00:02
Hey everyone, it's Mikki here. You're listening to Mikkipedia and this week on the podcast, I speak to Tara Ellis from Team Ellis Running. Tara is one half of that powerhouse duo, Team Ellis Running, and alongside her husband, she has run marathons all over the globe, chasing not only finish lines, but experiences, connection, and the elusive six star Abbott.

00:30
World Marathon Majors Medal. What started as a personal passion has evolved into a lifestyle, a community and a platform for inspiration, of which we discuss how this even began in the first place. So in this conversation, Tara shares how running became a shared purpose, the highs and lows of marathon life, and what it means to stay motivated through travel, training blocks and the occasional curve ball. She opens up about her struggles with GI issues in hot races,

00:58
Hashi overcame them with the help of currants, which as you know is one of my favourite supplements. And the mission behind their podcast, The Flying Runner, which if you haven't checked out, I highly encourage you to do so. There's a link in the show notes and they are consistently in the top sports podcasts in Australia. So whether you are a seasoned marathoner or still wondering if you could go the distance, Tara's journey proves it's never too late to start running towards something.

01:28
Those of you unfamiliar with Tara, she is a passionate marathoner, storyteller and co-founder of Team Alice Running. Alongside her husband Tim, she's completed marathons across the globe, earning the prestigious 6-star Abbott World Marathon Majors medal and inspiring a global community of runners along the way. Tara is also one of the four hosts of the Flying Runner podcast, where she and her fellow 6-star finishers Tim, Tony and Lucia

01:56
share stories from the road, race recaps, and the friendships forged through the sport. Known for her warmth, grit, and ability to make even the toughest training blocks sound like an adventure, Tara brings a relatable and uplifting voice to the running world. And this is why I think you're really gonna love this interview. Tara is a regular person doing extraordinary things, which is why I loved chatting to her because it's so relatable.

02:22
For anyone who's a runner, will appreciate and understand what Tara shares with us. The other reason why I was so stoked to talk to her was of course her experience with currants. And as I mentioned in the interview, there is really good research to support the use of currants for GI distress in the heat. And the fact that Tara had such a tangible benefit from it just really stood out to me.

02:46
I have links to both the Flying Runner podcast and the Instagram page for Team Alice Running, is regularly updated with inspirational pictures and training logs from both her and Tim. So absolutely check it out if you haven't already. Before we crack on into the podcast though, I would like to remind you that the best way to support this podcast is to hit the subscribe button and share it with your mates because that...

03:13
increases the visibility of Micopedia and amongst literally thousands of other podcasts out there. So more people get to learn from the experts that I have on the show and people like Tara. All right team, enjoy this conversation.

03:30
Laura, hey, how are you? I'm good, how are you? Thanks for having me on. I am stoked because do you know what? get, I always feel it now, like I just love talking to runners about not just running, but about their life in running, you know, because running has just such an amazing ability and probably a lot of sports do this, but to really just enhance your wellbeing, your joy. And of course you and Tim, along with two co-hosts,

04:00
have a running podcast. So you get to take your running joy and share it with the world on a weekly basis. I'm pretty sure. that's right. Yeah. Yep. So we host what's called the Flying Runner. And yeah, we just talk about all things running. all six star medalists. So we've all completed our major marathons. And we're all running Sydney to complete the seventh this year as well. But yeah, we're not just marathons. We're just about running. We love

04:30
running. I could talk about running all day, every day. Yeah. And you know, I, on my podcast, I speak to researchers, people in the health and fitness space. I talk to runners, but it's not something which I do every single week. So that's why I'm like, oh cool. I get to talk about running. And in fact, I had just done the Southern Lakes Ultra, which anyone listening to this podcast will be like, oh my God. So she's talking about this again.

04:56
My friend Tom, is also a runner, loves listening to running podcasts. I did a little mini episode on my experience and he was like, Miki, my God, you just have to keep doing them. I just love listening to you talk about your events and what you do. So you must get that kind of feedback on your podcast too. Oh, quite frequently. you know, we're always talking about, we love all running. So I don't care if it's trail running, road running, marathons.

05:24
short distances, I'm happy with any sort of running. yeah, we're the same. It's, yeah, all of our guests are very much about running. yeah. one. So Tara, let's kick off. And what I will, I just want to tell you this upfront, cause you mentioned it. I obviously am going to want to talk a little bit about the world majors that you've completed. Just, I'm probably going to ask which one is your favorite. We did New York in 2019 and it absolutely blew

05:54
both of us away, my husband and I, with just how the whole city got behind the marathon and you felt like you were winning the entire way, which is quite different when you do your local Auckland marathon, which is where I am, where people, not only do they not seem to give a shit, but they're annoyed that the bridge is half closed, so you've got these runners running around. And I actually thought when we arrived in New York, I'm like,

06:21
New York is too cool to care about this, but oh my God, no way. They're just all about the marathon. And we were on our way back to the hotel post our event, because we had our little ponchos on because it was cold. And of course we had our medals around our necks. Everyone stopped and congratulated us. And what is even more slightly hilarious, but also just eye-opening to just what a special event it is.

06:49
is that people were wearing their medals two days later and people were still congratulating them. Yep, absolutely. Like New York, that was actually where my husband and I got our six stars. So it was quite amazing for us. yeah, you're right. New York has got an atmosphere like no other marathon I have ever done in the world. And I've traveled around quite a lot to do my marathons. But yeah, New York is a different feel to anything else. yet wearing your medal,

07:19
you feel like a superstar, then you put your Abbott six star medal on with it and you get treated like absolute royalty. It is just the best feeling. You get free entry into all these events and places and attractions. It's so good. So yeah, definitely recommend New York. But yes, I do know what you mean. I've done Auckland myself and when I was actually doing so sorry for that. No, no, I loved it. I loved Auckland was actually.

