How This Doctor Shattered Physical Limits & Broke Two Endurance World Records [Part 1]

Welcome to another episode of the Get Fast podcast brought to you by Trivalo Coaching, where we help triathletes and cyclists like you train smarter to race faster. You are joined as always, by your hosts, Australian Ironman champion and head coach of Trivalo Coaching, Gerard Donnelly. And I, and Jordan Donnelly.

I just never have felt defined by my ability to perform on the sporting field. I finished the 24 hour and I had. I was essentially in heart failure and I've never really thought about this way before, but I actually had achieved that finding my limit, you know?

On today's podcast, we have a very special guest and a dear friend of ours, a dear friend of Trivelo, and a dear friend of Giant, and that is Dr. Mitch Anderson. Dr. Mitch is a man who manages to have more on his plate than anyone we've ever met. Yet he manages to do them well and do it all with a smile on his face. After getting a background in running and rowing at high school, Mitch first tried a triathlon in 1994. This led to an amateur career between then and 2000 until he raced professionally from 2000 to 2015. Expertise in the Ironman distance led him to compete at the Hawaiian Ironman eight times with a best placing of 11th overall. He mixed a professional triathlon career which included 30 Ironman finishes with four university degrees, winning two major Ironmans in the process and dominating bike courses. After finishing physiotherapy honours at Melbourne University in 1997, Mitch went on to complete an honours degree in science physiology before tackling exercise genetics with a PhD scholarship at Melbourne University. He transferred to medicine at Melbourne Uni and completed his internship at Royal Melbourne Hospital before signing off a graduate career of 14 years with a diploma in surgical anatomy. We cannot wait for you to hear Mitch in this episode. He's one of the most motivated individuals you will ever hear from and we delve right into his most extreme accomplishments and his mindset. The physical toll it took for him to achieve his accomplishments, including both the 12 and 24 hour Bike World record. Now, just a reminder, if you want to download our Expert Secrets cheat sheet, that is a cheat sheet of the very best tips and advice that professional athletes and experts on our podcast have said to help you train smarter and race faster. Just go to getfastpodcast.com that's getfastpodcast.com now. Please note, in this episode we do talk about mental health, depression and suicide. So if you or anyone you know needs professional help, we urge you to seek out that professional help. Or you can call Lifeline on 13, 11, 14. So, without further ado, here is Dr. Mitch Anderson. All right, we've got Dr. Mitch Anderson on the line. Mitch, thank you very much for joining us.

G', day, Jordan and Geri. So, so pleased to finally be invited onto the Trivelo podcast.

So, mate, let's kick it off with the very first observation. So let's just run through a few things. You started as a physio, then you worked your way into being a doctor all at the same time being a full time professional triathlete. You got to work, a family with some kids, you've got a bike, ergo, set up, you coach triathletes. What do you do in your spare time?

Try and think of other ways to spend my spare time. No, no, actually, you know, that's a good way to start because I actually haven't. I'm an avid collector of vinyl as well as an amateur photographer. So when I got married three years ago to the lovely Ethni, before we had kids, yeah, I started collecting vinyl records and I've got an ever growing collection and I think my kids are going to think that they're growing up in the 80s and 90s. It's that sort of scene over at our house now. It's sort of, you know, In Excess.

And Ice House and Australian Crawl.

Aussie Crawl. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's him there.

That's all my era, mate. Good stuff.

Well, that's like. You think it's going to be. It's going to be like Back to the Future, then it's going to be totally weird. So, Mitch, so that is the photography. So, yeah, yeah, yeah. Far away.

Well, the amount of stuff you do is ridiculously impressive. The amount of things you can handle at once. And throughout your career you juggled a lot of plates. And you've said now that you're a bit more relaxed and you've focused on some hobbies. But how have you managed to juggle so many plates at once? And more importantly, from your perspective, is it as crazy or as extreme as it seems to other people or it seems like a normal for you?

