The Mastering Podcast

Beyond Human Limits: The Mind and Body of an Ultra Endurance Athlete - Bonus Episode | Ultra Marathon Runner Tim Franklin

• The Mastering Team • Season 1 • Episode 3

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Tim Franklin isn't just an ultra marathon runner—he's a testament to what happens when you push beyond the boundaries of possibility. As one of only eight people to ever run around the world, Tim's accomplishment puts him in a club more exclusive than those who've walked on the moon.

Over 576 grueling days, Tim covered an astounding 26,246 kilometers—the equivalent of 622 consecutive marathons—while climbing 251,351 metres of elevation across 19 countries and five continents. But the numbers only tell a fraction of the story.

What began as an intrinsically motivated adventure transformed into something far deeper as Tim confronted physical challenges and profound personal loss. About 150 days into his journey, Tim learned his father had terminal cancer, forcing him to pause his run to say goodbye temporarily. With his father's final words—"You go and finish that damn run"—echoing in his mind, Tim returned to the road, forever changed but more determined than ever.

• Completing the equivalent of 622 consecutive marathons, averaging 46 kilometers a day for 576 days
• Running through 19 countries across five continents with minimal support crew
• Training sensibly with 150-250km weekly volume to prepare without overtraining
• Starting in Brisbane, then traversing New Zealand, America, South America, UK, Europe, and Australia
• Consuming approximately 2,000 bananas and burning 3.5 million calories during the journey
• Maintaining a sustainable pace of 6-7 minutes per kilometer throughout most of the run
• Dealing with the loss of his father during the journey and returning home to say goodbye
• Learning profound lessons about resilience, patience and redefining personal success
• Emphasizing the importance of consistency over intensity in achieving ambitious goals
• Finding joy in the adventure rather than focusing solely on breaking records

For anyone feeling stuck or believing it's too late to pursue their dreams, Tim offers simple but powerful advice: commit to starting, then become the hardest worker in the room. As he says, "Consistency beats intensity"—a philosophy that carried him through 26,000 kilometers and continues to guide his mission of getting the entire world moving.


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Magnus:

What are you?

Tim:

eating. It was just about calories in, because I was burning 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day. Bananas I had something like 2,000 bananas throughout the trip. That's incredible.

Lucas:

Yeah, what does it take to run for hours or for days, to push the human body beyond limits? It's grit, endurance and an unbreakable mindset. Our next guest knows this better than anyone else that I know. Breakable mindset Our next guest knows this better than anyone else that I know. Meet Tim Franklin, an ultra marathon runner, endurance machine and a living testament to pushing past the impossible. Apart from what you'll hear on this episode, tim just won bronze in a 260 kilometer, eight kilometer vert, six stage race. What an absolute, incredible human. I'm Lucas Metacroft, co-founder of Run With a running marketplace, and a vivid marathon runner myself. On this bonus episode of the Mastering Podcast, thanks to M26 Fit, tim takes us into the world of extreme running what fuels him, what breaks him and why he keeps going when most would quit. Get ready for an adrenaline-packed conversation. This one will leave you inspired.

Magnus:

Today's special guest. We have Tim Franklin, an ultra runner who just finished running around the world. He's only the eighth person ever to do so. More people have walked on the moon than have run around the world. He covered over 26,246 kilometers over 576 days in the second fastest time ever. He also climbed 251,351 metres of elevations. To put that in perspective, listeners, that's 622 consecutive marathons, 22 consecutive marathons averaging 46 kilometres a day for 576 days, and 460 metres of elevation every day for nine months. He's covered 19 countries and five continents. Welcome to the podcast, mate.

Tim:

It's good to be here. Thanks for having me. That's a good intro. I liked it.

Magnus:

So the first question I've got is why? What was the reason behind it, what was the objective and was there a mission behind it?

Tim:

Yeah, it's probably the question I get asked the most is why I would take on a challenge like this. For me, I just wanted to chase an adventure. That was the reason it was really intrinsic motivation when I first started. It was a really sort of selfish endeavour. I just wanted to go out, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to go on an adventure. I love running, I wanted to travel, I wanted to have a gap year. If you will, I hadn't had one since. You know, school started all those years ago. So that's how it started. But then the why probably became deeper.

Tim:

As you very well know, I do a lot of work with Inspiring Broader Futures Foundation, and to inspire Broader Futures became sort of a message as well, and I think you can do that through movement and just showing the world how important movement is. So working with that charity closely became really important. Raising awareness and as much money as I could, I suppose, meant that the run was more than just me. As I could, I suppose, meant that the run was more than just me, which really was fascinating because it opened my eyes up to why it was so important and allowed people to jump on and enjoy the journey with me, but at the core of it I wanted to push myself as hard as I could and I wanted to go and see the world and meet as many people and see as many places. I suppose that's what it all nuts down to.

Magnus:

Sounds like you did exactly that, but one hell of a challenge. But what about your background? Have you got a running pedigree or what's your back story?

Tim:

Yeah, I mean, I've probably been running properly for 10-15 years now. I wasn't always healthy and fit. I played all the sports at school but then through high school I lost that. I had a few injuries growing up growth injuries, I suppose they were and then I lost my way a little bit with my health and wellness through the later part of high school and then into university and I didn't start, you know, focusing on fitness again until I was into my early to mid 20s. So that was, yeah, 15, 16 years ago. And then I slowly got into triathlon and then fell in love with like long distance triathlon, sort of like Ironman distance, and then some ultra triathlons in that 2010, 2015 space. And then from from there I've gone into multi-stage sort of endurance running and I love it.

