GOLD COAST MARATHON SERIES - THE TAPER, THE NERVES & THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

[00:00] In the beginning runs the Gold Coast Marathon. The full crew's back on deck here — Lace Up Running supercoach Benita Willis, Bronte, our one-feet-capable horse for this race, Courtney and myself. Let's go straight to the runner, straight to the actual athlete. What's been happening, Bronte? Can't believe it — at time of recording, less than two weeks out, and as I mentioned when I first saw you both, I said, yeah, I'm done, I'm ready, I'm ready for this thing to be here. It's been a long time coming.

[00:32] I don't know what it is, but in the last maybe week my body's starting to feel it a little bit more. Had a moment of panic the other morning in bed — I was stretching, did a big stretch and felt my hamstring, and I was like, this is not how I go down, this is not how I go down. I don't know if it's hormonal, my body feeling the effects of six months, twelve weeks of intense training.

[01:02] Is that normal, Benita? Oh, look, within the last few weeks you always feel stuff that you don't think is there. I reckon it's more phantom than actual, but yeah — you want everything to be perfect, and nothing's going to be perfect, so it's just one of those things. Yeah, that's very common. Even people who think they're injured in the last week — they go for a fifteen-minute jog when they normally do a two-hour run, and they're like, oh, my leg. It's impossible to be injured, but that's a thing.

[01:32] This is really interesting, because there'll be people out there going through this exact thing. Is this purely just a mental game? Is there any way to safeguard against it, or something you'd advise people do to overcome that idea of a false injury? Yeah, look, I think the main thing is not to stress about it and try to keep doing what you normally do. The biggest thing is thinking about the race not as this huge one-off, but more like a long training run — obviously with a lot more people and more fun.

[02:05] But it's a thing — when you overthink it, when you worry about everything being perfect, you'll be fine. With less than two weeks to go you start going, is this sore, have I eaten enough, and you keep questioning yourself, but you're fine, you've done all the work. Just be confident. That happened to me too when I was doing big tapers, even before world championship races.

[02:35] Within the last week you're running way less — maybe 20 to 30 percent of what you normally do — and you feel more tired, or you think you feel more tired. So it's just one of those things that, mentally, the taper can make you feel like that. Do you think as you get more informed and educated on running, that gets more prevalent, because now you know what's going on, you hear all the — sorry, I've got gum. I think I'm at the

[03:08] point where I'm just scared I'm going to do something that undoes everything we've been working on, everything I've been doing with Benita. So I think it's probably a bit of pressure I'm putting on myself, and then having people come on this journey with us — I think it's a bit of pressure, and this being my first big marathon, and it being a marathon, it's a big deal. So I think I'm just

[03:40] getting a little overwhelmed and trying to strip it back. No pressure, no pressure, no pressure — I mean, but some pressure, no pressure, that's the thing. So, yeah — pressure. I reckon you've got to go back to why you did it in the first place, what was driving it, because you've got all this new information now, you've gone through the whole process, so you think that changes things — but go back to what you were thinking before we even contacted you. I think that's it, I think that's what I've got to

[04:10] remember. And you've got Benita in your corner to stop you making all those mistakes. If anything, those two together, you should come out with a massive positive. So, nice full-circle moment — let's go back. Why did you sign up originally? I signed up because I felt like in my final half marathon I felt so good at the end of it that I needed the next challenge. Unfortunately there's nothing

[04:41] between 21 and 42, so it had to be 42, and that's why I signed up — because I'm a competitive person, mostly with myself, and it felt like the next step. So with that in mind, you can't fail, because the only person you're competing against is yourself. True. And you've never done this before, so whatever you do on race day is going to be a PB. That's very true. And then when you add to that, you've got twelve weeks behind you now with the great Lace Up Running's Benita Willis in your

[05:12] corner — it's funny, someone told me to do this once, I think around my first or second Noosa Triathlon, because I wasn't a great swimmer and got anxious out in the water. I'd signed up with Spud Anderson down in Sydney and gone through his triathlon coaching series, and it might have been him or someone in the group who said, when I was getting nervous about the swim close to race day, look at your Strava or your watch and see how much swimming you've

[05:43] been doing. Because I'd gone through the training, and looking back and seeing the kilometres, seeing the data I'd built up over the last three months, was such a soothing thing — you're not going to drown, you've swum however many kilometres in training, you're going to be fine. It was a nice, reassuring thing to look at. So imagine if you look back at the last twelve weeks and the running you've done. That's true. It's also about breaking it down, because as soon as you get

[06:14] stressed about the bigger picture, you've just got to focus on the task in front of you, know you can get through it, and all of those add up to the result. And the result is still just trying to finish it as best you can. Benita's got the process to get you there. If the goal's changed — which I'm sure it has now, I've probably got, oh, I think I can run this time in my head — it's still the same process: I won't stuff it up if I do this, this and this.

