Welcome back to Peak Pursuits, the ultimate podcast for all things trail running in Australia. In this episode, we introduce the new addition to our hosting team, Vlad Ixel! Jess takes a break for this week but Brodie is back and alongside Sim, we do a deep dive into Vlad's long history of trail running and then get into our usual segments with training weeks, a listener question and a recap of a busy week of races on the trails from across the country.
Start - 39:50 :- Getting to know Vlad
The episode starts by going back 12 years to the start of Vlad’s trail running career. Vlad talks about his journey in trail running, from a history of not running to tackling the Atacama Crossing early in his running days and his experiences living and racing in Asia, there are some fascinating insights into both Vlad and how the trail running world is evolving!
39:50-1:07:57 :- Training Week Updates
We dive into our training weeks, with Vlad outlining his standard training week and recapping a 5km race on the weekend, Brodie recapping his orienteering races from last weekend and then “pacing” Sim for her session and Sim outlining another solid week on her road back from injury including a speedy track session and a hilly tempo run.
1:07:57 - 1:24:30 :- Listener Question: Reaching the elite or professional level
We tackle a listener question from Brendan Wonson regarding how we reached the elite level, the ins and outs of sponsorship, and tips for those aspiring to get there.
1:24:30- 1:28:10 :- Trail Fails
Vlad shares a somewhat dramatic race sabotage story which leads to a brief discussion of how this happens all too frequently in trail races. Listen out for our featured interview with Race Director Chris Ord later this week for more hot takes on race sabotage!
1:28:10-1:35:25 :- Domestic Race Results
We recap the action-packed domestic race results from the week, featuring some hot fields at Aussie trail races Hamilton Island Hilly Half, Kunanyani Trail Series Organ Pipes Classic race, Nail Can Hill run and Wilsons Prom 100.
1:35:25 - End :- Upcoming Trail Events
Get ready for the week ahead as we highlight the exciting trail events on the horizon including Aussies Matt Crehan and Thomas Dade taking on the Everest 135 and several domestic races happening across Australia.
Thanks for joining us on Peak Pursuits! Connect with us on Instagram @peakpursuits.pod and share your thoughts, questions, or your own trail stories. Until next time, keep hitting the trails and chasing those peak pursuits!
Sim: @theflyingbrick_
Brodie: @brodie_nank
Vlad: @vladixel
Jess: @jessjason
Hamilton Island Hilly Half results: https://results.sportseventservices.com.au/results.aspx?CId=16287&RId=6347
Kunanyi Trail Series Organ Pipes Classic results: https://www.webscorer.com/race?raceid=350908
Nail Can Hill Run results: https://www.alpinetiming.com.au/results/r463/
Wilsons Prom 100 results: https://my.raceresult.com/288205/results
Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mood-maze/trendsetter License code: K08PMQ3RATCE215R