Magnus:

so sorry, just explain that for multi-distance. What's that?

Tim:

so for the runs I do, they're sort of stage races, so it's like a mini tour de France, if you will like. I'm sure listeners would understand that. So each day is a stage. So it's anywhere from like 30 to, say, 90 kilometers and you've got to cover that off in that day and everyone starts together and then you finish in the camp set up at the end.

Tim:

But throughout it you have to carry all your own things that you need for the week. So the distances are from anywhere from 250 to like 1,000 kilometres and you've got to carry everything you need for that week. The only thing that usually the race hosts provide are water, which is limited rations, and then a tent Sometimes they have walls, sometimes they don't and usually sharing with six or seven strangers who may or may not snore or wee a lot throughout the night, and you've got to carry all your food, all your clothes, all your sleeping kit, everything you need, safety stuff all in a backpack. So it's it's for me, it's attritional and that's probably what I'm the best at and what I love the most, which is really handy is that trail running, or is that road running?

Tim:

uh, usually trails. Yeah, usually when I say trails it's off-road running, so it's a lot of desert stuff is where they have them, or subtropical climates, um, but yeah, mostly off the beaten track. A lot of farmland running, yeah, very little tarmac running on very little concrete, which is, which is cool because it's an escape. You know you don't take your phone with you, or if you do take your phone, it's not going to work because you're in the middle of nowhere, so you're just one with the run, with your own mind, and then obviously with the people there doing it with you.

Magnus:

Yeah, so how did you prepare for this particular challenge? Like 26,000 kilometres, it's very difficult for most people to grasp. So how do you prepare physically and mentally for something like that? And you know, what did your training program look like leading up to it?

Tim:

Yes, I suppose, to be honest, you're not really prepared. Yeah, and this is like. This is what I talk about. You know, with any big goal, I think a lot of people don't start because they don't ever feel ready, you know, and you're never ready and you're definitely never ready to run 26,232 kilometres plus. So I trained, I was smart about it.

Tim:

I was really conscious of training hard and training and getting the volume in, but not turning a 600-day run into a 900-day run by training too much. So I was doing 150 to 250 k's a week, sort of in the lead up, probably in the last few months in the lead up, and it felt I mean, I'm really lucky that my work was flexible enough for me to allow to get that in. So that's what that looked like and mentally I really just switched off from it. I wasn't focused on what it was going to look like, I just wanted to get started. I wanted to do it. I was trying not to put any pressure on records or anything like that. I just I was just really I was switching off. Basically that was in the lead up until like the last week when I was like oh it's on now and I got really, really nervous.

Tim:

But but I was more so nervous about what. How embarrassing is it going to be if I do a day and get injured? But yeah, the training was a couple of gym sessions a week, just focusing on mobility and just core activation. So I was strong through the core of my body and then, as you mentioned in the intro, just running up a lot of hills just to build that strength. It was never about speed, it was just about plodding along and making sure my body could handle the wear and tear of what it was about to do.

Magnus:

Yeah, what about the route? Where did you start? And just talk us through briefly the route that you decided to take.

Tim:

Yeah. So the rules stayed, amongst other things, is you have to start and finish in the same place, Right? So for me that was obviously Brisbane. I'm born and bred, bred pretty well, lived my whole life here in. So I started at Southbank and I started with Southbank Park Run only because I love the whole idea of communities getting together and exercise. I thought that's a really good tie-in. Um. So I started there and then I got the route. So Tom Dennis is the only other Australian to have completed the endeavor. So I've I sort of got talking to him and we've become really good friends since then and I just looked at his route and didn't follow it exactly, but followed it pretty closely.

Tim:

So I started off here in Brizzy, then I flew to New Zealand. I ran the length of New Zealand, so from Queenstown sort of all the way up to Auckland. So from Queenstown sort of all the way up to Auckland. And then I flew over to the States and I ran basically across America in a U-shape, started in San Fran down to LA, sort of across the bottom into South Carolina on the east coast and then up to New York. Then I flew down to South America and ran Santiago, Chile, sort of the same, again a U-shape or a V-shape down south of Santiago, across the Andes into Argentina and up the east coast of Argentina to Buenos Aires.

Tim:

And then I flew to the UK and I ran the length of the Thames. So I ran the length, basically the width of England, and then flew to Portugal, Lisbon in Europe, and I went from Lisbon in Portugal all the way across to a place called Constanta in Romania, which is on the Black Sea. And then I flew into Malaysia and went KL down to Singapore and then, to finish, I flew into Perth and ran. I hugged the southern coastline of Australia, so did all of southern WA, across the Nullarbor into the Eyre Peninsula, down through Melbourne, all across and then up the east coast and finished in Brisbane. Yeah, so that is in a nutshell. It sounds really easy when you talk about it in about a minute and a half.

Magnus:

No, it doesn't sound easy to me. I could just like, logistically, how did you cope on that front? Like, did you have a big crew working with you coaches? Just what was involved on that side.

Tim:

No. So obviously I was really lucky to have a couple of sponsors who sort of helped out where they could local companies that I've been working with for a while. That was awesome, but 90% of the trip was self-funded. So I sort of sold everything I owned and really pinched, you know, every penny I could and saved and scrimped where I could and, you know, sacrificed a lot of other things for this endeavour, which I was really happy to do. So that meant that it was a really tight budget.