[06:44] Yeah. And look, I think you showed in that Gold Coast 30 race that when you get in a race, you perform — so I wouldn't worry. There are a lot of people out there who get in a race and can't actually run better than they do in training, and that's really hard to coach. You perform at races, you perform under a bit of pressure in bigger events, and that's something to have confidence in. Thanks guys. Well, OK, now that we've given you the pump-up, let's apply some pressure. Oh God.

[07:15] I know you've been very cautious the whole way through, Benita — what time do you think Bronte can run? Will run? Should aim to run? Yeah, look, going back to our last episode, I think we're going to look at the 4:30 pace group — that's around 6:24 pace. I think you'll find that really slow, it'll feel so easy at the start, but the risk is moving up to a faster pace group and then

[07:49] changing into a different pace altogether — that's not Bronte responding to the idea of running faster, that's Benita's young fella Max, making a demonstration of what it feels like at the end if you've gone out too fast. If you go out too fast you'll sound like Max at K24. I think that's true, I think that's where I feel comfortable. I know it'll feel slow, but like you mentioned, Liam, in the last

[08:20] episode, I'd probably rather finish the first one with gas in the tank, something to give. Yeah, yeah. And you'll feel it if you run at the front of that pace group — the pacers always start a little fast, so they might be going 6:20 or a bit faster. Whereas if you go with the 4:15 group, they'll be faster again. It's one of those things — you can take more risk if you do another marathon. But you're

[08:50] going to be feeling good, and after 25 or 30K you just do what you want, you don't have to stay with the group, see how you go. Right, taper time — what have we got? Bronte said she's not feeling great today, a little tired. What's planned? Yeah, look, we've just got a few strides, a few things to get the legs moving. I think it's 20 or 30-second efforts, and then a few Ks at race pace on Saturday within

[09:20] the long run. Only three runs, but that's pretty much what you've been doing most weeks anyway. We're dropping the volume a lot, but it's important within a taper to get your legs moving faster than race pace, so that's why I've put strides in there for you. Strides are fun. Hard but fun, yeah. When I say strides, that's about 5K pace, not flat out — 20 or 30 seconds, maybe six to eight of them, with 30 seconds or a minute jog between. Do you do them at the

[09:50] end of the session, or is it a session in between, or a warm down? No, we'll just do a jog and then the strides — it's not a bigger session like some coaches might do. For you, Bronte, we're doing a couple of things this week, nothing too much. So the session itself is the strides. Now, this is someone who, earlier in the block, during the tempo — was that the one where the first time I did it you said, I hate intervals? So you didn't like intervals, but you're enjoying strides?

[10:22] I do. I actually like the programme Benita's created for me, it feels achievable. I think with intervals earlier on I was going flat out for too long, whereas Benita's times, how long I should go for, are a lot more achievable, and you feel so good when you do them. I never understood Harry, who we work with, when he kept saying how great intervals and strides are — I didn't get it. Then I used Benita's programme and understood it. So, some

[10:54] strides on Thursday, and then just keeping the legs moving. And on Saturday it's like a 65 to 80-minute run with maybe two to four K at race pace — that'll still feel slow too, but it's just practising race-pace running and not running too far. That's probably what I need to practise, to be honest — race pace. And that feeling. The final week — for anyone out there thinking, I don't know what to do, do I keep running,

[11:26] what's a general plan they can take — obviously this is Bronte's plan specifically, but as a general guide: within the last week it's good to do a little session, maybe on the Tuesday or Wednesday before a Sunday race. Bronte's got an eight-minute tempo run at marathon pace with two minutes' jog, and some 20-second strides, a bit faster than this week's.

[11:57] And then one other run — maybe around 30 minutes. You'd also do PT sessions and things like that, so maybe do one at the start of the week and take the others off. I was thinking about that, actually — if you don't normally do Pilates, do a little bit of it, but don't feel you have to go to every session in the last week. I was going to ask about a massage as well — is it worth it the week of, or the week before?

[12:28] Yeah, if you're going to get a remedial massage, it'd probably be this week. If you don't usually get them — well, you do, don't you, every once in a while — you could probably go late this week or early next week. And go to someone you're familiar with, so nothing surprises you. Yeah, I don't want to have a needle stuck in me for the first time as a surprise — dry needling, I'll give it a crack, just not for the first time right before the race. This sounds like a proper running programme.

