The Imposter Podcast AU

Salt in My Weet-Bix and Sand in My Shoes

Chris Burson Season 2 Episode 6

Welcome to a very real, slightly unhinged debrief from the Surf Coast Trail Marathon — where fitness meets dysfunction and high-vis Team Veteran shirts try to outshine deep sand and cramping quads. Recorded on the move with DJI mics (and some very questionable mic technique), this episode captures Joe, Chris, and Burso unpacking the pain, pride, and hilarity of trail running in Torquay.

What does it take to run a trail marathon on zero prep?

How do you survive when your legs lock up halfway through the course?
 And what happens when your support crew keeps popping out of bushes like budget wildlife photographers?

Joe kicks things off with a solid dose of humility — recovering from the flu, aiming for sub-2 hours, and ending up somewhere in the 2:15 range with calf cramps from the first hill. He shares how practicing gratitude kept him going when breathing felt impossible and feet kept finding puddles. His run started on the beach, ended in pain, and included two surprise ambushes by Burso and Fitzy hiding in the shrubbery like amateur trail trolls.

Meanwhile, Chris starts his day by accidentally salting his Weet-Bix, easing into the second leg of the race after a high-five handover, and immediately running into deep sand and a monster hill. The two teammates joke about their “very average” performance but somehow still manage a third-place finish — in a field of six, but who's counting?

Highlights & Laughs:

  • Bush-Banter Ambushes: Burso and Fitzy pop out from behind bushes mid-race, leading to Joe swearing, forgetting questions, and nearly throwing the mic in a cramp-fueled rage.
  • Socks, Sponsors & Silence: Asked live mid-run about sponsors, Joe blanked entirely. “His brain stopped,” Burso notes. “All of the above,” Joe replies.
  • Post-Race Pub Chat: The lads recap over beers at Four Pines in Torquay, where even the winner of the marathon casually mentions he's gunning for a 2:30 at the Gold Coast — on a deload week.
  • Podium Ditching: Despite coming third, the boys skip the ceremony to eat chips and get home to stretch and sulk.
  • Parkrun Shade: The friendly rivalry continues as Chris edges Joe in both trail and Parkrun times, though Joe claims moral victory for showing up sick.

Future Fun:

  • Spartan races in Geelong? Stadium stomps? Highlander trail events? Burso’s working on it.
  • Puffing Billy run in September? Maybe. If Blue doesn’t explode another hammy first.

🔥 What This Podcast Answers:

  • How do two untrained blokes survive a trail marathon without killing each other?
  • Is there any dignity in being overtaken by a 14-year-old mountain goat?
  • Can you really hide in bushes twice and still be invited back?
  • Why are Snickers and salted cereal now part of elite-level nutrition?

Matty Morris of https://www.zerolimitspodcast.com/ helps us out with a banger of a tune. If you want to hear about some real intense moments from Veterans and First Responders. Check out Zero Limits Podcast. 

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Burso:

yourself yeah, we got that interviews, interviewing how you been knees a bit sore is that? Yeah, you won, though you beat mel oh, did we?

Joe:

yeah, suck in mel. Oh, you're good, I'll throw some shade, yeah now how many different timers have you got on you? Just two.

Burso:

What time did you?

Joe:

get About 2.15.

Burso:

So well over what you wanted Didn't meet my forecasted time of 1.58.

Joe:

But yeah, I got some wicked calf cramps. Yeah, after that first hill where 50 was kind of at the top, he was like come on get running.

Burso:

I was like man, my legs are sore. Yeah, it was funny. We were like hiding around that bush and then you started running. Oh man.

Joe:

The quad cramps were awful. And then, yeah, at about 15km you get to the first hill and the quads get pumped on there and then I actually stopped, stretched it out at a tree and it felt good again. I was like, all right, and then you've got to fly down the hill, and going downhill is hard too, and then it was tough and the beach running is never fun yeah happy though yeah, yeah, glad it is.

Burso:

It's nuts. There's heaps of people out here. You ready? Oh, we're gone, we're on.

Joe:

Oh, what a great song that was.

Burso:

That was yeah, great intro, Great intro. How's it guys? This is new. This is new, we're over here at. Four Pines. We'll see if we get sponsored.

Joe:

This might be a new thing. Four Pines.

Burso:

Torquay, 70% off Savvy's and stuff like that. I don't think that's up Savvy's Anyway, here with Joe.

Joe:

That's me.

Burso:

And we've got Chris. We've got little microphones. We're just passing them around. We're trying to work this out, so bear with us while this is pretty useless.

Joe:

We'll see what happens. Anyway, we do need a wooden spoon, though you do, I know.

Burso:

I'm definitely going to have to work that out. So do you send me to Royal this week. Yeah, I mean, you know, rode, actually do make them. Rode have like a little stick that you plug them into and it has like a thing around the top but it's got nothing on. Anyway, I might hand over to Chris and then you guys can talk through. How did you go from the start? What time did you have to get up, et cetera to get there? How's your registration in the morning, et cetera et cetera.