Tim:

So I had a mate of mine here in Oz looking after as much logistics as he could from afar, and then I had a mate of mine also doing social media to help me out, because I've got no expertise in that, couldn't do it, but also no headspace to do it. So that was helping from here, but on the road it was me and one friend the whole time. So it was different friends. I had 39 different mates come and help me be my support crew, but at most I only ever had two people with me, but for the majority of it it was one person and we would just be doing it on the fly. So we would be booking accommodation that night, that day for that night, finding food wherever we could.

Tim:

Yeah, it was absolutely chaos, to be honest, and logistically like the whole thing was so much probably more challenging than what I thought, which I think that worked in my favour, because I was naive rolling in. I think if I knew how challenging and how difficult some of the times were, maybe I wouldn't have done it. So I really liked the fact that I was naive going in and I'm so proud of the team. We created this we not me mentality, which is really easy for me to do but they all bought into it and they were there for me and I wasn't the best version of myself, like a lot of the time, because I was tired, cranky, you know, so focused on budgets and things and what's next and who's going where and what's the high car who's flying in, all that sort of stuff.

Tim:

It was, yeah, logistically really really challenging, but also equally rewarding when you get to the end. And you know, we didn't have physios on the road, we didn't have a massage. I think I had three massages the whole time. I saw one physio the whole time. Yeah, there was no, like you know, bells and whistles. It was bare bones, which I think made it makes makes it even more special to have completed it what about?

Magnus:

I was just thinking about all those different areas in which you're running, obviously that south, that south coast along in Australia. Um, did you have? A favorite part of it was there, was there elements that you enjoyed more than others?

Tim:

yeah, definitely, and I and that I mean that that wasn't just, I suppose, the environment I was in, but it was also probably my headspace at the time, which I'll probably look back more fondly on some areas. But I must say I loved, um, I love running new zealand. I really enjoyed new zealand. I've got a lot of friends there. I've raced there a few times in these ultra marathons, so they all came out to support me in any way they could.

Tim:

And then other areas with were places that were really different. To say, brisbane, my home. So I'm really I, I was a homebody growing up, so it's really strange for me to have done something like this. But what I really enjoyed was being in places that were so different and so uncomfortable. Um, so, like south america, crossing the andes, just amazing, like, wow, the, the views from on top of like mountains that are higher, that were higher, like higher than anything here in australia, and I was just running over the top and it was like ice cap mountains, snow everywhere, the bluest of blue lakes, massive waterfalls, loveliest people just amazing part of the world. Um, and then I'd say the same about like eastern europe, because it's just so different, like just yeah, and the stories you hear and the cultural differences that I'm used to, I was like wowee, this is, this is pretty cool, pretty cool. But I must say I enjoyed every. Every country I ran through, for different, for different reasons, whether it be the people, the environment, the views yeah, I loved it all, to be honest.

Magnus:

What about the toughest parts? Were there some days, or were there certain sections? I could imagine that there'd have to have been days where you've gone like that's it, I'm done, I'm cooked. Somebody stopped this pain. What kept you going?

Tim:

Yeah, great question. I don't know what kept me going. Honestly, I, I, um, I just did it. I just got it. I just I talk a lot about like building routines when you're motivated, and I guess that's all it became. It was just a routine. We just got up and started and we just took that first step every day and it was all I said to myself was I'm, um, going to do the best I can today, whatever that looked like. At the end of the day, all I said was I'm going to do my best. But there were weeks and weeks of challenging days. You know, all told um, um, through europe.

Tim:

I it was winter, so I was in minus 15, minus 20, five, like day after day after day, and my right leg, my right leg, wasn't functioning properly. So I was trying to manage through that. It was cold, I was falling behind the record and I was like what is the point? And like, egotistically, my Instagram followers weren't going up, like I thought they deserved to be going up, and that's how mentally fragile you are at times like that. So I was focused on, like all the things that were going wrong, I suppose, with how I felt, and, yeah, I rang mum a few times and was like I'm coming home, I've had a gutful, so I'm not going to lie and say I just whistled Dixie throughout the whole.

Lucas:

Thing.

Tim:

No, there were plenty of times, like hundreds, if not thousands of times, where I was like is the juice worth the squeeze? Yeah, like when I was stuck in the myrrh of day-to-day grind. Yeah, but I never. I probably honestly thought I was going to quit, but at the same time I didn't allow myself to think that I was going to get it done.

Tim:

So I just relied on the routine, I relied on my support crew to day by day, day by day yeah, and to know when to push me and to know when to nurture me, and that was one thing that was really good and it was by pure luck but because I had so many support crew changes, I had guys that were like really high energy, but they were. They were followed usually by calming influences. So it was never this constant up or never this constant down. It ebbed and flowed, which allowed me to sort of temper how I was, which I think was really really good in the end. Yeah, but that wasn't by design at the time.

Magnus:

So you talked about temperatures. So you're running in minus 15, and then I'd imagine that you're running in some pretty warm temperatures as well. What's more difficult, the warmer temperature or the colder temperature? Do you have a preference?

Tim:

yeah, so I ran from um yeah, as cold as minus 23 to as hot as 66 66 yeah which was brutal.

Tim:

That was over. That was actually in australia. That was over in bunbury, south of perth, um, in wa. Yeah, that that was. That was like four days of 45 plus in a row.

