Patrick Monti Running a 2 Hour 31 Minute Marathon

Introduction

In this episode of The Normal Podcast, host Hayden Kelly welcomes marathon runner Patrick Monti to discuss his impressive journey in long-distance running. Patrick, who discovered his passion for the sport through a charity spot in the 2018 New York Marathon, shares his experiences and insights from completing seven marathons, including a personal best of 2:31 in London. The conversation delves into Patrick’s rigorous training routines, nutritional strategies, mental preparation, and future goals, providing listeners with a comprehensive look at what it takes to excel in marathon running.

Discovery of Marathon Running

Patrick Monti’s journey into marathon running began unexpectedly in 2018 when he was offered a spot in the New York Marathon through a charity. This opportunity sparked his interest and passion for the sport. Despite not enjoying running as a child, the challenge and purpose of running for a cause motivated him to train and complete his first marathon, paving the way for his future achievements.

Training Regimen

Patrick emphasizes a rigorous training routine that includes running between 100-150km per week. His schedule features key workouts on Thursdays and Sundays, with additional volume from running doubles 2-3 times a week. He also highlights the importance of tapering, reducing training intensity in the two weeks leading up to a marathon to ensure peak performance on race day.

Nutritional Strategies

Nutrition is a critical aspect of Patrick’s marathon preparation. Through trial and error, he found that increasing his regular food intake was more effective than traditional carb-loading. During long runs, Patrick uses energy gels every 6-8km to maintain his energy levels. Post-run, he focuses on replenishing electrolytes to aid recovery and maintain overall health.

Mental Preparation

Patrick’s mental preparation involves trusting his training and breaking the marathon into manageable 5km segments. This strategy helps him stay focused and mentally resilient throughout the race. He also stresses the importance of accepting the natural ups and downs during a marathon and riding these waves to maintain a steady pace and positive mindset.

Future Goals

Looking ahead, Patrick aims to break the 2:30 barrier in his marathon times. However, he also balances his running ambitions with enjoying family life. This balance is crucial to maintaining his motivation and overall well-being, ensuring he continues to find joy in both his personal and athletic endeavors.

Conclusion

Patrick Monti’s journey from a novice to a seasoned marathon runner is a testament to dedication, strategic training, and mental fortitude. His insights into training, nutrition, and mental preparation provide valuable lessons for aspiring runners. As Patrick continues to strive for new personal bests, his story serves as an inspiration to balance passion with other life commitments, demonstrating that with the right mindset and preparation, significant athletic achievements are within reach.

Transcript

Hayden Kelly: Hi Pat!

Patrick Monti: Hey, mate, how are you going? Nice to meet you. That’s alright. Yeah. Take your time. If you need some water or go to the bathroom, whatever it may be, that’s fine. Maybe. Like you. Yeah. Open. Cool. I think they’re good now. As morning. Yeah, good, just got up. Had a few clients. I’ve got, I’ve actually got some podcasts today. So I’ve got one later this afternoon, for a different podcast I do with my mate Aidan. Yep. But yeah, this one I’ve been doing for a couple of years now, started with it, mate, and it’s kind of evolved over time. But, we’re fortunate to get plenty of exciting guests on. I don’t know if you die, Tomaso. Yeah. Jay, jay, is my fiancee’s mom.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah. So she she actually recommended me or recommended you to me for the yes, there’s been a few guests that she’s been like avidly listening in and shared a few other guests to come on. So yeah, it’s good.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, I saw that you had Yeah, dumb. Yeah. detail. So on. There, he’s yeah. I mean, he’s probably got a bit more profile and is a little bit more of a live wire than I am.

Hayden Kelly: Oh, my, but everyone’s everyone. That’s the that’s the beauty of the podcast. Like, if you look at the actual description of, it, it’s about people who are people you may never have heard of. Not necessarily those that have got a high profile or in the spotlight. So but for you know, someone like you’ve run a marathon in and a half hours like not many people can do that just like not many people can jump off buildings like he can, or you know, we’ve got a Headley Thomas coming on. He’s like the head correspondent for the Australian, and so, like.

Patrick Monti: I’ve listened to a bunch of he’s sort of podcast. Like investigative stories and stuff.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah. alright, Matt, I will do. Because I think what we’re talking about now is interesting. We can even start the podcast. That way. But and talking about your your daughter, And so what I wanna do before we get into actually chatting is just I’m gonna get you to look down the barrel of the camera. And just say, welcome to episode 6 of the normal podcast this is Patrick monty. And I’ll just record. So we got that.

Patrick Monti: Welcome to episode 6 of the normal Podcast. This is Patrick Monty.

Hayden Kelly: It’s a pleasure to have you on, Patrick. Thanks for giving up your time today, and congratulations, for the birth of your st child must be exciting. Time.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah, thank you, mate. Thanks for having me on. It’s yeah, it’s been exciting. And and a whirlwind and sleepless. And yeah, there’s probably a myriad of adjectives you can use for for how we’re feeling at the moment. But, yeah, it’s been a pretty incredible few weeks. We’re just adjusting to what the new. The new normal is for us at home and and trying to fit everything in around that.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, yet to experience it myself. But labor of love, I’m sure a lot of sleepless nights. But you wouldn’t give that away for the world, I imagine.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, exactly. You you you really wouldn’t change. It’s amazing how you prepare perspective sort of shifts. And you know, if you had a told us a month ago that that 6 h in h broken blocks of sleep was a good night. I would have been telling you to kidding yourself. So it is amazing how how quickly you adapt and and you adjust when there really is. No, you know no choice. You’ve you’ve you’ve got to raise the raise the thing and and do it right. So it’s amazing how how instinctual it becomes.