07:47
It was really, really enjoyable. But the day we did it was Halloween the night before and the marathon the next day. So it was quite bizarre because we're walking to the start line of the marathon and then all these people are leaving from Halloween parties out of the pubs. And there's also the All Blacks were playing overseas. all the pubs were full with All Blacks people and the supporters. So was really cool.

08:14
I wonder whether you did it the year that the rugby, the world cup was on and we were in the final. think, I think I remember that. Yes. Yeah. is hilarious. I 2017, 2016. I can't remember the year, but yeah. Yeah. So now Tara, mean, I'm going to ask obviously about you, but you and Tim, because your team, Alice Running, how did you both get into running? Okay. So it's a weird story. I used to always do obstacle racing. So Spartans, Tough Mudders and all that sort of stuff.

08:44
And I was actually on one of the ropes, a traverse rope. So think of like a power pole, you you're traversing along and you're sort of hanging downwards towards the ground and you're pulling yourself along on the rope. And that rope actually snapped when I was on it. And I fell about a metre and half to the ground and broke my back, my pelvis and my hip. 10 years ago. So at that time,

09:11
10, 11 years ago. At that time, my specialist said, you will never run again. The very next day, I had never run more than 5Ks at a time. The very next day, I went out and signed up for a half marathon. Couldn't walk at that time, mind you, but you know, went up and signed for a half marathon, which was in... Okay, were you in hospital for any length of time with that? Or they just sort of like, did the scans, went, this is the issue, off you go? Yeah, pretty much.

09:38
Pretty much. So I opted not to go with the surgery and I just went with physio and rehab and just tried my best to recover myself. Yeah. So I just turned around. That was in November. And then by the July, the next year I was, I'd run the Gold Coast half marathon. What the hell? That seems like this incredible accelerated rate of recovery.

10:02
It wasn't fast. No, no, but the fact that you did it, right? And so what about Tim? How did, was he also in obstacle racing at the time or has he just sort of like come along for the ride? No, no. So Tim came along for the ride, believe it or not. Tim was always a big athlete when he was a child. He did surf life saving and all of that sort of stuff. Classic Aussie, love it. Yeah, absolutely. But he, he's just like, oh, well you're enjoying it so much.

10:31
And then he's like, well, if you're going to do a half marathon, I'll do a half marathon. yeah, it was just one of those things that we just sort of both were a bit competitive. If you haven't gathered here, not against each other, not against anyone else, more against ourselves. it's, yeah. Yeah. And Tara, with your obstacle racing, was that something that you deliberately sort of decided to leave behind after that injury or is it just a matter of priorities, time, and how do you fit it all in?

11:00
Pretty much I lost most of my feeling in my left side afterwards. So my hand, my arm and my leg obviously don't have the strength that they used to have. So running to me is just one of those sports or activities that I can do at my own pace, my own speed. I'm not having to keep up with anything. And I don't have to lift my whole body weight anymore. Like I do with my leg, but not with my arm.

11:29
So yeah, so obstacle racing has been given up now since that accident and running has taken a priority and you know, I'll do all my other weights and all that sort of stuff. Yeah. Okay. And so, I mean, I want to ask you about the majors, obviously, just, did you initially, once, did you sort of get the bug for running post that half marathon and then start signing up for things, discovered the majors and went, this is what I want to do or what?

11:57
Yeah, pretty much. That's exactly it. So I mean, you know yourself what it's like on the start line of a race and Gold Coast was my first race. I'd always done park runs and stuff like that. The Gold Coast half marathon was my first and that atmosphere on a start line is electric as you know. So, yep, ran Gold Coast and then I got the buzz and my husband and I like, what's the next thing? And it was Auckland. So Auckland came up like,

12:27
You know, I think it was October, November straight after. I'm like, right, that's what we're doing. And then like, how do you, cause as you say, you, mean, I feel like you've really sort of built this community around the events that you do. And, and I guess I suppose, and from that, of course you were able to inspire people from that. Like you've run some marathons in some pretty epic locations, obviously. So first of all, out of the majors, what is your favorite? And then from there is like.

12:56
Do you have like an absolute favourite race? Oh, absolutely. Okay, so out of the majors, it's a tough one to call, but I loved London and I loved New York. So London was our first major and New York was our last. And I don't think it was because of the fact that they were our first and our last, it was the electric atmosphere. And you can contest to this yourself having done New York.

13:23
You're doing you feel like a celebrity the whole entire way along. Berlin was fantastic, nice and flat. It was my fastest one. And yeah, I enjoyed them all. They all got their own different personalities. Boston, unfortunately, wasn't my best performance. And we can probably talk about that a bit more with the nutritional side of things. But yeah.

13:51
My favorite marathon of all time. I love Queenstown Marathon. I've done the half and the full there. Amazing. I've done Motutapi Marathon. This is a New Zealand broadcast. Obviously you guys know about it, but loved it. I'd love to do Southern Lakes and I'd love to do all of those ones. It's just time. Yeah, totally. You would absolutely love the Southern Lakes Ultra. That six-day

14:21
stage race was just absolutely, it was life changing actually in so many ways. Interestingly, you say that about Boston. We are about to do Boston in mid, like whenever it is like Memorial Day or whatever. So looking forward to that. But you did actually mention nutrition and I will actually, I'm just going to park that because I do want to just continue the discussion around running just because I feel like people can.