Tim:

But what I did realise is that I far enjoy running in the heat, which I never thought I would. I always thought cold would be better for me. You're not burning as much energy, but you just don't warm up, especially at like minus, where I spent a lot of time in like snow and below zero, and you'd stop for a minute and your body would cool right down. And getting going again after doing, you know, 20 000 kilometers is really brutal. So I did. I did enjoy running in the heat. I ran a lot better. My body warmed up, my body was much more flexible, more mobile, more fluid. But what it meant was I just had to be really smart about hydration. Yeah, so as long as I was hydrating, cooling my body temp as much as I could, yeah, I must say I felt, yeah, running in the heat Like you'd be like, oh, it's so hot, but I'd be like, oh, at least my body's awake and alive, yeah, what are you thinking about?

Magnus:

Do you have music going, you're listening to podcasts or what's running through your mind?

Tim:

Yeah. So I tried to have at least a couple of hours a day where I wasn't listening to anything, just to be present and look around and enjoy it. But my mind is one that's probably anxious and overthinking the whole time. I'm like, where do I have to stay tonight? How far do I have to run All that? And then I'd be like all right if I have to stay tonight. How far do I have to run all that? And then I'd be like all right, if I run at this speed, I can get to 50 kilometres by this time, which means I've got another hour to go as far as I can. And I was just like, oh, now I can. Oh, because I've run that one this fast. So I kept being a human calculator. But when I felt good, I'd listen to a podcast and when I started to feel a bit like trash, I'd just listen to music to try and stimulate me and build me back up, and that would just alternate throughout the days. But yeah, I usually had ears in for sort of 70% of the day.

Magnus:

What was your biggest day? How many Ks did you do on the longest day?

Tim:

70 or 69.9. We'll call that 70.

Lucas:

Yeah, we'll round up.

Tim:

Yeah, yeah, 70 was my longest day and that was my first day running in the States.

Magnus:

Yeah.

Tim:

Yeah, so I did a lot of 65s because that's just what I wanted to sit on at the start. So we probably did a couple of hundred 65, but the longest day was 70. And I was really conscious of I felt really good that day and I could have kept going. Yeah, of like, I felt really good that day and I could have kept going, but I didn't want to then because the challenge is, it's not about tomorrow necessarily, it's like about a month's time, two months time, like. So you couldn't same with food I was eating, not just for today and tomorrow or even the next day. I had to be fueling for months in advance and that's really hard to get your head around what are you eating?

Tim:

oh, just anything really. So, I tried to avoid gels and all that sort of stuff, simply because I was doing it for so long. Yes, so I didn't want to rely on the glucose, just constant sugar.

Tim:

So I had Tailwind, which is like a powdered nutrition, which worked really well because it meant I was getting calories whilst drinking yes and then when I had fuel stops, when I met my crew, when we sort of stopped there, that, whether it be 10, 28 k's, wherever it was throughout the day, different times depending on how I felt, I'd eat whole foods. I'd have like ham and cheese wraps or ham and cheese rolls or chicken rolls or bananas. I had something like 2,000 bananas throughout the trip. I tried to eat whole foods. And then dinner was just about calories in because I was burning probably around 6,000, 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day.

Magnus:

So to try and get that in.

Tim:

It's incredible yeah it was when you look at, yeah, when you look at yeah, how many? I think it was like 3 point something million, 3.5 million calories I burnt all up or something, so at dinner it would be like a burger, a pizza, kebab, just high dense calorie stuff. Yeah.

Magnus:

Well, it's funny, because last time I was in the States I wouldn't think you'd have too many problems finding calories in the States, with a super-sized meal on all their meals. Yeah, well, that's true, that was good.

Tim:

But one thing I did like about the States is, although you could get trash pretty easily, you could also get like whole foods pretty easily as well, and because it's so big and they're so populous, there's so many options.

Magnus:

Yeah, but what about some of the other countries and some of the more barren areas? I mean? Because you would have had to change that nutrition depending on what country you were in. So how did that go for you?

Tim:

Well, I just ate whatever I could get my hands on, whether it be local fare. One thing we were lucky is a lot of the countries, even the more remote developing countries that we ran through, still westernized foods available.

Magnus:

It's always a mcdonald's yeah, well, there is always a mcdonald's, although we didn't see.

Tim:

There's not many mcdonald's across europe. I didn't.

Magnus:

I didn't feel um not as many as the states, not as many as the states.

Tim:

We tried not to eat. I tried not to eat like like really high processed stuff like that, that fast food across the states. When I was, I had few bad, like a couple of bad weeks where I'd just be eating just to make myself feel better. I'd eat that crap sort of food, but across Europe we would just eat all the local fare. You know, I was as much as it was trying to break a record or trying to be the fastest. It was also a holiday and an adventure, so I wanted to throw myself into a cultural experience.

Tim:

I probably didn't do that as well as I would have hoped, but that's because everything gets on top of you when you're in it. But, um, yeah, so I was eating anything I'll get my hands on. But yeah, there are a lot of times where, say, shops were closed on days and we were like, why, why are the shops closed today? It was a local, you know, public holiday or I don't do sundays or and all this. So there was a lot of that sort of um logistics. But my crew were awesome, right, they would just say, yeah, we got it sorted. Even if they didn't have it sorted, they'd have it sorted. They'd just say, yeah, we got sorted. And then you know, I never went without a night accommodation somewhere. I never didn't have something to eat. So yeah, it was. Yeah. It was amazing actually how it all panned out.

Magnus:

Did you lose any days? Did you have any significant injuries? I imagine you would have had injuries that you'd have to run with, but any significant injuries or sickness Like you lose any days because you were laid up with gastro or colds, flus or anything.

Tim:

Yeah, I had one flu the whole time. I got sick, just a cold once 18 months and that was in Melbourne.

