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The Relaxed Running podcast is a behind the scenes conversation with the best athletes, coaches and professionals in the world of distance running. From training, hydration and nutrition to racing and recovering, we learn from the best in the world.
Relaxed conversations which are packed with actionable takeaways to help you take your running performance up a notch. Save yourself years of guess work and learn from the people who are doing it at the highest level.
[Tyson]: I can edit this little first part out,
but I don't know, this platform here, it might
[Tyson]: look like, I don't know if I look fuzzy
to you or
[Matt Daniels]: Now
[Tyson]: what, but it,
[Matt Daniels]: you look really like crystal
clear, you look good as
[Tyson]: oh,
[Matt Daniels]: gold.
[Tyson]: great, yeah, cause in the background,
it records like a super high quality recording.
[Tyson]: So even if you and I are a little bit
fuzzy to each other, by the time it comes up,
[Tyson]: the final product, it's like, it's
pretty much close to HD.
[Matt Daniels]: Okay, beautiful.
[Tyson]: Yeah, so that's good. Man,
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: thanks so much for coming on. It's,
I can't believe it's the first time we've actually
[Tyson]: spoken. I've watched a lot of your
stuff online and I've been inspired by how
[Tyson]: much work you've done in the local
community, especially. I actually found out
[Tyson]: about you through the wife of one of
my best mates, Cassie Holmes. I don't know
[Tyson]: if you know Cassie off the top of your
head, but
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, definitely.
[Tyson]: she signed up to do, I think it was
a half marathon or a marathon program with
[Tyson]: you a while ago. And she asked if I'd
heard of you, and I was relatively new in the
[Tyson]: area at the time. So. I hadn't heard
of anyone in this part of town. And I went
[Tyson]: and had a look and I heard a little
bit about your story and I realised, man, it's
[Tyson]: pretty wide and pretty deep what you've
accomplished in a relatively short time in
[Tyson]: the running scene. So I've been meaning
for ages to have you on for whatever reason
[Tyson]: it's taken this long. I thought as
a way of introduction, maybe I could hand you
[Tyson]: the mic and you could just tell people
a little bit about yourself and how you found
[Tyson]: yourself into the world of running.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah, no worries at all.
First of all, thanks for having us on the podcast,
[Matt Daniels]: a big fan. Yeah, so I suppose
my story is I was a personal trainer. So yeah,
[Matt Daniels]: really passionate personal trainer.
So I had my own business from 2006 right through
[Matt Daniels]: to 2019. So 13 years in the
health and fitness industry as a PC running
[Matt Daniels]: my own show there, which was
an amazing time. And we sold the gym, my partner
[Matt Daniels]: and I sold the gym quite fortunately
just before COVID hit at the end of 2019. And
[Matt Daniels]: for the best part of, I suppose,
10 years as a PT, I was regularly putting plans
[Matt Daniels]: together, run plans together
for clients wanting to train for, you know,
[Matt Daniels]: 5K, 10K, half marathon, whatever
it was. So obviously knowing a lot more now
[Matt Daniels]: than what I did back then. Yeah,
that was the sort of the first introduction
[Matt Daniels]: into putting together some plans
during my PT career. And then, yeah, once COVID
[Matt Daniels]: hit, I sort of put it out there
in regards to a virtual run. So I had like
[Matt Daniels]: a 5K, 10K and half marathon
virtual run that I sort of got up and going
[Matt Daniels]: just as COVID hit. As you know,
that we couldn't do a lot. The gyms were closed
[Matt Daniels]: and stuff like that. So I put
that out there as a bit of a nine week program
[Matt Daniels]: where I put together personalized
plans for people doing 5K, 10K or a half marathon.
[Matt Daniels]: And the first one really took
off and then it just snowballed from there
[Matt Daniels]: really. So yeah, I've got my
online run coaching business up from there
[Matt Daniels]: and it's... Over the last couple
of years, it's gone crazy. So it's been an
[Matt Daniels]: awesome time getting that up
and going. And then, yeah, I've obviously been
[Matt Daniels]: a really passionate runner for
the best part of sort of 10, 12, 13 years.
[Matt Daniels]: Grew up in Anglesey, lots of
running as a kid, far from elite, but just
[Matt Daniels]: a really passionate recreational
runner that loves getting out there, getting
[Matt Daniels]: plenty of Ks in and yeah, having
a real crack at the events when they roll around.
[Matt Daniels]: So. That's my story and plenty
of big runs over the journey as well.
[Tyson]: Yeah, it's funny I had a look at what
you'd done in the running space on your about
[Tyson]: me profile and then I read back over
it and realized You only started running in
[Tyson]: 2010. I thought oh my goodness That's
an incredible amount of runs to get done in
[Tyson]: a We can get into that soon, but in
terms of how you found your way into the running
[Tyson]: world, obviously you said you were
writing a few programs or a lot of programs
[Tyson]: for, um, the, the athletes or the,
the people that were going to your gym. Was
[Tyson]: it always a little bit of an interest
area for you? Because I mean, even though it's
[Tyson]: still in the fitness world, you put
me in a gym and asked me to start training
[Tyson]: any athletes on bench press or squats.
I'm probably the wrong man for the job. Whereas
[Tyson]: you've managed to combine the two skills
beautifully. But in saying all that, it's a
[Tyson]: very different world, I guess, that
you've involved yourself in now in a really
[Tyson]: large capacity and it's been unreal
just how much you've got done, how quickly,
[Tyson]: not only with your own running, but
with the athletes and community you've created
[Tyson]: with your online run coach. What's
the story of transfer there? It seems from
[Tyson]: the outside to be a bit of a wild jump
and one that's really paid off.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, it sort of seems like
that, but I was always here, like I said, I
[Matt Daniels]: grew up in Anglesey, so always
a really passionate runner. So I just absolutely
[Matt Daniels]: loved it. Loved everything that
comes with running. So I've been running for
[Matt Daniels]: quite a while. I did my first
marathon at Melbourne in 2010, not knowing
[Matt Daniels]: a great deal about it. Like
I think we all did one of our first marathons.
[Matt Daniels]: So, but pretty much from 2010
right through to today, I've been, yeah, plenty
[Matt Daniels]: of Ks since then. And things
have just been, yeah, sort of fast track. The
[Matt Daniels]: online run coaching stuff's
just, like I said, it's gone really crazy in
[Matt Daniels]: the last couple of years since
I launched that. But before that, yeah, obviously,
[Matt Daniels]: big into the health and fitness
industry for 13 years. But whilst I was doing
[Matt Daniels]: that and taking some big group
sessions and stuff like that, yeah, running
[Matt Daniels]: was always a passion of mine.
And it's always been a bit of a passion project
[Matt Daniels]: sort of on the side as I was
doing that PT and health and fitness thing.
[Matt Daniels]: And then, yeah, now it's just
full-time online run coaching and... absolutely
[Matt Daniels]: loving it and loving the sort
of community that I've created.
