Can I go sub 2:50 marathon AND sub 1-hour Hyrox inside the next 6-9 months?

I think a lot of people have seen my worst side on YouTube recently, and I'm annoyed at myself that I got in that state physically and mentally. And I'm not always in that state, of course, but I want to share some of the more positive stuff. Right, it is Saturday morning again, 7 AM. It's already 34 degrees. Something's flipped in me about 2 weeks ago when I was in the UK. I mean, if you watch my videos, you'll have seen me in a pretty bad way. I just wasn't looking my best or feeling my best. I was ill, I was out of shape, I was floating around. I just haven't in the past— I'm gonna say 6 months, but probably a year— been in like great shape. And it's because I wasn't really training for anything. I didn't find like an updated routine of what I enjoyed because like Again, not to fucking drone on about it, but 3 and a half years ago, nearly 4 years ago, I was in my best shape ever, um, because I got into running. And I was previously just lifting weights like a lot of people, just Chad lifting in the gym, pretty pointless. Yeah, feels all right, you look okay, but you're holding a lot of fat. Well, at least I was. Anyway, I started running, obviously got into pretty elite shape aesthetically and fitness-wise. Did the 2:52 marathon on my first attempt, which To be honest, I still think it's fucking insane. I've not seen anyone go that quick, especially on a first attempt at that sort of weight, 'cause I was 88 kilograms. I wasn't like, you know, skinny runner spec. Anyway, then I went through like a CrossFit phase. Kind of fell out of love with running, probably like a lot of things. Maybe it's my ADHD, ADHD autistic founder spec, shiny object syndrome tendencies, but just fell out of love with running, which, I don't know, it's probably quite normal. I was, you know, quite obsessed and then had this fantasy of like, I was like, "Oh, I'll go and do a faster one." I just never did. And that is actually very me. I do have a pattern of relatively short, intense passion and obsession with something, and then I either feel like I've completed it or just fall out of love with it. Obviously I didn't complete running by any means, but I achieved the goal I set out to, which was a sub-3 marathon, right? And that was cool. And that was a fun period, and I documented it, and I have, yeah. It was a cool thing to do. Then, like I said, going to CrossFit. Never really liked that as much because the sort of training, I just found like it was injuring me. I didn't— my body didn't respond to it very well. And then I went through a HIROX phase, which was more 2024, 2025. Last year I did 5 HIROXs. I did Glasgow, Malaga, Glasgow, Malaga, um, fuck, what was it? Glasgow— no, sorry, Glasgow, Valencia, Malaga, Barcelona, Cardiff. I only ever did High Rocks Open. I was never as good at High Rocks as I was at running, relatively. Although, I don't know what the relative scales are, but by my research, I was better at running, so I was in better shape when I was running. So I did a 1:11 first High Rocks, 1:08 Valencia, 1:06 Malaga, fucked it in Barcelona, went 1:10, 'cause I nearly shat myself after I took a bicarbonate soda thing. And then in Cardiff, which was a much slower course, factually, if anyone that knows High Rocks. I did a 1:06 again, but I think that would've been equivalent to more like a 1:03, 1:04. But it was a 1:06, right? So point is, like, decent times. I think it's like top, you know, top 2-3% or whatever of all entrants. Anyone knows High Rocks, it's like a very respectable time. It's not an elite time, like sub-1 would probably be like considered elite, and that's in pro as well. This is open. ChatGPT tells me that a sub-3 marathon— oh fuck, did I miss this? Sub-3 marathon is more impressive than what I did High Rocks-wise, and also reckons the 2:52 I at my weight would probably be the equivalent of like a 58-minute HYROX. I would probably agree with that based on 1:06 being my time. It's like the relative difference. Anyway, HYROX was, was fun because I did it with a lot of guys, this group of guys, and it was a cool thing to train for because you get to like go to places and it's more common events than there are for say marathon or whatever. I don't think you can do more races, 'cause it's only like an hour, right? But I just found that sort of training, I like being in the pain cave, I like training and stuff, but I didn't enjoy the training as much, 'cause like, fucking burpees, for example, I just don't enjoy. I don't feel like they're productive for my body, but it's part of the things you've got to do, and you've got to train for them, right? I like the hybrid approach in general, but, Yeah, anyway, I just felt like that approach to training for me never really clicked, 'cause it was super high intensity all the time, pretty much. Like heart rate's like, you know, 150 minimum to like 180, 190 while training. For me, my body responded as getting knackered, getting injured, and just looking shit. It was like the skinny fat physique training, basically. Whereas the irony is I looked way better and felt amazing and was actually fitter when I was just Chad training back in 2022-23, and my protocol then was— well, there was no plan. I didn't even have a training plan. It was literally just weights, you know, like