[12:58] I mean, when you talk about where we started — because I want to ask you, before you get the end result, what you've made of the whole process of having a coach for the first time — you're talking eight-minute efforts in the taper, this is real running-programme talk. Is it too early to ask that? No, go for it. Before you know the result — you might be unhappy, you might be super

[13:30] happy, or you might just think, that's what I expected — and we hope for the better side of it. But before you have that result in mind, what do you think about the whole process of getting a coach? If you were talking to someone in a similar situation, who's been running a year, done a couple of halves and is now approaching a marathon, what's the process been like for you? I felt very lucky to have Benita helping me through it. In the beginning I was

[14:01] maybe a bit hesitant — I don't know if I ever voiced that, but you could probably tell. I think I was like, well, it's running, surely I can figure this out on my own. I think it was you, Courtney, before we'd started one of the podcasts — I think I'd said something about still using another app or programme, and you said, you shouldn't be doing that, you should be using Benita properly. I could tell early on you hadn't given up on your app and you

[14:34] were still trying to run things in parallel. And I said, you've got to have one captain on this ship — you've got to choose, AI or Benita. Exactly. But that was probably the tough love I needed to hear — why am I not using this incredible opportunity? Once I was both feet in, it changed my attitude towards running. I feel really accountable to somebody who's giving up their time and creating something for me, and now it's not a pressure thing, I just want to make Benita and you

[15:05] guys proud on the day, because it's been a lot of people — even the community messaging and things — it was just me twelve weeks ago running, and now I've got a whole family behind me. We're all behind you, don't worry, we'll be watching and cheering. Just on that — going back to what you said about the hesitancy towards coaching, I had a similar experience,

[15:35] not because of Benita, but because of the injury stuff. But that idea of a coach — with the boom we're seeing, the interest and participation in marathons going through the roof — running is free, right, and when you sign up for a race you invest whatever it costs, but for some people the idea of going, well,

[16:05] I'm not a professional runner, I'm not necessarily even a good runner, investing money into a coach feels like a hurdle, because this is a free bit of exercise I already do, why would I spend money on it when there are free resources out there. But I think your experience, and mine to a lesser extent, is

[16:37] proof that if you want to get the best out of it and actually achieve your goal, investing money into your health is never a bad thing. My wife's always preaching this to me — if I'm signing up for a gym or whatever, she says, great, you're investing in staying fit and healthy, that's worth spending the money on. From a running perspective, if you have ambitions and goals, investing in a coach is a really easy step to make. I think the biggest thing, when you

[17:10] compare it to something digital you find online versus having a real person, is the accountability. I don't think you ever want it to feel like pressure, because they're there in support, but at the same time accountability is a beautiful thing — it's a lot easier to just roll over and go, I'm not getting up, than when someone's actually taken the time to build you a session and you have to be accountable and tell them how you're going. To me, if that's part

[17:40] of the process, it's worthwhile doing. If I ever went and ran a marathon myself — I don't currently get coached — I'd be reaching out to Benita, because I've seen the process, and I want that accountability too. When you mean — we've got to stop talking about this, too many people are going to want to run. When I say that, I've had a lot of people reach out after last week's episode with Michael Shelley, saying, I think In The Beginning's found its runner for 2026, because he's

[18:10] never actually run the Gold Coast Marathon. No, and he's always pretty fit, Michael Shelley. He's super fit at the moment — he didn't mention it in that episode, but the day before recording he'd said, oh, I run about 10K a day, and then went out with a mate of mine and ran 39K to help him get ready for the marathon. And I'm like, mate, you're still running that much? Yeah, one year he jumped in and paced Lisa Weightman for a fair

[18:40] while, and I didn't even realise he was running that much — he's just one of those freaks, way fitter than I've ever kept myself. Also, with Benita — one of the moments I really thought, God, I'm so glad I have a coach, was when I got sick. If I'd still been following some AI programme, that's not really something you can communicate to adjust it. But Benita was so great when I

[19:10] told her I was still sick, on antibiotics — it was such a reassurance that someone was taking that into account and adjusting the plan, because I wouldn't have known how to do that myself, and I came back feeling even better. So that's definitely a testament to having a coach. How many athletes have you got at Lace Up Running running the Gold Coast Marathon? Oh, I think we've got about 20, maybe 25.

[19:40] And they're from everywhere — I've got a couple coming out from America, into Brisbane on Friday, checking out Brisbane and Noosa, then coming to the Gold Coast, then heading to Sydney. I've coached one of them on and off since about 2010, and his wife's running too. So people from everywhere — Blue Mountains, Adelaide, obviously around Queensland — but the majority are coming in from outside the Gold Coast.