Hayden Kelly: And say, how’s it? Kind of changed your Marathon running? We’ll get into some of the events you’ve done, and some of the amazing times which you’ve been able to do recently, in the last year or so over in London and the Melbourne Marathons but lately have you kind of type it off training? Or is, are you trying to adjust to new kind of training regime around? Now, having this full time job on your hands.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, it’s been interesting. I mean, traditionally, I’m I’m pretty. my partner, Phoebie would would say, inflexible. When it comes to training. So it’s been an interesting adjustment period for me. because in, I think inherently, Marathon running is a is it pretty selfish endeavor? Just due to the the time it takes and what it takes out of you. So it’s been really interesting for me, and a bit of a growth period in terms of just try lips. go of a little bit of control and let go of a little bit of my need to stick to the program, and my need to just sort of do it all. so it’s been my last. Marathon was in Vienna in April, and that was I was very much looking at that as sort of a beak. not a loss to rob, but sort of really wanted to go in on that and and try, and not had a good time to to release a bit of pressure on myself, so I didn’t feel like I was you know, still, looking for the next rights, or the next time, or whatever it is. So it’s been. It has been an adjustment. But but I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how I’ve been able to fit it in. I think we’ve been really lucky with how all of us been sleeping and and all that sort of stuff. So it’s it’s given me. You know, a bit of time here and there, just to get get my running in and keep a pretty regular schedule, which I think we’re pretty both feeding myself a pretty routine orientated people. So it definitely helps us when we have a routine which everyone is quick to remind us that it could be thrown out at any minute with a newborn. So we’re still sort of waiting for that to happen.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, I think it’s probably a commonality among a lot of athletes at that top echelon trying to relink. We should be to control. Once you had a child. But it must be. It’s must be a big learning curve to, I guess, working out how you’re gonna periodize your training now, and or especially around what you’re doing with up there athletics which would be interesting to talk about. So your co-owner co-owner for up there athletics, can you tell us a little bit bit more about what you’re doing with up their athletics, and I understand there’s some really exciting initiatives on the horizon. There.

Patrick Monti: Yeah. So we other athletics is. It’d be about , I think, off the top of my head. It’d be years this year that stores been open. The physical store. So we’re yeah. Especially run store in in Melbourne. and we the way the store sort of came about is is we? We operate another store. Called up their store, which is just a men, a men’s wear and and sneaker store without the running component. And then we sort of identified a bit of a gray area in the market of of people that that are getting into running and you know, enjoy the the technology of the shoes and and the power and all that sort of stuff. And there’s this real crossover of people that like to exercise and like to run, but also like to to look good and feel good when they’re doing it. And there was a myriad of sort of brands popping up that were there was sort of establishments to themselves in that fashion. Running space. You know, some some premium brands, some sort of higher, higher price items. And so that was the sort of opportunity that we had ident had identified. And I mean. Melbourne itself has got a pretty unique running culture. Itself. I think once you’ve been here and you’ve been to sort of some of the other major cities in the world that do have running cultures. It it does live up to some of the international ones. So so yeah, so we’re yeah. We’re specially run. So we stock all the all the big brands. And then we sort of pride ourselves on introducing new brands into the into the Australia Australian market. And I’d say we, we probably specialize over the last months in in specialty apparel from overseas, from from the Uk, the Us. And and Europe. And it’s sort of we’ve introduced a bunch of brands to Australian market that that haven’t been accessible. They’ve been accessible for people to, for consumers to buy here, but not accessible for people to try on and you know, when you, when you’re paying a substantial amount for something. It’s nice to go and touch and feel it and try it on and see if it’s gonna work, particularly when you’re running you know, you might be running for for an hour, plus in in these garments. You wanna make sure that they fit right? And they do the right thing. You don’t have to deal with sending them back overseas if they’re not right, and and all that sort of stuff. So we’ve been super fortunate to have the trust of of a lot of those brands and to introduce them to our market here. And and we’ve seen yeah, great success in in that area of the business and then make the super shoe. Industry is is just sort of blown up along with the running industry. So that’s that’s another massive component of it.

Hayden Kelly: It’s growing so much since. Covid. There’s been this massive boom you’ve seen all these run clubs popping up. I guess you’ve seen the you know the emergence of all these different technologies, as you mentioned, like carbon plates put in in the running shoes. I guess. Covid, even for for myself. I had a little bit of that caught a little bit of that bug when it went into lockdown with Jim’s closing, and the alternatives were, you know home based resistance training with bands or dumbbells. Home based gym! Whatever you could get your hands on, or just slicing up a pair of shoes going for a run, going for a walk, going to the playground, and I think. during that period that was when I got into a little bit of distance running. And I did a half Marathon, a marathon myself last year, and I was having a bit of a laugh cause. I recently listened to a podcast. You’re on, you’re talking about how the average global time for a marathon is around and a half.

Patrick Monti: Alice.

Hayden Kelly: Is, and I was kind of that like out h, min or so, but I was running at about kilos, and then so I think, listening to your story and hearing about how you conquered in and a half hours. I think once you do anything like of that, nature really puts in perspective how massive enough achievement it is for someone like yourself to run a marathon in and a half hours so roughly. What kind of average speed would you have been running for that London Marathon, that you recently, I think, was about May last year that you did the . What’s your kind of average pace? Just to put things in perspective for the listener.

Patrick Monti: I think off the top of my head. It’s about sort of , ish

Hayden Kelly: Yeah.

Patrick Monti: A kilometer. I’m not. I’m not. Yeah. I’m not % sure on the the kilometer per hour pace which might help some people. They run on treadmills and and whatnot. But yeah, about was the average.

Hayden Kelly: And so, I guess, with your background in design and media and partnering with up, or coming on board with up there athletics as Co. Owner, and initially in the start, you’re working in the retail side of things, and then so coming in and out as Co. Owner is, is this part of your role. I guess the the design and the the graphic, a visual element of the brand. And I guess how beneficial is it that you have that element of expertise with running and understanding, the science of running, the practicality, the practicalities. What works in theory? But also when you’re on the road versus the marketing side of things, and the visual appeal for people who are buying their products. How much of a I guess benefit has that been for you and the brand.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, I think it’s I think it’s massively beneficial. Yes, I take care of all the the design and sort of the credit direction of the brand. Which you know, we’re still still recently small. So it’s it’s nice to to sort of have that control and have the the autonomy to to be able to make make the brand, and then still look and and feel how we want, and and we’re pretty nimble in being able to to top and change that sort of stuff. But I think, having being. there’s sort of no brightest strength, and being involved in in the running community, in the, in the running world to know. You know, what runners are looking for at the end of the day. I think you really have to be plugged into the community and and be hearing what people are are talking about and what people are awareing. And it’s it’s pretty easy to get lost in the in the brand space of it all. And you know the real high level stuff when you’re buying products, you know a year in advance and all that sort of stuff you can. You can easily sort of lose touch with with the people on the ground. The people that are out there running it at Am. Every morning, and and all that sort of stuff, and I think it’s it’s equally as easy to get lost in the elite side of the sport. Which, you know, there’s there’s a huge number of running podcasts popping up these days. And it’s it’s interesting to see where they sort of will land and and what landscape they they look to cover, and and I mean a lot of them cover do end up, leaning more into the elite side of the sports. But you know, same great success recently, with with a few that really have gone deep on the the recreational side of the sport, and and really lean into that side of things.

