Performance
Strength.
Speed.
Endurance.
I enjoy the precision of training. The routine, the data and the incremental progress, whether that's another 2.5kg on a lift or a few seconds off a running time.
Each discipline tests me differently. The challenge is to keep improving across all of them.
Selected personal bests
Approximately 3× bodyweight
Personal best
Personal best
Men’s doubles
The pursuit
Different disciplines.
Different limits.
Switching between disciplines means adapting to very different demands.
A maximal deadlift tests pure strength. High-repetition squats introduce a different kind of suffering. A fast mile tests your speed and cardiovascular limits, while an ultramarathon challenges your endurance, judgement and resilience.
I've never believed natural talent should determine the limits of your ambition. What interests me is discovering how far preparation, consistency and effort can take me. Hybrid training allows me to explore those limits across very different disciplines.
One challenge brought those worlds together: a 500lb deadlift immediately followed by a mile run. I completed it in 4:51, the fastest time I've encountered.
I then attempted to extend the challenge into an ultramarathon, aiming to complete the combined effort inside five hours. I reached 24km before accumulated fatigue brought the attempt to an end. I learned as much from that failure as I did from the successful attempt.
And despite all the talk of athletic performance, I'm still partial to a good old-fashioned bro session. Not everything needs to improve my 5K time.
Beyond the predictable
The mountains
rarely follow a plan.
The mountains offer something entirely different.
In an ultramarathon, meticulous preparation only takes you so far. The terrain, weather, altitude or simply how you feel on the day can turn a carefully considered plan upside down. That unpredictability is part of what makes the challenge so compelling.
And sometimes, there's no need for a challenge at all. Just a long trail run or a day on the bike, exploring somewhere extraordinary with no particular objective beyond enjoying the experience.
The bigger picture