[20:10] We've been focused on Bronte and everything she's going through — as a whole, would you say, as a percentage, how many of your athletes have had some kind of mishap you've had to manage through their build-up? Oh yeah — like when you were talking about getting sick, Bronte — pretty much, I can't think of anyone I haven't had to adjust some part of their programme for. It's one of those things, things always happen — whether you fall on a run and need a week off with a hurt ankle, or you're travelling in the snow in

[20:42] Colorado, or you get sick, or your kids get sick. I coach a lot of people with little kids who keep picking things up at daycare. Speaking of little Max — just on that, as a coach with 20 to 25 athletes running this race, do you sit down afterwards — because football coaches have wins and losses, they can measure how they went, we either

[21:13] won or we didn't — do you sit down as a coach after the race and go through athlete by athlete, not calling it a win or a loss, but evaluating how you went as a coach for this race? Oh, look, yeah, to an extent. With running it depends on so many factors, even the weather, so you look at how they went compared to their PB and their training. I definitely assess how they go.

[21:43] But there are so many variables — some people might have had a shortened prep for some reason, so they're not going to be near their best, and you evaluate how they ran given what you know they could actually do coming in. I always think one of my best-ever races wasn't a win, it was probably one of my worst results at world cross country, but given the training I could actually get done leading into it, it was probably one of my best performances. So with running it's quite hard to look purely at the stats.

[22:13] It's very hard to analyse completely like that. But I do assess it, and I don't coach everyone coming through Lace Up Running — we've got four other coaches who work with us. I personally probably have about ten, maybe ten people, and the other coaches have a few each. But we don't coach hundreds, because I don't think you can coach properly if you've got one person coaching fifty — you can't have the emotional energy for everyone's feedback.

[22:43] So I only coach about 20 people at the moment. That's another great lesson for anyone jumping into an online programme thinking about it — the emotional energy a coach gives you, if you're investing your time and money into one. I was even thinking, with 25 athletes, how do you sleep the night before, whenever I'm — yeah. Most people are fine. A few will message something, but most people know what they need to do and they're pretty good. I'll be catching up with people anytime between now and the race, and a lot of

[23:17] — we do group catch-ups after the race too, I'll put you guys on the email about that. Yeah, I got the email the other day — that's you'll be down at the finish line. Right, yeah, Lace Up Running's tent, cheering. Bronte, can I ask — you've heard the bus analogy, jumping on the bus for a ride. Last week, after the Michael Shelley episode, we got a message from Brett Donaghy, who really enjoyed the chat and said he's using memories while he runs the marathon to keep himself motivated.

[23:48] He said when he gets to SeaWorld, it's memories of trips there with his kids; when he gets to Main Beach, the annual trip to the Gold Coast 600 V8 Supercars; Cavill is where his wife will be, so he's got something to think about every five to eight K. He used to live in Labrador as a kid, so when he gets to that part of the course he'll have those childhood memories too. Now, you're Gold Coast born and bred — have you thought about breaking the race up through the course like that, or will

[24:19] you not need to? No, I think — interestingly for me, where my mind goes on a run has never really impacted performance. I like running because it lets me think. I'm a big visualisation person, so when I'm running I'm already thinking ahead — at 5 or 10K in, I'm thinking about the Bronte who's finished the marathon.

[24:50] I don't know why that works for me, but it does — I'm always a couple of K's ahead in my mind. I also like seeing people I know on the side. You've got your friend coming down from Townsville, arriving Friday night. And do you have mum and dad coming to cheer, or anyone else who's said they'll be there? We've got some signs being made up. I don't know if my parents are coming down, I don't think they realise how big a deal this is, so they're

[25:22] still tentative. My partner and his mum are going to be somewhere along the course — they understand how big it is. There'll be people from work too if they can make it, but I don't really know who's going to be where, they'll be around somewhere. Well, this is what I'd say to you and anyone else running this marathon for the first time — if people are organising to

[25:52] be somewhere on the course, remember it's a run, not a car race, so it's actually really difficult to spot people in a marathon. It's a lot harder than you think. The idea of, oh, we'll just wait here and see them — there are so many runners going past, and so many people lined up on the side, that it's genuinely hard to spot your loved ones. So if possible, get your partner, his mum and your friends to either pick a really

[26:25] defined, easy-to-recognise spot, or bring a big sign — something like we'll be the ones with the sign with your face on it, an oversized Bronte head, and that'll be us. Perfect. This is probably my ignorance, but I still haven't properly looked at the marathon course, probably should — my partner's mum said, yeah, we'll probably be around the Miami/Broadbeach area, and I thought, that's

[26:55] meaningless for me on the course, but also, wait, do we run through Broadbeach and Miami? Have we not talked about the course in twelve weeks? I genuinely don't know the course. I was like, oh, OK, guess I'll see you then. We've been doing it every second episode. This is great — let's do it live with Bronte now. Where am I actually running? You know where you start, right — The Broadway, Southport. That's where you start, then you run down, but first you turn back up towards SeaWorld.