Well, look, you know, Jordan, I had. I was given a book by a very good friend of mine, Damien Angus, for Christmas called Range. I actually only picked it up relatively recently. And the first chapter, essentially it's a novel or an essay debunking the 10,000 hour theory. And I'm sure people have heard about this. It takes 10,000 hours of training and anything to become to get to professional or expert level. And having read the, read the half of this book now, the first chapter is about Roger Federer v. Tiger Woods. And you know, they had diametric upbringings where Tiger obviously, you know, from the age when he was old enough to hold a club, he was practicing putting, should have been doing ethics classes by the sounds of it. And then in contrast, Roger Federer was going all sports, all ball sports for, you know, as long as he basically could until he had to specialise into tennis. And you'd say that the better rounded person is Roger Federer and that shows in the way that he actually lives his life as well as the way he's been able to excel in sport. And so I think it's, it's the range of different things that I've been able to do that actually for starters, it's let me continue to do a lot of different things. But also it's really what allowed me to sort of get to expert or professional level in my, well, probably more even cycling than even in triathlon.

That's such a great point. And I, I saw a quote after you'd completed the 24 hour record that you said, now I've got to get some more balance into my life. But you've got to that point now, haven't you, where you've achieved a hell of a lot of things and we're going to go through in a lot of detail about how you've managed to accomplish some pretty remarkable feats. But it was really intriguing to me to hear you say, yep, I'm being dedicated to this task of breaking the world 24 hour record and the world 12 hour record. But now I need some balance.

Yeah. Because, you know, it's always been my natural inclination and in part it was the influence of my parents that, you know, that really didn't let us specialise. You know, they certainly weren't those sort of parents that allowed us to go off and. Well, we weren't allowed to do any training on a Sunday. We had to, we were churchgoers until we were 18 when we were living home. You had to go to church on a Sunday. And then, you know, Mum and Dad just, they wanted us to do a range of different sports. And you know, Mum has been incessant getting me to really commit to intellectual pursuits as a school teacher. And she, she was brutal on all three of us where, you know, it's just sport, you know, would be the, the constant retort and you know, and actually until mom and dad came to Hawaii, I don't think they realized, I guess the level of dedication that so many people have for, say, the sport of ultra distance triathlon. So, yeah, it was a bit of a nightmare for them and you know, I guess strange considering they have such a dedication to the church and they couldn't imagine anyone doing that to support.

Yeah, that's a really good point. And did you, growing up, I mean, your brothers, how competitive was it?

Did you have a. Yeah, very competitive, probably. You probably understand Jerry and actually Jordan could as well. Yeah, you know, like I grew up, there's three boys and I was almost two years younger than Brett, my older brother. And Brett, look, he was a redhead, he still is kind of, but he's got that redhead attitude where, you know, he was fierce and fiercely competitive. So he and I were at each other and Tom, my younger brother, was laconic but very talented. So, yeah, we, I think having having two brothers really helped grow an interest in competitive sport, but also, also harbour good teamwork because we were still and remain good mates. So I think, yeah, that competition between especially Brett and I academically as well as from a sporting perspective has really helped me to stay well rounded.

What, what was your specialty? And you did say you've played a wide range of sports. Did you have an inclination towards anything in particular as a junior that you thought you might like to pursue? I mean, you're obviously reasonably single minded about, you know, when you make your mind up for whatever you want to do. Did you, did you have any inclination of where you might be headed as a sports person?

Yeah, look, the thing that got me interested in sports to start off with was that I was a bit of a chubby kid. And, you know, in primary school especially, I actually felt quite self conscious about how chubby I was compared to my mates and certainly didn't feel. And I think it's a pretty common thing that you don't feel like you're ever the cool kid. Even the cool kids don't think they were the cool kids. So I felt like the chubby kids. So I really, I steered more towards, you know, running laps with school. I tried to be the best in that club, but, you know, I was just a pretty good kid. And then I was quite good at cross country and, you know, Brett and I used to run around the river track and do some training for the cross country and I did. After I got knocked out for the third time and broke my collarbone, all in the space of about four weeks playing footy in year 11, I decided it wasn't for me and then stuck to running and rowing And I wasn't big enough to make our first date, but I certainly had the best ergon school. So I knew that I was good at endurance and it was just a matter of keeping on searching and looking for a sport that I enjoyed and that suited me best.

So you're in your teenage years and you're obviously studying to be a physiotherapist to begin with. What was going through your mind when you were at uni as a sports person then? Were you tinkering a little bit with triathlon by then or take us through that?

Well, yeah, yeah, look, I tinkered in school actually. I did the, the Port Arlington Triathlon was my very first triathlon which I did in a team with this girl Bridie Leah twam for us and Andrew Lennox was the guy who did the, the bike leg and I, and I did the run and.

Good memory.