Tim:

Wow, yeah, and that was in Melbourne because it was the first time I'd been around people. That's what I put it down to, because I was just so remote and outside all the time, I was never around people, so I only ever got sick when I was coming into Melbourne. That was the first time I'd been around like big. I had big groups of people running with me, shaking hands with people, you know, and yeah. So I mean it was awesome, but yeah, that's the only time I got like a cold or a flu.

Tim:

Um, I had injuries in europe my right leg. I had some some nerve damage in my right leg so I could. I could hardly move like I couldn't feel my right leg hitting the ground. I couldn't get comfortable like pain through my hip and that was just a nerve impingement. So that took about probably four weeks. So I lost a few days there and then at the same time it was a year in.

Tim:

We celebrated my year of being on the road by not running. We were snowed out, so it was a massive snowstorm that hit germany. So we were laid up for three days, which was good, because that was the same three days. That probably the worst. My leg was, so it worked quite well, um.

Tim:

And then I had one or two days where I had a big like red meat meal and then the next day it just I felt like, I just felt awful, so I don't know, and that was only in the states. Actually I had two steaks in the states and couldn't go from there. But apart from that, um, we had very few days off. My days off were just travel days and then obviously coming home when I had to come home. But, yeah, apart from that, it was, um, yeah, again, whether it was luck, design or good management I like to think it was a bit of all of them that we had very few days, very few lay days that's incredible when I think about it, because I had a mate of mine who ran one marathon and he said like he couldn't move for three days afterwards.

Magnus:

So and then you're doing that day in and day out and just pounding yourself day in and day out, so getting through that for 19 months straight. I'm still getting over that like an average of 46k's a day for for that time period and then not to have any substantial little injuries or little niggles and ankles and ligaments and knees and bits and pieces. That's incredible. So what recovery? So once you've finished for the day, I imagine by the sound of it you're not exactly having a support crew with ice baths and massages. So what did you do for recovery and how much sleep did you try and get every night?

Tim:

So recovery was very basic, like the best part of my day was the shower at the end of every day, because it was two things. It just felt amazing, just a bit like have warm shower, feel clean, and it was the longest time until I had to run again which made it really enjoyable. And then um recovery was, yeah, just that shower, and then I just sort of sit down or lie down stretch did you do I didn.

Tim:

I didn't do any stretching, really, say after day I don't know 15 really because it was just taking more energy from me that I don't necessarily think I had to give. So I just stopped. I just tried to recover by resting completely. Some of my crew gave me as best a massage as they could, but yeah, it was just literally finish running and lie down or sit down and then we'd eat and then maybe have a drink and then just go to bed. I fell asleep really easily, just because I think I was knackered every day. So I fell asleep really easily, but I didn't sleep through the night. I think I had maybe 15 good night's sleeps where I sleep through the night. I didn't have good. I think I had maybe 15 good night sleeps where I slept through the whole night and the whole time I'd wake up at midnight, one, two and just lie there for hours, just yeah, why do you think that was anxiety I?

Tim:

think so. I think it was. It was mental over physical because because, like you, when you're talking about you made that, had done the marathon and was sore and stiff. That's a much higher intensity endeavour, whereas mine was applauded and I did it really sustainably. I knew because I've been doing it now so consistently for so long.

Magnus:

Sorry, just on that. What pace did you average on those days when you're punching out, you know?

Tim:

When I was doing 65, the 65K days, I was sitting around 6, 30s, 6, 6, 30s, okay, so sort of that. I was trying to do between 8 and 10 k's an hour. Yeah, um, probably when I was feeling good, it was yeah, close to 9 to 10. But there was a lot of days where I felt like trash and I was doing you know sort of 8, 8, 30 minute kilometers, some days even nine minutes, and I couldn't get faster than that. But I still in my mind I was still running, but people were like walking next to me, oh that's, but but I was still kept up. The running motion just wasn't quick, um, but I think I averaged like 7, 17 or 7, 16 as my pace across the whole thing per kilometre, which I was pretty happy with, to be honest, because there's so much up and I walked.

Magnus:

But it's the consistency piece, isn't it? That's, at the end of the day, this wasn't the rabbit, this was the hare. Correct the tortoise should I say so yeah, it's being able to turn up every single day and I think you go out and blow yourself up and you could probably run a three-hour marathon if you wanted to. What's the quickest time in a marathon?

Tim:

3.04, I think. There you go, so you can do a marathon in that pace.

Magnus:

But here, when you're backing up day in and day out and day in and day out, what about from a spiritual context? I know people look at this from a different perspective. But just that, that, I guess real deep inner belief that you've got in yourself that you could do this. How do you see yourself in that spiritual context, or spiritual fitness as I refer to it sometimes?

Tim:

yeah, great question. I don't. I'm very pragmatic, right, so I don't think I'm a very spiritual person, but maybe I am. You know, I mean I'm, maybe I'm not, just I'm not, as so I'm self-aware about a lot of things. I just don't think I'm a very spiritual person, but maybe I am. You know what I mean, maybe I'm not just I'm self-aware about a lot of things. I just don't know how self-aware I am about spirituality. Yeah, I just do because I love you know what I mean Like I love it, I love the challenge, I love the endeavor, I love running, I love the freedom of it. So I just did it.