14:50
learn a little bit from, I guess, the likes of all of us who run. you can't always rely on motivation when you run, can you? And I know, and you've got like almost double motivation to run because you've got your own sort of group around you. Do you guys mentor or coach runners or are you just more sort of out there as part of the community? Yeah, we definitely, we don't have a

15:13
professional coaching thing or anything like that. We do have our own Instagram and Facebook and all of that sort of stuff. We do a podcast, obviously, we've got a YouTube channel, but it's just team Alice running and the flying runner podcast. But normally what we talk about are things like Tim and I are, you know, average runners doing not so much average things, if that makes sense. yeah, we definitely are there to show

15:41
the world that you do not have to be the fastest, you don't have to be the best and you don't have to be what is classed as an elite runner. You don't have to have that physique that you look at and go, oh my goodness, you weigh only, you know, 45 kilos, you must run a hunt, you know, so well, or you run 90 kilos, you can run well, it doesn't matter about those sorts of things. It's about your enjoyment that you get out of it. And that to me is the biggest part about running is, do you enjoy doing it? And if you do,

16:11
Keep going. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. You know, I've often thought that companies need to get more behind sponsoring the mid-packers and the backpackers because actually that's 99 % of the population who run. And while we get really inspired by the superstars in our sport, oftentimes what their lifestyles really don't resonate with us because it's so removed from the everyday, um, uh, what

16:40
you have to do in aid to enable you to sort of fit in your training, make sure you recover, do life as well, which can be pretty challenging at times. Like this morning, for example, it's the first time it's rained like this in forever in Auckland and I had like a 25K run. And I just knew that, well, I knew that like it was gonna be a challenge mentally. So, but I have a couple of tools that I use to sort of get myself prepped for that.

17:08
You know, I run a few group programs and stuff in the nutrition space and something which someone said was, I found super interesting because as an athlete, I know that I don't rely on motivation to get me out the door because you just can't because most of the time if that was the case, I'd just be on the couch. But I don't think that non-runners or people who aren't active, they don't actually realize this. And I say this because some of the people who are just getting into activity now have said that

17:36
they didn't realise that that was the case. They thought that as a runner, we just got up every single day and just could not wait to put on our shoes and get out the door. think it's, so tell me Tara, what are your sort of motivational tips and trips, yeah, tips to sort of continue to get out there when the going feels a bit tough? Yeah, look, I look at it and I think to myself, I've got two choices. I can play it bad.

18:05
And I can listen to the rain on the roof because we've had continuous rain here in Brisbane for it feels like the last six years. It hasn't really, it's been probably the last month or so. But we don't have the cold rain. We have hot, humid rain and it's not nice. I can sit there and go, I can lay in the nice cool air conditioning and listen to the rain on the roof. Or I can do something for my mental health as well and go out for a run and

18:34
You can honestly say you've never ever regretted going out for a run. You don't ever feel worse after going out and exercising. That's my theory. And it's also a case of that routine. I like to keep that routine happening. So if I can get out of bed, go for my walk, run, whatever I'm doing for the day, do some weights, come home, have breakfast, and then it starts my day off in the right way as well. So mentally,

19:01
I keep myself that way. My husband and I, we run together. So if he's home, we'll kick each other out of the bed. But he has been working down the Gold Coast. So he lives down the Gold Coast Monday to Friday, comes home on the weekends, and we can follow each other on Strava. we follow each other on Strava. I also have friends. I'll say, I'll meet you at five o'clock, which is what I did this morning. And that's my motivation. It's like, I'm going to let somebody else down if I don't go. So I think having somebody else

19:31
relying on you showing up or you having somebody else with you is a really big motivation. Yeah, you know, I feel exactly the same. And, and there are often there are days where I think to myself, well, I'll get my run done. And then actually, the rest of the day, I might have, you know, clients, I have stuff which is much more easily mentally, because it's I'm stimulated by it in a different way. But it feels like you get the work done in the morning. Like if I get home after like this morning,

20:00
there was a point-to-point run, so I knew I had to pick up the car. So that was actually a very easy, because Baer's husband, drove it in. So I just knew I had to get to the car. And that, for me, was a really good sort of mental sort of trick that I used. And I have podcasts, which I just love loading up my phone with. And then I'm like, right, I'm going to listen to this.

20:22
Brendan de Cruz talking about GLP-1 inhibitors, know, and that's what I'm going to do for three hours. It's a little bit like learning and running at the same time, which is actually great for your brain. is, yeah. And running is your time. I can run with my husband and we can talk. We call it our running date. So Sunday morning is our long run. We'll run together and it's our running date because we sit and we talk or we don't sit, we run and we talk. And that's our three hours of connection with each other.

20:52
as well. But also when you're running by yourself, it's really good to just get into your own headspace. Even if you don't have podcasts or music, you can actually think things through and actually sort out your own problems just by running, believe it or not. yeah. Yeah. Nice one. And have you and Tim, has your relationship changed since you've both sort of been on this journey Tara? Yeah. We've always been pretty close, but I think because we've got each other,

21:22
And we've got the same interests with the running and everything like that. Yeah, I do feel that we have become a lot closer. You know, we travel the world together. We make our run-cations as we like to call them. And we've traveled to places in the world that we wouldn't normally have gone to. So it's been quite an interesting way of doing things. We did what's called the Dopey Challenge in America in 2019. So that's the 5K race on the Thursday.

21:51
Friday is a 10k race, Saturday is the half marathon and Sunday is the full marathon. That's through Disney World in Florida. So I would never have done that previously, but we wanted to make it so that the kids could have a holiday at the same time. They were quite young at the time. Yeah. So it's things like that that bring us closer together as a family. My son or our son is now running his first full marathon this year at the Gold Coast Marathon. He's 19 and he's inspired just by watching us.