legs push-pull pretty much. In fact, well, yeah, legs push-pull, that, that split. So like, you know, bodybuilding slash hybrid split. But I didn't do that many compound lifts because my lower back's really vulnerable from years of rowing in the past. So legs push-pull 5 to 6 days a week, weights and then I would literally just layer on running 5 to 6 days a week on top of that. Um, I say 5 to 6 because it would usually be 6 and then 5 if I was just like really sore or needed another day off. But yeah, for me, like, my body just responded so well to that. The fat fell off, I looked aesthetic, body composition dramatically improved. I went from like 100 kg to, at my very lightest, about 86, and then I was about 88. When I did the marathon. Um, and yeah, go back and watch that video, like, I was fucking shredded. I was probably genuinely at my peak, maybe like 8% body fat. I mean, a lot of people question that stuff, but certainly like 8 to 10, I was like properly shredded, you know. Obliques were popping, abs were popping, striations in my chest. I just looked good. I looked quite skinny but never like super skinny because I was still lifting weights. So arguably I could have gone quicker, sub-2:50, I think, for sure. Maybe closer to 2:45 if I was willing to drop loads of muscle, but I just never was because my whole thing was that I want to run a sub-3 marathon while like having a decent physique and not being like skinny as fuck or dropping to like 75 kg. Anyway, so yeah, that's kind of like my fitness history, I guess, which I've documented a lot on here. People that followed me would have seen when I started the pod, I was in shit shape, went through that period of being in much better shape. Even you can literally see it on my face and stuff, even just when I wasn't talking about fitness. And then And then over the last 2 years, I just, probably like a lot of people, you go through phases, but fuck me, I certainly do. Yeah, I just put on weight and I stopped having a specific thing to train for. My training became almost like an afterthought. I was going to the gym, don't get me wrong. I was never really unfit, but by my standards, I looked puffy. I gained probably 10 kilos from back when I was really shredded, which is nearly 2 stone. That makes a significant difference. And I went from like 17, 20-minute 5K run to, I reckon realistically, 'cause I was still training, I probably got to like 22-minute, 23-minute at my worst. So I was never like super unfit by most people's standards. I'd say I was still generally quite fit functionally and could lift decent weights or whatever. But I just didn't look good and there was no specific thing I was training for. I didn't feel great for me either. So yeah, anyway, it's kind of embarrassing to say 'cause I really let myself go and I feel like I've maybe missed some of my prime years in terms of training for the right things. A bit of me wants to do an Ironman and I'd love to Go quicker in the marathon again. I just think running is the one for me that ticks a lot of the boxes, 'cause it allows me to keep weight training. I feel like if I'm fit in running, then I could do a much better HYROX time anyway, if I wanted to do that. 'Cause the other stuff kind of naturally just gets better through fitness and weight training that I'm doing anyway. You can do it anywhere. I can do it inside, outside. Okay, it can get quite monotonous running, but I think it's a good one to do with other people. I'm going to run with Ben, who runs our Growth, and he's a fucking like 2:20 marathoner, or 2:22 I think he recently did, but I think he's gone 2:20 before, which is insane. So very much my steady pace would be like basically him walking. But, um, yeah, anyway, that's a long way of saying something's actually clicked and I realized, fuck, I feel so much better when I actually follow a program. And this is obvious stuff, right? And the irony is, even though I've, I've discovered this before, I know this about myself, when I'm in good shape, I feel mentally way better. And it gives me something specific to focus on away from business, which ironically makes me better at business, I think. And obviously the discipline that comes with it. I don't really drink at all these days, but when you're training for something and you have more of a specific focus, that makes you more disciplined in that respect as well. Fuck me, these roads are complicated. So yeah, basically, like, I don't know if this is my official announcement, but maybe it just should be. I'm gonna go for another marathon. I haven't signed up for one yet. I've lost my good-for-age qualifying time, 'cause that was like 3.5 years ago at this point. I think the goal has to be minimum sub-2:50. There's a bit of me that wants to like say, fuck, I'm gonna go sub-2:45, but I like weight training. I'm quite a heavy guy. I just think the thing that would break my heart or be very disappointing is to do another marathon, even if I hadn't announced it, but to do another marathon and go slower, because then suddenly, like, you haven't done one that was really quick. You've done one that was quick, and then you've done another one that wasn't that quick. So like, your baseline's reset. So I wouldn't do another one unless I was confident. Obviously, like, there's always risk, but unless I was confident I could beat