Hayden Kelly: What shoes do you wear? There’s Salconi, Adidas Nike. You balance originally, you know. You say, handful of years back. Not like you would be that main brand that would pop up in terms of running shoes. It’s quite a competitive market now, what what shoes do you wear? And I guess. The other question I have is, how do you decide on what stock to actually bring in and sell and advise other individuals on? Because I imagine there’s a lot of people that come into your stores, and they’re all looking for something different out of their running.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah, it’s I mean, I’m in a pretty fortunate position where I do get to to try pretty much everything I do have some some sort of favorites. I’ve I’ve run my last few marathons in the Asic Meta Speed Sky Series, which is their their sort of carbon plated racing shoe. And then I try. And yeah, sort of rotate the the everyday mileage shoes through a bunch of different ones. in the like. You have just released their their Pegasus , which has been a great update. I’ve always been a fan of the Nike, for Miro usually always get a got a pair of on cloud monsters in my rotation. So yeah, in in a very fortunate position that that I sort of can rotate through. You know it could be different shoes in a week if I wanted to. So I’m definitely aware that’s not everyone’s situation. But it is yeah, from from the buying lens. It’s I mean, a lot of it’s sort of database. And looking back on historical data and what’s sold in the previous season. And then also, what’s what’s the brand’s strategic overview for that model? Or you know their running category, and how they’re going to? You know, what shoes have they got in their pipeline. What’s the what is the whole sort of industry doing? We’re we’re sort of probably months ago or 8 months ago it was, you know Max Cushion was was the the big thing. It was which just means the amount of phone sort of in the mid soul. And it was every shoe was was chunky and soft and and big and and now we’ve sort of seen that come off a little bit. And a lot of brands are bringing. We’re like re-releasing older models that are sort of a little bit more minimal. Which is just a that always happens. I mean, it happens in in most industries, but you definitely see it, and running it, it comes in ebbs and flows. And and you know, people get back into the minimal. lowest profile type shoes. And then, you know, the highest app ones will come back around. And it’s sort of it is a little bit dictated by technology, you know, as there was more developments in phones and and others. And you know, you could put more phone in a shoe, but not Sarah. Not necessarily gain that much more weight in the shoe. So it’s all sort of data driven. And then we rely a lot on the staff in store. To sort of dictate back to us sort of what they’re hearing, what they’re seeing and what people are buying. We we definitely pride ourselves on on our customer service in store and and sort of we don’t. You know. There’s other stores that have treadmills and and bringing in trial shoes and different stuff like that, and we sort of made a point of not not wanting to do that at the end of the day. We’re not, you know, trying medical professionals. We’re not dietrists and all that sort of stuff. So we definitely look at, you know, the sort of training someone’s doing what shoes that run in the past, what’s worked what hasn’t and very much going off off the feel of the customer? While still we’re trying to steer them in the right direction.

Hayden Kelly: So in terms of the running shoes like you could have your top end racing shoes, your fast training, shoes, stability shoes, and then other like niche products? Is there specific shoes that are more suited to specific terrains or types of runs? That you? Maybe you vary week to week? Is there, or is it something that you kind of pick and stick with something that works for you?

Patrick Monti: Yeah, definitely, there’s sort of that that Max Cushing category that I was talking about. There’s there’s a lot in that, for, you know. Say recovery days, you know your day after a workout or a session where you your legs might be a little bit beaten up, and you just want something a bit, a bit softer and a bit friendly around your feet, or or something that’s gonna give you a little bit more energy return.

Patrick Monti: So there’s definitely yeah, different shoes that you’re aware for for different days, depending on sort of how you’re structuring your training. And then at the moment. Category, that’s sort of blowing up is is the super trainer category, which is which is essentially a those Max cushion shoes, but with a brands top end racing phone or usually combined with with 2 of their phones and usually with a carbon plate. So they sort of like these bright big behemoth of shoes. But they’ve got a carbon plate, and they’re they’re sort of it’s a really interesting category. So it’s almost like a training version of a of a rising shoe. So that’s pretty prolific at the moment. Which is a really good training tool. For people to use that are looking to run their their 1st marathon, or or even their you know, 50, th I think it’s they’re really good training tools, because they just allow the body to recover quicker. perform better, you know, throughout that sort of arduous training process.

Hayden Kelly: You seem really like. You’re really passionate about what you do with your running, and it’s great that you’ve been able to align those passions throughout their athletics and your own running, and in the early days you weren’t really that passionate about running. You played some team sports at school, but running was never something that was on the cards. You you hated going to the athletics carnivals when you’re younger. And so what was it? That kind of clicked, which I guess, flick the switch, and and you turned your, I guess. a lot of your pursuits towards long distance running.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, I think you’re right there. I think the the school athletes carnival was was definitely a dreaded day for me. It was definitely try and try and take those ones off. Yeah, definitely, swimming carnivals was good. We were pretty good swimmers, me and my sisters so happily take those ones. Yeah, it’s it was interesting it was. Yeah, it was never. It was never on my radar. And and my my dad actually ran a couple of marathons when he was sort of my age or a bit younger, so I know. Maybe there’s maybe there’s something there the bots it all sort of started. I was. I was lucky enough to in 2,018. A family friend of ours was living in New York. And he’s mom, who was a really good family friend of ours. Passed away after a long battle with blood cancer, multiple myloma. so. And he’s done an enormous amount of work in raising money for charity, for the foundation that that they’re involved with, and he, through that foundation, got offered a couple of spots to to run. New York, New York, Marathon. That I’ve been up a certain number of spots for charity runners. and it’s it’s a really good way. I mean anyone out there is that’s trying to get into to one of the major marathons in the world. A charity sponsor is a really good way to do it without having to enter the ballot with 800,000 other people. It’s just a is a prerequisite of of the minimum amount of money you need to raise and once you raise that, your spots locked in so I was lucky enough to do that, and I mean when he, when he asked me about it. It was sort of one of those once in a lifetime. Situations. At that time I never really thought about running a marathon, but I thought. you know, tick that one off the bucket list and sort of.