[Tyson]: Yeah, you mentioned before we hit record
that yeah, you're adding a little pod where
[Tyson]: I see all the training programs and
stuff get written It's a, it seems like a really
[Tyson]: big passion, like from the outset,
from when I look at your stuff, I always go
[Tyson]: to your Instagram page. And I think
if there's one word that sort of comes away
[Tyson]: when you finish looking at it, it's
just inspired, but it's not just the inspiration
[Tyson]: through health and fitness and running.
You seem to have a real appreciation for, um,
[Tyson]: just little things like the, the gratefulness
and the benefits of that, not just for your
[Tyson]: fitness and your health, but for your
family, um, and for the small things, which
[Tyson]: I think just correlates beautifully
into. running like that psychology it's always
[Tyson]: easy to run well when you're grateful
for the fact that you're out there and not
[Tyson]: Just shuffling your way through it
but it just seems as though there's a number
[Tyson]: of factors that come together when
An athlete's looking at yours and I think one
[Tyson]: of the standout points at least from
my perspective and actually from Cassie's husband's
[Tyson]: perspective James I don't know if you
ever met him He was like I just uh He just
[Tyson]: seems like a good bloke with a passion
for what he does and appreciation for the things
[Tyson]: that he has And I wanted to tap into
that a little bit because I know sometimes
[Tyson]: you look at that and you're like, oh,
that's just a person's personality. They seem
[Tyson]: fairly well set up on a mental space,
on a physical space, but it looks as though
[Tyson]: it's something that you also put a
little bit of work into. I was just curious
[Tyson]: to hear a little bit more about that
because it definitely stands out in a really
[Tyson]: positive way from my perspective about
not just the running world, but just your life
[Tyson]: in general.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, I mean, I'm really passionate
about, yeah, like I said, running for a long
[Matt Daniels]: time. So, yeah, that was nice
to James to say that. And Cassie's been, she
[Matt Daniels]: was actually a long-term client
of mine at the gym. So a lot of my clients
[Matt Daniels]: from back in the day that I
had at the gym for five, six, seven years,
[Matt Daniels]: a lot of them have, yeah, now
transitioned to running and up and running,
[Matt Daniels]: whether it's 5K, 10K, half or
full, you know, they're up and doing that,
[Matt Daniels]: which has been fantastic. But...
Yeah, running has been a big part of my life
[Matt Daniels]: and something I'm really passionate
about. Like I said earlier, far from it, far
[Matt Daniels]: from elite. I'm never the first,
but never the last, like I said, just a really
[Matt Daniels]: passionate recreational runner
that understands how much running can do for
[Matt Daniels]: you, but also how much it can
positively impact so many people around you.
[Matt Daniels]: It's just such a beautiful and
simple sport that can bring so much to you
[Matt Daniels]: and really transform your life
in so many different ways. So I'm really passionate
[Matt Daniels]: about sort of sharing that.
with all of my athletes knowing full well from
[Matt Daniels]: my own experience that it's
helped me out so much in life and it's funny
[Matt Daniels]: it's always there for you and
it's always so easy just to lace up your shoes
[Matt Daniels]: and get out. You don't have
to go out and break any records every day or
[Matt Daniels]: any week or any month, you just
got to go out and be consistent, enjoy what
[Matt Daniels]: you're doing and the results
will come and it's a beautiful sport to be
[Matt Daniels]: a part of and the community,
the whole running community is amazing.
[Tyson]: It's unreal actually, the first time
I messaged you was just the other day and I
[Tyson]: messaged you because the Melbourne
marathon had just sold out which blew my mind.
[Tyson]: I called Athletics Victoria because
I knew a couple of people there from back in
[Tyson]: the day and I thought, oh, surely they'll
have a couple of spares that they can look
[Tyson]: after me with. And I called him and
I think I overestimated my value in athletics
[Matt Daniels]: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
[Tyson]: Victoria. I spoke to Tim Crosby who's
just an absolutely great bloke and I go, mate,
[Tyson]: have you got any spares at all? He's
like, Ties. He goes, mate, it shocks me as
[Tyson]: much as anyone. We can't believe that
we're sold out, let alone this early. And I
[Tyson]: say that just to emphasise your point
about that community level runner at the moment,
[Tyson]: like 99% of the runners in every event
at the Melbourne Marathon, half marathon, 10K.
[Tyson]: fit in beautifully to that category.
There seems to be a little bit of a boom at
[Tyson]: the moment. I'm not sure what's caused
that, but there's something about maybe it's
[Tyson]: Instagram, the social media, but I
can't quite put a finger on what's caused that
[Tyson]: change. Do you have any thoughts about
that? Cause it doesn't seem to be a Melbourne
[Tyson]: based thing either. It seems to be
an international thing running for lack of
[Tyson]: a better reason, seems to have become
a little bit cool.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah, totally agree. I
actually put something up, I think the other
[Matt Daniels]: day on Instagram, I think it
was, just in regards to how much of a sort
[Matt Daniels]: of a boom period we're going
through and just how much, you know, recreational
[Matt Daniels]: runners like ourselves are getting
out there and signing up for events and just
[Matt Daniels]: how awesome it is. So yeah,
it really is amazing. The Gradation Road, Ultra,
[Matt Daniels]: Marathon, not sure about the
half of those two events were full. Obviously
[Matt Daniels]: Melbourne sort of. yeah, 14,
15 weeks out, I've got the half marathon sold
[Matt Daniels]: out, the marathon sold out.
So it really is going through a boom period.
[Matt Daniels]: And like you said, not just
in Australia, but yeah, I think worldwide.
[Matt Daniels]: So it's awesome. I think it
has a little bit to do with, on the back of
[Matt Daniels]: COVID, obviously a couple of
years after COVID, probably a lot of people
[Matt Daniels]: started during that period now
and if they've stuck at it and being consistent
[Matt Daniels]: with their training, I think
they're at a stage now where they're, ready
[Matt Daniels]: for a half marathon or ready
for a marathon or. at the point where they're
[Matt Daniels]: ready to do a fun run. And as
you know, you do one, you wanna do another
[Matt Daniels]: one and then it really just
snowballs from there. So I think COVID has
[Matt Daniels]: a little bit to do with it,
but yeah, it's just incredible, the sport at
[Matt Daniels]: the moment, it's booming industry
and it's awesome for us running coaches. But
[Matt Daniels]: just seeing so many different
people out there, chasing goals, all with their
[Matt Daniels]: own unique story, it's really
special and it's so awesome to see.
[Tyson]: Yeah, it's funny how you just touched
on a point I wanted to follow up with you because
[Tyson]: I think it explains your story Well
from what I can see there's it's so true that
[Tyson]: an athlete will dip their toe in the
water They might go out and run a fun run They
[Tyson]: might run a 10k half marathon Whatever
it is and just get that bug and I had a little
[Tyson]: chuckle the other day because I was
reading through your profile And I noticed
[Tyson]: that you said you did your first marathon
your first official marathon in 2010 though
[Tyson]: You'd been a runner for a long time
And then you read just a little bit down the
[Tyson]: profile. You go on to set a world record,
55 marathons in 55 days, and then run from
[Tyson]: Adelaide to Geelong. And they're only
a couple. I thought, what was it, another,
[Tyson]: the 24 hour treadmill challenge, was
it 160
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah.