[27:25] A little detour — you go up towards SeaWorld, turn around there, and head south, basically all the way to Miami. And that's where the turnaround comes again — then you head all the way back up north to Labrador and Runaway Bay, turn around there, and come back to finish where you started. Easy. But you do go a long way south. I'm glad it's

[27:56] just one lap, not repeating the same stretch too much — I'd find lap races hard, like the Cairns Ironman the other day, their run was four laps of a course or something. I was triple-checking we haven't got this wrong, because usually — Liam, when you go down SeaWorld Drive, I didn't realise how far down it goes. Where you turn at the Gold Coast 30, you run right past that and keep going, nearly down towards the dolphin

[28:26] end — the northern end of SeaWorld, but not quite to the resort. So for everyone out there running it for the first time, especially interstate — I actually think interstate runners are better at picking a defined spot to meet friends, because they don't know the area. I think it's the locals who are guilty of just saying, I'll see you somewhere around, Brody, guilty as charged. And then even at 5:30 pace or 6-minute pace, you go past people

[28:59] and suddenly you hear them shout your name and you're looking around, headphones on, focused — so I'm like, what's the expectation, is it just a quick finger-guns and gone? I reckon you'll be challenged to spot someone on the course unless you've really planned it — I was standing a foot from you at the Gold Coast 30 and it still took me a second, I just saw you run past and thought, I've got to

[29:31] shout now. It's genuinely difficult. I agree. And the other thing — make sure everyone sends a photo of what you're wearing this time. I'm wearing bright orange, to match my shoes, and I wore my kit yesterday on my run to check it all fit and felt right. Good running gear — top, shorts, socks, all the same brand?

[30:01] I like them, they're Australian — Do You Even, though I'll admit I say that with zero confidence on the pronunciation. So, orange, because my shoes are orange, and I wanted to find a top to match. So here's what we'll say to the In The Beginning family — no doubt there'll be a lot of listeners lining the course — if you see a young woman with dark hair running in a full orange outfit, just shout it like it's Bronte, even if it's not, and it'll find its way to her somehow.

[30:32] This is exciting, alright — now I've got to get onto you, Liam. Before we go further, and while we've got Bronte and Benita here for the last time before the race — are we going to do a post-show wrap-up? There've been people asking about results and how it all went — probably worth telling them. When Liam and I were talking

[31:02] last week, Liam started saying he's thinking of running the Gold Coast Marathon. I thought we'd put this to bed. I knew we hadn't. But I got a message from Melanie Bark, and she said, Liam, from a sincere, genuine place — don't do the Gold Coast Marathon. Go support Bronte, have a great race, enjoy the vibes, volunteer at an aid station, you'll be the life of the party, or better still, get amongst the

[31:32] finish line doing interviews for the podcast — maybe that's your wrap-up episode. That's not a bad idea, actually. Stick with the coach, stick with Benita, and listen — exercise isn't worth it and won't pay off if you just force it. I think she's right, and it's head versus heart right now — my heart wants to run this. What would you do? I don't know, I'd just run, and if I got tired I'd stop.

[32:02] Yeah, but it's head versus heart at the moment — my head knows I shouldn't be running it, my ears heard you say the other week it's not worth running. But my heart is — and it didn't help that I made the mistake of talking to Reedy, friend of the podcast from AG1/Bondi Rescue. He's an animal, his answer to everything is more running. I bumped into him at the Mick Fanning charity golf day and he asked, are

[32:32] you going to run? And I told him, word for word, what you told me — you don't need to run for a finish line anymore, you're running for a time, you're not going to get that time this way, all you'll do is increase your chance of injuring yourself again — and his response was, run it. And that's been ringing in my head all week. So Melanie's right, I'll be there on the day. It'll just kill me watching. Do we flip you again, Mel?

[33:05] Mel from Wellington, New Zealand, just flipped Liam back. I've got other mates coming up to run it too, and part of me was thinking, if I get my bib, maybe I'll jump in with them for a bit, run 10K, pull out and go find somewhere to sit and cheer. But then I don't know — I sound like an addict. Maybe I am a little bit. I can't quite figure out how I'm going to approach the day. Talk me out of it.