Hayden Kelly: They really raised the bar right? It’s like going to New York. You can’t really say no like.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. It’s like, it’s it’s 1 of those things where where people, you know, someone might enter the ballot 10 years in a row and and not get a spot so couldn’t really turn that one down. And then so sort of started training for that, I mean, I mean the training. Looking back on it now wasn’t anything flash, And it got there and and got done, and that was sort of the I guess the catalyst that that sparked it. I got back from that and to the best of my recollection, just sort of kept training, and and kept running and signed up to the Marathon the next year. And yeah, the board just sort of kept rolling.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, I understand. You just dot downloaded a the Nike run app, and you kind of just followed along with the prompts like what it was telling you to do each week, which is similar. What I did. I I think the the Sydney half Marathon. They had like a training program that they released. And it was like a 20 week structured program had, like different intervals throughout at rest periods, and then, like a graded progression in terms of distance. And also minimal rice nutrition. So I think you you kind of had to learn the hard way, didn’t you? And I guess whenever you learn through what goes wrong at 10 you you tend to. Don’t forget that for the rest of your your running career, or whatever endeavor you’re in. So tell us about some of those big mistakes you made, and how they helped you to where to get to, where you are now.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, definitely, I think the New York was New York was incredible, and I think I probably owe a lot to the just the naivety of it. I don’t think I knew what I was getting myself into, or or anything like that which I think was was fantastic. I mean, if you could get that naive be back again. It’s it was something special. So new York was a was an amazing experience, and and I went into that very blind, not knowing the course, not knowing yeah. Anything about race nutrition or anything like that. And then. sort of once I signed up to Melbourne the next year. That’s when the wheels really fell off, because I was, you know, sort of finished New York in 3 h 30. And then I was like signed up for Melbourne the next year, and was like, I’ll I’ll take, you know, take some chunk of time off that easy and definitely got got ahead of myself at Melbourne, and and went into that with from memory. No race nutrition, I don’t think and just had a horrible time a royal blow up around the tan in Melbourne which anyone that’s runball Marathon knows. It’s a pretty painless part of the course, they really throw a curve ball late. It’s about 30, 35 k deep. And you go up around a few hills and and yeah, it was like a war zone. So I definitely made some mistakes there, and I think the nutrition thing is nutrition, and and eating is really interesting for people that that are getting into running and and distance running, because it’s. I think. a lot of people, probably the majority of people underestimate just how much you need to eat to fuel for the amount of the amount you’re actually burning day to day. It’s incredible! My lucky enough for my coach. has been to the Olympics for Marathon running, and she she sort of shared with me what protocol she got put on for for what she should be eating in the lead up and just the sheer amount of food is is just incredible. And that’s just to to sort of fuel you that’s that’s not to go in excess. So I think that’s that’s probably the biggest mistake that a lot of people make. And then I mean, that’s around the training, and then the fueling during training is is sort of just a whole nother thing in itself. Once you start getting serious about it, and gels and and all that sort of stuff.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, in terms of what the literature says. Around 10 to 12 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight. Now, when I was car bloating for the Newcastle Marathon. Last year I was I tried that 10 to 12 grams of carbs, little body weight. Now this is a very different circumstance to me, say carving up for a body building competition, but for 107 kilos I was doing 10 or 12 grams of carbs, which was a shit ton of rice and past and crumpets, and nearly felt sick after it. And so yeah, I think maybe fat adaptation for running next time. If I do like a longer event, or or a like a ultra Marathon might be the the smarter option to sustain long period time. But what what protocol did you use, or would do you use for carving up before your marathons? And I guess, intra nutrition as well. So like. Do you use gel sports drinks. What’s your kind of approach with with nutrition?

Patrick Monti: I’ve had a bit of a that’s probably been the biggest thing in my running in my Marathon journey that I’ve had to sort of experiment with and work out what what works for me. There’s been a few times where it hasn’t hasn’t really worked out initially. Yeah, I started doing pretty much the same, the same protocol, the 10 to 12 grams. of carbs per kilo, body weight and you know you sort of use anything you can find to make up those calories. And and usually I mean, we eat a pretty good diet as it is, so what would end up happening is is, I’d get to, you know. Get to tape a time or get to the carload, and I’d be filling up on. you know all sorts of stuff that I wouldn’t usually be eating, whether that be, you know, snakes or spores, drinks, or what have you? And it’s it’s I mean, once you break it down. It sort of makes sense as to why it didn’t work, because your body is not used to those foods, and all of a sudden you’re you’re cramming it down you know, in in big volumes. So I sort of learned the hard way during a couple marathons that I’d start getting a stitch quite. There was one actually. Dnf. A Gold Coast Marathon in 20 would have been 2,022. I think I got a stitch through the bad stitch quite early, about 3 k. In, so I made it to 30 K. Which was just pretty much making it back to back to where the bags were located, and then pull the PIN. So it’s been. There’s been a few marathons where I’ve had to sort of experiment as to what works best in terms of the cardload and stuff, and what I’ve landed on is is that the the carbo doesn’t really work for me? And this isn’t isn’t to say that that this would work for everyone else. It’s it’s very much a what works for you situation. There’s no sort of 1 1 truth at all. so I mean, what works for me is just upping the volume that I’m meeting ensuring that I’m you know, snacking bigger meals just eating more of what I usually eat. I’ve sort of found that that works better for me. And then fueling appropriately with gel’s throughout the race. I think going into a race feeling a bit lighter, feeling a bit a bit better on the start line works better for me rather than going in. having spent the last 48 h filling up on cards and just feeling a bit stodgy and a bit heavy. So that’s been a a bit of a process to work that out. And it’s I mean, it’s not a fun process, because you spend all this time training for Marathon. You don’t want to get to start line, and the food’s the one thing that undoes you.

Hayden Kelly: Is it? Is it similar to strength and physique sports? I see a lot of competitors, and you see this professionals as well, and they eat a certain way. they fuel their body and train in a certain way all the way up, to say, a couple weeks out from the competition, and then all of a sudden, they drastically change certain things so they might manipulate water. Sodium. carbohydrate intake. You know their training maybe taper off their resistance, training, or cardio. So is it similar? Do you find a similar thing with endurance? Aerobic sport like Marathon running where you see a lot of these athletes, performing really well in training great times. The nutrition’s on point, and then say a week or 2 out, they do excessive car bloes, or they play around with different supplements, and this kind of throws off their right. So they get those gastro intestinal issues come race day.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think you hit the nail on the head. And that’s that’s pretty much exactly what what happened to me was, yeah, you’re you’re performing great during during training you. You know you’re you’re knocking out all these big sessions, eating what you’re eating and and fueling the way you’re fueling, and then you almost get trapped into this into the the fan gear of the cardload and and the hype of the carload and And I think for particularly for amateur runners, it’s it’s sort of not that feasible like. It’s very different for for elite runners when they’ve got nutritionists, you know all that sort of stuff, and and at the end of the day they do it for a living. So it is. I think that’s that’s pretty much yeah, what happened to me. And and it’s just working out what what best works for you and your body, because at the end of the day. Everyone’s everyone’s different. And everyone’s body performs on on different levels of fuel and and different fuel. So it’s just putting in the time to work out. You know what works best for you, and sort of not taking too much. take notice of what what other people are doing and advice people are giving you, but but definitely not taking it as gospel.