Joe:

It all went pretty well. I left Berso's place at about 6. The car was a complete ice block. It was completely frozen. So at about 6.30 I went out there and started the the car. It took about 15 minutes for it to thaw out a little bit. Um, yeah, got got down to talk at about 7 30 ish. Um, just sort of saw the sunrise, got some ripping photos, um, and then, yeah, chris turned up and it all happened pretty quick. We to continue with the terrible conversation about apps and what, uh, what, how we were going to track our runs. It wasn't until about four minutes before we started that I was like, oh, I can just put this GPX file onto my watch, which I did. So that was good. So we worked it out in the nick of time, which is absolutely on brand for AJs. Yeah, so, chris, average Jo's, how did you start the day?

Chris G:

Well, I was with family, so I started the day just trying to get the kids up out of bed and ready in time to get down. There. Put salt in my Weet-Bix by accident, so that was a bit of a bad start to the day.

Joe:

You know you sweated a bit, so you might have needed it.

Chris G:

Yeah, that's it. Got those electrolytes into me. Yeah, but you know I didn't have to run straight away because I was just handing off to you, so I turned up in my trackies and yeah.

Joe:

And I started. Yeah, first couple of Ks, they suck, as per usual. You can't get your breath and it starts on the beach. And when I'm sort of struggling with the start of a run, I try and practice gratitude. It's just like I'm in my late 30s now and I can still do this sort of stuff. So, yeah, so yeah. That's kind of how I start my run by going, you know what. I'm pretty fortunate that I can still do this. So, as I'm sort of struggling to catch my breath and tripping over and doing you know, putting my feet in the puddles and stuff, I just thought, you know what, I'm pretty lucky to be able to, you know have a crack at a marathon.

Chris G:

Were you still feeling lucky by the end?

Joe:

I was not feeling lucky by the end, but about 4Ks in as I came back past you, because it's sort of the first bit of the run. You run up the beach and then you turn around 180 and come straight back and so by the time I passed you I was starting to feel pretty good. Um, sort of settled into about a five and a half minute k for the next six or seven k's and then, um, yeah the um it got a little tough when I saw, when I got harassed coming out of the bushes with Berso and with Fitzy, and the first time you guys popped out I didn't even know it was you Because I had music playing. I was in sort of a bit of a zone and I'm just like, oh shit, who's this guy jumping out at me? And yeah, it was you guys running along and I'm trying to talk on a microphone and Berso had to actually run.

Burso:

You actually got a bit of a trot on. Yeah, we cut that away pretty quickly though. That first one, though, like you turned up and I'm like because you saw Fitzy, and then you're like, oh yeah, high five. I was like what am I Chop Lever mate.

Joe:

And you just looked at me funny. You're like I don shit what was that. And then Fitzy's there and out of instinct I'm just going for the high five as I've kind of gone past and I was like, yeah, I guess Burzo is chopped liver.

Burso:

Yeah, well, it was funny because I was talking to Fitzy. Afterwards he looked at me and he had no idea who you were. No, that's the first bit.

Joe:

I was thinking about. I don't know, I can't remember. I was just chugging along and yeah bam, get harassed by you. And then I should have. I should have thought this is going to happen again. I didn't. And then you came out again and I shit myself for a second time.

Burso:

That got awkward because I was hiding in the bushes and I was like there was another five or six people ran past. I'm likeizzy. We've got to stop doing this crouching in the bushes thing. It's freaking people out. I don't think it's.

Joe:

It's not working all that well and then you, you got me again, and then there was that really awkward moment where you asked me a question and I didn't quite hear you, and it was, I think you asked me about the sponsors, and I'm just nothing. I was like how's your socks going? How's this going? You've said something to sponsors and I've completely ignored you.

Burso:

I was like, mate, we might be able to get some sponsors out of this. What do you want to say to them? Nothing. And you just looked at me blankly and I was just like is his brain not working? Is he tired? What's going on here? All the above and you just went. What All?

Joe:

the above. I was like righto see ya, you didn't give me a massage. Calves were cramping. It was terrible. I had to smash some salts in and stuff like that Good and then, when I got to a spot where there was and Fitzy says, oh mate, a bit of a hill coming up, yeah, a bit of a hill. And I was like oh jesus. And then I look past and of course old mate's got his drone out taking footage.

Burso:

I'm like, ah, you could have waited until I was actually running when fitzy, when you went to go down that hill, it's like, oh, there's a bit of hill coming up, mate. You went to go down that hill, it's like, oh, there's a bit of a hill coming up, mate. You went down the hill and as soon as you were out of earshot he was like oh, that hill's cool yeah.

Joe:

And I think when Chris and I were, if you want to try and get your head beforehand.

Burso:

he's like oh no, that hill's crap, that's a terrible hill.

Joe:

Yeah, and Chris and I were going through our own runs, dropped right down, going up the hills you can see the profile by the time. And then there was one. I think I did a three-and-a-half-minute kilometre because most of it was down a disgusting hill, but that's what happens when you lose control of your limbs.

Joe:

That was steep man that was crazy steep, yeah, and so I flew down that and then got to the bottom and then you literally turned around and ran straight back up again. Chris and I were both saying that our right knees are sore because we both had to run on the beach. Yeah, and I ran down onto Bell's Beach yeah, that's where. Then you heckled me again, yeah, and I was like I'd be all right. So I trot down the stairs and the first step into the sand was over the ankle.