Oh yeah, well, yeah, they make a pretty big imprint on you, the kids that your friends are in school. So yeah, it was in year 11 we did. So that would have been 1992. We did the Port Ellington Triathlon and we won the school division as I recall. And that was sort of like, oh, we won something. And then I have told this story before, but I did. We did a 12 hour cycle against a guy by the name of Rod Evans who actually held some distance records. I think he actually did hold the. For a time, the 24 hour world record. Anyway, we did a. It was a school fair day And I think 12 of us kids rode against him where he rode for 12 hours. Anyway, I rigged this competition and ended up winning a bike. So I ended up getting this bike that was probably well beyond my station that, you know, I would never have got if mum and dad wouldn't have bought it for me. So I end up with a racing bike. So yeah, when, when I hit uni I was training, I knew I wanted to train quite seriously and I really wasn't into going out and getting off my chops. So yeah, I sort of hadn't specialized in triathlon yet but I did my first triathlon with my then girlfriend, you know, when I was 19. Just one of the really short distance ones up at Sandridge there and I think about third overall. And I thought, oh, this is probably me, this is great. And so that sort of set off my interest.

So that's ironic that you sort of just recently finished an endurance event and Rod Evans was your. The man that started it almost as a school kid.

Well, it was a bit, it was odd I didn't actually realized at the time, like it was sort of after the 12 hour where I thought, hang on a minute here. And I looked back and found an image of him actually riding the Ergo at the, on that actual fake day. So, yeah, quite amazing that. Yeah, he's, he's living over in Perth now but, you know, Australia. You know, the other thing that really attracted me, you know, just fast forwarding 30 odd years or 25 odd years to the 12 and 24 hour was, you know, true gin, you know, another guy who's, who's proven himself to be clearly an all rounder and you know, far more elite than me from an Olympic perspective. But he's gone off and you know, as a rower and won multiple gold medals and also, you know, he's done extraordinary things in cycling given his background. You know, he's what, he's in six foot nationals in the time trial and ended up doing it. I think he did one Ironman, I think, where he had ICB friction. But he, you know, he was a 51 swimmer and he biked really well and so, you know, when I saw him do the 24 hour attempt, that was when I thought, oh, hang on here, I reckon I could do better than that. So, you know, it's really having those peers and seeing, being stimulated by other people, being open to those ideas as well, that is really important and we'll.

Touch on that later on when we do talk about your attempts and successes at that. So going forward on that, who was influencing you in the early 90s in triathlon that was getting your attention as someone to aspire to.

Well, I didn't know you then, Jerry. I probably would have, probably because I.

Already has been by then.

I would only come to learn about you. Well, after that, Jerry. No, look, you know, I hear lots of people tell stories about Wide World of Sports and growing up watching Welsh and all sorts of stuff and that really wasn't my experience. You know, we were only allowed to watch half an hour of television in the evening and it usually ended up being the 7:30 report, which makes us.

A bit of culture.

Yeah. Oh, very cultural. Good old John yokes. Anyway, we're growing up. Yeah. I mean you really. Are you really shaped by mainly. Well, we were mainly shaped by a family. And so from a, from a sporting hero perspective, you know, I think the Olympics was just the biggest thing. You know, not Olympic triathlon or anything, but just, you know, all the events. The Olympics was the thing that I really like watching and, and maybe I'LL just hear what you guys have to say actually that maybe as you grow up, you grow out of the Olympics. What's your, what's your take on the Olympics? Are you guys still in love or is it sort of?

I actually totally agree with you, Mitch. When I was 12, I remember I made a bet with my best friend in primary school that I would be in the 2012 Olympics because I just thought the Olympics were the greatest things in the world. I thought there was nothing you could do better than the Olympics. So I did hold it in such high esteem when I was a kid.

Yeah, yeah. I could rattle off.

Are you Jerry?

I could rattle off every Olympic year and the city that it was in from, you know, back in Berlin. And that's how much it meant to me. The Olympics was everything. And had, you know, had I got the opportunity, I would have taken it with both hands. But I don't know, now it's, there's so many world championship sports that, that, you know, they do that individually now and the Olympics is taking a different take.

So that, that makes me kind of wonder, Mitch, that you're pretty intrinsically motivated. You weren't motivated externally by watching a lot of role models or people on tv. So how do you fall into Ironman triathlons? Because it's not, it's not something that people can just fall into and do as a. There's not a really common stepping stone from some sprint triathlons to Ironman.

