Buck the Trend Pod

Winter's arrived, the Kona blues are real, and it's time to set some goals. We chat about picking a big scary goal for 2027, testing it before you hit enter, and why Steph reckons motivation is a total myth. Plus our Watt the Buck moment of the week, and a chance for you to feature in our next series. Grab a brew and get your goals ready.

*WARNING* this episode contains voice notes/memos and therefore the audio is not necessarily perfect. Please persevere, the stories are incredible, raw and immediately following their finish lines in Kona!

Eight athletes. One brutal Kona. All in their own words.

In the final episode of our Stories Behind the Start Line series, the eight athletes we followed to the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona send us voice notes about how race day really went. Choppy swims, crosswinds up to Hawi, the heat of the Energy Lab – and the moments that kept them moving.

You'll hear a podium decided in the final mile, a finish seven minutes inside the cut-off, a pro battling imposter syndrome, a near-DNF that turned out to be a too-tight shoe, and plenty of Coke at the aid stations. Whether you're dreaming of Kona or just your first finish line, there's something here for you.

Forget the race recap. You’ve seen it. This week we’re talking about the Kona moments that got us: Kat stopping to lift Paula on Palani, Solveig’s collapse and who’s actually allowed to help, Gustav racing in pink for his mum, and Vincent bowing out on top. Plus, all eight of our Stories Behind the Start Line athletes finished. Eight from eight! Steph also shares a big health update and why she’s itching to race again. Grab a coffee and come hang out.

Kona is shaping up to be a test of grit, strategy, and survival.

Steph and Matt breaks down how choppy water, fierce winds, and brutal heat could shake up the Ironman World Championship, and who might come out on top.

From Lucy Charles-Barclay’s position as the woman to beat to the contenders chasing the men’s title, this is your informal preview of a race where quite literally anything can happen!

If you're a triathlon fan, you've probably come across Kellie on Instagram. She has created her brand making inspirational and SUPER engaging content on her journey through triathlon and today we dig a little more into who she is and how on earth she found herself in the world of swim, bike and run.

Kellie went from a non-sporty drama kid to Kona first-timer in just a few years, and the path here is messier, funnier, and more inspiring than you’d expect. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re "too late" to start triathlon, this one will change your mind. From running as a lockdown coping mechanism to entering Ironman with zero clue what a DNF was, Kellie tells the story of learning the sport the hard way - then turning that late start into momentum, confidence, and qualifying for Kona.

Then the conversation goes deeper into something bigger than racing. Kelly shares how she and her friend Pippa built For The Girls, a women’s triathlon community designed to remove the barriers that stop women from showing up, signing up, and staying in the sport. They talk about group rides, beginner training plans, race recce rides, bike maintenance sessions, and why support matters just as much as the event itself. If you’re heading to Kona, chasing an Ironman slot, or trying to find your place in triathlon, there’s a lot here to take with you.

The second episode of your Daily Kona Digest for World Champs race week! A roll call of the 57 men on the start list, where they qualified, their strengths and where else we've seen them race this year.

We're counting down the days, are you?!

IT'S KONA WEEK, and we are here with full hype, pom poms and maximum amounts of FOMO. This episode is a roll call of the women's start list: who's racing, where they qualified, where else we've seen them and what they're strengths are!

Daily Kona digest episode 1. Buckle up, it's going to be a big week.

Back-of-the-pack can still mean world-class determination. Aaron Fleming has raced Ironman 23 times, earned a spot at Kona through Ironman’s Legacy Programme, and turned a teenage lung surgery into a decades-long mission of resilience, purpose, and persistence. Steph sits down with the Queenstown age-group athlete to unpack how a one-and-done race in 2006 became a life defined by start lines, finish lines, and the stubborn belief that dreams are worth chasing.

Aaron shares how major lung surgery at 16, years of recovery, and a brutal diagnosis that he’d never physically exert himself again became the fuel for everything that followed. From his first run of four lampposts to completing the Ironman distance across all six continents.

Along the way, he reflects on the people who shaped his journey, including longtime announcer Mike Riley, who helped make his path through the sport even more meaningful. And with Kona finally here, this episode carries extra weight: Aaron’s mother, who stood by his hospital bedside and has watched so many of his finish lines, will be there in person alongside his sister. If you love stories of resilience, endurance, and what it really means to keep going when the odds say you shouldn’t, this one belongs on your list.

Kona can make or break your race if you arrive tired, overcooked, or underprepared. Matt Hnatiw and Steph Clutterbuck break down the practical lessons they’ve learned from racing the World Championships three times so you can get there calmer, smarter, and ready to actually perform. With two weeks to go, they share the stuff that matters now: how to protect the final days before travel, what to do on the long-haul flight, how to avoid arriving in a recovery hole, and why trying to squeeze in more heat adaptation at the last minute can backfire. They also dig into the logistics that catch first-timers out - from eSIMs and hire cars to food, sleep, and why your arrival night in Kona can feel strangely disorienting.

Matt and Steph also talk honestly about what went wrong in past years, how they approached heat preparation differently across seasons, and why finishing Kona with the race you planned is often better than chasing a heroic result you’ve never tested. Perfect for age-groupers heading to Kona, first-timers trying not to make costly mistakes, and anyone riding the Kona hype train who wants the real-world version of how to arrive sharp and race well.

Kona is calling, but Carly Schrom is chasing something bigger than a finish line. After battling Crohn's disease, brutal infections, liver tumors, and major surgery that removed 60% of her liver, she turned the hardest chapter of her life into a reason to race Ironman.

Carly joins Buck the Trend to share the remarkable path that took her from college illness and endless medical uncertainty to qualifying for Kona in first Ironman. This is a story about grit, patience, and learning how to trust your body again when it keeps changing the rules.

You'll hear how a childhood around racing shaped her, why triathlon became the ultimate choice in suffering, and how she built a fueling strategy around an unpredictable gut. She breaks down what works on the bike, why running still brings nausea, and how managing Crohn's treatment every eight weeks affects every training block.

If you're navigating health issues, rebuilding confidence after injury or illness, or just want to hear what resilience actually sounds like in real life, this one lands hard. And if Kona is on your radar, Carly's perspective will make the Big Island feel even more electric.