Burso:

Oh really.

Joe:

Real deep sand and on an angle, because Bell's Beach is quite steep towards the ocean, so like trudging through this real deep sand and yeah, and then you go back up straight up another hill. So it was a bit of a stinker but yeah, I got to about 17.

Burso:

How loud's your music? Because I tooted at you afterwards as well. Oh, I was in the zone, in the zone or the Hurt Locker, both. It's the hurt locker zone. That's what it is. Yeah, fair enough.

Joe:

Yeah, then I felt pretty good and then, at about 15Ks, that's where the first of the major hills started and I sort of started to struggle a bit. And yeah, then the quads locked up around 16, 17ks and that's when I texted you, when I actually was walking, and that's when the drone flew past. So it's going to be terrible footage of old mate just flying his drone through and there's just Joe texting, not looking like I'm running a race at all. And I've texted Chris and I said I'm at about 16 or 17 Ks and I'm cramping up, and then I put it back in and then that's when it got going again.

Burso:

But yeah, that's 16, 17 Ks.

Joe:

Did you ring him or just text him?

Burso:

No actually.

Chris G:

Fitzy's been good on the text today.

Burso:

Oh really, yeah, he's been texting me. Yeah, because you called him out yesterday. Yeah, good.

Joe:

Give him a rocket.

Burso:

Yeah.

Joe:

And then, yeah, sort of got to about 19. I thought it was about 19. When I looked at the course once, I sort of saw the team marathon was like 19-ish and 22-ish and I looked at my watch and I was like 18 and a half. I was like fuck, I'm nearly there. No, it was nearly 21. It was 20.6 or something. And so, yeah, the last couple of Ks were a bit shit.

Joe:

But then, yeah, right, as we came out onto the road, at the halfway point, fitzy goes go, mate, open her up. And I was like I'm literally dragging myself at the end, yeah. And then, yeah, chris took off like a rocket and, um, then, yeah, I, I, I sulked for a bit and ate some chips. And then, and then, aaron, um, chris's wife drove us to the end and I sat down, um, as is right, I was that down, I, literally by the time we got there, I sat down at a bench right at the left, at the life-saving club, and and some bloke comes up, he's finished the marathon and I was like, oh, how did you go, mate? He's like, yeah. I said, did you do the marathon? He's like, yeah. I said, how long did that take? And he's like, oh, about three hours. Three hours. I said what position did you come in? He goes, I won.

Burso:

it? Was he like that Japanese this bloke has did?

Joe:

in clogs. No, no big deal, no, just like a lean dude. But then I kept chatting with him and he was saying like, oh, I want to give the Gold Coast a good crack. Yeah, I said what's a good crack? He goes, I don't know, 230. I thought what?

Burso:

He's a freak, he's a lazy day today, yeah.

Joe:

He goes. I want to do the Sydney Marathon coming trial run yeah all right.

Burso:

Yeah, today was just so. It was a deload week.

Joe:

Yeah yeah, and then he wants to give a good crack at the gold coast. What?

Burso:

did you. It was one degree when I got it's freezing. That's why I missed the start. My car, the glow plugs, I had to like do the glow plug thing 15 times and then couldn't see out the front, had to get the ice to bunker on.

Joe:

No, it took a few minutes.

Burso:

And then I um, I just sat there with the, the heaters on, for probably 10 minutes, yeah, but I meant like when you walked out and you saw there was ice everywhere.

Joe:

It was expected, because it was a really clear night so I was like it's going to be a cold one in the morning. But yeah, so that was kind of my run.

Burso:

I think it only got to like more than 11 when you were running. Every time I checked it was. It felt good though.

Joe:

It was the perfect running weather.

Burso:

Yeah, yeah perfect.

Joe:

Um. So by the time I pretty much got back to chris after the start, at about 4k, 4 or 5k it was, I was warm and I was felt pretty good.

Burso:

So what happens, like what happens in the handover, oh is there any sort of like a team's changed like tag teaming thing. Is there a baton or is there?

Joe:

yeah, I think, um, I I struggled towards the hill and I saw aaron was filming and then I high-fived you and you took off like a rocket and then I kind of just hobbled over to the side and stretched out my quads because I was still pretty locked up by then. It was a bit awkward up there.

Chris G:

They didn't really tell us what was going on for the change, so I was just waiting, not knowing what to do. But yeah, saw you come and just took off.

Joe:

Yeah, and Aaron was saying that you were. You were struggling with putting your jacket on and taking it off because it was still cold.

Chris G:

Yeah, but then, when you texted me, I took it off, started warming up, getting ready. Then it's like oh, he's taking a while, what's?

Burso:

going on here, I think that's when you were walking because you were cramping up.

Chris G:

So I got it back on and yeah, so, uh, but that was good.

Joe:

And then, um, yeah. And then, as I was, to an old mate who won the race today, he goes yeah. After the aid station at halfway he goes yeah, that sucked, and I was like so I said to him Chris's first start of the run was into the sand.