No, look, I mean my university career was sort of critical in, in terms of molding my sporting career, if you can call it that, was that, you know, I was absolutely stringent that my. And you know, in part it was drummed into me that my university or my sporting life had to match in with my, my university life. So you know, I made a point of really doing, going to the university games and I actually met who would be my future brother in law, Dan Quinn through Australian uni game in 95 in Lismore at the Australian Uni Championships in cross country. And you know, Dan was a sub 30 minute 10k runner. And I guess being exposed to people like him, obviously Damian Angus I met through university who, you know, he won the Australian uni Games in 96 for triathlon. He beat Craig Alexander there. And so, you know, meeting Damian probably was, you know, a seminal moment in my sporting career because, you know, Damian, he's such a thinking man athlete. I think he's got 20 years of. And you guys should talk to him at some stage. He's got 20 years of heart rate data all in Excel spreadsheets where he compares himself year on year on year on year. And you can see that now he's still at an elite level for an age grouper. And he will be until he drops, I reckon.

He certainly set the standard, hasn't he? He's incredible.

And so I guess Damien and I met in 97 when I did an experiment, one of his experiments because he got a PhD in carbohydrate metabolism. So you know, Damien and I met in 96 or 97 and we really hit it off. You know, I was sort of, I wanted to be, you know, his standard in terms of triathlon. So I sort of thought, oh right, that's sort of, yeah, I'm going to do this physiology game. So that's when I went off and did my honours in physiology where I, where I did a, an experiment on glycerol hyperhydration which is actually the thing that killed Chris Lee's gut. He was taking medium, he was using medium chain triglycerides. Sorry. But you know, similar sort of thing. Anyway, so yeah, I ended up falling in with danger and I guess it was soon after that, I think 99, that I ran my first marathon. And you know, I hadn't really trained specifically for it. I was preparing to do the national duathlon title with a view to go to the world championship in the elite division. And I went up to Amberley up in Queensland and mum and dad have a place in Currumbin because my grandfather used to live in Tudum next door. So you know, we used to go up there every year and I went up to Amberley, which is an air base north of Brisbane, to race the national champ. And I finished seventh, which didn't actually qualify me for the world championship. And it was one of those things where it was an in house selection thing where basically they just offered all the spots to, well, unsurprisingly to Greg Welsh and Bennett, you know, Greg Bennett and basically anyone who wanted to do it, who was an elite guy already, they got to do it. And you know, I didn't get a look in and I thought I'll run the marathon. So I ran, I ran the Goldie Marathon and ran a. Oh, maybe it was 98. This was. Anyway I ran it to 39.

First up.

Yeah, first up where I hadn't really trained specifically for it. My younger brother, actually Tom, he said, oh, if you're going to run the marathon, I'll run the half. And so he was three years younger than me. So, yeah, I was 23 and he was 20 and he ran a 129 for the half off, no training, zero training. And I ran a. Yeah, I ran a 239 and I'd aimed for 240. And you know, in hindsight, yeah, it's a really good time for a first marathon.

I hope you were happy with that.

Yeah, no, I was really happy. I was like, oh, yeah, it's pretty good.

Just turning up. I'll get a 240, don't worry about it.

We're just going to look at. Say that. Yeah, I think I told you about Tom's time for a reason that, you know, like, we were just lucky that in part we were blessed with some good genetics. But, you know, we had good motors.

You got a diesel engine in there. Yep.

Yeah, yeah. You know, Tom was 20 and he's. And he's running a 129 off, no training. He sort of go, well, yeah, we, we knew we had some. Look, I knew I had some talent for the endurance events and so. Yeah. Then Damian sort of said, oh, well, you've run. Run a marathon. And we did the Melbourne marathon, I think in 99. And he said, oh, well, let's just, let's do the iron Man. And I'd done a few halves and bits and pieces and you know, I was sort of a 4:15 half Iron man guy and. Yeah. But I just desperately wanted to. To, you know, be nice with danger and do what danger was doing. So.

And which one?

Yeah, of course we did.

So 2000.

Yeah, we were at Foster in 2000. So, you know, this whole. It was almost 20 years to. Well, yeah, two weeks ago, I think was 20 years since the first Ironman and Damien. Damien and Tony Rickard. So there were four guys who really trained together. So it was Damien, Tommy and Rory Walsh was the other guy. And we, you know, we did a heap of training together and you know, we were really guided by largely Damien because he and Tom had done the Japan strongman and he'd also done the Saito island triathlon over in. Also over in Japan. And so, you know, he's had some. He had much more experience than me. So, you know, so Damien ended up.