[Tyson]: Ks in 24 hours, which is just unbelievable.
It's amazing how much that bug kicks in. I've
[Tyson]: had a little bit of trouble lately
with calf strains and a couple of injuries.
[Tyson]: And I said to my wife the other day,
because I've just, for about the last seven
[Tyson]: or eight weeks, I've been a lot more
consistent with my training. And the other
[Tyson]: day I was just having one of those
mornings where I'd been in the office and things
[Tyson]: weren't going well and the admin was
stacking up and there was just, you know, those
[Tyson]: fiddly jobs that just kind of get the
better of you from time to time. And
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: I went outside, I'd put my shoes on,
the sun was shining, I got out on the Ballerina
[Tyson]: Rail Trail and I remember being out
there and I was like, oh, this is the exact
[Tyson]: reason that people get out and run
because there's nothing that feels healthier
[Tyson]: physically and mentally for me right
now. Because there's a few things I try and
[Tyson]: stack up each day. One of them is,
I like just to... Put all technology away completely
[Tyson]: for a minimum of an hour where I'm
not looking at my phone or jump it onto a computer
[Tyson]: Which doesn't sound like much but I
mean the amount that I look at my phone it
[Tyson]: adds up real quick and the other one
is just being outside for an hour and the other
[Tyson]: ones exercising for about an hour and
The other day when I was out there I was just
[Tyson]: ticking all three of those boxes at
once and just mentally you get home You're
[Tyson]: like, ah, there's three things that
I value that have just been crossed off and
[Tyson]: People always say, my wife's one of
them. She's like, I wish I got the buzz that
[Tyson]: you get from running. I don't really
understand that run as high. And
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: I guess there comes a point of fitness
or there comes a point of flow or whatever
[Tyson]: the word is that you have to kind of
be patient for to get into it. And then before
[Tyson]: you know it, you're starting to stack
up the training and the races and whatever
[Tyson]: else it might be that you're working
towards. But does that summarize your entry
[Tyson]: into the more competitive side of...
of running, is that kind of what happened?
[Tyson]: Like it seems in a short period of
time to develop a whole lot of momentum.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, it sort of, like you said,
it escalated pretty quickly from the 2010 marathon,
[Matt Daniels]: like I said, struggled late
the marathon like we most people do on their
[Matt Daniels]: on their first one. And probably
at the end of it said, I'd never do another
[Matt Daniels]: one. And then before you know
it, you're back out running and training. I
[Matt Daniels]: think in 2012, a couple years
later, I did the 100k surf coast entry that
[Matt Daniels]: was in Anglesey where I grew
up. So that was a good introduction sort of
[Matt Daniels]: to the ultra scene. And then
if they're sort of, yeah, really progressed
[Matt Daniels]: quite quickly from there. I
was getting plenty of Ks in the legs and was
[Matt Daniels]: feeling pretty good. And then
a lot of my runs after that were more charity
[Matt Daniels]: focused. So yeah, in 2014, like
you mentioned, I ran from Adelaide to Geelong
[Matt Daniels]: and that was in memory of my
Nana who passed away. So she was a Madhawk
[Matt Daniels]: supporter and absolutely loved
Shane Crawford. So I basically copied Crawford.
[Matt Daniels]: I think he did from Adelaide's
Rundle Mall down to the Channel 9 Footy Studio.
[Matt Daniels]: So... We were in touch with
him before I left in regards to what route
[Matt Daniels]: he took and all those sort of
things. So I, yeah, I started the Rundle Mall
[Matt Daniels]: in Adelaide and ran back to
Geelong and finished at the gym. So I had all
[Matt Daniels]: the BCNA crew there, all the
family obviously, and then you have plenty
[Matt Daniels]: of the friends in the community
from the gym. So that was really special in
[Matt Daniels]: 2014. And then yeah, just progressed
from there, some more charity stuff for the
[Matt Daniels]: Leukemia Foundation. So I've
always had like a really big reason. you know,
[Matt Daniels]: why I'm doing these big runs
and being able to sort of push through some
[Matt Daniels]: of the harder days and harder
moments on those challenging runs. So it did
[Matt Daniels]: escalate quite quickly, but
these days, yeah, I've sort of pulled that
[Matt Daniels]: back a little bit, yeah, but
still a really passionate recreational runner,
[Matt Daniels]: getting some good K's in and
good consistency and loving it as much as I
[Matt Daniels]: did when I started.
[Tyson]: Jay, did you say it was 2012, you did
the Adelaide Tidjelong?
[Matt Daniels]: So 2012 was the Surf Coast Century,
100k.
[Tyson]: Sorry.
[Matt Daniels]: And yeah,
[Tyson]: Yep.
[Matt Daniels]: 2014 was Adelaide to Geelong.
I did a big ultra in 2015 up in Canberra. It
[Matt Daniels]: was about 450 plus k's, the
Anzac Ultra there. And then, yeah, then come
[Matt Daniels]: the 55 marathons in 55 days.
That was in 2016.
[Tyson]: I actually, I remember, I remember
Croft doing that run. It's amazing that was
[Tyson]: even 2014, nine years ago, because
I remember seeing the footage of him doing
[Tyson]: that and just thinking it was unbelievable.
Because I used to go down to just the inter-club
[Tyson]: runs in, in Melbourne when I was growing
up and I'm a huge footy fan as well, though
[Tyson]: Carlton. I mean, I've said that. with
a bit of shame the last couple of months, but
[Tyson]: after last weekend, I
[Matt Daniels]: Get it.
[Tyson]: say it with a little bit of pride,
but we'll see. There's still a few, that's
[Tyson]: another, that's another conversation
for another day. But, uh, I remember seeing
[Tyson]: Kroof get around the track for an 800
in under two minutes and, and being a huge
[Tyson]: fan of him as a football, and that
was sort of, I guess, the latter part of his
[Tyson]: career. I don't, I don't know his details
really well, but, um, when I saw that he was
[Tyson]: venturing out for something like that,
it just blew my mind. I thought there's no
[Tyson]: way he's going to be helping. run from
Geelong to, sorry, from Adelaide to Geelong
[Tyson]: or Adelaide to Melbourne.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: Um, but it's, it is amazing that, and
you tapped into it beautifully when you said,
[Tyson]: and I'm not, don't know what his cause
was, but it is interesting when people have
[Tyson]: a cause for whatever it is that they're
pursuing, you know, whether it's family or
[Tyson]: fitness or, you know, insert, whatever.
