Episode 136 - Matt Girvan

Kia Ora Whānau.This week on the podcast, Eugene and Matt have an engaging conversation with New Plymouth’s Matt Girvan. Matt lives in Edinburgh these days and managed to time the back half of his OE with spending nearly a year indoors. Frustrated by this and wanting to experience the wild spaces of Scotland, Matt put in place an FKT attempt on the Scottish National Trail - 864km and 20,000 metres of vertical gain. We talk to Matt about the challenges and joys, the literal (and figurative) ups and downs of such an attempt. We talk through the challenge of documenting the attempt in a short film.  We discuss what really matters during these things and how his FKT finish at the Cape Wrath Lighthouse qualifies doubly as the most New Zealand AND most Scottish finish ever. It also appears that all of Aotearoa was racing on the weekend so we run that down (ha!), and give a shout out to those out there doing things to promote mental wellbeing. There may or may not be Dad Jokes. Why the long face? Enjoy.