Hayden Kelly: So I guess some practical strategies for the listeners. I understand you’re coached by Ellie Pashley. In the in the context of nutrition. If you had to break things down into a few key points. Perhaps there’s some specific foods or supplements that might work best. What what would you recommend for any of the listeners that are going into Marathon running, or some more of those endurance events.

Patrick Monti: I’d say. Sort of during training like jells. You know, I use Morton and precision fuel and hydration. Sort of chop and change between those 2. And that would be, you know, during a long run. sort of every every 6 to 8 k. I’ll have a gel, so I mean it. It can. It can get expensive for people, if you, if you, you know, throwing down 3 or 4 gels every Sunday. They’re not the cheapest things, but there’s that. And then, I mean, there’s also a lot of alternatives out there. A lot of people don’t actually don’t enjoy the you know the the texture of the gel, or a flavor of the gel. There’s a lot of brands that offer like blocks like Carb shoes, and and different things like that. Or there’s there’s carp mix if you’re lucky enough to have someone you know on a bike with you, or you’re doing a a loop circuit. Card drink circuit way to to get the cards in without actually having to to sort of eat something. so sort of a few different options there, and usually a combination of a few work pretty well, and I mean, even you don’t necessarily have to go down the path of You know, official sports nutrition, particularly as an amateur, you know, like a a few a few snakes in a zip block bag can can sort of have the same effect as as a gel cause. It’s just that it’s that car pits that should be here. so there’s there’s definitely a bunch of different ways. You can. You can go about it. And again, it’s just working out what works best for you. If you love having a you know, a stipe on a run, then then why not do that? And then I guess you know pre and post. I usually, you know, electrolyte a massive after pretty much up everyone, just to get your. you know. Get your sweat levels under control and get your hydration back on track. I think particularly damages that you’re, you know. Say, you’re training for an hour, 90 min to 2 h in a morning before going, for. you know, 8 to 10 h workday. I think it’s super important just to get back to get back to your baseline post training before starting your workday. So I usually use a you know, some form of protein shake after a workout workout day or long. Run day just to sort of, and that’ll be pretty much straight after Have that. Then it sort of takes pressure off having to slam breakfast down as quick as you can so usually that some electrolytes and then breakfast, just to get yourself on back on on level pegging and and actually be functional during the day. You know. Not be. you know, going out and running 20 K’s and then just having what you would normally have the bricky you know, you’re gonna be in deficit already. And that’s just gonna increase throughout the day. And it’s it’s gonna be pretty hard to remain productive and you know, and be your normal self when you’re already, you know, a couple of steps behind.

Hayden Kelly: Do you think that maybe sometimes we over fixate on different considerations around, say nutrition. For instance, I spoke to Dean Gardner in the last episode, and he was. He’s a 9 time Molokai Ocean, paddling world champion. And he was saying how, when he’s on the trip over to Hawaii, he just grabs some gatorade bottles and he’ll throw them in his craft for the race. Now I know there’s a lot of research around multiple transportable carbohydrates. So having gels where there’s a combination of, So having gels where there’s a combination of, say glucose, and another form of say, sucrose, so you upregulate the amount of carbohydrate you’re getting into your muscles as much as possible.

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Hayden Kelly: So there is some literature and research around that. Do you think that as you progress with your running are going to come to a point where there’s just fractional margins of changes and adjustments you can make to get that extra 1%, that this will become more of a strategy that you utilize.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, definitely, I think, as you as you go on, and the more you know, whether in marathons or any other indirect sport, it’s it’s that the diminishing returns theory. When you start you’re knocking slabs of time off off your Pbs. Every race you do, and spice good, and then you sort of do get to a bit of a plateau where you’re looking to take off 30 seconds or a minute, and you might go, you know, half a dozen or a dozen races without doing that.

Patrick Monti: So it is. It definitely gets to a point where you are looking for those sort of marginal gains. And I mean I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t say someone at my level. I don’t think I don’t think I’m at the point of of marginal gains and one percenters like that. I think more than happy to sort of leave that to the see, elite athletes and and guys that do it for a living. But I think that’s it’s.

Hayden Kelly: Pretty modest comment, I think.

Patrick Monti: I think it’s but it. And it’s definitely stuff you think about, though it’s goes through your head of, particularly at the tail end of a training block.

Patrick Monti: you know. What what little things can you do? Whether it’s, you know, extra bit of sleep.

Patrick Monti: you know, just just those small little things.

Hayden Kelly: So you mentioned precision, fuel, and nutrition. I understand that up there athletics is a massive supplier of those supplements, and I think, Andy, who’s the owner of precision nutrition? You have a lot to say about this, but essentially the supplements they tailor to each individual’s needs, whether it be the sodium content within those supplements. I think that’s quite a unique business model. So can you tell us a little bit more about that and the work they’re doing with up their athletics.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, definitely. Yeah, we’ve so precision, we’ve sort of stopped them for probably 12 months now. And they’re doing yeah, they’re doing some fantastic stuff in that space. I think just their range of products is is fantastic. Like you said, they sort of have different in their electrolytes. They have different sodium levels. You know, 1,500, a thousand 500 just depending on on your sweat right and and that sort of stuff, and then they obviously offer the gels and the the carb choose and and the the carb drink, mix, and stuff like that. So yeah, they’re doing. They’re doing heaps in the space. And and they’ve they’ve definitely become pretty popular sort of over the last little while, particularly in Australia. Which is cool to see.

Patrick Monti: so and I I’ve own personally sort of only started taking them recently as well. I was usually just would stick to Morton but sort of started experimenting with them. In the lead up to to begin a Marathon in April and And was really happy with them. so sort of. Now now do a mixture of both which is cool. And then, yeah, I’ve been having their electrolyte tablets for for a while now. which are fantastic. And they actually do these electrolyte capsules, which are really good, which are just a little cap that you that you swallow? Which is, yeah, just a pretty efficient way just to boost your electrolyte sort of daily or after workout or something without having to to sort of have another another liquid drink, or is, if you’re having a electrolyte, drink a protein shake and and water as well, you got a fair bit of fluids going in.

Hayden Kelly: Do you use the sodium tablets? Is that something you’ve utilized in.

Patrick Monti: I haven’t in the past. I I’ve definitely thought about it, and I know I know some people do but I haven’t the closest I’ve got is I’ve used sort of nodos or caffeine tablets in the past.

Hayden Kelly: Sharing kind of effect with the.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah, and I mean, I didn’t. I don’t think I really noticed too much of a difference. you know, I think a strong coffee. We’ll do it for me.

