Ultra-marathon runner Sean Bell is breaking down the raw and powerful mindset it took to keep moving forward when it was just him against the distance. Sean has become the fastest person to circumnavigate Australia on foot, finishing 13,383km in 158 days, 14 hours and 52 minutes. He averaged 84km per day and broke the existing record by 11 days.
Sean pushed past mental and physical limits daily, not just to make history but to make a difference. Fueled by a mission to chase his audacious dreams and inspire others to do the same, Sean’s journey speaks to what’s possible when you commit entirely to a purpose.
"Life is all about stages...initially, I never thought I'm going to run around Australia...but hearing [Stu Middleman] story made me believe that maybe I can run a marathon..and so once I achieved that, well then you think what's next?"
In this episode Andrew and Sean discuss:
1:50 Sean’s recent move to Sydney, growing up wanting to be an AFL player and the moment that all changed after he ran his first marathon.
6:15 Working hard to achieve your goals, realising that nobody is coming to save you and you should only get a ribbon if you earn it.
10:50 Sean’s mate Joey unexpectedly passing away and the impact that had on Sean’s life, what Sean got out of seeing Tony Robbins live in America and starting to look at what is possible in ultra endurance running.
16:30 Why Sean is so optimistic, pushing past people telling you you’re not good enough and when Sean realised he would have to have a deliberate training plan to be able to run long distances.
22:45 Learning psychological skills through experience, Sean’s purpose and meeting his coach Jase while preparing for a big run.
28:30 The masterclass in goal setting that Sean has gone through, some of the inspirational figures in Sean’s life and running 50 marathons in 50 days to get ready for the run around Australia.
36:15 Some of the training Sean had to do to prepare his body for the run, how he was able to break it down into achievable goals and putting on excess muscle knowing you are going to lose it while running.
41:45 Looking at the requirements for being able to run around Australia and building up to that, the 33% split between physical, psychological and support staff needed to do the run and not wanting to tap out after starting the run.
47:30 Getting a stress fracture 8 weeks out from the run, breaking the run down into 8km segments and the best day of running that Sean had on his journey.
56:30 Running a double marathon every day as a goal, coach Jase’s unfortunate passing just before the run and the wizard’s take outs from the episode so far.
1:04:30 Sean still processing the fact that he was able to achieve his goal, getting support from previous record holders and the challenge of running across Tasmania after running around the mainland.
1:12:30 Sean’s unusual diet on the run, building up mental toughness on the run and the importance of visualisation for Sean’s problem solving on the run.
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What is Performance Intelligence Podcast?
A podcast about all things human performance.
Listen in as Andrew May explores the latest in human performance with an all-star cast of subject matter experts covering physical and psychological wellbeing, performance psychology, sport, business, entertainment, the performing arts, leadership, and science.
Learn valuable lessons that can be applied to optimising performance in your personal and professional life. Performance Intelligence applies to the way we turn up in relationships and the way we turn up at work, it applies to the way we perform in front of 10,000 people and the way we perform in front of one.
Episodes include 3 main categories:
1. High Performer Series - exploring the habits, tactics and strategies that have led to success for some of the world’s leading performers…
2. The Science Of - drilling down deep into the science of a specific performance-related construct, with leading domain experts…
3. Performer Spotlight – an interview with a coaching client, an athlete, or a leader of a large team Andrew has worked with and how they have applied Performance Intelligence…