🌟 Exciting news from the Run Culture Podcast! 🎙️ Today, I had an incredible conversation with Charlie Kyberd, an athlete I've had the pleasure of coaching as part of the Run Culture Owls over the past two years. It's been a journey of mutual growth, where Charlie has taught me just as much about sports psychology as I've shared with him.

Prepare to be amazed as you listen to Charlie's insightful and eclectic mind at work! While his wit and intellect are among his greatest strengths, they have also posed challenges on race day. After a couple of years of stagnation in the 1500m and 800m events, Charlie has just come off an amazing track season, achieving 8 personal bests!

In our chat, we dive into what sparked this breakthrough: his decision to take a gap year to focus on his dream of running the times needed for US college, his transformative training trip to Kenya, the power of belonging to a supportive team, and his relentless curiosity. We discuss his self-awareness, the ability to take constructive critique, and the invaluable insights he gained from sport psychology mentor; Richie Bennett, that helped him conquer race day nerves.

Good luck, Charlie Kyberd! Your journey is a testament to the power of perseverance and growth. You’ll always be an Owl, and I can't wait to see what amazing experiences await you at Wingate University! 🦉

Welcome back to the 11th and final “Boom or Bust” Podcast, where we document the incredible journey of four runners to the 2025 Ballarat Marathon! I’ve been eagerly looking forward to this episode, and it’s going to be a blast!

We have so much to celebrate today: a Ballarat Marathon champion among us, the pacemaker of said champion, someone who just snagged a shiny new nine-minute marathon PB, and a surprised 39-year-old dad who thought his best running days were behind him. It’s safe to say we all went "BOOM" this past weekend!

A massive shoutout to the organizers for such a flawlessly executed event! The atmosphere was electric, with so many happy and motivated runners taking on that fast course!

Thank you to Kate, Aaron, Ned, and their families for dedicating so much time to this journey. I’ll forever cherish the experiences and memories made during the 2025 Ballarat Marathon. You all deserve your Monday nights back now!

A big thanks to all the listeners who reached out during the series to let us know they were enjoying the ride or got a kick out of it. Your support truly made it worth the time and effort it takes to produce a podcast!

And a heartfelt thank you to Jess Gasparroni, Riley, and Tate for all your support and encouragement over the past few months. Hitting this goal feels incredible! Now, let’s take a moment to relax and soak it all in.

#BallaratMarathon

Welcome back to Episode 10 of the Boom or Bust podcast! With just six days to go until the 2025 Ballarat Marathon, this is our final episode before the big dance!

Today, Kate, Throbber, Noodles, and Dane discuss how their taper weeks are going. The four of them go over race day goals, plans and predictions!

Plus, don’t miss the fantastic listener question about how they mentally prepare to get the best out of themselves on race day. Tune in for all the insights!

#BoomOrBust #BallaratMarathon2025 #racedayready

Today marks Episode 9 of the ‘Boom or Bust’ podcast, and with just 12 days to go until race day, our four runners are in the 'tapering phase!' Join us as they chat about their training weeks—sharing both the ups and downs. The conversation takes some fun turns, covering everything from 'cask wine to lipstick!' Plus, we have a surprise guest: Riley, Dane’s 3-year-old daughter, who joins us for a special cameo at the end of the episode. Don’t miss next week's episode, where we’ll dive into everyone's Ballarat marathon goals, predicted times, race strategies, and even tackle a listener question about preparing mentally for race day.

Thanks to all those that are listening and for the streams of positive feedback we have been getting for doing this podcast series, very much appreciated!

Not long now @ballaratmarathon !

*Boom or Bust Episode 8 Update*

In today’s episode, we faced a tough moment as Aaron "Throbber" Sim has had a hard time shaking off his sickness and has opted to rest and recuperate, aiming for a strong comeback at the Gold Coast marathon. The bright side? Kate has scored a solid pacemaker to support her on her journey!

Before diving into their training updates, the athletes took a moment to answer a listener question about their strengths and weaknesses as marathon runners. Their insights were both enlightening and inspiring!

Ned, Kate, and Dane all reported stellar training weeks, building excitement as they gear up for the Ballarat marathon—only 19 days to go! The energy is high, and they’re ready to give it their all!

Stay tuned for more updates as we follow their journey! #BoomOrBust #MarathonTraining #Ballarat2025

Last night, we recorded Ep. 7 of the “Boom or Bust- Ballarat” Run Culture miniseries, where four athletes share their journeys as they prepare for the 2025 Ballarat marathon.

With just 4 weeks to go and with our athletes very much in the thick of it, it was a ‘mixed bag’ of a week!