Chris G:

So what was that like? Yeah, well, so I started, went straight down the steps and, yeah, just into deep sand for about a kilometre and straight up a big hill. So you know, normally it's nice to start a run with a nice gentle bit to sort of warm up, get the legs moving Straight into the beach sand.

Chris G:

Yeah, and then it was pretty much the same, you know same rinse and repeat for the rest of the run. It was just up a big hill straight back down some you know steep rocky section and then onto the beach, then up another big hill and yeah, as you were saying before, it's that right leg, that uphill leg when you're going along the beach that gets a bit sore running there. Then you've got to try and make it up a hill. So it wasn't.

Joe:

I wouldn't say that it was a brutal run, but I'd say it was.

Chris G:

It's challenging for two people who haven't trained for it and have done zero prep.

Joe:

Who looked at the course this morning?

Chris G:

Yeah.

Joe:

And then I was waiting for you because Aaron messaged me and said that you were about five, six k's away. So I walk up the beach, take a good spot, and I got a cracking photo of you as you sort of came down the hill and then we finished together. Yeah, that's it, um, which would be good. So we were wearing matching shirts for the people who are view, who are listening. We had team veteran shirts that are yellow on black, um, and yeah, I followed you up the stairs and we basically finished at the same time and there was all the photographers there, so hopefully we get some good photos to give back to invictus. Um, but that was, it was good. I had a few people ask me oh, what's Team Veteran? I was like well, let me tell you a story, how long have you got? But no, it was good.

Chris G:

So, by the time I got there, they weren't asking anymore. They'd learnt their lesson from that. I'd spoken to everybody.

Joe:

No, I was still sulking, eating chips in the corner.

Chris G:

My, there was when I was running past and my kids were shouting whale, because apparently they saw a whale out at sea. But you know, it's not great for the ego when they're looking at me and shouting that they were pointing as well, yeah, apparently there were two whales that kept breaching just out from where we finished.

Joe:

Ripping spot.

Burso:

Yeah, having the whale and then as you turn up, that's a bit awkward. I didn't see it. Was that just at Fairhaven, at the end there?

Chris G:

Yeah, apparently I never saw it. I was too busy worrying about finishing a run to look out there. But yeah, apparently it was there for quite a while.

Burso:

Yeah, Mel was saying at the end, there she was, like she went. I don't know if she was having a shower or whatever it was over there. There's people down there. It just looks carnage. At the end there's people throwing up everywhere. They're wearing splice blankets. Yeah, people are bleeding all over the place from chafing.

Chris G:

Was that the quick ones that finished well before us where they were?

Burso:

Yeah it might have been that. Yeah, it might have been the people. Well, you guys beat her, Okay maybe not then, but yeah, what news.

Chris G:

Oh, what news. Oh yeah, we came third. What yeah. Of the teams. There were only six teams, mind you, and I think we were yeah, you're better than average. That's it.

Burso:

Yeah.

Chris G:

Third place on the podium. Yeah, but we left before there was any podiums, I don't know oh were you guys supposed to be on a podium?

Joe:

I don't know, I don't know. I mean, it's on brand that there's a photo op and we don't show up. Yeah, chris had to get the kids back and we were starving, so where are we now? Is this place?

Burso:

full Four pines.

Joe:

I was going to say nine pines it's not nine pines In Torquay. We're still in Torquay and I'll make the trek back around the other side of the bay. But yeah, I look forward to tomorrow. Probably Monday will feel worse. The old knees will feel a bit sore and I'm working from home Monday, so I can't wait to cramp up in a chair.

Chris G:

It's going to be sweet. I've got to be on site lifting stuff all day on Monday, so that's going to be a fun one.

Joe:

Yeah, yeah, very good, but all in all good run, but all in all good run, enjoyed it. It sucked at the time, but it's good that we can actually do this stuff. We're fortunate that our bodies are allowing us to do this stuff, so it's nice to get out and see some new country.

Burso:

I reckon I've been to Anglesey once but I'm not really familiar with this area. Yeah, because you've done those. Was it the Twin Hills or whatever it is you were talking about doing that trail run?

Joe:

Oh, the two bays, yes, the one, yeah.

Burso:

So that's down my way, it's over that way, pointing to the outside of the bay. I love the way you're narrating your thing. Now he says, pointing across the bay, from the lovely view that he has it's a big, beautiful bay. Yeah, so what, what? Uh, what, if anything, would you guys do differently? Obviously you'd probably train and not have influenza.

Joe:

I would try really hard not to get influenza. Um, look at this point, I I think I did as best I could because with everything else going on in life, I didn't have the opportunity to really train. Um, like I said, any any spare time. I would have normally trained for something like this. I've been studying, so I've got a uni break now for six, seven weeks, so I don't think I'll run another marathon in this window, but, um, yeah, I'm sort of making some plans for next year. There's, um, there's a mountain goat trail series and it's three. I don't know who hosts it, but there's, there's three events that make up a series and I'd like to do all three next year. I mean, they're all similar kind of trail run marathon type events.