Hayden Kelly: That’s 1 of those, and kind of evidence by supplements really like cafe. Any caffeine based supplements creatine. So forth.

Hayden Kelly: Moving forward, I guess into the the London Marathon. How many Marathons have you run now? It’d be around about half a dozen or so.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, I think it’s I think I’ve started. I finished 7.

Hayden Kelly: And so with London. I understand the track. There is quite a fast. It’s quite a fast course. Tell us a little bit about how early you got over there, and your how your preparation was for running. which I think is your quickest time to date 2 h, 31 min, so. Talk us through some of the intricacies of your preparation, I guess. Taking a step back and looking at it from a you know perspective of, say, a 20 week program building up to the event. But then also your race day nutrition and the wake leading in.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, it’s running international marathons is is really interesting. And and sometimes it’s it’s a bit of a necessity. when you’re in Australia, and you’re trying to run quick times, because there’s there is a limited number of marathons around, but a sort of have quick enough courses. And and I mean, everyone wants to to get over and run majors, and it’s a I see it as a pretty good way to to holiday as well. If you can tie Marathon into it. But in terms of the lead up like we’re me and and my training finally and like, we sort of maintain a pretty pretty high base level of of K’s. So which is, it might sort of makes a little bit easy when you are going into a Marathon Block, because it it doesn’t mean you’d need to dial it up from 0 100. You sort of you’re already an ie. You just need to add, add sort of that little bit extra specific, Marathon based training towards the end of the block.

Patrick Monti: sort of just increasing your your load and tweaking what sessions you’re doing, and then increasing your long runs and and getting some some bigger stuff in towards the end of the block. So it was sort of business, as usual. Throughout the leader. I was actually lucky enough to get into London through through new balance, and and the contacts got there through through the store, which is pretty cool. So yeah, it was. It was pretty pretty stock standard buildup, and and then so that as you get closer. It’s I mean, it would be great if we all had the luxury of of pro athletes to be able to go over, you know, and be on location 2 weeks prior to the race, you know, fully acclimatize all that sort of stuff. But but obviously we’ve all got jobs. And and you know the days leading up to a Marathon. You’re not really doing much, so you don’t want to go and burn 2 weeks of annual leave sitting in a hotel room.

Patrick Monti: so. But I I sort of find the ideal time for me is if you can arrive in the destination on the Wednesday before a Sunday race. that sort of for me. That’s sort of the minimum just to be able to get. I mean, as you know, coming from Australia. It’s it’s, you know, takes you a few days even get over the flight. Deadlines to start normal again. So yeah. So the 3 days for me is sort of the sweet spot. You can get there on the Wednesday at some stage during the day. Sort of go for a job off the plane and then and try and get back into some, some normal sleeping habits. And then that sort of gives you. Yeah, it gives you 2 or 3 days of jogging around just to acclimatize to whether it’s climate or. you know, like, I said, get over the flight and stuff like that and even just to sort out your your nutrition and your food and and all that sort of stuff obviously being in a foreign country. I mean being in London was was pretty easy. But you know, once you start going to tell other countries where cuisine might be different. it’s just. It’s sort of about working out where you get your food from. If you are in a in a house or an apartment, do you need to go above, buy groceries and find the right groceries, or if you’re in a hotel, or you, you’re eating out all sort of I guess they’re sort of some of those one percenters to consider to consider when you are traveling for for a Marathon and that’s was so beneficial. The fact that I wasn’t doing that massive carload cause then I didn’t need to be super organized, and, you know, have find all the right food. When I was over there I could sort of just eat. you know, ad hoc, like I normally would, but just a bit more. So I think that was super beneficial. It just sort of relieved a little bit of the stress of having to find and and prepare. You know, the right amount of food based on the right quantities.

Patrick Monti: So we yeah, we went over with with a couple of friends of ours and inside the house together, which was, which was great super relaxed. And and then it was actually terrible, not terrible weather, but it was It was raining and and and pretty gloomy, which which is pretty stock standard for for London.

Hayden Kelly: London, yeah. Was going to.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, so and then yeah. And then I think. it’s also a bit of a later start to what? To what we’re used to here. I think we I don’t think we started till 9 or 10 o’clock. which which feels a bit weird in the morning, you said, getting up, and it’s it’s, you know.

Hayden Kelly: Monday. Start around 6 or 7 am. Right.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah.

Hayden Kelly: Done by you, done by about 10 or 11, or for people a bit slower like me, but.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, which is a weird time of the day to be done. If you sort of feel like you should be. I don’t know, go into the pub to celebrate or something. But you’ve got a few hours before they even open so yeah, London sort of starts out of out of London a bit. So you jump on the train with with everyone else, and you head out there to start line, and and you’re in a big paddock and incredibly well organized event. It’s still, I think it’s still probably one of the the most well organized marathons I’ve done just in terms of logistics, and you know, backdrop and different stuff like that. So but you do. You do sort of feel a bit like herded animals when you’re at the start line, because you’re in a you’re in a big pan.

Hayden Kelly: And path. Yeah.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, and you’re just in a like a grass field and and it was a bit soggy and a bit wet, and and people sort of start warming up, but they start jogging in circles. So you get this weird like looking like farm animals jogging around in a circle.

Hayden Kelly: I was like the Sydney Sydney half Marathon it was. Everyone was packed right there, just underneath the bridge, basically in North North Sydney. And there was 10 portaloos, and you know. crowds and lineups about 30, 40 people. And you’re all huddled together. There’s people trying to run around start line as yes, new experience for me. It’s and I think it’s the same. I imagine, for New York and London. What? What’s it like running overseas? What’s the culture like? I know that you did New York in 2,018, which was kinda just before Covid hit before the imagine. There was a bit more of a running boom internationally. But what’s it like over there compared to Australia?