22:21
Yeah, nice one. Dopey challenge is absolutely on my bucket list. I wasn't sure that it was in Florida or not, so I'm pleased to hear that. Because I sort of I have vague details of it. And in fact, I saw it on your Facebook page. And so I'm pleased to hear that it's one of the ones that sort of is a bit of a highlight for you because seems like such an awesome event. was amazing. Yeah, absolutely. Yep. So Tara, talk to me then about your

22:49
about your nutrition. So let's go here. Cause this is one of the things I definitely wanted to chat to you about, given some of the challenges. This is heard through the grapevine really, that you've experienced. first of all, yeah. So chat about it actually. You mentioned Boston. Boston was probably my worst experience nutritionally wise. So each marathon that I've done from when I started, they've been hit and miss. So I will never train.

23:18
I will never run with something new in my stomach. I will always train with it first, know, age old rule. However, some of the marathons that I've been on, have had vomiting starting at around about 30 Ks and I can't stop. So that to me is a bit of a warning signal going, okay, something's wrong nutritionally and I can work that out. Boston, however,

23:44
It was an extremely hot day. So Boston starts at 1130 in the daytime. I'm used to running at six o'clock at the very latest being a Brisbane girl. So my nutrition probably wasn't quite where it should have been to start with. I'd eaten what I would normally eat before a marathon. But by the time I started, it was almost lunchtime. So I probably should have had more in my stomach. Because it was such a hot day as well,

24:13
I was taking the electrolytes on course, which I never take electrolytes on course unless I've tried and tested it before. However, it was Gatorade and I've tried Gatorade before on course, never had a problem. However, the Gatorade on course in America is Gatorade Endurance, which is a formula we don't get here in Australia. What is the difference? Well, I wouldn't have thought there was a difference, but the salts and the electrolytes in it are a different balance and my stomach.

24:42
with the heat of 27 degree day, starting at 1130, 12 Ks in, that's it. My stomach decided everything that was going in was coming back out again. So I ran the last 30 Ks of that marathon with no nutrition and no hydration in 27 Ks, in 27 degree heat. not something I would recommend to anybody to do for a nutrition or to your body. It was a tough day out.

25:12
But yeah, I learned a lot from that. And my husband was like, you cannot keep running marathons where you can't keep anything in your stomach. many at this point had that been your issue? it been sort of along, had it been something you were experiencing on almost every run, but just to what degree or how far through? Yeah. So some marathons or even some runs I could get through no problems at all. Some training runs I could get to 12 Ks and I would want to

25:41
feel like that as well. And I hadn't changed anything nutritionally wise. So it had been happening on and off for quite some time. I would say probably, I think that was marathon number 16 or 17 or so by then. I think probably about eight or nine out of those marathons before I had been sick on and violently ill. So it's obviously not an ideal.

26:08
So, but I love running so much that I just, you know, keep going. you try and get like some nutritional support? you go chicken with a naturopath or nutritionist or something? Yep. Yep. So I did. actually saw a sports dietician and she helped quite a lot with what I should be eating, how much I should be eating before run, how much, you know, she would do like the whole measurements on me so that I knew exactly to the

26:37
bram of how many carbs I needed, how much protein afterwards, everything. It sort of made a difference, but not a lot, unfortunately. And I would cut fiber out like two days beforehand, I would only eat certain foods before each run. And it was actually quite constricting to my lifestyle as well, because I was like then having to travel and not be able to get those sort of foods that I

27:07
would usually have a lady on the London marathon gave me a banana. I never take food off people of course, you know, number one, don't try anything new on race day London marathon. I had was so over gels. I was starting to get that nauseous feeling in my stomach. She handed me a banana. And I'm like, what have I got to lose? I ate that banana and it made the world of difference straight off.

27:37
And I'm like, okay, bananas 30K. So how do you get a banana at 30Ks in a marathon? Yeah, pretty much. And so then I would do that. But then the issues started reoccurring again. So the banana wasn't solving that problem. My husband Tim did some research and he's like, doing all this research into so many different things. And I'm very cautious as to what I actually put into my body.

28:08
for herbs or anything like that because I just am, I know that even though it's natural, it can contradict with other things. So I'm very, very careful with that. It came across a product called Currens and I'm like, and I researched it myself and I'm like, what have I got to lose? So what was it that made you think that Currens could help? I think, and I know that this sounds biased, but I was born in New Zealand myself.

28:37
And because it's a New Zealand based product, I'm thinking surely they can't have it this bad. No, but it was actually the research that I had with the professional athletes as well. And I could see the results that the professional athletes were getting more so in their performance. And I thought to myself, well, if nothing, it can help my performance, even if it doesn't improve my stomach concerns. had there not been at that point, had the research been

29:06
published around the GI distress? It was just coming out, like just coming out at that point in time. So I was hesitant, but I looked at the ingredients in it, and I've got a scientific background myself, my husband's got a scientific background. So we looked at the ingredients and we're like, look, there's nothing in there that's going to actually contradict with anything. I wasted $30 on a packet of currants, that may or may not work.

29:36
Within a week of taking it. So I started at a week before Gold Coast Marathon and I actually did what's called the triple in the Gold Coast Marathon. So I did the half marathon on the Saturday, then the 5k on the Saturday, and then I did the full marathon on the Sunday. And I had not one bit of issue with my stomach. I didn't have to go to the toilet, didn't vomit, didn't have any of those concerns.

30:04
And I'm like, is it a coincidence or is it in my head? Kept on with the currents and every marathon, every training run since, not a concern. So whether or not it's a coincidence, but I'm too scared to stop taking it because it was the one thing that worked. So Tara, so when you, so you picked it up from research just showing that it helped with actual performance enhancement.