Burso:

There's a surf coast 100. It's coming up, but they have the team. They do have different numbers, though. They've got like I think they've got a 10, a 50 and 100, or you can do teams of four. Is that something you do, or you you going to take a bit of time out from running?

Joe:

Well, I mean we were talking about this earlier, but I like the idea of a new challenge doing 25Ks of the 100 and then having the next sort of 50Ks off while someone else runs them, and then maybe try and run again.

Burso:

I just think that'd be a challenge I haven't done before you want to do another 25k or just to run like 5k 500 meters to the car to

Joe:

get home it would depend on what sort of condition I'm in, um. But yeah, I think it'd be an interesting challenge to do the run, do the 25ks, stop, cool down and then have to fire up again and go again. I just think that'd be a cool thing to to try. Yeah, like I don't know whether we would jump in an ice bath quickly and then maybe have a little nap or something.

Burso:

Um well I mean it's not a little nap. If you're waiting 25k, somebody's probably taken a while. Yeah, you know, you've probably got two hours, so I mean, but whether you need a nap though as well. That's the other thing yeah, probably not.

Joe:

I think that how I feel right now. I would just, I think I'd probably just slam down a bunch of water, some hydrolite, try and eat something, and then just try and stretch it out and say semi-warm for a while, and then just see what happens when you go again. And and I think if I've got any endurance in me when it's around, then that could be an option, and if I, I think I'm back at uni by then, so I'm probably not going to have much time to do it Don't those little compression leg things that we had.

Burso:

I reckon they'd be ideal. You just like chilled out with them. Just kept jumping on them every second Didn't you buy a set? Didn't you buy a set? It is something I would do, but no, I haven't yet Maybe someone's bought a set.

Joe:

Oh, did they? Yeah, someone's bought a set. Probably not.

Burso:

I'd just use them to watch TV. That'd be the way.

Joe:

I'd ride Get the blood flowing around, because what is it? It's about lactic acid being spread around.

Burso:

Yeah, something like that. I don't know.

Chris G:

Even if it's gimmick. Yes, mind you, we weren't even tired, we weren't even working out. Though Did you use those league twigs? I used them in veteran games. Yeah, I think Probably not. I reckon, look, I reckon they are good.

Burso:

You asked questions after you gave away the microphone. That's very on brand, tell us your life story. Would you do anything different?

Chris G:

I'd train.

Burso:

You'd train. Yeah, you won that. You beat Joe.

Joe:

You did beat me.

Chris G:

Well, you know, I trained more than him. I didn't get flu a week before, so that definitely counts.

Burso:

He's definitely ahead of you. He's killing you, Joe he did he did.

Joe:

He smashed me, he beat me by about five or eight minutes or something, so he did good.

Burso:

I just meant, even in his lead up it was a much better option to not get the flu than to get the flu. That was a pretty rookie mistake.

Joe:

Why did you do that? Yeah, look, I don't know, it just felt like it.

Burso:

Yeah, chris is. You're like the dyslexic version of an interviewer. You're like ask a question whilst you hold the microphone away from yourself. So what about you, chris? Would you do the 25? Would you do 25 on, 25 off? If you're going to do the other half?

Chris G:

look, if I was to do 50, I'd train up to do 50 as in straight. Yeah, I don't think. If I've done 25 and stopped, no matter how fit and conditioned I am at the time, I'm not getting back up to do a number 25 yeah, complete lack of interest.

Burso:

Yeah, especially if it sucked the first time. So we did, we had Nick did the 100 by himself. Fitzy just was bored the whole time, like because Fitzy would have finished it in about an hour and a half but Nick did it for 17 hours 50. And I'm just like that's you know like because he was.

Chris G:

That's a long time on your feet.

Burso:

It is. It's massive, like it was just brutal. But even like I was, I turned up for the last sort of six hours to watch him. That was taxing for me. Yeah, I just drove from spot to spot. I'm just like this is long, like this is taking a long time, and they'd been going for 11 hours before I got there. I got there. It was nuts, but I mean they were saying it was beautiful. They saw the sunrise on the beach. They saw the sunset whilst they were running on the beach. I could have done that as well, skipped all the bullshit in between Seen the sunrise.

Chris G:

Just not run anywhere, yeah.

Burso:

Yeah, that's right, sounds good. Yeah, is there? What about any of the other boys, any of the other average shows getting into it? Because they do? They're park running up a storm at the moment, allegedly.

Joe:

Well, Jase has given it a good crack at the moment, but he probably doesn't have much more than five in him, Not unless he rolls. Yeah, sure he'd be very good at that.

Burso:

No, I think Ethan's in real good shape. He does look amazing. Yes, Ethan is the hottest bloke that we have Useless. Have you had him do anything before without doing a hammy?

Joe:

No, we did a training session, Not the one oh I went to the snow did a training session we took some photos of you guys moving a log off the road. It was a log that Lisa's dad kind of pulled off the road with a chain and then these guys threw it off the road.

Chris G:

I reckon Ethan got his heart rate up at that snow trip more than he's got it up in any training. We were driving behind him and his car was fishtailing up that little road.

Joe:

Yeah.