Just how effective that is in bringing you
[Tyson]: through the dark days. And, and that
is one thing that I think, as I said, at the
[Tyson]: outset of this conversation that stands
out about the way that you coach, you seem
[Tyson]: to. tap into something deeper in the
athletes that you're coaching, which I think
[Tyson]: a lot, cause there's a lot of community
level athletes who listen to this podcast as
[Tyson]: well. And I think sometimes they almost
sneak into an inbox, like almost with an apology
[Tyson]: saying, oh, I'm relatively new to the
sport. I want to get better. I don't know if
[Tyson]: I can justify coaching. And for me,
it's obviously something wrong with the marketing
[Tyson]: because it's a complete opposite of
what I'm going for. But with that particular
[Tyson]: athlete, you seem to have just a cool
ability to bring something a little deeper
[Tyson]: out in there. I was wondering if you
could speak to that because, or also if you
[Tyson]: can relate to the experience of people
to say, hey, look, here's my situation. I'm
[Tyson]: relatively new. I'm not setting any
world records. I don't know if I can justify
[Tyson]: the coaching, but I really want to
improve. Can you help me out? There's a lot
[Tyson]: of questions in that. I think if I
had to boil that down, I'm trying to say, is
[Tyson]: that a structured, sort of curated,
focused? area of your coaching to tap into
[Tyson]: more than just the running.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, I'd say it is. Yeah, I'd
say it is definitely a focus because I think
[Matt Daniels]: we've all got a really unique
story under there as to why we wanna get up
[Matt Daniels]: and running. So I've had some
incredible stories, yeah, with my athletes.
[Matt Daniels]: So, so many different things.
Like I've had some guys reach out and obviously
[Matt Daniels]: wanna lose weight and they've
been really struggling with their mental health.
[Matt Daniels]: So they wanna get up and running.
I've had some girls that have really struggled
[Matt Daniels]: with some mental health issues
and some... anxiety, or some eating disorders.
[Matt Daniels]: You know, some have been divorced
and have come to me in terms of running, wanting
[Matt Daniels]: to feel better about themselves
and get their life back on track. There's just
[Matt Daniels]: so many different stories out
there. Had a guy who was involved in the police
[Matt Daniels]: force, who left the police force
and was really struggling mentally and found
[Matt Daniels]: running, started running and
then wasn't sure, you know, how to build up
[Matt Daniels]: successfully to get to a half
marathon and a marathon. And he's turned his
[Matt Daniels]: life around with running. lost
a heap of weight and now he's, you know, he's
[Matt Daniels]: done a half marathon and a full
marathon and now he's just, you know, upwards
[Matt Daniels]: and onwards we go. So yeah,
I'm always really keen on hearing the story
[Matt Daniels]: from the athlete in regards
to why they, you know, why they want to get
[Matt Daniels]: coaching. I understand we don't
want to break any records or finish on the
[Matt Daniels]: podium, but yeah, I really value
why they're, you know, reaching out to me.
[Matt Daniels]: And yeah, I like the unique
story that each and every athlete comes to
[Matt Daniels]: me with. So, and I'm really
just, yeah. really grateful to be able to help
[Matt Daniels]: them and have been in a position
to help them. And yeah, we form a really good
[Matt Daniels]: relationship straight away and
the coaching is really personable. And then
[Matt Daniels]: we just get up and running.
And I believe in them from the get-go and then
[Matt Daniels]: it doesn't take long to string
a few weeks together and then they really start
[Matt Daniels]: to get that self-belief and
build towards their events. And then, as you
[Matt Daniels]: know, once they tick off their
first 5K or they hit that marathon goal, then
[Matt Daniels]: that's just the beginning of
something really special.
[Tyson]: Yeah, yeah well for yourself another
one I think I missed on the list I don't know
[Tyson]: if I'm magnifying this or if I've actually
nailed it was it 525 half marathons for 525
[Tyson]: days or if I made that up
[Matt Daniels]: No, no, you've ripped me off
10. So it was 535
[Tyson]: Ha ha ha!
[Matt Daniels]: half marathons in 535 days.
So it was a half marathon every single day
[Matt Daniels]: without fail for the best part
of a year and a half. Yeah, 535 days. So I
[Matt Daniels]: think it was just over 11,300
kilometres. Yeah, so that was in 2017 until
[Matt Daniels]: the middle of 2019. I set out
to do a half marathon every day in memory of
[Matt Daniels]: a guy called Andrew Cadigan
after reading a book that his dad put together.
[Matt Daniels]: It was really inspired by his
trip around Australia that he did. So Cad went
[Matt Daniels]: around Australia in memory of
a mate who lost his life to leukemia, travelled
[Matt Daniels]: around for 535 days. That's
where that number comes from. So Cad travelled
[Matt Daniels]: around Australia pushing a pram
and raising money for the Leukemia Foundation.
[Matt Daniels]: He finished. on the Sydney Harbour
Bridge and then four days later headed to Thailand
[Matt Daniels]: to put together his journals
and put him into a book but he was tragically
[Matt Daniels]: struck by a motorbike over there
and then and then passed away 12 weeks later.
[Matt Daniels]: So his dad Neil put a book together
called With Every Step and I read that book
[Matt Daniels]: yeah at the when I read the
book in the middle of sort of 2016 I read that
[Matt Daniels]: book and was incredibly inspired
to Yeah, on a CAD and sort of complete his
[Matt Daniels]: mission and his work that he
was doing for the Leukemia Foundation. So I
[Matt Daniels]: picked CAD start date and CAD
end date of his walk around Australia. And
[Matt Daniels]: yeah, that equalled 535 days
and what I decided on was a half marathon every
[Matt Daniels]: day in memory of CAD and to
raise money for the Leukemia Foundation. So
[Matt Daniels]: yeah, that's what I did. So
did the majority of them around the Barwon
[Matt Daniels]: River here in Geelong. So I
could run that course. Yeah, I could run that
[Matt Daniels]: course blindfolded. So I did
the majority of them around, yeah, around Geelong,
[Matt Daniels]: got through it all, raised a
heap of money for the Leukemia Foundation,
[Matt Daniels]: had a really big fundraising
night towards the end. And on the 535th and
[Matt Daniels]: final half marathon, I was,
yeah, I had the pram that Cad had on his walk
[Matt Daniels]: around Australia that his parents
brought down. So I pushed that on the 535th
[Matt Daniels]: and final half marathon and
then finished back at my gym with all Cad's
[Matt Daniels]: family and all the crew from
the gym there and obviously the family as well.
[Matt Daniels]: So that was... Yeah, a really
special, special moment. And yeah, one big,
[Matt Daniels]: big charity run I'm really,
really proud of. And looking back now, I'm
[Matt Daniels]: not sure how I got through it,
to be honest, it's 150 Ks a week it is for,
[Matt Daniels]: I think it was just over 70
weeks. But yeah, tick that off and got that
[Matt Daniels]: done. And yeah, that's one I'm
really proud of.
[Tyson]: So talk to me about... There must have
been a number of days or even weeks where you're
[Tyson]: wrestling with illness or injury or
niggles or blisters or Maybe you've even got
[Tyson]: a couple of surprises for us 535 like
70 weeks of that. I was thinking that when
[Tyson]: I when I was doing the maths like 150
K's a week Is that that's a huge week if I
[Tyson]: did 150 K's for a week right now I
would have the feet up for a few weeks and
[Tyson]: just give myself a pat on the back
But to do that another 74 times on top of that
[Tyson]: is that is unbelievable Did you have
a couple of wild days out there, a couple of
[Tyson]: wild weeks where you were just resting
with whether or not you're gonna get them done?
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah, definitely. I like
to think that I'll put my mind to something
[Matt Daniels]: I'm usually pretty good and
think I can get through well, just about anything.