You went on to win that strongman too, by the way, in.

Oh, eventually, yeah, yeah, yeah, that nine years later.

Yep.

Damian finished in 847 and 10th place overall at Foster. And he's, you know, first Ironman. Tommy did an 855 and I think he Won his age group. And then Rory finished in his 906 and won my age group, and then I was second in 907. So, you know, just perfect storm. Four guys.

Yeah.

Who, you know, all sort of, you know. Well, Damien's incredible, but, you know, all within sort of the top 30 at Ironman Australia. And it's their first go. First go around. So, you know, that really set the tone for, like, oh, we're quite good at this. And we. We all took our Hawaii slots and. Oh, sorry, I took my Hawaii slot. Rory didn't. Rory was the only one. He didn't.

Right.

Actually, he ended up becoming quite a solid marathoner that was plagued by injuries. And Tommy and Damian have gone on to, you know, in fact, all three of us. I won my age group at. In Hawaii, you know, two, and Damian ended up winning his age group, I think 30, 34 at some stage. And Tommy got second in his eighth group in Hawaii and finished 27th overall one year.

So impressive. Little stable of triathletes there. And. And look, you went on to what. How many Ironmans did you do? Eight or so Konas.

Yeah, Kona.

I mean.

Yeah. And 30.

Total.

30. I mean, total led to some fatigue.

So looking at. Let's just go into a little bit more detail about, you know, your mindset about what races you selected, the successes you had. Obviously, we've asked this question to a lot of people who are triathletes and, you know, is Hawaii the pinnacle for you and something that you aspired to do your best in as compared to the other events that you were, you know, famously winning?

Well, look, I think, because my sort of, you know, Eye to Eye med really only started in 99, and that was obviously the year that Luke Van Leard, most likely Juice to the eyeball, came out and won it in a record time, I guess. Yeah, my Ironman interest really had come, I guess, late, but I hadn't done that much triathlon. So, you know, the thing that probably shaped me more than anything in that first year of Ironman was that I did not finish in Hawaii. So I went along and, you know, Damien and I had actually taken 10 weeks off to go up and train properly for the Ironman. Like, we were going to train like pros. And of course, I got sick and then my grandfather died and, yeah, just some stress. And I wound up sick at the race with coughing up blood on the run and ended up pulling out. It actually ended up being such an important experience for me that, for starters, I never wanted to dnf. Ever again. And also I was more motivated than ever to succeed the next time I came back to the Big Island. So I went off the next year and raced Foster again and won the age group, qualified for Hawaii and didn't go.

What was the reason for not going?

Well, I wanted to get more experience doing some halves and basically also I was ascribing to Damian's push and hold year. So Damian had this attitude that you should really push yourself on alternate years and then to make sure you could sort of achieve academically on the alternate year, you would, you know, push your academic and hold a bit on the sports, which, yeah, I sort of commuted for a couple of years anyway. And then, you know, having. I think I finished 12th at Boston the year after in 01, and then in. I finished 11th and again won my age group and went to Hawaii and then managed to. And, you know, I was astonished to win my age group in Hawaii. And I think I finished 21st overall. And that was the thing, that was that I felt like an imposter up until then. In fact, I reckon imposter syndrome, probably lots of people feel it, but I felt it acutely after not finishing in 2000. And then I sort of felt the veil of it lift in 02 when I was in my age group and broke 9 hours.

A little bit of redemption from.

Yeah.

But then, you know, like even a few years later when I. Two years later when I went and raced and I was off the bike in fifth overall in Hawaii and. And tell you, like, just having ridden past, you know, the bunch containing Peter Reed and basically who's who of triathlon Tim De Boom and all these guys and Macca. And I know it wouldn't be Macca anyway because it was, you know, who's who in the bunch. And I rode five minutes with them in the last 40k and off the bike in fifth and I'm like, I did, this is not right. I shouldn't be here. This is, you know, that's not my cohort. And yeah, I think that that imposter syndrome sort of plagued me. Well, it helped push me, I think, as well as plagued me when you.

Got off the bike in fifth place. Let's just dig a bit into when you started running. Did you think, I'm still an imposter or did you think I'm a chance to stay in this position?

