The Perform Prevent Recover Podcast

Athlete Feature: Donna Urquhart, Ultra-Distance Runner, Australian Representative, Physiotherapist

During my 30 years working as Physiotherapist I've had the privilege to work with many great athletes, but possibly none as inspirational and humble as Donna Urquhart.
Beginning jogging in her late teens just to take a brain break from her heavy Physiotherapy undergraduate studies, Donna progressed quickly to triathlons, completing arguably in the pinnacle of triathlon events - the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii - then to outdoor endurance adventure racing and finally to ultra distance running, where the distances have increased from 50km events, to 100km, and now to 24 hour ultra events.
What makes Donna's story so fascinating (and relevant for so many other people) is the fact that her running began as a pastime, not an obsession, and has always been fitted in between studies, her important work as a Physiotherapy researcher at Monash University, and her number one role as wife and mother.
In this podcast, I delve into Donna's amazing progression, not only through different sports, but also in becoming an Australian representative in ultra distance running so soon after becoming serious about the sport. Many topics are discussed, including:
the many races she has completed and difficulties encountered along the way in each race.
"The Trail Beyond" race concept initiated by Donna: 4 Australian women, the 4 toughest ultra marathons in the Asia Pacific region, in 4 months.
her battle with injuries and amazing ability to turn negatives into positives.
an average weekly training schedule
mental strategies for coping with in-race hurdles and dark times.
race strategies for 24 hour endurance events.
the research she has completed on pain tolerance in ultra distance runners...  and a whole lot more!
In this episode you will hear Donna talk about all the highs and lows, the lessons learnt, the mottos she lives by, and her next plan - competing in a "Last Man Standing" event. There are so many "take home" messages from listening to Donna, regardless of what you do in life.
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How Kipchoge, Sport Science & Nike Combined To Break The Magical 2 Hour Marathon Barrier

What happens when a great athlete combines with sports science and technology, and has an assault on a previously unattainable barrier - success...and controversy!
There has been a huge buzz in athletics world as Nike, in partnership with Eliud Kipchoge, planned an assault not only on on the marathon World Record, but also the previously unbreakable 2 hour marathon barrier. Kipchoge held the official world record time of 2:01: 39 seconds, set at Berlin in 2018, but this was just an all out attempt to break 2 hours.
In the first attempt, Nike's "Breaking2" project at Monza Italy, the world's greatest current (and maybe all time) marathon runner missed by only 25 seconds.
On 12th October 2019 in Vienna, when Kipchoge managed to succeed on this second attempt, he did so in arguably the most orchestrated and controlled running event ever held. Reaction has ranged from joy and amazement at a truly incredible athlete, to despair at how so many variables, other than Kipchoges pure ability, were responsible for his performance.
Perhaps the most overwhelming reaction and talk amongst the running packs surrounds the shoes that Kipchoge wore, and that’s what this podcast delves into – has technology and science overcome raw human capability and performance?
In this episode we hear from multiple Australian National and State Cross Country champion, Rob O'Donnell, and discuss everything that went in to the second attempt to enable Kipchoge to go under the 2 hour mark. And Rob is uniquely qualified to comment on these topics, being not only a former elite level runner, but being a Physiotherapist for almost 30 years and now treating many of Australia's great distance runners.
Whilst the focus of the podcast is the Nike Alphafly that Kipchoge wore, Rob also discusses the course, the timing, the pacers, the assistance, and the great man Kipchoge himself!
Enjoy!

Load Management: Why Training Harder IS Training Smarter!

What is Load Management, and why is the general perception of this term contributing to increased injury risk? 
In this podcast we take a look at the definition of Load Management and why the wrong perception may lead to Detraining or Undertraining, and even occasionally Overtraining. 
For many, training smarter automatically conjure up the thought of training less, but we'll explain why training smarter often means training harder. To achieve optimal human performance in any sport (and to reduce injury risk), athletes may actually need to be training harder.  But to train well, whether you need to train more or less, you will need a system. And we'll explain how the "Acute Chronic Workload ratio" is a great component of a system to help you do achieve this. 
So delve into the fascinating world of Load Management, and let us help you develop a system and approach that helps you have High Performance at the forefront of your training ideas, whilst at the same time reducing the risk of injury along the way.