[Matt Daniels]: But early on in this endeavor,
I was, the first few weeks I thought I might
[Matt Daniels]: have bit off
[Tyson]: Mm-hmm.
[Matt Daniels]: more than
[Tyson]: Yeah.
[Matt Daniels]: I could chew here. I was really
struggling. The body was really struggling,
[Matt Daniels]: just 150 Ks a week. I was obviously
still running the gym. Yeah, I had four kids
[Matt Daniels]: at the time. So I was under
the pump with dad life as well. So early on
[Matt Daniels]: I was really struggling, but.
as the weeks went on, you know, got a little
[Matt Daniels]: bit easier and a little bit
easier. So, but there was definitely some days
[Matt Daniels]: in there. Yeah, I was struggling
early on with just sort of overall general
[Matt Daniels]: body soreness, but yeah, there
was times there where I wasn't well, a couple
[Matt Daniels]: of days there where you have
the flu or you're just not well. And probably
[Matt Daniels]: the big one was I was involved
in a car accident. I'd luckily ran that morning,
[Matt Daniels]: but was involved in a car accident
in the afternoon. And... everyone was okay,
[Matt Daniels]: fortunately, but we had to go
to hospital and do the check over. So it had
[Matt Daniels]: a bit of whiplash and all those
sort of things, but then had to obviously get
[Matt Daniels]: up the next day and get out
and get the half marathon done. So that was
[Matt Daniels]: probably the, yeah, the big
one during the year and a half was the car
[Matt Daniels]: accident, which isn't obviously
ideal for trying to run a half marathon the
[Matt Daniels]: next day.
[Tyson]: What, uh, what point do you feel like
your legs started to adjust to the, the amount
[Tyson]: of running you were doing?
[Matt Daniels]: I think it took about four to
six weeks to feel like it was okay. So I'd
[Matt Daniels]: just get out before work, super
early in the morning, or after our early morning
[Matt Daniels]: group sessions, I'd go straight
down the river and get it done. So like I said,
[Matt Daniels]: looking back now, I'm not sure
how, I found that hour and 40 minutes, hour
[Matt Daniels]: and 50 minutes, two hours to
get it done every day. But yeah, it's funny,
[Matt Daniels]: like I said, when you have a
really big reason why you tend to find your
[Matt Daniels]: way pretty... pretty well, so
yeah, I was really determined to honor Kat
[Matt Daniels]: as best I could, and his dad
Neil knew all about it, so I was on a bit of
[Matt Daniels]: a mission back then, and yeah,
got it done.
[Tyson]: It's great that you're able to get
the family and friends and everyone out there,
[Tyson]: especially with the pram, like that's
a beautiful symbol to finish with, but it's
[Tyson]: nice how much everyone
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, the
gym, the gym and all the all the family, first
[Matt Daniels]: of all, like Lee and all the
kids and all my other family members were incredible
[Matt Daniels]: support and motivation. And
then yeah, the gym had lots of lots of members
[Matt Daniels]: at the gym just really supportive
in terms of their donating to the leukemia
[Matt Daniels]: foundation and the fundraising
night was really special. But then just being
[Matt Daniels]: at the at the gym at the at
the end of the 535th and final one pushing
[Matt Daniels]: CADS pram we left late in the
afternoon and sort of got back around 6 630.
[Matt Daniels]: and had a huge crowd there.
So yeah, that was really special and the support
[Matt Daniels]: was amazing, not just that night,
but all the way through the whole 18 months.
[Tyson]: Yeah, yeah with the um with the 21k
day It's interesting because a lot of people
[Tyson]: one of the most popular episodes on
here ever has been Liam Adams Who was speaking
[Tyson]: about how he's running a hundred and
sixty K a week and he's doing that as a full-time
[Tyson]: tradie. And I think it stood out to
a lot of people from what I can tell, and a
[Tyson]: couple of people that I've heard from,
because a lot of people think if you wanna
[Tyson]: do well at running, it has to just
be all running. But even to hear you speak
[Tyson]: about doing this 21K a day on top of
your group sessions, on top of running a gym,
[Tyson]: on top of the four kids that you had
at the time, I see you added an extra one to
[Tyson]: the batch since
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah
[Tyson]: then. I think it's really encouraging
because it kind of broadens people's mindset
[Tyson]: of what they're capable of actually
doing with their time. And I understand that
[Tyson]: a lot of it comes down to your priorities
and where it is that you put your attention.
[Tyson]: But I don't know, do you have any general
advice or any helpful advice around how you
[Tyson]: manage your time? Because it seems
like you're a kind of person who managed to
[Tyson]: get a lot done with the day's work
each and every day, or maybe even expand it
[Tyson]: out to sort of the weeks. I know we
have a couple of off days here and there. But
[Tyson]: In terms of how you're squeezing all
of that in, especially at that time, how are
[Tyson]: you navigating that? How are you managing
it?
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, like I said, it was unbelievable
support from Lee and the kids. Obviously without
[Matt Daniels]: their support, it wouldn't be
possible. But yeah, like I said, just the why
[Matt Daniels]: factor, so wanting to on a cad
and just being in a zone to on a cad and just
[Matt Daniels]: on a mission, it really become
a priority. So there was some mornings there,
[Matt Daniels]: I'd be doing sort of 3 a.m.,
3.30 a.m. starts around the river to get it
[Matt Daniels]: done by say 5.30 to get to the
gym to set up to start our
[Tyson]: I'm
[Matt Daniels]: group
[Tyson]: going
[Matt Daniels]: training
[Tyson]: to go ahead
[Matt Daniels]: at
[Tyson]: and
[Matt Daniels]: six
[Tyson]: turn it
[Matt Daniels]: or 6.30
[Tyson]: off.
[Matt Daniels]: or whatever it was. So... And
if it wasn't that, it was the group training
[Matt Daniels]: in the morning, 6.30 with a
couple of PT sessions to sort of 9.10. And
[Matt Daniels]: then I'd head down the river
and then go and get it done. So it was really
[Matt Daniels]: just making that half marathon
mission a real priority in getting it done.
[Matt Daniels]: Definitely wasn't easy, like
I said, but, and then in between that, once
[Matt Daniels]: I sort of got through that four
to six weeks initial part, it was really just,
[Matt Daniels]: yeah, looking after the body
as best I can and then just ticking the runs
[Matt Daniels]: off. week after week. So I had
some really good support from some close friends
[Matt Daniels]: who would meet up every weekend
would catch up and run. So that was great looking
[Matt Daniels]: forward to some motivation,
some accountability with those guys every weekend.
[Matt Daniels]: So
[Tyson]: I'm
[Matt Daniels]: but I think it just come down
to, you know, really wanting
[Tyson]: going
[Matt Daniels]: to honor Kat as best I could,
making the running a priority because it was
[Matt Daniels]: a, you know, an hour and a half,
two hours out of my day, every single day.
[Matt Daniels]: And if that meant three
[Tyson]: to go ahead
[Matt Daniels]: o'clock
[Tyson]: and start
[Matt Daniels]: or
[Tyson]: the
[Matt Daniels]: 330am
[Tyson]: video.