🏃‍♀️ Kate is absolutely crushing it, hitting her stride and feeling ‘marathon-ready’. We’re all cheering her on to ‘wrap herself in cotton wool’ now and make it to that start line!

Ned had a bit of a rollercoaster week with a sore heel at the beginning and needing to pull out of a session mid week because of fatigue. However, he finished the week strong with a confidence-building marathon workout on Sunday! 💪

Dane faced some struggles managing his asthma but ended the week on a high with a couple of great workouts. 🌟

Meanwhile, Aaron is still battling illness and is taking some well-earned rest under coach's orders. We’re all hoping he can bounce back and make the most of the months of training he’s put in for this event🤞

I hope you’re enjoying the show as much as we are! Remember, it’s all about the journey and enjoying your running path. Thanks for following along and for all the lovely feedback we have been getting (particularly from Kate’s niece; Mila!)

Episode 6 of the "Boom or Bust" Podcast is here! Join us as we follow the journeys of our four runners training for the 2025 Ballarat Marathon. With just 5 weeks to go, the training grind is real, and as always, our runners share their ups and downs filled with a bit of a laugh. A huge shoutout to Throbber and his former bandmates from ‘Red Ink’ for letting us use their amazing song ‘Empty Road’ as our opening jingle! This week, we had a surprise guest—Otis, Aaron’s son, who jumped in to perfectly highlight the juggling act of life!

If you’re a running fan or training for a marathon, be sure to tune in.@ballaratmarathon

Welcome to Episode 5 of ‘Boom or Bust’! A podcast documenting the build ups of 4 athletes aiming to run the 2025 Ballarat Marathon! There was a bit happening this week!Aaron and Dane kick things off by sharing their experiences from the Inverloch Half Marathon.

Despite falling ill right after last week’s episode, Aaron took a pragmatic approach, focusing on recovery and lighter training to bounce back. Meanwhile, Kate had quite the adventure at school camp in Dartmoor, facing challenges like 4hrs of sleep most nights, lightning and bushfires! After a lighter week running wise she finished the week with a confidence-boosting marathon-specific session!Ned enjoyed a planned down week as he nervously awaited a 35km progressive run over the weekend around his favorite loop.Even though I’m the host of this podcast I personally enjoy sitting back and listening to everyone’s weeks. It’s great to see everyone adapting and pushing through their unique challenges!And a little teaser for next week— we might just have an Intro for the podcast, possibly featuring a 'B-side' from Aaron’s rockstar past! So stay tuned for that!

Welcome back to Episode 4 of the Run Culture podcast mini-series, “Boom or Bust!” Join us as we track the journey of four athletes gearing up for the 2025 Ballarat Marathon, just under seven weeks away! This week, we have Kate Mason sharing her experience from a tin shed during a storm at school camp in Dartmoor—talk about dedication! While she faces a down week due to camp and a frustrating workout on Friday, her spirit remains unbroken.Ned Verwey updates us on his dietitian appointment and his impressive long run on Sunday, truly living up to our podcast's title! Meanwhile, Aaron ‘Throbber’ Sim continues to crush it with a solid 3 by 5k workout at goal marathon pace, preparing for a head-to-head showdown with Dane at the Inverloch half marathon next weekend.Dane Verwey wraps up the episode with details of his consistent week, including a double threshold session and a marathon workout with Pete on the bike. While he’s pleased with his endurance, he’s working on finding that extra speed.We hope you're enjoying the show! We’d love to hear your thoughts or any listener questions for next week's episode! #RunCulture #BoomOrBust #BallaratMarathon2025

Kate, Ned, Aaron, and Dane not only recorded episode 3 of the "Boom or Bust" podcast—locking in its new name and thanking listeners for their suggestions and questions—but also powered through another eventful week of training for the 2025 Ballarat Marathon.

Ned notched up a couple of big sessions (including one in heavies as he forgot his trainers and one with the Geelong River Run) whilst suspiciously getting lost around the chocolate factory on a run, go figure?!

Kate hit another impressive 100-mile week, enjoyed the Kooks concert, rocked an outrageous shoe and sock combo on Friday, whilst the boys marvelled at her incredible ability in a 5am easy run to hit low 4 min/km out of the gate.

Aaron enjoyed his new Vomeros, checked off both a quality track workout and a marathon-specific session, whilst locking in the nickname "Throbber" on his Ballarat Bib.

While Dane recovered from minor niggles and maintained a solid training week, reinforcing his focus on recovery.

If there are any listener questions, please reach out to the Run Culture Instagram or any of us on socials. @ballaratmarathon