Nickname: Malibu as bestowed by Duff on an Eaglemont run
Occupation: Economist
PB’s: as of May 2016 – 5km: 17:59, 10km: 37:51, Marathon: 2:58:02
Best Running Experience: Gold Coast half marathon paced to a 10 minute PB by the fastest ever non-African marathoner Ryan Hall. Was able to chat to him a fair bit and get advice for as long as talking was an option for me in that race.
Worst Running Experience: Any run that leads to injury
Racing Shoes: Adidas Adizero Adios Boost
Years Running: About 3.5 years to this point, so hopefully more improvement to come
Why Do You Run: Initially for time by myself, now it’s a major social outlet having met so many great people at the Milers. Also good to find something sporty as I get older that I am still able to improve at
Favourite Training Session: Long runs or 4 x 2km
Most Important Thing To Me: To continue to challenge myself and learn
Biggest Dislike: People who should know better but act selfishly/disrespectfully/stupidly etc.
Favourite Movie: Anything with Will Ferrell is likely to go down well with me
Favourite Book: The Assistant by Bernard Malamud
Favourite Music: Grizzly Bear and similar indie rock/pop/folk, like to continue to listen to new stuff in an effort to avoid feeling old
Favourite Food: Love eating and trying great food but I’ll always go back to a top quality steak cooked rare or sashimi; I particularly love creamy raw scallops
Favourite Drink: non-alcoholic: I’m a bit of a coffee snob and generally go for homemade pour over filter coffee or a latte if at a coffee shop. Alcoholic: a plummy pinot noir or peaty whisky
Dream Occupation: Sports broadcaster – turning my couch life into a career
Most admired athlete: Out of professional athletes: Chris Latham, with Toutai Kefu a very close second (that try against the ABs in 2001 is sufficient to have him on the list). But I also genuinely look up to all the Milers that work so hard to achieve personal goals noting that they don’t have the luxury of a professional sports person’s lifestyle.
Life Highlight: Every time my kids make me laugh
Life low-point: The passing of my younger brother to cystic fibrosis related complications
Favourite Quote: My favourite quote for the moment includes language not suited to this webpage, so instead here is a quote from a novel focused on running that hit home for me recently. The book is ‘Once a Runner’ by John L. Parker JR. “People conceptualize conditioning in different ways” he said. “Some people think it’s a ladder straight up. Others see plateaus, blockages, ceilings. I see it as a geometric spiralling upwards, with each spin of the circle taking you a different distance upward. Some spins may even take you downward, just gathering momentum for the next upswing. Sometimes you will work your fanny off and see very little gain; other times you will amaze yourself and not really know why. Training is training, it all seems to blend together after a while. What is going on inside is just a big puzzle. But my little spiral theory kind of gives it a perspective, don’t you think?”