30:31
Despite the fact that actually what you had was real GI distress going into marathons, particularly heat, is that right? Yeah, so mine, I think is a heat problem, especially because here in Queensland, even if you start training at four o'clock in the morning, it's still 28 degrees and your humidity is up to like 80 to 90%. So if you can try and get as much done before the sun starts beating down on you as well.

31:00
so much more the better. But yeah, I think it's a heat distress thing. And I think it's actually reduced that body temperature down for me, so that I'm not having to hydrate as much. that make any sense? So I was actually taking in an awful lot of water as well. And I think I was creating hyponatremia, I think is what it's called, where you're actually flushing away all your electrolytes because I was drinking so much from the heat. I'm not needing to do that as much anymore. Oh, crazy. Because of course,

31:28
I've seen case study reports that currens and I think the doses, don't know what, what if you do take two capsules in that seven days or I mean, you know, I imagine you must take it daily. do. Yep. Two capsules every day. Um, as soon as I wake up in the morning before I go for my run. Yeah. And I think what the research shows is that that a seven day loading phase, if you like, before going into a hot environment of the two capsules a day does.

31:57
It does reduce or they think it does reduce core body tempo. It definitely improves GI distress and in the, think pretty sure it's endurance athletes. I think it was a runner actually as well, which is super interesting, right? It is. It's very interesting. And I actually, on our last podcast that we just had, had Fleur Cushman. So Fleur is actually the managing director of Currents. And she was talking to us about all of the

32:24
benefits and they've actually come across one now that is actually a weight loss side of it as well. So taking two currants in the morning and two currants at night actually helps females lose fat. there's a 33 % proof, like, you 33 % of females are actually having that done. So our last podcast actually shows all of Flair's newest research as well. So we've got two podcasts now that we've had Flair on with currants and

32:55
all of the research has just been so well done. Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? I am because I've spoken to Fleur a couple of times as well. people often wonder, can one thing like currants, how can it have such wide reaching effects? I think this is a thing with products like currants, sulforaphane is another one like broccoli sprout extract. It just works.

33:20
at that cellular level and the mechanism is through different pathways, right? So it's not just, it's not like you're taking an antioxidant, which in of itself is quenching free radicals. Like it's actually working on a number of different levels, which is how it can have such wide ranging sort of benefits. That's interesting on that fat loss thing. Is it a fat oxidation? Is it fat oxidation is increased? I think so, yeah. From what I can gather and in females it works better than in males. Yeah, interesting.

33:50
Yeah, it is a very interesting thing. But the GI distress is amazing. The heart rate gets lowered from it. Your recovery is better. And if you notice that as well. I have definitely. Yeah. And especially because I am a multi day runner like yourself. That recovery in between runs is so important. As you yourself know, especially for muscle recovery, heart, mind, everything.

34:19
You know, having that nutrition to the tea is important. And I find currents really supplements that so well. I know so many athletes who take it and there's a guy in New Zealand, Simon Cochrane, and I've spoken to him on my podcast. He'd be great on your podcast too. He's like an absolute overachiever when it comes to running and he's, he's one of these guys that seems to do better the longer the event. say that he's pretty darn awesome at like.

34:45
marathon distance, which would be one of the shortest ones that he does. And he does like milers and 100 Ks and he 100 % endorses currants as part of his sort of recovery protocol. And it works on an immune basis. And I think this is the difference between something like currants and something like just taking antioxidants is that it improves your neutrophil function. And they're just this integral part of your immune system.

35:13
which means that you can take it and not have to worry about blunting adaptations from training, which is often one of the reasons why as athletes, we sort of shy away from those taking large doses of antioxidants. So you can find something that works on a different level. That's, you know, it's just, it's so helpful. Absolutely. I find also with currants, you can't overdose on it. So you can take like a whole packet of it and

35:43
You know, you're not going to do anything worse to yourself if that makes any sense. knowing that if you take four capsules a day, it's not going to hurt you. But there's a lot of endurance athletes that actually do take the full capsules instead of two before running. interesting. Especially for the ultras and stuff. So yeah, it's going to be interesting. You'll have to let me know how you get with Boston because obviously you with your taking currents as well, I'm assuming. And yeah, yeah. Yeah.

36:11
It's um and I guess so with um Boston I mean it's going to go either way right I the weather's been terrible lately over in Boston and usually like I think you must have had like a really unusual year for it to be that hot I say that though probably 50 % of the time it's super hot 30 % of the time it's probably like really really cold Yeah I don't think you can pick Boston because the year before we had friends that did it and they were at like

36:37
think seven degrees or something like that. And then the year before it was snowing. So, and then we had 27 degrees. So I don't think you can really pick it. It's yeah. Yeah. Just enjoy the race is what I can say and, um, enjoy those Newton Hills. yeah, totally. Antara, has your fueling changed at all? Like with, with your training and racing over the years and has that also contributed to.

37:03
the reduced GI distress or is it literally the only thing you really have changed is putting currents in and now you no longer have to do all of your training on a treadmill. You can actually go outside and do long runs. Absolutely. Yeah. I know that that sounds so weird. I still do my long runs in the same spot that I always have. And that's mainly because I've got, I can do probably 48 Ks of nonstop without hitting a road.

37:29
So, and it's along the beach. to me, that's really important is to have that nice view. And there's a toilet every three kilometres. I've sort of, know, body wise, I sort of needed that previously. But now I can run wherever I want to and not at all. Yep. So no, the only thing that has changed in my nutrition is adding currants. And that's the only thing that I have done to change that whole entire stomach GI issue.

