but—

[36:01] —do you know what makes me think maybe I should? I hate seeing running photos of people's faces in a marathon when your face looks like it's drooping — everyone listening knows that look, I've been in that photo several times. So when you can't guarantee what photos are going out there, glasses are a good call. But I probably won't wear them — they wouldn't be Oakleys we get you, by the way, would they? They'd be goodrs—

[36:31] —goodr is the official sunglasses partner of the Gold Coast Marathon. And for anyone coming up for the marathon, the special Gold Coast Marathon edition goodrs are brilliant — good sunglasses to run in, they're light, they feel weightless on your face, they don't slip. Great sunnies. I think some of those will be on their way. I don't think they're your look, though. Courtney, who's going to be wearing a pair of goodrs?

[37:03] Your classic run-club crew, big group runs — they're in these run-in-paradise special goodrs. I love them, and I'm doing a quick check here — for forty-nine bucks, it's as cheap as you'll get a great pair of running glasses, because if you go high-end you start tipping over three figures. But for fifty bucks, you walk away with a memento of the race, one you can actually use on the day.

[37:33] What are we looking at, is it fluros? Of course it's fluros — very trail-y. goodr is a terrific brand within the trail community, kind of got a Miami Vice feel — I'll show you a picture, I'll turn this so you can see it. Whoa, yeah. They've got a special Gold Coast Marathon edition — this is the blue, the yellow— Definitely tropical colours. If I can jump ahead to 2027 — Gold Coast Marathon, look at what goodr did with these—

[38:03] —sunglasses, ASICS should be taking that colourway into a shoe. They don't — ASICS don't have a Gold Coast Marathon colourway shoe, right? We've talked about this before — there's your colourway right there. Get onto it — they do it at Noosa with the tri shoe, why not do it for the Coast. Anyone watching on video — I've just realised, while Liam's showing all this stuff, I've actually got what I was watching on Netflix last night on my screen, you can probably see it—

[38:34] —Jennifer Lopez— You've got a little cameo action, someone singing over my shoulder if you're watching the video. I couldn't get to sleep last night. I don't know what show it was. Hey — two and a half weeks out, have we hit everything you needed today? Yeah, that's it.

[39:05] Two and a half weeks out, which means we've got two more of these episodes to go before race day. If you've got any last-minute questions, panic questions, concerns, something's changed, you want some advice — send us some questions, we'll get to them next week. And if you just want to tell us — or if you want to give me some advice on my running, let us know what pace you think I'll run. We might run a competition to guess Courtney's finish time— Oh, we need to run a guess-Courtney's-finish-time competition, you've got to have a prize for that. Yeah, I know, I'll sort a prize, I'll talk to the people at—

[39:37] —yeah — alright, we'll figure that out. All good. We'll have more this Saturday, two more of these episodes to go before race day. I hope everyone's prep is absolutely flying — we'll see you Saturday. See you then.