[33:35] Oh, look, I can see where Reedy's really coming from — for fun, getting through it, all that kind of stuff. But if you're ever thinking about doing Melbourne, or doing something for a time, I don't think it'd give you any satisfaction to run 10K and sit on the sideline cheering people on. Personally I reckon it'd be cool to ride around and look for people on the course.

[34:06] And that might be more your speed than getting out there and running harder than even your usual 10K runs, then trying to front up for a marathon straight after. Stop nodding your head so much, Courtney — it's a long way. Courtney's just sitting there like mum and dad said no. That is exactly what's happening

[34:36] right now — mum and dad. Hey, interestingly, from my own running — I'm back running, which I'm really enjoying. The legends at Polar sorted me out with one of the chest straps, the heart-rate monitors — you've heard all the noise about zone 2 running. We talked about this on an episode — I ran eight K the other day trying to keep it in zone 2 based on the chest strap, not my wrist like I'd previously done. My zone 2 is so slow.

[35:08] My zone 2 pace is like six minutes — and I'd previously thought, if I'm running 5:15 I'm running easy. Turns out keeping it in zone 2 is six-minute pace for me. I kind of knew it was probably slower than I thought, but that's really slow. Is that the watch telling you that? No, the chest strap. But how did it work out your zone 2 — is the watch dictating the zone, or did you put in

[35:39] — no, it's worked out from actual runs. OK, so basically I now know my zone 2 isn't as fast as I thought. A lot of people make that mistake. Having said that, in summer your heart rate beats a bit higher, a bit faster, because it's hotter and more humid — so maybe you're running slower than you think even compared to your marathon pace, or maybe you're always running a bit fast.

[36:10] Anyway, so no, I'm not running, Courtney. Thanks mate, we've nailed that down. Is that official? Because I feel like you're still — I don't know, hold him to this. I don't think you should be going out there to get hurt, I don't think you should be running a marathon off the back of this. I agree — what do you get out of jumping in for a bit? If you want to be the cheerleader for the 10K, go for it. No, genuinely, I think you're right — I did this a couple of years ago, rode down to the start line from home and ended up

[36:42] spending the whole day riding around, and by the end I was knackered anyway. I'll probably do that again — bring the bike down, ride around, get involved that way. And look, if the good people at EMQ, Events Management Queensland, who run the Gold Coast Marathon, want to give me some tickets into the VIP section at the end with the food and drinks — we've actually got

[37:14] them all sorted, definitely, then I'll definitely be there, and I won't be racing. Sorry Liam, the good people heard you weren't running and sorted you out with a change of plan and a good breakfast. Well, in that case I'll take my phone and record some vox pops and videos with people — you can do it for Origin, you can at least do it for the Gold Coast Marathon. Absolutely. Hey Benita, while we've got you — I'm interested, have you been following the Breaking4 attempt, the woman trying to break

[37:44] the four-minute mile? Yeah, a little bit. What do you reckon — she's the best in the world obviously, but she's been injured, hasn't been racing as much, or has she just been focusing all her training onto this one race? I'm not sure of the background. She won the Olympics last year, won everything last year, but I haven't seen her race much this year, so

[38:15] sometimes to run your best over a mile or 1500 you've got to have been racing 800s a lot, running that fast regularly. But maybe she has and just hasn't been in the races I've noticed, the Diamond Leagues and that. Does this — I saw you light up — does this excite you as a runner? Yeah, it does actually, more than most of the trending things I talk about on the radio. I found it really interesting, saw a TikTok about it. So she's trying to run a mile in under four minutes, which no woman has ever done.

[38:45] Yeah, I think it's happening this week, isn't it — the 26th of June. I'll definitely watch, but I haven't followed the whole build-up. We've turned Bronte into a proper running nerd now. Quickly, because this is the last episode before the race — can you take us through the last-minute checklist, coach? You've given us an insight into the taper for Bronte, but for anyone else running too — let's go into the night before, or even 48 hours out, whatever

[39:16] you think the checklist should cover. Let's assume everyone's already been to the Expo, got their bib, done the admin side of things. Can you take us through those last 24 to 48 hours of prep, for Bronte and for anyone with questions of their own? Yeah, look, within the last two days, first of all make sure you're eating carbs with every meal — if you'd normally have a salad for lunch, add a sandwich or some pasta to it, just make sure you're getting enough carbohydrate in, and

[39:47] make sure you're drinking enough to help absorb it. Not excessive, just make sure you're getting fluids in even if you don't feel that thirsty — that's probably the number one nutrition point. Keep doing what you normally do within the last 48 hours — don't go walking around all day unnecessarily, but don't stress if you've got something to do either. I think a big problem is people just

[40:18] doing absolutely nothing two days before, lying in a hotel room or on the bed all day thinking they need to rest, when really you just need to be relaxed. Make sure you've got everything ready for race day — a mistake a lot of people make is not having everything sorted, so on the Saturday afternoon they're running around trying to find things because they're stressed about not having it.