37:59
And outside of currents, what other supplements do you take? I take fish oil. Oh, nice one. Yeah. I take fish oil daily and magnesium daily. magnesium, obviously, cramps, muscles, all of the rest of it. And fish oil, same deal. But it's also good for the heart. So yeah. Yeah, nice one. And so outside of running, like what else do you do to keep yourself sort of resilient and

38:28
keep your energy levels sort of where you hope them to be? Like what are your other sort of pillars that you've put into place? Yeah, so I'm just trying to think. What's sleep like Tara? Yeah, sleep. I actually sleep amazingly well. So I will get a good eight to nine hours of sleep a night. Admittedly, I do go to bed very early. So I'm like at 8.30.

38:54
sort of go to bed type person, but I get up at 4, 4.30 every morning so I can get my run in before the day starts. We go for, I guess, I love to swim, being in Brisbane, Queensland. I do bike riding, walking, I do pilates, like reformer pilates. But with the kids and stuff, the kids are now older, they're 21 and 19. But when they were younger, it was always just sort of

39:22
following them around and chasing them around. Horse riding, you name it, I'll throw my hand in it, sort of any type of sport. Growing up in New Zealand, you know what it's like, you know, there was always hockey, netball, ice skating, there was all those things that I used to do, running around the farm on chasing rabbits and hunting and all those sort of things. So was a real country kid growing up and that sort of hasn't gone away from me, unfortunately, for my husband. He's always like, can you just turn it down?

39:52
Yeah. And so what inspired you to start the Flying Runner? So our friendship core group, we have sort of met through doing the majors. So we've all sort of gone to the majors together through a tour group company. which one? Because people love these details. We use Travelling Fit. Travelling Fit. Okay, cool. Yeah. So Travelling Fit is an Australian based company.

40:22
I would never qualify for Boston. I am never going to be a fast enough runner for Boston. But the only way I could get in was through a tour company. And I've done all my majors through traveling fit. And with that, you actually develop such an amazing friendship group because the same sort of friends go on obviously different tours, but you make new ones on each one. So the flying runner was developed. We have a friend who is a podcaster like yourself.

40:52
And then it's just like, let's all get together and talk about running. So yeah, so Tim and I and him, Tony, sort of were doing it together and then Lucia finished her sixth star. And so she's joined us in as well. So we've got two females and two males for a And with your, with your majors and actually with the, with the traveling fit, this is a bit of a

41:22
admin question really, but is it expensive to do it through that sort of avenue? And I just ask this because there'll be some, because we want to do the majors and there'll be no way we can get into all six of them because some of them are just so hard to qualify for and you have to have some utility bill, you know, for like London and all the rest of it. So is it an expensive endeavor? Look, yeah, it's, I think even if you're going to do it by yourself, it's expensive, whichever way you look at it. We come from

41:51
the opposite side of the world to where all the majors are held, as you know, and we have to fly 20, 25, 30 hours for anything. It doesn't matter. Like you yourself, you know, being in New Zealand. Hotel bills, flights, all of those sort of things. I don't think it is that expensive, really, because they're getting a deal with the hotels. We pay for our own flights so we can get our best deals that we want to with the flights and we can fly whenever we want to.

42:20
But with Travelling Fit, give you a singlet with your name on it. They give you an after party, like an exclusive after party. They make sure that you get to the start and the finish yourself as well. things like New York, you would know yourself. The logistics to get to that start line is unbelievable. Travelling Fit sorted it all out for you. London Marathon is another one of those ones where you just go, how am I going to get to the start line? They actually will bus you all the way to the start.

42:49
drop your start and go. Whereas if you catch the ferry or the bus, you're still walking for about two or three K's before you get to the start line. you know, there's little things like that. Tokyo, the hotel you stay at is with all the elites. So you're staying with the Kipchoge's and the, you know, all of those Kiprudos. You're staying with the amazing people. And even though we live in Australia,

43:14
We're actually doing Sydney with Travel and Fit. that's mainly because we want that to continue on that friendship and make new friends. So whether or not to be friends from Australia that we make or friends from overseas, we just really enjoy making new friends. And that's why we've made that team Alice page. Tim records every single one of our runs.

43:42
and put some up as a video. you see the good, the bad and the ugly with those videos. We don't hide anything with that. And if you watch the Boston Marathon when you go, how did Tara survive? And then you'll look at me at end of Chicago Marathon and I'm bouncing around because it was such a brilliant marathon for me. So we show we show everything with this. Yeah, we don't we don't try and hide the fact that running is hard. We don't try to hide the fact that at

44:10
30k's, you contemplate every single life choice that you've had and go, what am I doing? It doesn't matter if you're a fast runner or a slow runner, it's hard. yeah, we just show that it's enjoyable as well though. I appreciate that after the Southern Lakes Ultra prior to that event, both Barry and I and our friends Lucy and Louise, we'd all signed up sort of together. was Lucy's idea actually. We were like, the hell are we doing?

44:38
Like, this is ridiculous. We are one and done with this. And even actually throughout the week, once we got into it, it was the most amazing experience. And like you, now I have 70 new best friends. And in fact, doing the multi-stage race allows for that, as you would get with TravelFit, you get that core group of people for several days. You're not just jumping on in a start line and then having a beer at the finish line and then going your separate ways. You're sort of like,

45:07
you're put together, you can't leave, literally, like you can't, and you're there to support each other. And even like on some of really hard days, we just kept reminding ourselves, like, actually, this is our holiday. So remember that this is your holiday. Whereas, other people might go on a cruise or do something else. Like, this is how we wanna make memories doing these things. So I appreciate what you're saying.

45:35
Absolutely. And there's people of all abilities and sizes and shapes that do run. So one of the ladies that we have actually met on the Travelling Fit Tours, she has actually lost one of her arms due to an infection that she got. So she lost her arm. We've got people that have got MS, we've got people that have got all different abilities.