Burso:

Mate, we had him down. He came down to do soccer or kickball or whatever it was that we did and he rode there. So he'd ridden like 15Ks or something to get there. So he was like, yeah, I'm good to go, and he goes. I have me a little bit sore though Maybe it might have been the second time, I don't think it was the first one but he literally like kicked the ball and then ran, bang, gone, just sniffer, got him. He's down on the ground, hammy's gone. I'm like, oh my God, like thanks, mate, why didn't you just sit this one out, like we said, like thanks for spectating. We didn't even need him, we had subs. Would you know who should be a good runner?

Joe:

Tug. He's lean and he's thin and he's light. He looks like someone who should be a good runner, but I actually have no idea if he's a good runner. There you go, Tug.

Burso:

That doesn't mean he's not. No, that's right, I'm happy to have proven wrong.

Joe:

I'd love it if he was a good runner. Yeah, get around us. Yeah, he's up and about at the moment.

Burso:

Yeah, he's good, has he been? Has he done any park runs? I haven't seen him do any park runs.

Joe:

No, I don't think running's his thing.

Burso:

Yeah.

Joe:

But he's in the right shape. He's good. Oh, yeah, like he's not. I think he weighs like 70 kilos, wringing wet. Yeah, like he's a slight bloke that might be being generous. Well, he might be in the 60s, I don't know.

Burso:

Yeah, I don't know, maybe. Yeah, I mean he's tall, so maybe, either way, you know, blue Big unit, massive unit, but heart, a lot of heart. I can't believe he did that beast that was ridiculous.

Chris G:

It'd be funny to see if we could get him to do under the legs. No, you don't reckon.

Joe:

No, I don't reckon Blue's up for anything running. You don't reckon Cardio's not his thing.

Burso:

He could lift you. He's got two months, three months, september. You know what, though? There is also the Puffing Billy 13.5. He's got to beat. I don't know. I tried to find it the other day, couldn't find what the time is, but people beat the train, so it's obviously possible. Not for Blue, not for Blue 13.5. Yeah, so it's like 13Ks, right, yeah?

Joe:

Yeah, I don't reckon you did the Beast. Beast was 21.

Burso:

That was up and down the mountain but he nearly died. We don't want Blue the time.

Joe:

I mean we didn't do a good time, but we did do a good time we were going for not dying.

Burso:

But he definitely ticked the not dying box, yeah and word has it, he's still dehydrated. I heard his hair went not red.

Joe:

Well, because his face was redder.

Burso:

He looked like an albino then. Oh, he's got white hair now. His face is that red have you done Puffing Billy before.

Chris G:

No, I haven't done that one before, but yeah, I've done lots of different runs Like there's.

Joe:

I've done all the fun runs and stuff on the road, like, but I'm just not into road running anymore, like those events where there's 30,000 people. I don't want to do that anymore. I'd rather just like I had a really good run today in terms of there wasn't any traffic, like once the initial flurry of people went through. A lot of the time it was either single file, with a person 100 metres in front of me and 100 metres behind me, or no one. So I think it was a bit different for you though, wasn't it? It was a bit of traffic from the half marathon people.

Chris G:

Yeah, well, I started't know how long they started after me, but obviously it wasn't too long before the half marathon started. So I started my run, chasing down all the marathon runners and overtaking them, which was a bit of motivation. Then, after about 10 or 20 minutes I swapped around where all the really quick guys doing the half marathon started going straight past me and the first guy that passed me were going down this steep, steep hill where it was, you know, like big boulders. We were sort of, you know, taking taking it easy. They were wet, you know, everyone was stepping down and walking. Then this kid comes running past and like he couldn't have been older than like 14, 15 or something and he was the first one in the half marathon and he's just like jumping down between the rocks like a mountain goat, straight past everyone.

Chris G:

I reckon I saw him finish and he was flying, and I reckon it was another 10 minutes before the one that came second went past me, but that kid was flying Like surely he died halfway down or something.

Joe:

Oh well, the way he finished, because I was at the finish line and yeah, he was banging, he didn't slide down. I sort of lost track of who was doing the half, but he was the first. Good on him. It's good when you see kids having a good crack like that.

Chris G:

Oh that's it Like yeah, I thought I was pretty fit at times when I was a kid Wrong.

Joe:

I can't imagine doing an event like that Wrong. Yeah, that's it. Now it's probably time to start getting moving. Are we going to play the sweet outro music again that we definitely played on the way in? Yeah, definitely, yeah, good.

Burso:

So is there any other races you've got lined up, Chris, or are you done for this time?

Chris G:

I've been preferencing other training lately. I've been getting back into rowing, which I'm revisiting from when I was a bit younger, um, so getting ready for the season um coming up, you know, at the start of next year um, in terms of running, I wouldn't mind doing the two bays run at the start of next year um, because you know it's one I've thought of doing before but you know it's a long run in in january or february so it's also really hot, which is it's one I've thought of doing before, but you know it's a long run, in January or February, so it's also really hot.

Joe:

Yeah, it's normally the first or second week of Jan, so you run the risk of it being 40 degrees. Yeah you'd know something about that, wouldn't you? Getting killed by a snake? No thanks, but we should just do it one day.