the previous one. I don't think sub-2:50 is probably that goal. Just, you know, I went, I went 2:52:59, so basically 3 minutes over that, right? What is 3 minutes exactly to break 2:50? I've just got 2:49:59. I think that's realistic, bearing in mind I, from like when I started running back in 2022, I mean, I literally went from I was like actually legit unfit, probably like 55-minute 10K, like just not running at all, doing no cardio. I had a history before that being very fit, elite-level junior rower, like cross-country runner when I was like 15, all this. But you know, this was 10 years later when I was 25, which I'd completely lost that fitness. But I do think having that base helped. But so I went from that 55-minute 10K roughly, like very unfit to the marathon was about 6 months later. It was about April, May, June, July, August, September, yeah, about 6 and a half, 7 months later. But the caveat there is I would say I had 90% of that marathon fitness by about June, which was 4 months later. So within about 4 months, because I was just chatting the training so much and my body responded so well to it, I think because of my training history and so on as well, which is scientifically proven to massively help this stuff, I got in very good shape very quickly. So what I'm saying is I reckon 6 months from now, I'm confident confident I could be in sub-2:50 shape. 100%. I've already got a better base than I had at the time then, because I've been training pretty consistently. If I had to put a number in it, I don't know, I reckon I'd be in 3:30, 3:40 marathon shape right now. Probably 20-minute, 21-minute 5K, like right now. I'm quite, I think that's a fairly educated guess, because I do run a lot. Lot. Well, I don't run that much, but I run frequently. I've had a million mileage. Um, so yeah, I think 6 months from now, sub-2:50 is possible for sure. The difference this time is— it's quite funny because I don't actually know which one's better. I never had a training plan before, right? The approach— and it actually might have been genius in hindsight, by accident— was I almost followed like the Norwegian method, right? Like Jakob Ingebrigtsen and all that lot. If you read about that, it's a methodology of training where you— I'm gonna fudge it, but it's basically a lot of threshold training, right? Instead of the whole ethos of, oh, most of your runs should be slow and steady, like, the Norwegian method is most of your run should be at threshold, which is like zone 4, which is basically when you're in the pain cave but you can do it for a long time, pretty much. There's different variations of definitions, but the long and short of it is that Um, because yeah, I used to literally go out and my running started where I would basically sprint to the gym, or, you know, run very fast at basically threshold, and then run back. And that started like 3K, then I extended it on the way back in particular. So the way there was like a warm-up, the way back was like the proper training run, I guess. Um, to like 5K, then 7K, then it would be 10K. And I was pretty much doing that like every day. And then I do a long run at the weekends. I was probably doing— at my absolute peak, I said I was doing 70 to 90K a week. Week running, which isn't that much by elite running standards. Obviously I wasn't an elite runner, but it's a lot of mileage for like your average bloke that's going to the gym as well. So yeah, I think 80 to 90 was probably my absolute peak, but I'd say average about 70K a week running, which I say isn't a lot, but then you actually go and do it and it is a lot, to be fair, because it's obviously the equivalent of 10K a day, and that's not factoring in rest days. Um, so yeah, I used to basically just always run fast, which is my point, and I used to do it in fucking Vaporflys, so I get mega shin splints. I knew nothing about running training, honestly. But I was like, wow, I'm getting much quicker, very fast. Particularly on like the shorter stuff. And I got to the point where I could run like a, I think it was a 17:10 was my best 5K. And that was literally after a chest session around Battersea Park with a rucksack on my back. So I think it's probably fairly safe to say in more prime, tapered conditions, I would have been comfortably sub-17, into probably 16:45, 16:50, I think realistically would have been where I was at, probably at my peak. Oh, and bear in mind, that was in May. 2 months after I started running. So that wasn't even at marathon fitness. I actually potentially had like a 16:30 in me. I don't know, coulda, woulda, shoulda. But anyway, yeah, my training methodology was like accidentally probably quite genius in a way, 'cause I built that threshold savagery, and then I got injured, and then basically for the last 2 months, when I'd already committed to the marathon, I was like, fuck, I'm getting injured here. That's when I basically started, or 2 to 3 months, started reading about actual marathon training methodology, and I pretty much changed my training. Still had no plan. I didn't actually have a plan at all. Every time I went to the gym, it was like, oh, what are we doing today? But clearly for me, following my instinctive gut feeling on that stuff worked. And then I spent the last 2-3 months pretty much just doing a lot of long runs. It was almost like opposite of what