Patrick Monti: I think it’s like I think I touched on it earlier, like Melbourne’s culture is is very comparable, but I think it’s just on a smaller scale. I think just the volume of people, particularly in New York. The density of the population around Manhattan, Brooklyn, and stuff allows there to be so many different well established and sizable running crews or running clubs. and and to the same in London. Whereas Melbourne looks like there there are heaps in Melbourne, but just because of the the population and and the I guess the sprawl of the population, it’s it doesn’t seem as as dense bots. And I they sort of. There’s there’s a definitely a different model in the States and in the UK. Around like traditional track clubs which don’t don’t really exist here. You go to the States, and every high school has a has a you know, 400 meter running track whereas in Melbourne it’s like, you know, you’re pretty few and far between actual running tracks that you can go and train on And obviously they do you know, in the States they do track and field, at school and at college, and it’s it’s sort of a big thing. And so as a flow on from that. There’s clubs, you know. There’s like this Brooklyn Track Club, where you you go and you pay money at the side of the season, and you go and and you you run track, and you run track workouts and and those are very different to sort of your run crews that made up and and do workouts together, which is sort of a bit of the new age type stuff. So it’s really interesting. I think a lot of the a lot of influences in Melbourne have come from from New York and from from London, which is, which is really cool to see, and it’s cool from an after athletics. Point of view is, we have obviously a lot of exposure to that, and it’s cool to, you know, when you’re over there for those to meet people that that you might have been interacting with on the Internet. No, you know, you see them doing cool stuff in in running culture. And it’s it’s nice to meet up with them and and do things sort of that.

Hayden Kelly: Absolutely

Hayden Kelly: A typical running week for you leading into a marathon. You said you go through 7 pairs of shoes per week. or you you rotate through 7 pairs of shoes. Just how many kilometers you get through on a weekly basis. And and I guess what’s the frequency of your sessions and amount of volume you get through your legs.

Patrick Monti: So during a during a Marathon block, I sort of in the in the thick of it. It’d be somewhere between 100 5,060 KA week. and then right breaking down that week would be the start of the week’s pretty much just mileage, and sort of recovering from from what would have been a big Sunday workout. so, and then most days, early in the week, sort of Monday to Wednesday one on a Monday, and then the rest of the week will be sort of 2 runs a day. and second round of the day is usually 6 k. Or half an hour. Just in the afternoon, which just helps. It’s sort of pretty hard to get the volume up there without doing doubles and then workouts during a Marathon blocker. Thursday and Sunday. Sort of be a big workout Thursday morning. Which would be sort of Marathon specific stuff usually ends up, being somewhere between 22 to 24 k. Sort of all up with with warm up and cool down. Then then the next workout will be will be Sunday, which the way the way we structure things is is Sunday is a long run day, but with a workout. So the way that would look is it might be like 20 K. Easy at the start, and then you sort of get back. Put your right shoes on, you might. Do, you know, 5 by 3 k. Or old you know, some sort of workout at the end of after the 20 K, which the purpose of that is just to get used to running at Marathon pace on tired legs. So. And that’s been super beneficial, I think, since I started doing that sort of training a couple of years ago. pretty much knows the difference straight away. I think it’s super beneficial rather than I don’t know. Getting out for 35 K. Just jogging can be pretty arduous, whereas you go and run 2022 k. Easy, and then and then put a workout in at the end. It definitely helps helps pass the time.

Hayden Kelly: What role does threshold training or speed work? And you know, recovery play in your training program and this specific protocols that you implement. I know, for instance, we’ve talked a little bit on the show about like cryotherapy or icebrese, as a good way to reduce inflammation. what techniques have you used, and what I guess. How do you recover after a big Sunday distance? Run.

Patrick Monti: I used to. I was for a while there. I was doing ice bars on on Sundays. Sunday afternoons. The gym, my old gym that I was at had had ice baths which you could use, and I was doing it with a mate and I think ice is probably one of those things that you know some people love it, and some people don’t. I think it’s a it’s a bit of a personal preference type thing. I sort of really enjoyed it, and and felt like I got the benefit from it. Whether that was placebo or not. who knows? An then other than that. It’s sort of, I mean, be asleep. You sort of can’t.

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Patrick Monti: You can’t give enough credit to how much of a role sleep plays in recovering from that sort of stuff, particularly, you know, if you’ve got the luxury to be able to have a nap on a Sunday after a long run or making sure you’re getting your 8 to 10 HA night. Certainly that plays a massive role. Outside of that, I don’t really do too much. I’m lucky enough to have a pair of the pair of recovery boots, which again, the jury’s still out on the science, and if they work, but I mean, if you strip it all back it forces you to sit down for half an hour and do nothing. So you know, even if that’s the benefit, that’s pretty good.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, we talked about that. I talked to one gentleman who ran from Perth to Sydney and early in the podcast, Troy. And he was talking about how he used the normative boots throughout his journey. And if it’s a placebo effect, and he feels like it’s helping him, well, that’s enough to justify it, and as you say, like just that time to sit down and recover. Oftentimes, when I’m using the normal tech boots, I use that time to do some mindfulness as well. So I guess there’s other strategies that you know, it forces you to sit there and focus on your breathing, and maybe potentially do some other forms of recovery work like using a dairy gun, or whatever it may be, something that, as you say the jury is still out. But these techniques, you know, if there is a placebo effect, I imagine there’s some usefulness or efficacy for those in training and in theory. So on that topic of mindfulness, how do you mentally prepare for these long distance events? I think, as you talked about the start, it’s nice when you’re quite naive coming into your first event, and you really don’t know what’s ahead of you, and it’s all unknown. And oftentimes that’s the adrenaline kind of gets you through. But now that you’re an experienced runner, you understand what it takes physically and mentally to enjoy these events. How do you prepare yourself mentally? What techniques do you use? And how can others, listening, maybe integrate this into their own training?

Patrick Monti: Yeah, it’s an interesting one. Because I think when I didn’t finish that Marathon in the Gold Coast, I think a lot of that pre-race mentality was where I was definitely in my head a bit too much about that. You know, I found myself on the morning of trying to find mindfulness podcasts and that’s never done that before. So I think that’s a red flag in itself. So it’s yeah, there’s probably not techniques that I use that I stick to 100%. I think you know it’s a bit of a cliche, but the whole “trust in the training” is super beneficial and just looking back on the work you’ve done in the lead up is super beneficial and just having and trusting the process you’ve gone through.

Outside of that, there’s not too many specific techniques that I use, I think leading up and during the race it’s more beneficial for me to break the races down into 5K blocks and know what time you need to keep to for that 5K to keep you goal times. And then at any given time, just making sure you’re focusing on that 5K, not the next one, not the one after that or not KM 40. You just focusing on that 5K and hitting that split. And then once that rolls over, it’s like alright back to 0, just focus on this 5K. That’s been really beneficial for me in terms of breaking the race up and not getting too far ahead of myself.