[Matt Daniels]: or at 7pm or 730 after our last
group session, and that's just what sort of
[Matt Daniels]: had to be done. So yeah, it
was a priority and it's amazing how you can
[Matt Daniels]: make things work when you when
you really want it.
[Tyson]: Yeah, so I've got two kids at home
I've got two boys a three-year-old and a nine
[Tyson]: month old and if I get through a day
of just being a good dad And nothing else happens.
[Tyson]: I got hey, well done Did very well
today to
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: hear from people actually to go back
mention him a couple of times now Cass's husband
[Tyson]: James he comes from a family of five
and I used to go out to their house and love
[Tyson]: the chaos as a Kid because I comment
I was raised an only child. I got a half sister
[Tyson]: But two boys now, I go, mate, my house
is absolute chaos at the best of times. So
[Tyson]: for me, to be fair, maybe this works
in my favour because whenever I go out for
[Tyson]: a run now, at times there's some incentive
to extend the run just based on
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: the fact, I know as much as I love
them, I know I'm just coming into
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: wet nappies and temper tantrums, which
is a...
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah, chaos. So I think
that's another reason why we get out. We just
[Matt Daniels]: need half an hour and out of
ourselves because we know when we get back,
[Matt Daniels]: it's all hands on deck with
the with the kids.
[Tyson]: Yeah, outside of running, I do a fair
bit of stand-up comedy. And the only place
[Tyson]: really that you can do stand-up comedy
is down in Melbourne. I mean, there's a couple
[Tyson]: of local rooms to us, but my wife always
goes, oh, you're so disciplined going down
[Tyson]: there a few times a week. I don't know
how you do it. I was like, yeah, babe, it's
[Tyson]: just very disciplined,
[Matt Daniels]: I'm
[Tyson]: very inspired.
[Matt Daniels]: sorry.
[Tyson]: But you look at what I'm missing. I'm
painting myself in a bad light here, but you
[Tyson]: look at what I'm missing, a bath time
and dinner. and just the craziest time of the
[Tyson]: day. So it really is, I feel like it
takes more discipline to stay at home, but
[Tyson]: I hope my door's shut here because
I would never
[Matt Daniels]: It's
[Tyson]: admit
[Matt Daniels]: like...
[Tyson]: that
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: to her or not too often anyway, because
I've got a pretty good reputation in her mind
[Tyson]: right now.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, well after, like you said,
that sort of five o'clock onwards, the dinner,
[Matt Daniels]: bath, books, sort of bed time
is, yeah, that's insane. It's quite busy. It's
[Matt Daniels]: chaotic here. So, but yeah,
like the half marathons, we get through it
[Matt Daniels]: every day and
[Tyson]: Hehehe
[Matt Daniels]: then, yeah, get some sleep and
then go again.
[Tyson]: What was your hardest challenge, for
lack of a better word, like 55 marathons, 55
[Tyson]: days, five kids, 535
[Matt Daniels]: Okay.
[Tyson]: halves in 535 days, which one? That
one sounds the hardest to me, the 535 that
[Tyson]: we just spoke about.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, that one would be it.
So obviously the marathons were challenging,
[Matt Daniels]: but that was 55 days, you know,
a couple of months and it's over. 160 Ks in
[Matt Daniels]: the treadmill was just a 24
hour thing. So that again was challenging,
[Matt Daniels]: but that was done and dusted
in 24 hours. So yeah, it's just the length
[Matt Daniels]: and the amount of Ks every week
for a year and a half. Like I said, 70 plus
[Matt Daniels]: weeks of 150 Ks a week. Yeah,
just week after week. So that one was definitely
[Matt Daniels]: the most challenging, most time
consuming. And probably looking back, the one
[Matt Daniels]: I'm sort of most proud of just
being able to finally complete CAD's mission
[Matt Daniels]: and raise some good amount of
money for the Leukemia Foundation by doing
[Matt Daniels]: that one.
[Tyson]: Yeah, are you the kind of guy with
the 55 marathons? I'm just doing the mass here.
[Tyson]: What's that? That's 280k a week a little
bit more but closer to 300 is it?
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, close to 300 Ks a week.
So yeah, 42 Ks, yeah.
[Tyson]: So how are you managing that? Is that
pretty intensive on recovery and were you fueling
[Tyson]: with jowls and things? Or how did you,
like obviously
[Matt Daniels]: Yes.
[Tyson]: disciplines and inspiring part of it,
but in terms of just how do you keep the body
[Tyson]: just getting back up and doing it again
and again, is
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah,
[Tyson]: the
[Matt Daniels]: I
[Tyson]: part
[Matt Daniels]: was basically,
[Tyson]: I get confused
[Matt Daniels]: yeah,
[Tyson]: about.
[Matt Daniels]: I was eating anything and everything
pretty much. Yeah, burning so many calories,
[Matt Daniels]: obviously with the, with the,
you know, four hours, four and a half hours,
[Matt Daniels]: whatever I was out there for.
It wasn't so much about time. It was just about
[Matt Daniels]: getting the case done and taking
off a marathon and getting home and recovering
[Matt Daniels]: as best I can. Same thing with
the gym that was in 2016. I still had the gym
[Matt Daniels]: and the kids. So it was busy,
busy. But yeah, trying to recover as best as
[Matt Daniels]: you can. And then. just getting
the most sort of quality sleep you can before
[Matt Daniels]: you sort of get up and yeah,
get the four hours or four and a half hours
[Matt Daniels]: or whatever it was with the
marathons and just ticking them off. And same
[Matt Daniels]: as probably the half marathons
early on is the first sort of week or two it
[Matt Daniels]: was quite challenging on the
body. But then after that it become, yeah,
[Matt Daniels]: just something that I wanted
to tick off and achieve. And yeah, I mean,
[Matt Daniels]: it wasn't easy, but it was a
lot more sort of bearable once I got through
[Matt Daniels]: that first two week period.
[Tyson]: Yeah, but you've worked with an incredible
amount of recreational runners, people who
[Tyson]: have sort of just stepped foot through
the door essentially, and started to build
[Tyson]: their way up. Are there any standout
factors of what holds people back? I can imagine
[Tyson]: there'd be a lot of people that eventually
come to you and go, I've been meaning to reach
[Tyson]: out for ages. Well, I'm sort of projecting
there because I think I've had a couple of
[Tyson]: experiences like that. and people have
been a little bit standoffish initially. But
[Tyson]: in terms of what's holding people back
from improvement from a recreational level,
[Tyson]: have you seen some familiar traits?
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, that's a good question.
Holding people back. Yeah, I think people just,
[Matt Daniels]: you've got to be patient, as
you know, in running, you really got to be
[Matt Daniels]: patient. You can't just go out
and two weeks later, go from zero to 5K in
[Matt Daniels]: two weeks, or zero to 5K in
five weeks. And if you do, you're just going
[Matt Daniels]: to get injured and you're going
to pick up a niggle and you're going to dislike
[Matt Daniels]: running, and then you're going
to stop running and then never run again, because
[Matt Daniels]: you're going to hate it and
think it's a... you know, bad for your knees
[Matt Daniels]: and a bad sport and all those
sort of things. So you really got to be patient
[Matt Daniels]: with it and you've really got
to be consistent as well. So those two things
[Matt Daniels]: are really important. So I think
those that, I mean, don't stick to the plan
[Matt Daniels]: or try to jump too far ahead.