45:58
The good thing with the sort of tour group that we're in is it's a case of a bit like the army where it's a case of no man left behind. So if we see somebody that we know is struggling, right, come on, pick them up and we keep going. So even Boston Marathon, where I had friends passing us on course, they were getting ice and they were shoving it down my back, you know, like when I was stopping on the side of the road to Bobbitt and they were picking me up and helping Tim out and it

46:26
it's that sort of community that we sort of encourage. It's not a case that you have to be first. It's a case that just community is the most important thing. And running as you know, it's a community. It's it's such a nice deal that you get with all your friends. You make new friends, as you said. You started a common ground like it's the same even going to parkrun on a Saturday like doesn't matter how you feel.

46:52
One, know you're getting your run done and so you don't have to think about it. So takes away that decision fatigue. But you also know that when you hop along, you do your run, you're going to see one of 20 different people that you would otherwise, that you will usually talk to at the end of it. And as adults, it's actually super difficult to find friends and make friends actually, because we're all just so old and stuck in our ways that it's difficult to sort of let other people in. But when it comes to running, it's just like,

47:21
you're already starting with something in common. You know, you're all signed up to this crazy event or you've all decided to go along when you're taking off the majors or whatever it is, or you're going to parkrun with the 200 other people, you're all there for the same reason. So there's some commonality between you, regardless of your background and your lifestyles and what else is going on. Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, I don't know which parkrun you do in Auckland, but I've done the Cornwall Park one.

47:52
We didn't get to see cows and sheep and run around a park in the middle of the city. That's such a beautiful course. And we've actually delayed flights to do park runs in different parts of the world, hired cars. To me, park run is, it is, it's our Saturday morning sport, is what Tim and I call it. When you're kids, do the Saturday morning sport. Now as an adult, it's park run. We've been to weddings of people that were fed a park run.

48:21
Yeah, it's a community. Tara, what's next on your calendar? Oh, OK. Obviously, we talked Sydney, but I imagine it sounds like you're a prolific runner of many different events. So surely there's something before Sydney. So at the moment, have got next month, I've got a half marathon down the Gold Coast, which is called the GC30. I normally do the 30k run, but they've started a half marathon there.

48:50
So I'm doing the half marathon for the first inaugural year. And then we are going to be doing a Brisbane. Marathon Tim's going to do the full marathon. I'm going to do just do the half. When's Brisbane? Brisbane is in June. So it's always in June. It is always in June. Okay. June. Then we have Gold Coast. So Gold Coast is going to be the half marathon on Saturday.

49:20
10k on the Saturday and the 5k on the Saturday. And then the next day we're going to do the full marathon as well. you're doing all three events on the Saturday? Yep, and then the full marathon on the Sunday. I've got some hard ass friends who were the ones that have done the Dopey Challenge and they've done the Gold Coast Double. I wonder if they even knew that there was a Gold Coast quadruple because I'm sure that they would do it. I'm going to, after we get off the call, I'm going to ping Rob and ask whether or not he's of it.

49:48
That sounds amazing. Yeah. So we've done the double every year since it's been running. And this is the first year that I've added the 10k into the Saturday. So you're able to do it. Normally it's on a Sunday. we're like, yeah, hell yeah, we'll do it. So, um, so we've got that one. Then we've got a little local race called jetty to jetty. We just do the 10k there because then we got back it up with the Sun train coast half marathon. Nice one. And then we'll go to Sydney. Yeah.

50:16
Great. But I'm not doing any overseas marathons this year. We're just sort of staying around Australia because next year we plan on doing Marathon du Moc, which is through the French vineyards. So every water stop is actually wine and cheese. So through the local vineyards. Do they offer water as well? I'm hoping because...

50:40
This is where the current is really going to come into a tone on this this course to see how we go. I want to do this on my bucket list too. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, there's so many on my bucket list. It's not even funny. And then we're going to do the Honolulu marathon at the end of next year for a friend's 50th birthday. It actually falls on her birthday. So that's birthday celebrations. Yes, totally. Okay. And sorry, Tara, I will rip this up. But what do do when you're injured?

51:10
Okay, so I will be honest, we don't get a lot of injuries now. That is primarily because we are very, very in tune with our bodies. So we've got an amazing sports podiatrist. And he was actually an Olympic swimmer here in Australia, who won silver back in 1996 or something. We've got an amazing remedial massage guy, and he's actually an iron man. So he competes in like Kona and all of that sort of stuff.

51:40
And we have a good, very, very good physio who is very in tune with us as well. But look, when we were injured or we're getting more injuries, we just back it off. Like every Sunday will be a half marathon as a training run for us. So we don't care if we do that in two hours or three hours. We just go with what our body feels.

52:05
If we are injured in any way, or form, so Tim's got a bit of a strain hammy at the moment, he'll just back that off and walk it. And we walk, you know, we're very, very cautious of our load on our body is the nicest way to put it. Is that hammy on the back of that ankle roll that he did that fractured some ribs? Is that different? Is he just injury prone? That's just an injury prone Tim. So, yeah, so Tim did roll his ankle.

52:35
break his ribs and break his elbow as he rolled and fell. So that was actually five weeks off all running for him. But in that time, he was walking, swimming, cycling on the stationary bike. Anything to sort of keep your body moving is the most important thing within its own limits. So to ensure that you're not aggravating the injury worse, but see a physio don't

53:03
muck around with it. Don't keep going, oh, if I keep running through that pain, it'll disappear. It won't, it'll just get worse from personal experience. Get yourself a very good team behind you if you want to run the distances that you want to run. And if you're happy just do 5Ks at parkrun, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And people sit there and go, oh, I'm not a runner because I can only do parkrun. I just don't understand that at all. why?