I. I was actually just incredibly surprised because, you know, like, I was. It was my. Probably my sixth Ironman and yeah, I'd done New Zealand earlier In the year in my first pro race and finished ninth. And so there's sort of, Then, you know, my eyes weren't lifted that high yet. You know, I was sort of more thinking, yeah, I just wanted to go top 20 that year. And so having gone, yeah, having got. It was an exceedingly windy year. And that actually really played into my strength of cycling. You know, I sort of rode from say swam into 100th place and then rode into fifth place on a day that, where very few people broke five hours on the bike. So, you know, I think I had the second fastest bike split at 4:49 and Stadler had the fastest bike split at 4:39.

Can I just stop you there?

Yeah.

Let's just go forward to the 24 hour record. And you rode 4:48, five consecutive times. What are you saying about that?

Yeah, I know, it's outrageous, isn't it, really? It just goes to show that, well, you have to have a good motor to start off with. But it's then the body of work that leads to producing something where you ride, you know, just over 37k an hour for 24 hours. It's a very rare instance. And I know we're sort of jumping the gun a bit, but to actually get to be say early 40s and have the opportunity to do that record where you don't have, you know, a family, you don't have that many financial constraints and you're able to gather the sponsors and the time and all that sort of stuff, it's just stars are aligned. Yeah, yeah, you have to be lucky as well. Good. Because realistically, yeah, there's not that many people with the motor to do it. And then to get decent weather, to get a track, to get all the equipment, to get all the volunteers, to get it all to fall into alignment is incredibly difficult. And I think that's what's the biggest impulse for people to ride the record, is that you have to be an all rounder. Like you have to have the range that we were talking about before that, you know, you have to be able to pull a team together. You have to be a good teamwork person. Otherwise no one, you can't get 30 people to come down and volunteer for you if you're a bit of an a hole. Like it just doesn't work like that.

So let's just re digress a bit. Let's just go back to this, you know, off the bike in 2:49 second fastest bike time. If, if you had the fitness that you had as a 24 hour world record holder back then it was a completely different ball game for you, wouldn't it? In hindsight, looking back, thinking far out, if I had the fitness that I had when I was a 40 year old competing as a youngster in Hawaii, what sort of time could I have done?

Well, the interesting little rub on my performance that year was I ended up finishing Olympics.

Which was your best place, wasn't it ever?

That was my best rook. Gabecki actually went positive for EPO and then managed to get himself off on a technicality that year where he finished in fifth place. And you know, I was still in 10th place running down Pilani was when I got past the 10th place. So essentially, you know, like top 10 less than a mile from the pitch.

Does that grade on you? Not the positive tests of over the years. You've mentioned two people already. Is that something that disappointing?

Yeah, look.

It'S part of sport, isn't it?

Unfortunately it's part of sport. And if I hadn't cheated to achieve what I managed to achieve, then I guess I wouldn't be an ethical human and I actually wouldn't be very good at my job. You know, I think if you cheat in sport then you're going to cheat in the rest of your life. And I just don't think it's a good indicator for the sort of person you're going to be. So yeah, look at the time it was incredibly frustrating for me. You know, it would have been, I think it was US$5,000 for 10th place as well as all the sponsors and all sort of stuff. But realistically it makes no difference to my life. In the same way that you know now and doesn't make any difference in my life that I've got a 24 hour world record other than it just goes, it shows that, you know, I can, I can achieve something. I'm, I'm dedicated and you know, I had a great experience with the people I was there with when I raced in Hawaii in 2000 and 2004. It was a great experience for me to go and do that and it, and it's helped me succeed in other areas of my life and yeah, I just never have felt defined by my ability to perform on the sporting field. I really enjoyed it, but that doesn't define me as a person, it's just something that I managed to achieve.

Was that true for your whole career? Because it's very hard to complete 30 ironmans go to Hawaii eight times. If you're not that you're not phased by your result. But like you said that it doesn't define you for most people to be putting the time and effort to get those results and perform in a sport like that, it needs to mean a lot and almost needs to mean too much for you to actually be able to do it properly.