We almost want the first few weeks of every
[Matt Daniels]: training program just to be
almost too easy for you. Just so you're getting
[Matt Daniels]: it done, you're not anxious
or overwhelmed about getting out. You just
[Matt Daniels]: get out, you tick off what you
need to tick off. Yes, it might be a little
[Matt Daniels]: bit easier, but that's exactly
what we want it to be in the first few weeks.
[Matt Daniels]: And then after sort of two,
three, four weeks, they can start to get some
[Matt Daniels]: real momentum with their running,
can build a bit of confidence, a bit of self-belief,
[Matt Daniels]: a bit of strength with their
running, and then start to really believe that
[Matt Daniels]: they can actually do it because
the first few weeks have been quite easy. And
[Matt Daniels]: then from there, yeah, if they
start stringing the runs together, you know,
[Matt Daniels]: every second day, every third
day, then they can really get some good momentum
[Matt Daniels]: with their running and start
to really believe in their goal and what they
[Matt Daniels]: can achieve. But... For those
that have struggled, I think they've just tried
[Matt Daniels]: to do too much too soon. Or
they've taken the approach that they've grabbed
[Matt Daniels]: an online training program that's
giving them, you know, one mile reps in week
[Matt Daniels]: one, which is just crazy because
some of them can't run for 30 seconds or 60
[Matt Daniels]: seconds and they've got a program
that's given them, you know, something crazy
[Matt Daniels]: like a K reps or mile reps or
something like that. So, yeah, it's just having
[Matt Daniels]: a, someone in your corner who
knows exactly sort of where you're at with
[Matt Daniels]: your fitness and your, and your
running history. and who believes in you and
[Matt Daniels]: who will help you out there,
you know, in the safest way. So you're running
[Matt Daniels]: and building up the right way.
[Tyson]: Yeah, that's really well said it sounds
like there's a lot of admin that comes with
[Tyson]: this tracking the progress of an athlete
and making Sure, you're not building them up
[Tyson]: too quickly. I'm a big fan of training
peaks I don't know if you use that for any
[Tyson]: of the athletes that you coach But
in terms of just cataloging the actual training
[Tyson]: and seeing the progress I find that
really helpful What do you do? I've seen a
[Tyson]: few photos just with the classic pen
and paper Which I'm a big fan of as well just
[Tyson]: riding the training program crossing
off the athletes just to let them know that
[Tyson]: it's done It's uploaded What platform
do you use to upload it on or is it just an
[Tyson]: email? Yeah,
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah, it's just an email.
So I'm pretty old school like that.
[Tyson]: nah,
[Matt Daniels]: So
[Tyson]: I like it. I like
[Matt Daniels]: I've looked
[Tyson]: it.
[Matt Daniels]: at training peeps, I've looked
at Final Surge, I've sort of hummed an art
[Matt Daniels]: about going down that avenue
with the apps, but yeah, like I said, I'm pretty
[Matt Daniels]: old school in regards to, so
I just, yeah, PDF email, send through five
[Matt Daniels]: week blocks at a time with their
training. I've got everyone in their folders
[Matt Daniels]: where they need to be, whether
they're doing Gold Coast, Run Melbourne, Geelong
[Matt Daniels]: Half Marathon, whatever it may
be. I've got the folders on the desktop there.
[Matt Daniels]: I've got my coaching clients
there, so my three, six and 12 month coaching
[Matt Daniels]: clients in a different folder.
So I know where everyone's at, what they're
[Matt Daniels]: doing, what sessions they've
done. Yeah, I touch base with them quite regularly.
[Matt Daniels]: Obviously have them in the Strava.
Strava clubs there, so I'm all over their training.
[Matt Daniels]: And then, yeah, we touch base
quite regularly to check in and see how things
[Matt Daniels]: are going. And then I'll update
it every five weeks and send through their
[Matt Daniels]: next training block and revise
it as we need. So. Yeah, I've got quite a few
[Matt Daniels]: active clients on the books
now. So yeah, those apps for now anyway, I'm
[Matt Daniels]: quite happy with the old school
PDF approach.
[Tyson]: Now I like it I always I always get
a hard time off my friends because besides
[Tyson]: training peaks I'm fairly old school
myself So I'm actually hearing you speak about
[Tyson]: this. It's almost you know how pen
and paper is a little bit nostalgic to some
[Tyson]: people I'm
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: starting to feel that way about email
like you know what like they're back in the
[Tyson]: back when I was a kid That was the
best
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: way to do it, but yeah, I definitely
agree with it So do you um do you have a bit
[Tyson]: of a structure as to when you sit down
and actually write the training prams? Programs
[Tyson]: alright today's Monday We're gonna
make sure that everyone's up to date. Or how
[Tyson]: do you structure that? Because it's
a lot to keep your head around.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, it is. And everyone's
really different. So there's so many different
[Matt Daniels]: things to take into account
for the runners. So like, for example, I had
[Matt Daniels]: a lot of people do the run Melbourne
half marathon a couple of days ago, but that
[Matt Daniels]: was sort of smack bang in the
middle of the program for say the Sydney marathon
[Matt Daniels]: in nine weeks or the Melbourne
marathon in 13 weeks. Some did the 10K run
[Matt Daniels]: Melbourne and then arriving
off the half marathon at Melbourne. So everyone's
[Matt Daniels]: a little bit different in regards
to sort of where they're at and what they're
[Matt Daniels]: doing with their program. But
I know sort of, yeah, like I said, exactly
[Matt Daniels]: where everyone's at and stuff
like that. So, and everyone's different in
[Matt Daniels]: regards to days they train,
what days they want their sessions on, when
[Matt Daniels]: they prefer to do their long
run, Saturday or Sunday. So all the coaching
[Matt Daniels]: is all personalized. So like,
if you want to head out Saturday, if you long
[Matt Daniels]: run, we make it Saturday, we
rest Sunday, we do a recovery run Monday and
[Matt Daniels]: then away we go. But everyone's
a little bit different. Some people can only
[Matt Daniels]: commit to, you know, three runs
a week. which is fine. Obviously those doing
[Matt Daniels]: the marathon, we want to get
some more mileage. So they're doing sort of
[Matt Daniels]: four or five days of training.
So yeah, it's a little bit tricky to answer
[Matt Daniels]: just because there's so many
different things for so many different people,
[Matt Daniels]: depending on their goals and
where they're at and at what stage they're
[Matt Daniels]: at with their running journey.