[40:48] So get everything ready ahead of time, so you're not worrying about it on Saturday — you want to just have fun on Saturday, a few coffees with friends. Friends and family keep you relaxed, so don't isolate yourself, which is another mistake people make. If you isolate yourself, all you do is think about the race. So within the last 48 hours, don't think about the race — I don't think about it myself until I'm just about to warm up. I heard Grant Hackett say this about

[41:19] swimming and it's always stuck with me, even as an elite athlete — the more times you run a race over and over in your head, it just makes you tired. If you think about the marathon constantly it'll wear you out, so you don't need to keep thinking about it — switch off, talk about other things. I'm sure you'll be fine because you've got a lot going on anyway, but for anyone out there who's really intense about their pace — don't stress.

[41:49] Everything will come together on the morning of the race. And if you've got a coach and you're in two minds about anything, email them, call them, text them — make sure you know what you're doing, so it doesn't get to Saturday night or Sunday morning and you're still going, should I do this, should I do that. That indecision drains you, constantly being in two minds about something. So if that's you,

[42:20] definitely reach out and make your decisions ahead of time. Then the night before, have dinner reasonably early, maybe 5 or 6pm, not too late — because on the morning of the race you want your body to move properly, and if you eat a really big meal at 10 or 11 the night before, that's a bit too late. So make sure it's not too late, but also have some snacks handy —

[42:51] I always find having a few snacks through the night helps, if you wake up have half a sandwich or something, and know exactly what you're going to eat before the race and have it ready. But don't stress about sleep the night before, it doesn't really matter — it's more the two nights before and the week before that count. If you go to bed the night before feeling a bit anxious and wake up thinking you didn't sleep well, don't assume you'll run badly because of it — that means nothing.

[43:24] I've had plenty of races with a terrible sleep the night before and run really well, so that's nothing to stress about. The main thing is staying relaxed — don't isolate yourself, make sure your food's organised, and don't leave any last-minute questions unanswered. Those are probably the big tips. Good tips, did you write all that down? Yeah, I did. What about the day of — so I've woken up, we'll get there early, breakfast

[43:55] about an hour and a half to two hours before the race, so it'll be an early one. How many gels am I expected to have across the marathon? Yeah, look, that's hard, because every marathon feels a bit different — I'd probably carry six to eight, and you might just take a mouthful and throw the rest away if it's annoying you, sometimes they get

[44:26] sticky and you don't want to keep holding it. I used to put them in my sports bra, or carry them somehow, or if you know someone on an isolated part of the course, they could hand you some as you run past. Could that be me? Hey — I don't know if I'm technically allowed to do that under the marathon rules. I think we discussed it, but I'm happy to be your unofficial support crew and carry extra gels for you.

[44:56] Officially you shouldn't, but I'll do it in a way that looks official. So it's not allowed for anyone to do that? No — when Ryan from the Gold Coast Marathon joined us, he explained the elites have their own aid stations, and as a regular runner I don't think we can justify a personalised aid station

[45:27] for the Gold Coast Marathon. Not for the elite field, no, but yeah — and if you carry gels on you they warm up a bit, which actually makes them easier to get down, so it's a bit easier that way. I can see your brain ticking over — how am I going to carry six of these? I've done runs with four already and by the end I'm a sticky mess, it's everywhere.

[45:58] Well, the good thing is you can bin them at the aid stations, where there are bins. Anything else, Bronte? Well, and the great thing is, if there's anything you're still not sure about, text your coach — that was the great tip Benita gave earlier, don't have unanswered questions going into the race. Yet another advantage of having a coach. It's exciting times for everyone — I know everyone I know running the marathon is at that point where the work's done,

[46:29] the taper's kicked in, the excitement of the Expo next week, getting your bib, building up to the big day — it's happening. The advice I heard once, I can't remember where, is that the race is the reward for all the training, the whole block. That could have been Benita — that's it, the race is a reward for all your hard work.