I guess. Yeah. I'm not trying to be dismissive of the effort that I put into doing 30 Ironman. You know, it was a lifestyle for me that suited my personality. You know, type A personalities are well rewarded in triathlon, in endurance sports in general. If you're a type A person, you're very well organised and you're actually able to execute races better than, than most others. So it's a testament to the type of person you are as well as, you know, you just are rewarded for training effort. In Ironman, you know, there's a great quip about the triathlons, about being the best at exercise and there's something in that. And I guess it also married up really very well with my academic interests. So, you know, having done my physio and then the honours in science, I also started a PhD in the genetics of exercise where I was looking at an angiotensin gene in the heart and how that actually predisposed you to either heart failure or to sporting prowess. And so, you know, my interest lay in the, in sporting performance academically as well as on the sporting field. So, you know, I was living the dream. You know, I was getting paid to go and do these races and, you know, I was talking the other day with Luke Bell about, you know, oh, sorry, it was Tim Burkle where we were getting paid between, you know, five and $10,000 just to turn up to races which now, you know, the guys get allocated $500 for flights, accommodation and food and you think, oh, we were just incredibly well looked after.

It was an amazing period, wasn't it? It was truly from 2000 to, you know, the early pioneers that Dave, Scott, Tinley, Mark Allen, they really set up Iron man to be well on its way. By the time 95 to 2010 rolled through, it was the buzz sport, wasn't it? And you were really well looked after and, and it was like a package that you, you were just going along for this ride does that, you know, but you loved the process of all of it. But is that how you felt during that time?

Well, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, it was. The thing is that everything that I was doing was a positive input and, you know, up until 2009 when I got divorced, you know, I can't explain how well my life went, you know, like I never anticipated being an elite sports person. I'd always, you know, had desires to be that, to be good at sporting. But even when I started Ironman, you know, I sort of did my first Ironman and thought oh that's really good, like I'd love to go top 10 one day. And then, you know, I went top 10 in New Zealand and thought oh you know, I'd really love to go top five one day. And I just had a step wise improvement year upon year upon year and I didn't have any sort of grand plan to win Hawaii and I was sort of, I wasn't so starry eyed that I thought I was better than say, you know, Greg Welsh or whoever it was. But I just, I sort of just slowly lifted my eyes up and I actually think that that meant that I was always quite realistic about where triathlon sat in my life because it was also feeding into helping me understand the human body from a sports medicine perspective as well. Which was, you know, that was my grand plan was always to become a sports doctor.

So, and that's a great point, isn't it? And what we talked about earlier with Danger and the Range book and you're trying to incorporate a balance approach and for a lot of people that might sound like a bit of a cop out where you know, I want to be a pro triathlete and I'm not going to tell anybody that my desire is to win. Therefore if I don't win, you know, there's less pressure on me. But you went out and you actually did win and your first victory was in Iron man wa. So tell us about that experience.

Yeah, well, I mean 05 was probably my best year in my best year in sport from a triathlon perspective anyway or an Ironman perspective is that, you know, I got, it was the last year in Foster and I finished third at Foster. Never got to win that one like he did.

Jerry, you're the first Australian mate. That's, that does count, doesn't it?

Well now that year was, it was MACCA one from Louis Bell and then I was third and you know that was just like again, you know, that's probably one of the ultimate times or ultimate experiences was running down the finish line in Foster and being on the podium again, you know, having exceeded my expectations, you know, I think I just, I got into medicine that year to start the following year and I, so I'd set the gamsat and then I did, I signed up for Hawaii on the basis of my third place. And then I actually went overseas and raced. I raced, oh gee, got me. I raced four Ironman that year. I think I raced Ironman Zurich and finished third there too behind two relatively well known pharmacy students and then went to Hawaii and finished in 14th place and you know, I guess I'd hoped to go top 10 but it was a very fast year, no wind on the bike and you know I did, I think I did an 8:37 you know from in comparison the year before I'd done 9:06 and finished 11th and then I did 8:37 and finished 14th. You know, sort of go figure. It just goes to show you how mild the wind was that year. And then Daryl Griffiths from Carbo Shots said to me oh if you fly over to Perth for the Ironman you know, I'll pay your airfare. And I wasn't planning to do another Ironman but I thought I'll stuff it like I might as well go over. And I think I had a six week turnaround or something and I thought I had low expectations and I think that really fed into then you know, know I was well rested and turned up and just I was doing my fourth Ironman in the year and I thought oh well this is just a, you know, just a suck at the sea.

That's a pretty incredible season.