[Tyson]: Yeah, I'm jumping around a little bit
here, but one question I was meant to ask you,
[Tyson]: and I wanted to hear your thoughts
on this. Obviously running the gym back in
[Tyson]: the day, there'd be a lot of strength
work, mobility work, flexibility and stuff
[Tyson]: that just sneaks into your day, even
probably without much conscious effort. But
[Tyson]: I was wondering, looking at just the
durability. that your body obviously has when
[Tyson]: it comes to some of these more extreme
endurance challenges, how much you credit the
[Tyson]: actual strength side of your background
to enabling you to do that. Because I don't
[Tyson]: know too many people that, and I know
like, just to emphasize that I heard, that
[Tyson]: you had the history of running as a
young guy, but even still with a history of
[Tyson]: running as a young guy to doing the
challenge that you put yourself through, there's
[Tyson]: obviously something special or something
that people don't know about going on. in your
[Tyson]: own training program. So how much is
that is credited to, you know, strength and
[Tyson]: mobility and technique and, you know,
whatever else it might be.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, yeah, good question. So
I'll probably, I reckon probably like most
[Matt Daniels]: runners I've neglected the strength
stuff, you know, more than I'd like to admit
[Matt Daniels]: over the years. The last sort
of six to 12 months, I've really improved that
[Matt Daniels]: area. So two strength sessions
a week. Mobility again, something I could definitely
[Matt Daniels]: improve on trying to find time
to squeeze it all in. So I could definitely
[Matt Daniels]: improve on the mobility stuff,
but yeah, I do two strength sessions a week
[Matt Daniels]: now in combination with the
running. So I run five days and I do two strength
[Matt Daniels]: sessions on the other days,
but. Over the journey, yeah, definitely done
[Matt Daniels]: a little bit of the strength
stuff, but probably not as much as people think,
[Matt Daniels]: but there has been like a, yeah,
a bit of a strength foundation there over the
[Matt Daniels]: journey with some of these long
charity runs as I was building up for Adelaide
[Matt Daniels]: and then obviously the marathons
and then the half marathon journey over 18
[Matt Daniels]: months. So, but I think, yeah,
we all neglected a little bit. So, yeah, definitely
[Matt Daniels]: guilty of that in the past as
well.
[Tyson]: Yeah, yeah, it seems to be a bit of
a theme with distance runners I caught up with
[Tyson]: a bloke I used to run with Nick Whiteman.
So he's a he's a pretty I think he's run about
[Tyson]: 29 30 He's a 225 runner. He actually
it's funny. He so the house I'm living in now
[Tyson]: coincidentally, he lives about 60 meters
that way and The other days he saw me he goes
[Tyson]: away you live in I said mate. I'm just
around the corner he goes great, let's go for
[Tyson]: our long run and He sucker punched
me because I've been working back quietly
[Matt Daniels]: Hehehe
[Tyson]: and he's just as fit as a fiddle So
we
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: called out there for a 90 minute long
run He's chatting away and I'm just doing my
[Tyson]: best to keep up But that was one thing
we've spoken about is that it's just how funny
[Tyson]: it is that Distance runners forget
about the importance of strength work And even
[Tyson]: though I can see it now because I'm
getting so much more focused on my goal was
[Tyson]: to it's still my goal I'm training
for the Melbourne Marathon and just crossing
[Tyson]: my fingers someone gets hurt
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: As long as that person's not me
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: Yeah, just I'm trying to figure out
a way to get into that Melbourne marathon.
[Tyson]: But in the process of increasing my
running miles, I've noticed, okay, like last
[Tyson]: week, I only did one strength session
when usually I'm fairly disciplined in that
[Tyson]: area. Yeah, just it slips away for
whatever reason, but it is, it's interesting
[Tyson]: when you look at a guy like Jakub Ingebrigtsen,
or Mo Farah has a couple of YouTube videos
[Tyson]: where he actually delves into the importance
of that strength and mobility work for a runner.
[Tyson]: It's strange how it's kind of forgotten,
but I guess, you know, when you look at what
[Tyson]: it is we're trying to achieve. It's
maybe no surprise that so many athletes will
[Tyson]: like yourself. And I've just credited
you the, the Hulk status, uh, because of all
[Tyson]: the strength work you've done, but
apparently you just, uh, you
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah.
[Tyson]: just gifted naturally and can get through
it, but it really does seem to benefit, um,
[Tyson]: our ability just to, you know, continually
be consistent, which, you know, like I say,
[Tyson]: and you just said, he's, he's such
an important part of developing as a runner.
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, I think it's really important.
It definitely should be in the training programs
[Matt Daniels]: and it should compliment the
running. So your strength shouldn't be so much
[Matt Daniels]: and so big and so heavy that
it really affects your running if your running
[Matt Daniels]: is the thing you wanna do. But
it should definitely compliment the running,
[Matt Daniels]: whether it's one, two, three
strength sessions a week and some mobility
[Matt Daniels]: stuff would be awesome in and
around, you know, your three, four, five, six
[Matt Daniels]: runs a week, whatever people
are doing. So... And it's really good mentally,
[Matt Daniels]: obviously as well, knowing when
you do get to your events that you put all
[Matt Daniels]: the work in, not just with your
running and your mileage and doing that really
[Matt Daniels]: smartly, but you've got that
strength working, the legs are strong, you're
[Matt Daniels]: feeling really, really good
physically and mentally, and you're able to
[Matt Daniels]: go out and execute your race
day strategy on the back of being really consistent
[Matt Daniels]: with that strength component,
as well as the running component.
[Tyson]: Yeah, before I let you go have you
got any other little challenges or big challenges
[Tyson]: or Anything on the cards that you're
gonna be putting yourself through in the in
[Tyson]: the near future
[Matt Daniels]: Yeah, I'll get access a little
bit now. I haven't
[Tyson]: Hehehe
[Matt Daniels]: actually got anything on the
cards. Like I said, I got Cad's pram that he
[Matt Daniels]: pushed around Australia on my
535th and final half marathon. I've got Cad's
[Matt Daniels]: pram still here. So I'm really
keen one day to do another big, you know, fundraising,
[Matt Daniels]: leukemia foundation fundraising
run with the pram. So I've just got to work
[Matt Daniels]: out what I want to do and when
I want to do it and how I'm going to do it.
[Matt Daniels]: how it's gonna work with the
family and all those sort of obstacles. So
[Matt Daniels]: I definitely plan on doing something,
yeah, with the pram down the track, but I'm
[Matt Daniels]: just not quite sure yet. Yeah,
I'm just happy running and staying injury free
[Matt Daniels]: and obviously loving the coaching,
but yeah, I'm sure there'll be another big
[Matt Daniels]: one, maybe next year at some
stage, but I've got to work it out first.
[Tyson]: Yeah, awesome man, well dude, I'm loving
what you're doing. I'm sorry. It's taking us
[Tyson]: so long to finally catch up but I mean
it's been good to sit down and actually touch
[Tyson]: base with you have a chat to you and
meet you in person I'm a big fan of what you're
[Tyson]: doing. So you keep up the great stuff
and for anyone interested I'll make sure I
[Tyson]: tag your Instagram and your website
and stuff in the in the show description or
[Tyson]: the notes below
[Matt Daniels]: Now, worries, thanks for having
us on Tyson. Appreciate and keep up your awesome
[Matt Daniels]: work you're doing with the coaching
and in the podcast with the in the running
[Matt Daniels]: community.
[Tyson]: Thanks, man. Yeah, we'll do. We'll
see you soon. See you later, everybody. Great
[Tyson]: man.