Tim:

But I guess I did learn a lot about me out on the run, because I had so much time to myself and then there were so many challenges and you had to overcome. So I guess there is a deeper sense. But, to be honest, yeah, there was no transcendent feeling. There were out-of-body experiences, like you've got to pull yourself out of this myrrh that you're in or you're stuck, and this is how we're going to do it. But whether that was just me being pragmatic and practical as opposed to spiritual, honestly I'm not sure. Yeah, but yeah, I don't know. To be honest, I haven't really, and whether that might change as I look back on it and reflect on it. But yeah, I just got into the mental state of just do and do your best and then we'll keep rolling forward, keep pushing.

Magnus:

What was the most surprising thing that you learned about yourself? Because you're spending an incredible amount of time with yourself. Obviously, you've got your support crew there, but you're the one pounding that pavement. Even if you've got the earphones in and you're listening to something, you're spending a lot of time with yourself. What did you learn about yourself?

Tim:

Well, a couple of things. One is that I'm resilient, far more resilient than what I thought I was, and that, no matter how shit it was at times, I just kept moving forward, like when a lot of people, like a lot was thrown at me throughout the run, like in the run, but also personally, that I just kept turning up, kept showing up, kept pushing, and that I think now I can look at any problem or issue and overcome it one way or another. I'll get there in the end. And then I also learned I'm historically not very patient, probably still coming back to normal, normal life, whatever. That is, um that I'm not the most patient person, but on the run I learned how important, how important being patient is and how important being kind to yourself and others is as well, because if you yeah, if you're impatient and you push too hard, you'll break not only you but, more importantly, those around you that you're relying on to be your support network. Yeah, so that they're probably the two biggest things that I learned, yeah.

Magnus:

It's funny you mentioned the word patience, because that's something that I am still struggling with and I think I get things sent into my life because I haven't learned that one yet. Now fear. I know that that is the thing that prevents the average person from even starting any sort of goal whatsoever, because they think, oh, I've no chance of this, I'm not even going to start. Did you? What thoughts were running through your mind when you went to take on this challenge? Were you getting those doubts and those fears on shit? Am I actually, am I going to be able to do this? And what? I guess? How did you move on from that and still take on the challenge?

Tim:

Yeah, I don't think I ever feared not doing it, but that's not to say I'm not. I'm bulletproof, right, I'm as vulnerable as anyone that you'll ever meet, and I do get emotional and I and what I did think was who cares if I don't finish it?

Magnus:

so you're doing it for you I was it.

Tim:

There was an intrinsic motivation to go on an adventure and to go as quickly as I could was just for me, and I think the fear factor comes from ego not ego in a bad way. But I think people worry too much about what other people think about them and that's what holds them back when I was, like I don't care. I think it's more important and more powerful to have the courage to start than it is to maybe not finish, because you can always learn from not finishing something Like I've got to learn, like, oh okay, I wasn't quite prepared and that's why I got injured or this happened or that happened or it was outside of my control. As to the reason why you had a crack, but I had a crack, but I had a crack, yeah, and that's. I don't know whether that's nature or nurture, but I just say I'm going to do this and then I do it Now, whether I do it as successfully as possible or I may fail in the eyes of I don't achieve the ultimate goal, but I've learnt something along the way, even if I don't achieve the ultimate goal, but I've learnt something along the way even if I don't achieve that ultimate goal. So it's no such thing as failure and whilst I like to be liked and want to be loved by people like no doubt there's that level of ego I don't care what people think about me and my endeavours, because I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it intrinsically for me, but then also probably for those really close to me, and they're never going to judge me. My inner circle is never going to judge me for doing stuff and, and in fact, the people I spoke to about this run, I told them what I was going to do and all of them, bar say two, were like this is awesome, how can I help?

Tim:

Yeah, and the two that were doubtful only were doubtful because they one's a cardiologist, so he was worried about my heart, and the other one was just worried about me generally, physically, and that was their concern. They didn't want me to do it, they were just worried what would happen if I did do it. And that was awesome. So it was everyone trying to build me up to get to the end, support me how they could. So, yeah, I did never fear not finishing. It never even crossed my mind. It didn't really cross my mind that I wasn't going to finish, but I also never let myself think I was going to finish. So that kept pushing me as well. But it was never, never, never once a fear of failure, because I have tried my best to A a not let ego get in the way of thing decisions I make in life. But also it's always a learning yeah no matter what happens so your father.

Magnus:

He passed during it. How tough was that to you. Did you manage to be able to try and turn that around into some motivation or into a positive?

Tim:

yeah, I definitely definitely challenging, so we were some motivation into a positive. Yeah, I definitely definitely challenging, so we were um, I don't know 150 days in, I think when, when he got, when he, when they told me. So they found out not long after I left yeah that, um, that he had previously had cancer, that melanoma, and that had come back yeah and it had come back with a vengeance, so it was terminal.

Tim:

So I think they found out two weeks after I started. I think they found out roughly on the same day, one of my very good mates and mentors, um, tragically took his own life. So that happened, and then I got the news about my dad in the space of not too long, which are two life-defining instances, and they just happen to be whilst I was undertaking the greatest physical endeavor I've ever done and probably will ever do. So it was a lot going on, um, but my parents have given me every opportunity. My dad, like a lot of kids which I'm really lucky is is like my hero right in there. They're immortal, right, they're not. They're never going to. They live forever, don't they? They're immortal, right, they're never going to. They live forever, don't they? They're bulletproof.

