Michael Milton knows all about fear, self-doubt, bravery and courage. After losing his leg to bone cancer at the age of 8, he has gone onto become one of Australia’s most talented, decorated and all-around athletes.
He is a 5x Paralympic Gold Medalist who has competed in 6 Paralympic Games, both in Winter for skiing and in Summer for cycling. Michael is a World Record holder in both speed skiing and for the fastest marathon on crutches who has also summited Kilimanjaro and walked the Kokoda track twice.
In this conversation, we discuss what it’s like to ski at in excess of 200km/hr (132mph), his experience with fear, self-doubt and the Imposter Complex, why he’s entered many races over the years knowing he’ll finish last, why you should keep pushing forward when your instinct is telling you to back off and his experience competing in the Ultra Trail Australia 50km race earlier this year.
Julie-Anne Hazlett and Sarah Anne Evans are two members of the Veloroos, an Australian non-professional cycling team. The team broke the course record for the 5,000km Race Across America in 2015 and later this year tackle the equally challenging 2,200km Race Around Ireland.
In this conversation, we discuss fear and self-doubt, the logistics of riding across America or around Ireland, how everyday women, like you and I, who work full time and have families, find the train to train for such epic events as well as the importance of having a support network around you.
Katee Pedicini is a coach with a degree in Exercise Science who specialises in managing fatigue, stress and hormones to achieve optimum performance. She runs Holistic Endurance based in Melbourne, Australia.
In this conversation we discuss what stress is, the impact it has on your body, why many women train a lot, eat well and struggle to lose weight (or worse, put it on) and the small changes you can make to your lifestyle to improve your overall health.
Ness Hartge is just like you and I. An age group athlete, a busy mum, small business owner and runner. She’s also someone who struggled to call herself an “ultra runner” despite having completed 3 x ultra distance events — and hoped she’d finally feel comfortable doing so once she finished her first 100km race at the Ultra Trail Australia 100km in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney in May 2017.
Ness has openly shared on social media her struggle with the Imposter Complex. In this conversation we discuss the way the Imposter Complex has shown up in her life, the times it has caused her to doubt herself (including when applying for jobs) and the steps she took that enabled her to line up at the start of the Ultra Trail Australia 100km and know that, as an experienced ultra-runner, she deserved to be there.
Dr Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson are a dynamic duo.
Simon is a sports psychologist with a distinguished career. He’s been a Professor, has published over 100 scientific publications on the psychology of exercise, been cited over 10,000 times and has real world practical experience as the Performance Psychologist for the BMC Racing team, a pro cycling team that competes in the Tour de France.
Lesley is a professional mountain biker, 3x World Champion in off-road triathlon, Ironman Triathlon Champion, coach and (according to her bio) foul-mouthed Scots lassie.
They are also married, the force behind Braveheart Coaching and the co-authors of a new book called The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion.
In this interview, we discuss how the brain works the way it does, some of the 13 most common mental conundrums (or stories) athletes face in their everyday training and life and how you can train your brain to overcome them with science-based, athlete-tested strategies.