Chris G:

Yeah, that's it. We could just rock up one morning and just do it.

Joe:

I guess that's a good thing about doing trail runs rather than a road run. You don't really care about your time. I find that particularly appealing. I'm not fussed on the time. I think it's good to get out in nature and think about where you are. That's the bit I like the peace. Especially the last time we did the two-way run, you and I went up the hill. There's kangaroos everywhere and it's just nice being out in nature.

Chris G:

It's good for the soul. Yeah, it's a beautiful spot to just, you know, get a bit of isolation.

Joe:

The view's pretty good. There's a couple of good spots there. You get a good view.

Chris G:

Yeah, up the top of the seat there looking over the bay. Yeah.

Burso:

Chris was saying, before I was talking to him going, would I was talking to him going, would you have rather run that together or do you prefer the team way, as in? Yeah would you have rather run like a half marathon?

Joe:

we seem to keep a similar kind of pace, but I think either would be good, would you be?

Burso:

more worried about trying to keep pace with the other bloke or trying to beat him well, when we've done parkrun together, we've certainly pushed each other over that distance.

Joe:

One week I pushed you along and we got a really good time. The other week you pushed me along and stuff. So yeah, for short distance it's good to push each other, but I think for a longer distance I prefer to kind of go by myself, because then I can just struggle along at my own pace.

Burso:

Who's winning park runs at the moment? Chris?

Chris G:

He's smashing me. Oh really, you told me you wanted a goal of under 20. Yeah, the last one I did, I did 21.

Joe:

That's ridiculous 20 or something.

Chris G:

And I was working to get it down. But you know, I sort of moved on from that goal. But I'll probably revisit it at some point.

Joe:

Yeah, no, I think that when you got down to 21, you could have kept going. I've reached my peak at about the mid to high 22s and I'm never going anywhere near. My PB on that is 22.

Chris G:

I reckon, if you pushed it, how much have you spent actually doing speed work? Because you do all the long distance stuff You're talking about training, aren't you Come? On. No time for that.

Joe:

No, I can rock up on any given Saturday and knock out a high 22s. My best ever is 22.06 or something, but I don't think I'll ever get down to that or in the 21s again. So you got me covered. Oh cool, I'll take that one. Yeah good, you got me today and you got me on parkrun. So who's the loser?

Chris G:

right.

Burso:

What about? What are your boys' Spartans?

Joe:

Oh, you know, with the Spartan race now it's like in the city.

Burso:

There's one in Werribee. Yeah, there's one in Werribee that's coming up at the race course there. Shepparton's got a Dex, I think, a Decker. That's more of a CrossFit-y sort of thing. Yuck, no, you wouldn't do that. No, chris, no, okay, yeah, I think it's pretty much the same sort of thing, yeah, and then there is. What else have we got? There's some other ones up around Australia, but it's mainly East Coast.

Joe:

There's a Yu Yang's run.

Burso:

There's a park run at Yu Yang's.

Joe:

No, I think there's a Yu Yang's like the big run.

Burso:

No, it's not no.

Joe:

But that's the last park run that Berso did was the Yu Yang's.

Burso:

Yeah, I get more out of a park run than you boys, though.

Joe:

No, we probably get about the same amount because, you push yourself and we push ourselves.

Burso:

If.

Joe:

I chill on a park run. I'm not getting much out of it.

Burso:

No, that's, that's what I mean. You only get 22 minutes. I had a good 40 minutes in the bush yeah, Double the yeah. It's awkward when the tent's gone, when you get there at the end, but you know the boys are still there. But yeah, we're trying to. We're linking in with Spartan. I'm actually trying to get Geelong.

Joe:

That's sick.

Burso:

Well, it's a thing that's probably a bit left af field at the moment, but I was speaking to the people because I spoke to them through Invictus. But I was like, what do you need? And then they were saying, oh, we'd love to be able to do a. They haven't done a stadium stomp. I don't think they've ever done two in Australia.

Joe:

I've done a stadium stomp. Oh, did you. Yeah, I did the one at the MCG. Yeah, yeah, it was. Is that GMHBA? Yeah.

Burso:

But there's that. And then they want to do a Tough Mudder. We've got plenty of bush. You could do that in Tough Mudder's fun.

Joe:

Tough Mudder's a fun thing, even if you did the 20-kilometer option, if they have one. This is what I said to everyone going to the Spartan race that we did in Bright. Yeah, when you lied to us.

Burso:

It'd be the same.

Joe:

Tough Mudder, there'll be fun. There was actually music, well, at the start, the first couple of Ks in the stadium at Bright, but then the rest of the track. There was not even a medic, whereas I've done Tough Mudder three times and each time it's. The biggest problem with Tough Mudder is it's so popular and it's such a good event that you end up with big queues at all the obstacles. So you end up just getting real cold in between them and because there's so many obstacles, you only ever run in 300, 400 metres at a time, and that's 300, 400 metres of queue.

Burso:

Does Spartan have Highlander as well? I think it's called Highlander, which is trail running. So they have about seven different things, but we could do literally all of them in Geelong, so that's why.