Tim:

So, yeah, that was hard to take, but I didn't let it. Didn't let it stop me and they didn't let it stop me. So they were very oh, you know you never, you know, with these things like that, I think they'd given him like six months, but they're like you know, you hear stories all the time about people living for two, three years. I'm going to be at the finish line. I'm going to see you finish anyway. Well, that didn't happen. No, so within like three months, I think of them telling me he's got two weeks to live. If you want to come and say goodbye, come now. And we'd spoken about that throughout the journey and leading the lead up to the journey, because they're not getting any younger and we've got family that aren't getting any younger. So what happens if there's a tragedy or some loss? And the whole premise in the talk was just keep going, don't stop, and that's really easy to say.

Tim:

Very easy, very easy. Just words are just easily. But when push came to shove I was like this bloke has given me every opportunity I've had in life. Of course I'm going to go home. So I went home from the other side of the States I was on the east coast of the States so it was like a 27 hour flight home to say goodbye and I was umming and ahhing whether it was the right thing to do and then it was wheels down. The plane landed in brisbane. I just knew that's exactly where I needed to be and and our family are like our immediate family, are close, but we don't spend a lot of time together, but we're close and we're all together under a roof. For that, like five or six days before he passed away, and it was magical time, um, and the last words he said to me before he passed away was you go and finish that damn run. Yeah, so where that like it was emotion, it was like at the time I didn't really feel it goosebumps.

Tim:

At the time I didn't necessarily feel the drain of the emotion. Physically I was ruined because I'd been running so much and then travelling. My body just contracted All the muscles just thought is this, it Are we done? And a lot of people post me, finishing, have come up and said oh, I didn't think you were going to go again.

Tim:

But I went again and yeah, I don't know whether it was a motivation because of that or I just was like so stubborn that I'm not letting this beat me. Yeah, I'm gonna keep pushing. I never saw, even when I came home, I never thought for one moment that I wasn't going to go back and keep going. I mean, I booked a return flight because I'm always going to go back, because he that's what he would have wanted as well. There's no way he would have of course as well.

Tim:

There's no way he would have accepted me not finishing because of that. So I went back and, yeah, I was dog tired and the run never felt the same after that, physically Just losing momentum. Yeah, just lost all the momentum. World record was gone. Well not gone but really incredibly difficult to try and get back.

Magnus:

So how many days did you lose?

Tim:

I only lost probably 13 days, but when you add that up that's like a thousand kilometers yeah and trying to claw back a thousand kilometers when you're already doing 65 a day yeah just meant I was gonna have to be doing near 80s a day just to get that time back and I was like that's, that's gonna break me so and I could not get back. So it was I lost 12 full days and then a few days when I got back, you got jet lag yeah.

Tim:

I didn't know whether I was coming or going. I didn't know whether I was Arthur or Martha. It was really challenging starting again and I was flat. I knew that. I knew that much. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I was flat. But Damo, my crew mate, his unfortunately his father passed away in similar, in similar circumstances a few years earlier. So he was really good. He was probably the perfect guy there to empathize with my situation, never pushed me, just said let's do what we can do. And then we had a bit of fun. We got to new york and he went to a. I got, actually I got crooked that day, so just a few gut. So he went to the baseball and I just slept and we had some fun in New York. So that was quite cool, yeah, yeah. But then I just rolled back into it, got to the UK and Europe and just clicked back into gear and said, right, let's go. I just treated it like it became a job. Right, it just became work, like get up, it, let's go.

Magnus:

I just treated like it was became a job. Right, it just became work like get up. It was a grind and I just found the joy in the grind. How do you has your?

Tim:

perspective on success changed after you finish this run. Now, what's it look like for you today? Um, yeah, that's a great question. I definitely, definitely I also. I also don't pin um as much value to it that maybe I used to like and and it like.

Tim:

What does success look like? Well, success for me when I started the run was to be the fastest, and anything less than that would have been okay but would have been success. But when I was in it, I'm like, holy moly, finishing this thing in any way, shape or form is a success. But when I was in it, I'm like, holy moly, finishing this thing in any way, shape or form is a success. But then I look back and go starting it was a success. Like spending on on the road, seeing the places I saw. That's success. You know, throwing yourself into an endeavor is a success, having the courage to start a success.

Tim:

The people I met I've made friends for life now. My crew, who I was mates with. I'm now even tighter mates with a lot of them, you know, like I'm in debt to them forever, like I'll never be able to repay what they gave me a lot of the times their own, you know, their own money like that, all that, that is what I my connection with people now and places and, um, uh, I wanted. What is I wanted like I want to do things, not have things. Yeah, that's success to me. Now, um, I still want to be the best version of me and I want to go and enter races and try and a win them or b do get a pb successful, yeah, and be successful as society sees success.

Magnus:

Yes.

Tim:

But a lot of it is intrinsic success as well, and not material. I don't want for things, I want to do things.

Magnus:

Yeah, so you've inspired, I think, a heap of people to go and pursue their dreams. What's a piece of advice that you could give someone who feels a bit stuck and thinks maybe it's too late? What would you say to them?

Tim:

yeah, I don't think it's ever too late. I think that's one thing, like I think the world's allowed us to do is yes, we're. Medical science, it's never too late. Technology, it's never too late. All right, my greatest tip is, if you're going to do it, commit to starting, commit to starting and then start and then, whatever happens after that, be the hardest worker in the room. Yes, at that endeavor.

Tim:

You don't have to be the best, you don't have to be the most talented work hard but if you work hard, and as hard as you can sustainably to develop yeah, maintain your relationships, maintain your mental and physical health, just go for it, you know, and go for it for as long as humanly possible, until your batteries run out, but just start. That's got to be. That's the number one reason why people don't achieve their goals is they don't start.