[47:00] Yeah, for sure. Think of it like that, not just running down the road — it's something to enjoy, and use the energy of the crowd too, there'll be a lot of people watching, it's going to be great. Then go celebrate — the music at the Broadbeach Surf Club is always great, there's always someone playing out there. The turnaround point down in Miami is always a highlight too — whether or not they take up my halfway grandstand idea for next year.

[47:30] And then the energy as you run back through, past Australia Fair and that whole area — it's such a dense spot for spectators, great energy through there too. I've got three things I'm looking forward to at the marathon. Oh, here we go. First, I'm looking forward to doing a bit of a mental shoe count in my head — what everyone's wearing. Has it started to shift — five years ago it'd have been maybe 50% Alphaflys, 50% Asics at this race,

[48:01] not exactly half and half, but you know what I mean. I think that's going to skew this year — a lot more of the newer brands, On, all these different brands, I think there'll be a much wider spread. Second thing — I love watching the finish, seeing the celebration of everyday runners. I've raced a lot of levels of Ironman and marathon over the years, and nothing beats watching an everyday runner cross the line and

[48:31] see their girlfriend, their family, whoever it is, and the emotion of that. And third, I'm looking forward to seeing how our star athlete Bronte goes. Yeah, me too. What are you looking forward to? Something that made me really emotional that I didn't expect is the signs people make — the funny ones, the "hit here for an energy boost" ones, but also the ones that really tap into the reason you started running, just words of motivation.

[49:01] So I'm actually looking forward to the signs. Are you a crier generally? I think I get a bit — you don't know yet. If you are, I'll put the over/under at two and a half cries for the race. I've already visualised myself crying as I cross the line, no matter how it goes — that's what I'm looking forward to, that last stretch onto the grass, no matter what distance you're doing, when the

[49:31] crowd just lifts you — that's exciting. And seeing the people I know and love along the course, that's what I'm excited for. What about you, Benita — with 20 to 25 athletes from Lace Up Running in the race? Yeah, look, I love seeing people not just after, but before they run — when they're coming to the tent just before the race, there's this nervous energy that's really hard to describe until you actually see people

[50:04] with it right before they race, that anticipation of what's about to happen. It makes me really nervous, more nervous for the people I coach than I ever was running myself — I never thought that would happen, when you're competing yourself you don't think about how nervous your support crew might be for you. So that's one thing I love seeing. And obviously watching people finish, crossing the line, that finishing chute is fantastic.

[50:35] It's their whole journey — a lot of people don't know what any particular runner has been through, what they've overcome, and as a coach you do know, and just getting the training done, for a lot of people, is phenomenal in itself. So that's something to celebrate regardless of the time. But probably the third thing is the energy of the Gold Coast Marathon itself — walking around, chatting to people, catching up

[51:05] with people I haven't seen in a long time, everyone there for the same reason, plus everything else going on. And bringing my kids along — it's Max's first time, and Poppy's — she's too young for the kids' race, but it's nice to have them there, that's cool. Everything we've just touched on — I can't wait to see how you go, Bronte, I'm genuinely excited, I can't wait to see you after the race and just gauge how

[51:37] you're feeling about it all, and hear about it afterwards. From a personal perspective, I'm really looking forward to the sub-three sprint — I love the people chasing that sub-three time, which is what I was gunning for, watching that finish-line sprint for the athletes who've got ten seconds to get there and achieve a goal they've been chasing for the last twelve weeks and the last 42.2K, sprinting to try and get it.

[52:09] That's always a fun one to watch. The other thing I love about the finishing chute is how individual that moment is for each athlete — the ones who find their friends and family in the chute and go over for the hug and the photo, the ones who grab their kids. It's such an individualistic sport, a selfish sport in a way, all about you and your training, but when you get those moments to share with your friends

[52:41] and family in the finishing chute, it's so cool. So I'll be perched up in the VIP section watching all that, with a beer. That's my plan anyway. Good plan. Alright, flip-flopping — I've changed, by the way, I'm not running. So here's what I'd say to everyone out there running this weekend: do that exercise, think about what you're looking forward to, break the race up however works for you. If you've got friends and family coming out to support, make sure it's very clear

[53:12] where you'll be, both for the athlete and for yourselves, because I guarantee they'll run past and you won't see them otherwise. But enjoy it, enjoy it. Thank you everyone out there — good luck everyone, full report to come. And well done, coach, you've been fantastic — you got handed a couple of tricky athletes and a wildcard, and you're the one who made it work. If you enjoyed listening, that's Lace Up Running.

[53:42] Absolutely. And we'll wait to see how Bronte goes before — oh my god, the press is back. Alright.