a lot of people would do, where they start with the base long runs and then they start the kind of speed work on top. But even then, it was very much like I did literally all my stuff was speed work, and then all my stuff was long runs, when generally you do, I don't know, 80% steadier, 20% speed work, generally blended the same way, and then just with more mileage over time. But yeah, I would just spend like literally 1 hour to 1.5 hours on a slight incline treadmill because I had major shin splints. And then by the time it came to race day, and I was also on top of this doing some like mental often treadmill was where I did a lot of these mental, like, threshold sessions. I do like 10 by 5 minutes at 5K pace or quicker, you know, stuff like that. So you're doing 50 minutes of like intense work with 2 minutes rest in between. But yeah, I just built up a massive engine, and like I said, no actual training plan, but probably quite in tune with my body and my lungs, in intuitively, especially because I'd been a rower before. So like, I understood then and still do now how to train and how to push my body more than most people would. So I think that was definitely a benefit. Um, but anyway, it resulted in clearly a very good time in the marathon, especially for the first one. And the funny thing was, back then as well, um, until marathon race day on London Marathon 2022 in 22. I had never run more than 30K ever in training or race. I'd also never done an official running race ever since cross-country when I was like 15, and I had never run a marathon unofficially or officially in an event. So a lot of people said, you do realize you're going to hit the wall at 30K? And I was like, uh, I've never done it, we'll see what happens. Um, and that was a valid point because a lot— you read a lot online and people generally don't train full marathons before the than the marathon itself, and the 30K was probably naive. And bear in mind, I think I'd done 30K once. Most of my training was half marathon, 25K max. And then my plan on race day was basically get to 30K and then see what I've got. And actually I ended up probably having the most perfect race possible, 'cause I did a 1:29 first half and then a 1:23 second half, so a negative split marathon. I think my last 10K was like, I mean, this is public information, go and Google it, it's everyone's results on there. In my last 10K was like 38 minutes or something ridiculous, which was the quickest 10K in the whole marathon, is my point. So yeah, it was nicely done, um, and it clearly worked, my training methodology. What I'm saying now is the irony is you'd think having no plan was bad, it probably is bad, but I don't know if having a— following a plan now would actually be more effective. I would assume and hope it would be because then there's more time I could gain But a bit of me is like, maybe not having a plan was the best thing ever, and I just Chad trained, and it worked really well for me because of my genetic history, having trained as a rower and so on, and the fact that I just pushed it really hard and I enjoyed doing that, and I wasn't restricted or influenced by a training plan that maybe wouldn't have pushed me as hard. I don't know. So yeah, anyway, that's a very, very, very long way of saying I, I'm committing publicly now to breaking that time. A bit of me is scared to do that, and a bit of me also doesn't really want to do that because I know how hard it's going to be. But I also just want the challenge, and I think I need that challenge. My brain responds well to having a challenge that is outside of business, and I think it translates into business as well. And I think I've always known this, and I've just let myself go, to be honest, over the past few years. Not to like a crazy extent, right? Like, everyone gets busy and so on. I just wasn't enjoying it at the time. But I think especially since I've moved here now, there's a lot of people A lot of my founder friends that are into running and fitness and like ultra endurance. I think I've seen a real pivot from, well, in like the market in general, obviously, if you pay attention to this stuff. But also a lot of my friends, one or two that I won't name, but some people will know that follow this, that used to be really like kind of party guys, or at least they would, they had a lot of, you know, they love to drink, they weren't training that much, who are now training for like triathlons, half Ironmans, Ironmans, marathons, whatever. Yeah, it's just an age thing, to be honest. Um, but also I think it's a macro trend in like the way the world is going. Wellness is obviously getting— wellness is the fucking biggest macro trend on Earth, full stop, right now, in my view. Like, with anything you want to build, that's— I think it's the best place to be in, whether that's supplements, health tech, some sort of coaching, training tools, whatever. Like, there's so much opportunity in this market, it's crazy. Almost too much, to the point where I'm like always getting shiny object syndrome in my head and wanting to like expand what we're offering as a brand with Space Goods and so on and so on. So yeah, I am on a very complicated road and I'm using Waze, and Dubai is notorious for this, so let me just pay attention to this quickly and I'll come back and finish the video in a second. Because I missed this turning last week and ended up being 25 minutes late to my run, because then there's this area of downtown right now that doesn't have GPS, which is a bit fucked. I think it's something to do with war, which appears to be very much done now, by the way. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Ooh, this is where I went wrong last week, I think. Don't go wrong again. Okay, okay, I made the right turning. Waze is so much better than Google Maps, by the way, for anyone that lives in Dubai. Anyone that lives here, has even been here, will know that the roads are pretty fucked. You run the risk of, if you miss— well, the roads are fucked because there's often like spaghetti junctions, I would call them, where there's literally like 10 lanes, and if you're in the wrong lane, you're potentially going the wrong way, and that is also then potentially a like literally a 20-minute detour. It's not like a 2-minute round trip to get back on track. Well, there's pretty sure there's zero roundabouts, which I think is part of the issue. Like, if you take the wrong— you miss the turn, you're not just like going around the roundabout for 10 seconds. You're probably literally going up like miles past where you want to be. I think I've taken the correct turn, so I can probably panic slightly less now. Because fuck me, the other week I messed that up so much. Anyway, to wrap up the video, I'm gonna get a speeding ticket. Fuck, I think I just got one. No, no, I was going, yeah, far too fast. To wrap up the video, what am I saying? I'm saying that, yeah, recognizing myself, I need a challenge, reflecting on my fitness in the past. And ultimately realizing that even if I don't want to do this, I have to do this because it's good for my mind and I need something to chase that isn't just business. And actually, I think chasing that thing makes me better at business anyway because it helps my mind, it helps my discipline, and it gives me structure that doesn't allow me to drift into other bullshit like drinking too much. Or not that I have that problem, but you know, stuff like that is always available and I just enjoy being in good shape, and I like making a story out of it. So maybe I'll make a proper documentary on this one. I've been tracking my weight and like physique and VO2 max and then Garmin endurance scores like every day. Interesting to do a proper lab-tested one here at the start of my block, which I'm gonna— well, I've effectively started like 2 weeks ago, and then do another official one at the end because back in London in 2022, a month before my marathon, which is, you know, probably 95% of my peak fitness. I did a lab-tested VO2 max test and scored 66, which is pretty high. My Garmin says I'm 56 right now, but I don't even trust these Garmins. I wouldn't be surprised if it's lower than that, to be honest. But yeah, anyway, the road to sub-2:50 and potentially some other dirty scores in running and endurance and everything. I feel like this time, if I'm gonna bother to get in that kind of shape which I am, then I should really tick off all the other ones properly. The 5K, 10K, half marathon, and probably at High Rocks to go sub-1 while I'm at it, because otherwise I feel like it's a waste. Previous times were marathon 2:52:59, 5K again, this was like in a park with after a weight session months before the marathon, 5K was 17— I believe it was 17:15. Let me check that and get proof. I do have photos of it. 10K was pretty dirty actually, but again, this was like in the park in the sun. It was never like optimized. Um, that was 35:40, I believe, from memory. Might have been 35:30, but it was a good time. It proved my endurance actually probably better relatively than my speed if you compare that to my 5K time. Fucking hell. Um, and then half marathon, again, never did an official one, so 5:10 in half I never did officials apart from the marathon. My half marathon from memory was 1:20-something. It's a pretty good time. You know, correlates with my marathon, but all those times, 5, 10, and half, if you like for like them with the marathon, like in theory according to like internet knowledge, should have been slightly quicker. And that's largely because I didn't test them at my peak fitness, so I'd like to do all of them. Obviously, High Rocks was a 1:06, but I think I was kneecapped slightly by the fact that it was in Cardiff. Probably could have been a 1:03. But yeah, definitely should be capable of a sub-1 High Rocks if I'm in sub-250 marathon shape at like, you know, I think realistically my leanest weight is probably 86, 87. I wouldn't want to go much lighter than that. So there we go, I've rambled. I'm now at my run location anyway, so the road to elite fitness and peak historical fitness is starting now, has already started in the past few weeks. Maybe I'll turn this into a new series. It's not even fucking about e-com or any of that shit. I think a lot of people have seen my worst side on YouTube recently, and I'm annoyed at myself that I got in that state physically and mentally. And I'm not always in that state, of course, but I want to share some of the more positive of stuff. And I think an endurance series is a great way to do that because it's the foundation for everything else, really. So yeah, on that note, I'll catch you soon, and let's go get fucking shredded.