The Hidden Athlete

This in one unique endurance athlete. We spoke to April after recently completing the Tour Divide in 18Days23Hours, but it isn't the fact she is one incredibly talented athlete, it is her back story that makes her truly unique. April has lived her life with Autism Spectrum Disorder, spent 20 Years in social work dealing with countless crisis siuations and dealt with losing her very best friend, her mum, at a very young age. April's approach to the challenges of Ultra Endurance will put your life in the sport into perspective and also a smile on your face. Enjoy the superstar human that is April Drage. Follow her journey on Insta: @aprilawol

Sacha recently completed the Tour Divide in 18Days 11hours coming in equal third with Texan Hannah Simon. The 2023 edition of the Tour Divide was an incredible race. 4,350km of self supported off road terrain, climbing over 60,000 vertical meters from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells on the Mexican border. Seven women broke the magical 20 Day mark and raced toe to toe from the gun which made for facinating watching. It was Sacha's first ever international Ultra race so was relatively unknown to the Global ultra cycling community, but in Australia, which is now her adopted Country, she is know as an Ultra Crazy who has accumulated almost 20 overall, first female and podium finishes in just the past 3-4 years. Enjoy the Sacha Dowell story and follow her journey from here on Instagram @sachad_ultracrazy Thanks for listening and please drop us a comment and rating to help us promote these incredible endurance athletes.

Steve Halligan is proving to be one of the worlds most durable Ultra Endurance athletes. He has been first across the line in many long distance races including the 6,200km Terra Australis. The humble Irishman also travels to all points of the globe to race against the worlds best. More recently finishing on the podium in two of the most brutal races on the calendar. The Silk Road Mountain Race and Africa's new Grand Tour, the 2,750km Rhino Run. But it is his love for the iconic 4,400km Tour Divide offroad self supported bikepacking race, where he has finished in the Top5 in every edition he has raced, that has endeared him to the global bikepacking community. His 15Day18Hour PB in the 2023 Edition started with plenty of drama but this 47yo legend of the sport just keeps finding a way to be at the pointy end and continually improving his time. There is plenty of racing left in Steve Halligan so jump on his Instagram @halligan.steve and cheer him on.

Kellie Emmerson is one of the most resilient and consistent Ultra Endurance athletes on the planet. In this episode the 3xNational Long Course Trail Running Champ, 5xAustralian World Champs Representative talks about what it takes to bank almost 40 Marathons and 30 100km+ races around the globe...whilst still being a mum of two young boys. After 12 years of Elite competition this superstar of Ultra Running doesn't look like slowing down any time soon. Enjoy the wonderful story of Kellie Emmerson and please follow her journey on Instagram @kelemmo

Doctor Stephen Lane completed a PhD in Biomedical Sciences with a focus on exercise nutrition and training adaptation.....he is a 7 x National Cycling Champion across multiple disiplines, Director of Human Performance Technology and has Coached professionally for over a decade. More recently he became a record breaking Ultra Endurance athlete. This episode connects the science with the outcome so look forward to some helpful tips along the way. You can connect with the Doc at hptek.com.au or on Insta @drslane

The Rhino Run is a 2.750km Ultra Endurance off road cycling grand tour. Starting on the coast of the Western Cape of South Africa in Plettenberg Bay the unsupported route weaves its way up through the Northern Cape before crossing the border into Namibia before finishing in Windhoek. Riders were responsible for sourcing their own food, water, shelter and any other services along the way. South Africa's Kevin Benkenstein & Abdullah went toe to toe averaging well over 300km a day for the full 2,750km. This was one of the craziest ultra endurance feats ever. Enjoy.

We shared the life story of Trans Am & Indian Pacific Wheel Race Record holder Abdullah Zeinab in Episode 55....our most downloaded episode to date. In this episode we unpack all the drama of the past two years of his 24Hour Distance World Record attempts. Expect a lot of bumps, bruises, detours, love, failure and success. At the time of making the decision to chase the record it was held by Mitch Anderson at 894km. Over the following 2 years it was bettered by Ralph Disevisont who set the new mark at 915km and then the unthinkable happened.....Christoph Strasser cracked the 1,000 barrier setting the new goal at a crazy 1,026km. To continue to follow the Abdullah Zeinab story jump on Instagram @abdullahzeinab or subscribe to the Glucose Network on Youtube.

The international bikepacking community and events schedule is finally awakening from its 2 year COVID slumber so we thought we would have a ramble about some of the upcoming races both close to home and abroad. Two of Australia's most experienced bikepacking athletes Emma Flukes & Ty Domin share some views and insights into current activities.

The Birdman, as he is affectionately known to all that know him, is one of the hard nuts of the Ultra Endurance world. Humble by nature, Matt Falconer walks us through his life story and what it took for this 120kg chain smoker to turn his life around to become a favorite and highly respected competitor amongst his pointy end peers. This 4 x Finisher of the Transcontinental Bike Race (12th, 5th, 2nd & 20th) has plans to hit the gravel in a big way throughout 2022....check out where he is heading next. Follow Matt's story on Instagram @b1rdmn, Twitter, Strava and Facebook. And for a more detailed description of all his Transcontinental Races head to his website www.mattonabike.com Enjoy.