And then yeah, I think letting sort of riding the waves is another thing that I keep in mind like you’re never going to feel how some people might if you have a really good race. But you’re never gonna feel incredible or 100% every single marathon. And I think it’s just having awareness in how your body is feeling, and how your mind’s feeling that there’s gonna be good and bad patches, you know. You might feel amazing right now, and it doesn’t mean you need to step on the gas because you think you’re running too slow because you’re feeling too good. And then, on the contrary, there’s times when you’re going to feel like rubbish, but the chances are that’s just going to be a rough patch, and that’s going to pass. So I think, reminding yourself that there’s gonna be ups and downs, it’s gonna be good and bad and you sort of just gotta ride the waves and just take them as they are. And not, you know, as you are going through a rough patch, not throwing in the towel.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, I imagine if there’s some people listening here who are amateur level distance running a lot of the time, it’s just about finishing the marathon, but for those that have done a few marathons, and they’re starting to sort of look at pacing and trying to beat their previous best time. What’s your advice for pacing strategies, particularly in those really important periods of the run, like the middle portions and the final push. Do you use simply looking at your GPS unit, what monitor do you use? And do you look at kilometers, splits, or over specific distances?

Patrick Monti: I use a Garmin watch, which is similar to a Garmin, but just a different brand. And yeah, I don’t like every k split. I just can’t do it mentally, it becomes a bit tiresome. So I do 5K splits and just have a setting set that’ll give me a notification at 5K and tell me the time. But in saying that I probably recommend going off the timing and the k markers that are on the course, because at the end of the day they’ve been measured, GPS can be off at times, particularly over an extended distance like that. So for me, knowing the split I need to hit for that 5K and then going off the timing and the pace markers they have on course is always beneficial in terms of pacing.

I think one of the biggest mistakes, and I’ve definitely made it before, is trying to bank time in the marathon. It very, very rarely works. Trying to go out a bit quicker and get a few minutes out of your belt in the first half will 9 times out of 10 bite you when they ask in the second half. And it changes the experience you have in the marathon, depending on how you run it. Everyone would love to run a negative split, but trying to run as even as possible across the two halves of the race is going to give you a far better experience than blowing up at the end, which can get pretty hard.

Hayden Kelly: So you talked about the Gold Coast where you DNF’d due to gastrointestinal issues with your prep. And then you talk there about how there were times where you tried to bank time and go out a bit harder and faster with your initial splits. What are your biggest learnings or challenges that you’ve faced with marathon running? And what have you learned to overcome those that could potentially help some of the listeners with their own running endeavors?

Patrick Monti: I think the nutrition thing has been massive for me. It’s just been a bit of a process of working out what works for me. And understanding that it isn’t one size fits all, and what works for someone else or an elite athlete might not work for you. That’s been super beneficial. The banking of time thing, and just running your own race, it’s very easy to get caught up in racing other people or trying to keep up with a different pace group. I think it’s super important to run your own race, you’ve done all your own training so why get to race day and try and run someone else’s race. It’s obviously a lot easier said than done, but if you can just stay in your own race and run your own pace, I think that’s super beneficial.

Hayden Kelly: So what are the biggest mistakes that a lot of beginners make in your experience that you see? And how can they correct those?

Patrick Monti: I think the time goal thing is always interesting. It’s obviously great to have goals and have something to work towards. But I think it can put a lot of undue pressure on you. If you run a 3:01 Marathon, you might see that as a failure, whereas if you were 60 seconds down the road it’d be a great success. I’ve always found that really interesting, and I probably contradict myself a bit there because I do try to run times myself. But I think it’s important to strip it back to the fact that you just ran a marathon, an hour and a half faster than what most people average would. It can distract you from enjoying the pursuit, which is what it was all about.

Hayden Kelly: Post-race, when you’re moving out of the race, what’s your philosophy around nutrition and replenishing glycogen stores? What are the guidelines, and how do people replenish after a big marathon?

Patrick Monti: Post-race, I think it’s anything and everything. The rules sort of go out the window, and I think that’s how it should be. You should be able to let your hair down and celebrate however you want, whether that’s at the pub, out for dinner, junk food, whatever it is. I’ve found it really beneficial to just release the pressure a bit. Even from a mental standpoint, because I can get quite caught up and rigid in the whole process. Traditionally I’ll have 2 weeks off completely from running, and that’s as much mental as it is physical. After my most recent one, I was back running reasonably quickly because I had to for work, but mentally it’s just nice to have that 2 weeks to not have to get up early to run, to go out for dinner, and just reset.

Hayden Kelly: What’s ahead for you with your marathon running? What goals do you have in front of you? And are there any specific times or targets you’re aiming for?

Patrick Monti: For the last few marathons, the sub 2:30 has been the goal. And I think it’s there, I just haven’t been able to put it all together on the day. So that’s the immediate goal. I think I can go quicker than that, depending on what races are coming up and how my running looks. But I’m being quite deliberately not thinking beyond that 2:30 mark, I’d just like to knock that off first and then see what comes next. As for family life at the moment, that’s definitely taking precedence, so I’m not making any grand plans, just trying to enjoy life as it is and still fit in the running, but not entering any races or having any big goals at the moment, just taking it one week at a time.

Hayden Kelly: Thanks for your time today, Patrick. It was great to hear some of your insights about how you achieve performance in marathon running. We look forward to seeing you get that sub 2.5 hour, and we’ll stay in touch. Thanks again for your time, and hopefully the listeners will appreciate it just as much as I did.

Patrick Monti: Thank you, mate, really appreciate it.

Hayden Kelly: Good stuff! Thanks, Pat, that was good. Enjoy.

Patrick Monti: Scryland.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, I really appreciate the chat.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, just trying to with these podcasts, just try and make sure that always try and include some tips or strategies from people like yourself that others can integrate, because otherwise I find I just get we just get lost talking. And I think it’s always that practical element that people enjoy, which is, you know, how can I take this and apply it to myself? So yeah, it’s good. I’ll edit a lot of the content in the coming days or over the weekend, so you’ll probably get tagged in heaps of stuff on Instagram and Facebook and all that. And Linkedin, just you don’t, don’t, don’t feel obliged to share. Just maybe pick and choose if there’s things you want to share that’s up to you. But I’ll tag up their athletics and yourself. And so if you want me to send you any of the content or whatever. But I’ll email you with the link, the spotify when it’s up. And yeah, you can have a listen or share whatever you whatever you like. Yeah.

Patrick Monti: Fantastic.

Hayden Kelly: Thanks, mate, and congratulations on your child, too. It was really nice to meet you. And we’ll stay in touch, hey? As you progress with your running. I’ll keep updating the feed as we get, you know. Updates, let me know how you’re tracking with things.

Patrick Monti: Yeah, yeah, yeah, sounds good.

Hayden Kelly: Alright, mate, good to meet you. I’ll let you get on with your day.

Patrick Monti: Thanks, Mike. Have a good day.

Hayden Kelly: Yeah, buddy.

Patrick Monti: Bye.