53:32
People should just own it and identify as a runner because that will just change how they feel about it. And then ultimately themselves, actually, I talked to so many people like, yeah, well, I, you know, I just do 10 Ks and I'm like, you're a runner. Yes. And it's the amount of people that I've had that said to me, you don't deserve to be in Boston because you didn't qualify. Are you serious? Yeah, no way. is insanity.

53:59
Yep. And that's coming from other runners. and I just sit there and just go, yeah, that negativity doesn't come to me. So you can stay over there. When I was younger, I knew runners who were very good. And when they were injured, they literally just didn't do anything. And they, because they were mostly motivated by training to win and rather than just training for life and because of the joy of the sport. And I really felt sad for them actually, because a lot of them then

54:28
In fact, stopped running for a number of years, running now, some of them. But that mentality is, yeah, I really struggle with that. And God, since I'm talking, I'll just continue with this other random story. I broke my leg on, not my entire leg, my fibula on New Year's Day when we were doing some mission up, doing a Northern circuit, on Tongariro Crossing, Kierradan in New Zealand.

54:58
And, um, I was at the time training for Tatawera 100 and so had to miss it. That was fine. Barry still did it. And we arrived and sort of sat at a table the night before the race, just sort of catching up with some people. And there were others there that I didn't really, we didn't know at all. And one of the ladies there was like, there was an attitude of, because she was like, Oh, what kind of running do you do? And I'm like, well, I, you know, I run all things trails, but I really love road running. And she's like, hit that kind of.

55:27
You know, you're not really a runner because you're not a trail runner type mentality. I'm like, there is no room for that. And that to me, and in my head, I'm like, you're not a real runner. If that's how you feel, that's actually not really, you're not a real runner, is 100 % to me, a real runner supports all runners, no matter what ability you've got and own it, own the fact that you're running. doesn't matter what distance you do. And it doesn't matter what speed you do. My motto in life is.

55:57
Finish lines, not finish times. Oh, love it. Yeah, and as you get older, you're not going to beat those PBs that you did 10 years ago. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm not running no sub to half marathon anymore. Like, if I do, I'm not enjoying it because I'm not stopping and taking photos and talking to my friends that I see along the way either. So if I can stop, take photos, and that's with the majors, my husband and I look at it as hop on, hop off bus tours without the bus. Yeah, I it.

56:26
None of the cities take you through the worst parts of the city, they? Like none of these places take you through the worst parts of the city. So you're seeing 42 Ks of a city that you would not normally see on foot. It's the best way to do it. Total win-win. Hey, and sorry, Tara, I will rip this up. What's your mileage? What kind of mileage do you do in a week? When I'm proper training, I usually do about 60 to 70 Ks a week.

56:52
when I'm on my off-seat, like, you know, just when I'm in between marathons, I'll probably try and sit around about 40 to 45. Nice one. And that's just whatever I feel like doing. Yeah. I like keeping the habit up and having a bit of a rest from the mental sort of, um, but it does take, I find it interesting, like you build and build and build for an event and at sort of about six weeks out from the event, I'm suddenly over that event and I want to train for something else, but I manage.

57:19
And I'm mildly successful at staying in the game. then after about three weeks after the event, I'm itching for to train for something else. So it's a real balance of not burning yourself out mentally before the event sort of comes up, at least for me. And mentally and physically. And also afterwards, is the recovery afterwards so important to make sure that you're not going straight back to running again in such a...

57:46
rush that you're thinking, well, I've just run a marathon so I can run 21 Ks the next day. Some of us can, but you have to build up to that. And just listening to your body, like don't identify as just a runner because as you said, like your friends that get injured and then they can't run. If you can enjoy swimming, you can enjoy cross training, cycling, Pilates, do it all. Just throw your hand in there and just enjoy movement.

58:13
Enjoy the fact that you can move. Nice. Love it, Tara. So let people know where they can find you and Team Alice and of course your podcast. Thank you. So you can find us on Facebook and Instagram on Team Alice running. On YouTube, it's Team Alice running as well. And on our podcast, it is The Flying Runner. So that's available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube. Yeah, all of it.

58:42
usual podcast platforms. That's awesome. Tara, thank you so much for your time. really appreciate it. Thank you, Mickey. And I look forward to having you on ours. See you later. Thank you.

59:06
Riley, hopefully you enjoyed that as much as I did. I just love talking about running and hearing of other people's experiences. And I'm certainly inspired by Tara and Tim's ability to tick off all of the majors. As you know, I am on a mission to do that myself. So it's so great to hear from their experiences. Definitely check out their podcast, Flying Runner, runr.com, and of course, Team Alice Instagram page.

59:34
Alright team, next week on the podcast I speak to Dr Sarah Hancock about the importance of oral health in our metabolic health. Really loved that conversation. And if you haven't already, Saskia and I have our lunch book ready for you to download or order for a print version that is going to the printer on June 16th. So if you are sorted for breakfast, because you've got our breakfast book, but you have no idea for lunch, then absolutely check out our book.

01:00:04
40 recipes with over 40 grams of protein, super helpful tips for meeting your energy needs, including tips for super active and athletic people, and extra information about batch cooking, food prep, shopping notes, et cetera. You are gonna love it. And so I will put a link to our 40 over 40 lunch edition in the show notes as well. Until next week though, you can catch me. I'm over on Instagram, threads and x @mikkiwilliden, Facebook @mikkiwillidenNutrition.

01:00:33
or head to my website mikkiwilliden.com that'll be where you find lunch. Alright team, you have the best week. See you later.