And then yeah I just, I managed to luck in on a day like they actually they delayed the swim start because there were thunderstorms and you know it was incredibly rough, quite windy on the bikes again making the bike you know the most important part of the day. And then you know I ran 259 and like I just, I put together one of my perfect races and yeah, you know I just, we. What's his name? The guy who finished second? Actually his name will come to me in a minute. You know went on to finish on the podium in Hawaii and you know I sort of think well yeah, it's nice to have those days where you know, and for me I've had that kind of day probably half a dozen times where in a race where I felt untouchable like you know the cycle, the bike felt easy, you know I averaged 299.4 watts for 180k as the 71 kilogram person and I just, I just was floating, it was easy like you know, I just whole day was, you know not the run wasn't easy but the, the cycle leg I just, I was just floating along. It just, it couldn't have been a better day from a feeling perspective.

Did you get off the bike first?

No, I think, I think, yeah. No, it was that easy. Craig McKenzie. Craig McKenzie. Luke McKenzie got off the bike in first and I got off the bike in second and you know, I'd lost a huge amount of time to him in the swim because it was a choppy swim. But yeah, I just, I rode through the field and got everyone except for Luke and he had a calf injury which is the reason why he'd bike so hard and he sort of, I assume to lead at the end of the, or the start of the second lap where it was a two lap course and yeah, yeah, that was, it was just floating along and you know, couldn't, couldn't believe that it happened. You know, here was an Iron man. In fact, that was one, one quick story that at Ironman, it was Ironman Austria that I'd done earlier in the year where I'd done, I'd actually done, gone 8, 23 there. You know, it was my fastest time. I think it was maybe that was 04 anyway, short I was at the race anyhow and I said, oh, you know, I just don't know when I'm gonna win one of these things. He goes, mate, don't worry about it, you'll win one one day. And yeah, literally six months later, here I was, you know, running across as a winner on the finish line thinking, oh sure, they told me I could do this.

It's his home race too, he would take any spot, probably.

Does that stack up as one of your career highlights? That win? Is that one of the best win you had?

Absolutely. I mean, just look. And that sort of paved the way for my relationship with Giant Bikes, which, you know, again has been such a massive part of my life. Not just from a sponsorship perspective, but also from a friendship perspective. And you know, you know, I never would have met the Donnellys if it wasn't for Ruddy. And you know, in hindsight, very funnily, you know, I was a Cervelo athlete and Ruddy didn't really, didn't really think I was much chop at the time. He was sponsoring Luke Bell and you know, I'd met Ruddy and you know, we hadn't really hit well, he didn't know each other. Anyway, when I won Ironman wa, the only other company I approached apart from Cervelo was Giant. And you know, Ruddy had offered me what seemed like a gargantuan sum of money to ride bikes for Giant. And then I Offered to take half the amount with Cervelo to stay with them. Like I said, I, I'd take half the amount, half the bike, half the dogs. And in hindsight, I'm so glad they said no because realistically, my life would have been totally different.

Yeah. An amazing decision, wasn't it? That was made for you almost. And you never look back since. It's been an unbelievable relationship you've had with Giant Australia and the Pied Piper himself, Darren Rutherford.

Yeah, well, look, you know, I'd like to think that I've managed to put back part of what I've managed to take out of Giant. It's been, yeah, look, they've been an incredibly good supporter of mine and look, I'm not aiming to make this advertorial but you know, even little opportunities like last year I had the, the design team from Taiwan come and spend. I've spent an hour with them talking about, you know, what I consider to be important on the new time trial frame and even just to be in the, you know, in the discussion about being able to have input into, into frame designs. That's never an opportunity that never would have come my way were it not for know someone as open minded as Ruddy is. And yeah, I just, I just think he's such a, he's such a good, unstructured thinker where, you know, no idea is too silly. And yeah, he's placed a lot of faith in me over the years and. Yeah, and provided me with lots of interesting opportunities.

Same goes for us. That's why we love Gian at Trivelo. They're our biggest supporters at Trivelo coaching. This is the end of part one of our two part interview with Mitch. This is right where we leave his iron man career and start diving deep into his 12 and 24 hour world record attempts. And I have to say part two of this interview is so mind blowing that dad and I were left speechless. At one point we both forgot we were supposed to ask a question because we were so engrossed in the story and the mindset it took for Mitch to attempt what he did. The details of this story will leave your jaw on the floor and inspired to take on any challenge. If you enjoy our podcast, please be sure to leave a review on any podcasting app or in itunes. It really does help us and helps other athletes like yourself find us. If you want to get our best free resources to help you train smarter and race faster, go to getfastpodcast. Com. We'll see you in part two.