Magnus:

Yeah, I love what you said about that consistency, because it's that turning up, it's day in and day out, and day in and day out. But, like you said, you've got to take that first step. What's what's the future look like for you? What's next? What are you up to?

Tim:

yeah. So at the moment, one one point I'll say is yeah and it's cliche, but I love it is consistency beats intensity. Yeah, like a lot of people go all in and then will disappear, right, because they just they'll burn out or it's unsustainable or there's no strategic plan, whereas if you just do little bits, a lot, it grows really quickly over time. So, consistency over intensity, what's next for me? I've got this whole big goal of getting the entire world moving. We've got the Olympics here in 2032 in Brisbane, my hometown, so I want to be a part of that. I don't know what that looks like. I need to be talking to people to make that happen, but I I now, um, do a lot of well, I'm getting into keynote speaking and I've got a golf golf setting program called own your own show. So I want to roll that out to as many years as I possibly can.

Tim:

Um, I've done some work with a bloke called Tommy Herschel who has a program called Find your Feet, and he said to me impact over income, and that's what I want to do. I want to leave a legacy. It sounds egotistical and narcissistic, but I want to leave the world a better place than when I got here Now. I don't know if I can, but I'm going to try and do my best to do it. I'm still on a journey. I'm still, you know, in some ways selfish and focused on me, but I want to be of service to others, I suppose. So that's yeah. So rolling out this goal-setting program, talking and working with as many people, whether they be kids, in schools or corporates, conferences, conventions, whatever here in Australia, globally, just doing as much as I can, that's the ultimate next goal. And obviously I've got physical goals as well.

Magnus:

Yeah, mate, I love it and I completely agree, mate. That's where the name stands for M26, is just move for 26 minutes. So that's what we're trying to teach as well. So quick five questions.

Tim:

You ready, let's go, let's go, I'll try and answer quickly.

Magnus:

What did you miss the most?

Tim:

Friends and family Yep.

Magnus:

What country had the most supportive people?

Tim:

One thing I found is that the countries with the least wanted to give the most. So the developing nations, your South America, your Eastern Europe, they had the least and they were willing to give me the most.

Magnus:

Who do you look up to and admire?

Tim:

A few people, but obviously my parents, first and foremost. Very cliche, but they've given me everything. They've worked their arses off for me and my siblings. And then a gentleman by the name of mark turner got changed my life. Um got me, took me under his wing, um into this fitness space, um, I took the squat over, took trination over from him, and he's the gentleman that unfortunately took his own life on the run. So they're they're two of the biggest influences in my life what's the weirdest food you ate during your run?

Tim:

one one thing I had. I mean I had a lot of local fare. That wasn't as weird as the wrap I made myself, which was a whole meal wrap with peanut butter cheese, nutella, mayonnaise and a banana on it.

Lucas:

That was probably the weirdest thing I had.

Tim:

I was craving everything and I think I washed it down with a coke and iced coffee.

Magnus:

What was the highest altitude that you reached?

Tim:

That was going across. Actually it wasn't going across the Andes, it was in the States. It was a ski village. I cannot remember the name, but it was 7,000 feet, which was 2,400 meters above sea level.

Magnus:

Amazing. If you could redo your journey. What, what's one thing you'd do differently?

Tim:

I would be much less focused on my watch and more focused on what was happening around me and and enjoy the experience a little bit more yeah, your favorite running shoes uh, I'm a hoker clifton wearer from a long time ago.

Magnus:

What's your guilty pleasure after enduring those months of extreme fitness?

Tim:

Well, I have indulged in a couple of pale ales since being home, but my guilty pleasure is a Kit Kat chunky.

Magnus:

Yep Favourite motivational quote.

Tim:

Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard do you prefer running solo or running with others?

Magnus:

with others what's one piece of advice you completely disagree with when it comes to endurance and fitness?

Tim:

things have to be hard and push past hard. It should should be sustainable, challenging, fun and sustainable.

Magnus:

Another world city that you could live in.

Tim:

New York.

Magnus:

What's one historical or living figure that you'd love to run alongside?

Tim:

That's a great one, shane Warne.

Magnus:

David Goggins. That's a great one. Um shane warne, david goggins. Uh, do you believe modern society has become too soft when it comes to endurance and perseverance?

Tim:

great question I, unfortunately. I yes, I do think they have, and I think it's not their fault. I think it's society's fault. I think young people have grown up being somewhat modicolored and life's been a little bit too easy. That's only coming from a developed nation perspective here in Brisbane, but yes, I think the ability to endure is diminished.

Magnus:

Agreed. What's the most overrated part of being an endurance athlete?

Tim:

Bank account.

Magnus:

Is there ever such a thing as being too ambitious, or should we always aim for the impossible?

Tim:

I don't think you can ever be too ambitious. As long as it's sustainable and you're not chasing something to make other people people I don't know let you fit in. I think. As long as it's intrinsic, then play on the best advice that you can give us enjoy it. Put us do something that puts a smile on your face all right.

Magnus:

Final question finish this sentence.

Tim:

I believe I believe that if we all move, we're better people. Better people make better communities. Better communities make a better place to live and leave the world a better place than when we first got here what a great finish, mate.

Magnus:

Thank you so much for your time. You're an absolute inspiration. I wish you every success in your future endeavors, mate.

Tim:

Thank you no, thanks for having me.

Magnus:

Thanks, mate remember real growth happens one step at a time, and consistently working both on your mind and your body for 26 minutes every day will change your life. Hit subscribe to keep the inspiration going and don't forget to share this episode with somebody who needs that extra boost. Until next time, stay connected, stay active.