The hay is in the barn race week is where most people fuck up what they've already earned.

Episode 73:
your Race Week Survival Guide. Tapering, maranoia, race morning logistics, carb loading without going full donut bender, controlling nervous energy on the start line, and the first 10k mistake that ends most marathons before they start. Built for Gold Coast Marathon weekend — applies to any race.

🎁 BTFL listener exclusive — TPP shakeout run Friday 9:30am at Bam Bam Bakehouse, Mermaid Beach. Coffees on us. All welcome.

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Listener questions, fully loaded from "am I overtraining or just adapting?" to "is sub-4 realistic on three runs a week?"

Episode 72 is our favourite episode of the month your questions, answered. Matt and Georgia get through how to tell the difference between overtraining and adaptive fatigue, why motivation is bullshit and discipline is everything, how to taper for Hyrox, why your 5k time matters for the marathon (round two), what it means when your 5k won't budge, the minimum race schedule that gives you real data, and how to build durability for the last 10k without destroying yourself every weekend.

🎁 BTFL listener exclusive — one spot at the TPP Sydney Marathon training camp (July 30 – Aug 1, Hunter Valley). DM @beyondthefinishline_pod or @the_performance_project_ to claim it.

🎧 Listener Q&A:

– How do I know if I'm overdoing it or if it's just adaptive fatigue?

– Motivation comes and goes — what do you actually do about it?

– Do you taper for Hyrox the same way as for a race?

– Performance anxiety around 5k time trials — how do you handle it?

– Why does the 5k actually matter for my marathon?

– What if my 5k time doesn't move after a full block?

– Sub-4 on three runs a week and a physio job — realistic or delusional?

– What's the minimum race schedule that still gives you the data?

– Should I structure my long runs around the post-32k point?

Timestamps

00:00 Introduction and Listener Questions

11:52 Georgia's Pregnancy Journey and Running

24:11 Matt's Endurance Training and Self-Coaching

35:53 Listener Questions: Training and Motivation

39:01 Assessing Training Effectiveness

43:42 Training Frequency and Goals

47:58 Performance Anxiety and 5K Time Trials

51:56 Racing Strategy and Data Collection

55:23 Building Durability for Marathon Success

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—
The Performance Project is an endurance coaching company built to help everyday athletes Do Hard Things. Our mission is to build Australia's strongest endurance community — through training, storytelling, and a relentless commitment to chasing what's hard.
Do Hard Things.

The cheap stuff that's actually good, the bougie stuff that's actually worth it, and the products we'd never touch.

a no-BS gear breakdown for runners. Matt and Georgia run through shorts, sports bras, shoes, hats, sunnies, socks, vests, watches, and headphones with honest takes on what's worth the money and what's a waste.

Plus listener questions on social media and running, when to do your strength sessions, and whether to pull the pin on a marathon block you're hating.

🎁 BTFL listener exclusive — one spot at the TPP Sydney Marathon training camp (July 30 – Aug 1). DM @beyondthefinishline_pod or @the_performance_project_ to claim it.

💻 Join The Performance Project Coaching:
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Your 5k time will tell you exactly what marathon you can run most people just don't know how to read it.

Episode 70: Matt nerds out on the 5k and why it's the single most important measuring stick in your training. The correlation no one talks about, Jack Daniels' V Dot system, what your 5k tells you about VO2 max, aerobic threshold, and where your race is going to fall apart. Fast-twitch vs slow-twitch, when to retest, and why the 5k makes you a better marathoner (but the marathon won't make you a better 5k runner).

🎁 BTFL listener exclusive — one spot at the TPP Sydney Marathon training camp (July 30 – Aug 1). DM @beyondthefinishline_pod or @the_performance_project_ to claim it.

💻 Join The Performance Project Coaching: https://performanceproject.typeform.com/apply?utm_source=btfl

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You don't get to choose if your race goes sideways — you only get to choose what you do when it does.

Episode 69: what to do when your race turns to shit. How to know when plan A is gone, when to switch to plan B, and how to make mid-race decisions that keep you in control. Matt breaks down the A/B/C framework he uses at every distance — pacing, nutrition, gear, crew comms — the warning signs telling you to pivot, and why a plan B doesn't always mean giving up the goal. Plus listener questions on trail running quads, pram running, and the 5k after the marathon.

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Trail running is the great equaliser — no one's asking your time, they're just asking if you got it done.

Matt's guide to trail running and how to train for your first trail race. The gear you actually need, the difference between fire trails and single track, what changes from 10k to 50k to 100k, and the 10 training priorities Matt pulled out of his UTA 100 debrief — including the one a mate exposed at 98k he's never going to forget. Run the runnable, power hike like you mean it, total recoverable volume, and why ultras are won by horsepower, not bounce.

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The ultra Matt was never supposed to finish.

The full UTA 100 race recap. Matt walks Georgia through every aid station — the perfect first 40k, the toe-punted rock at Nellie's Glen that he was sure had broken his foot, the ruptured ligaments he ran the back half on, and the 50k internal war between a brain screaming "quit" and a body that wouldn't. Plus the why he didn't share until now: chasing the point where mind and body both run out at the same moment.

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Everything you wanted to ask about marathon training — chafing, carbon plates, race vests, taper colds, and what to do when you're three weeks out and your longest run was 32k.

Part 4 of the Marathon Mini Series: the listener Q&A. Matt and Georgia get through your questions on holiday training, knee injury comebacks, time-based vs distance-based long runs, strength training, heat adaptation, race vests, carbon shoes, taper sickness, and post-race recovery. The catch-all episode that closes the series.

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Stop training like a jogger and start racing your marathon.

Part 3 of the Marathon Mini Series: how to train for a time goal. Matt and Georgia get into the difference between finishing and racing, how to set a goal that actually fits your athletic makeup, the type A / type B / hybrid framework, and why Ash and Jason ran sub-3 in Boston on three-and-a-half runs a week. Minimal effective dose, long run back-ends, and the race day execution mistakes that blow up PBs.

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You can't bullshit your way through a marathon the way you can a half and that's where most first-timers come undone.

Part 2 of the Marathon Mini Series: everything you need to know before your first 42.2.

Matt and Georgia get into why 16 weeks is the floor for a first block, why the wall is just a spotlight on every shortcut you took in training, and why nutrition is the fourth discipline.

Plus Georgia's red-Powerade meltdown at 28km on the Gold Coast, the case for walking the aid stations, and how to define a successful first marathon.

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