The First Race That Changes Everything

Troy just ran his first ever 50K ultra and beat Alex by 20 minutes. This episode is the full debrief. The emotions at the finish line, the fuelling disasters, the moments where it nearly fell apart, and a pair of spray-painted gold boots that might become a family heirloom.

In this episode:
- Troy's complete race day breakdown from start line nerves to finish line tears
- The golden Cleary boots and the sibling rivalry that will never end
- How Troy's crew got zero preparation and had to figure it out on the fly
- Alex pulling out at the 39K mark and why he didn't care
- Fuelling mistakes that nearly cost Troy the back half of the race
- The mental shift Tim Kacprzak drilled into Troy that changed the last 15K
- Why the flat sections destroyed Alex more than any hill
- Red cordial as the next frontier in endurance fuelling
- Looking at houses for sale mid-race in Boar Gully
- The plan for King of the Hill and what changes from here

Timestamps:
(00:00) Troy's golden moment and the Cleary boots ceremony
(02:58) Full race day rundown from carb loading to start line
(04:26) Immanuela getting zero prep as support crew
(07:18) Running with Jared and the first 20K
(08:50) The mid-race podcast habit and Hardcore History addiction
(16:40) Alex's race and where it all went wrong
(25:39) The emotional finish line moment
(28:49) Why tearing up mid-run makes you faster
(31:29) The fuelling breakdown and the no-water mistake
(37:54) Training with Tim Kacprzak and the four month build
(42:06) The sibling rivalry and why Alex thought he'd win without training
(43:04) What changes heading into King of the Hill
(48:37) Houses in Boar Gully and living next to trails
(55:02) Motorbikes in the creek and growing up in Mount Isa
(01:08:12) The Riverland Backyard Ultra and future races

Full episode out now on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Follow the pod on Instagram: @pullingthreads