Joe:

I'm trying to talk to them now to get was that. Get on to the mayor.

Burso:

Yeah, that's you right. Yeah, exactly, king of the North they call me, or the West. Yeah Well, when you're in Geelong, I'm in the North.

Joe:

So the rest of the state doesn't matter when you're in Geelong. I don't know what's going on over there, yeah.

Burso:

No, I'm building a wall. Geelongatics, walkers are out the north and then you've got everyone else keeps us out with a night watch. But yeah, so he's going to come out have a look and then ideally we can get like all seven of his events and have them in Geelong. That would be sick. Yeah, so whether we do them in a massive weekend or what, I don't know yet.

Joe:

Do you mean like combining multiple events into one giant event? Well, potentially.

Burso:

Oh, that would be cool, I don't know. Yeah, we'd have to work out how it's going to look, but because he'd have to bring in, but at least all of his stuff comes in at once and then they can set all their stuff up and do whatever, whether they do, maybe even if they did like nine days of it where we do like the first weekend like a stadium stomp and there's a Highlander somewhere, like a series out of it, and we can just do whatever. But anyway, that's a plan that we have, so we'll see what happens. Anyway, you got any final thoughts, chris?

Chris G:

Not really mate.

Burso:

Just to know what I've done. What about you, Joe? Anything you want to sign off on?

Joe:

Probably just going to do some stretching.

Burso:

Right.

Joe:

Except I've got a two-hour drive home first, which?

Burso:

is going to be awesome. Savage, that's terrible. Looking forward, I'm really looking forward to that. And then what leg day? When you get home? Obviously, why don't you give it a test run? Get home, do a park run, just do a 5K when you get back.

Joe:

I mean I'll be wearing different shoes, so that could help. Let's do it now. Do it now, yeah.

Burso:

Do the Torquay park run. It's just here near.

Joe:

Salty Dog.

Burso:

It's a maybe out of you at all, Righty-o. All right, cheers boys. We'll see how this one goes. Probably sounds like crap and we won't even use it, but we'll see what happens.

Joe:

Play that sick music.

Burso:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, just do it. So that was the DJR mic. So I'm just wondering if you let us know how that sounded. Obviously it's different to how I'm talking on the normal microphone. And just some follow-up. If you want to do the Puffing Billy run in East Melbourne I think it's going to be ideally we're going to do it September the 14th, I think, so that'll be the Sunday from memory. Let us know. Like, slide into the old DMs and give us a hit up on that. Surf Coast Century will be on September the 13th.

Burso:

We're looking at trying to get three teams of four. So, trying to get three teams of four. So if you're interested in that, if you're a veteran or whatever it is, give us a yell. I'll see if I can try and slip you in one of the teams. We might have about 12 spots, but we'll see how it goes.

Burso:

Filling up at the moment yeah, hit us up on the Insta or go to the Invictus Victoria Facebook page and hit us up there, yeah, and if you can give us any feedback on the dji mics versus, obviously this is a more proper setup, so it's obviously going to sound a bit better. But if that was, um, that was okay, even with the background noise and all that sort of stuff. Then it'll be a lot easier um for us to do in future, because you just take it on the travel and do whatever, as opposed to this podcast setup. Um, and if you're super keen to see spartan inelong, also slide in the DMs, give me a yell and I'll keep you updated with what's going on there. And now I might just try and play some of the ones that we took there at the time.

Burso:

Joe was trying to do his best job as an interviewer, but you be the judge if you think he did a good job or not. How you going, Joe? We're just conducting interviews, mate. What's going on? Interview? How you going, joe? We're just conducting interviews mate.

Joe:

What's going on Interviews out on the road? How do you feel you going at the moment?

Burso:

Oh, I feel all right. I mean, I just had a Snickers back there.

Joe:

so oh, that's what took so long? Yeah, it's been here for ages.

Burso:

I've been running, so we're going to go down this way. Yeah, you've got to go left. Oh, we got him, we got him, we got a Joe.

Chris G:

I caught my bad.

Joe:

There you go.

Burso:

Joe, you were walking. We saw that. Joe. How do you feel about that Walking? Terrible, all the people at home see you walking. They're like how are you traveling? You're actually not far off. Mel Mel's a professional runner. She's done international races and stuff. I don't know if you heard about it, bro, the sand was real deep how's, how's the socks, socks going?

Joe:

well, socks, great.

Burso:

Yeah, you're looking for sponsors who could you go with which side? Sorry what he went. Both of you just go, just start do something just need to be, just do it see what you got mate, yeah, all right now you gotta hide the mic to his face when you do it. So you, you say something, joe, I'll say something now, yeah, and then he says something. Something.

Chris G:

We're really good at this. Did you whisper?

Burso:

there, this is the most awkward interview.

Joe:

I've ever seen. We're a bit. We need some food and some fuel, and that'll help us switch our brains back on.

Chris G:

Are we going to go?

Joe:

to the brewery. We're going to go back that way.

Chris G:

I don't know exactly what the plan is Much better, Joe. This is a microphone.

Burso:

This is not a microphone. He's talking.

Chris G:

Joe, You've got to put the mic up, he's just talking about it.

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