Mikel Delagrange is a Human Rights Lawyer and Founder of the Amani Project based in the Hague Netherlands. Twelve months ago the listeners of this Podcast engaged in the The Hidden Athlete Project, now known as the Masaka Cycling Club Foundation. Masaka is a small city based in a very poor region in Uganda's South and just happens to have a wealth of Cycling talent currently unseen due to poverty and access constraints. In this Episode we talk to the progress being made through our collaboration with the Amani Project and sister clubs, we talk about the barriers that remain and how we plan to navigate through those, we tall about how a relationship with Wahoo and the e-racing platform has enabled us to bring this talent to potential recruiters. All the topics accumulate up to an exciting future for our friends in East Africa and we would love the Global Cycling community to get involved. Please enjoy, share and help if possible by clinking on the below links.www.masakacyclingclub.com/donateInstagram: @teamamaniInstagram: @masakacyclingclubInstagram: @africarisingcyclingInstagram: @kenyan_ridersInstagram: @jfc_cycling

James Hayden is a 2 x Transcontinental Race Winner (2017 & 2018) and known as one of the worlds best on/off road Ultra Endurance Cyclists racing today. James has accumulated a long list of accomplishments in a very short period of time but its his life story he shares in this episode that is particularly fascinating. The James Mark Hayden story feels like it has many chapters to come so jump in and enjoy learning about what makes this incredible endurance athlete tick and continue to follow his story @jamesmarkhayden & jamesmarkhayden.uk Enjoy.

Jason Hardrath is fast becoming one of the most fascinating Ultra Endurance athlete's on the planet. An athlete addicted to adventure and currently embarking on the crazy goal of holding 100 Fastest Known Times on some incredibly challenging routes throughout the USA. Jason spends a lot of time letting us into his world and what motivates an athlete of his quality to embark on the crazy individual challenges that rocks his world. Enjoy and you can follow Jason's story on Instagram @jasonhardrath.

George Mallory was born in South Africa and quickly set about accumulating some extraordinary achievements in the world of Rock Climbing. His famous Grandfather George Mallory the explorer & mountaineer was the inspiration behind Georges brief transition into mountaineering which included a summit of the awe inspiring Mt Everest. After immigrating to Australia George developed a training concept where he would climb the height of Mt Everest on his bike in a single day, this became an obsession both before and after his actual climb of Mt Everest. A concept that is now recognised as the Everesting phenomenon amongst cyclists the world over. Enjoy what is a very fascinating chat with an incredibly humble and extraordinary athlete.

This is an incredible story of an extraordinary young female adventure cyclist who embarked on her first super challenge navigating solo across the high passes of the Himalayas at the age of just 17. This journey then sparked an around the world 29,000km record attempt at the age of 19. Vedangi's story is truly incredible and it unfolds with an extraordinary amount of drama which highlights how special this young woman really is. Enjoy the wonderful story of Vedungi Kulkarni and please jump on and follow her world at @wheelsandwords and www.vedangikulkarni.com

Rob Preston has been competing against the world's best in Orienteering, Rogaining & Adventure Racing for well over two decades. 2016 Mixed Pairs Rogaining World Champion, Member of the Australian Orienteering World Cup team for 15 years and ranked in the Top10 in Australia for 17 Years. Rob also was Captain Team Gippsland at the recent Prime Amazon Worlds Toughest Race Eco Challenge Fuji finishing an impressive third after coming from dead last. This incredibly popular and chilled Aussie hard nut walks us through what it takes to be one of the toughest endurance athletes on earth. Enjoy

A ripping chat between Canadian Podcast Host Steve O'Shaughnessy and Chairman of the Masaka Cycling Club Miiro Michael. Many of you are already heavily involved in The Hidden Athlete Project as donors so this story will be of great interest. You will certainly feel like your investment is in great hands after listening to this chat. If you enjoy the listen and would love to get involved please go to thehiddenathlete.com.au and click on the Masaka Cycling Club page for all the info you need. And please join us on the Instagram journey @masakacyclingclub

Jason is Australia's most successful cyclist, with 7 x 24 Hour Solo Mountain Bike World Championships, 13 x National Titles, 29 Consecutive 24Solo Wins, Mountain Bike Australia Hall of Fame, Cycling Australia Mountain Biker of the Year and we suspect there is still plenty more to come in the years ahead. Enjoy the crazy world that is Jason English and follow the rest of his journey on Insta here: @jasonaenglish and also check out both his YouTube Channel and website www.jasonenglish.com.au

Brooke Williams is an aspiring young Australian track athlete who burst on to the scene at the 2012 Zatopek track meet as a Wildcard to win the Australian U23 10,000m National Title. Brooke went on to represent Australia in Mountain Running before disappearing from Athletics. A comeback five years on lead to a near death experience which Brooke shares in detail in this short story of her life to date. Its an incredible roller-coaster ride so far with more to come as she continues another comeback and journey towards realising one last dream of representing Australia once again. You can follow Brooke Williams on Instagram @brooke_williams90

In this episode we touch base with both Ty Domin (@tydomin) and Lewis Ciddor (@overland.archive) and chat about the world of Bikepacking. How COVID-19 has impacted the 2020 race calendar, what Ty & Lewis have planned for 2020 and they also dispel some of the myths or barriers of entry for beginners entering the world of Bikepacking. Enjoy.

This was a fun chat with Jordan Addison from GIRO Podcast in the UK about all things The Hidden Athlete and Masaka Cycling Club. Jordan is a huge contributor to the Masaka Cycling Club and reached out with an opportunity to share the details of the project to Cycling Fans in the UK. You can follow GIRO Podcast on Insta here @girocycles and the Masaka Cycling Club Project here @masakacyclingclub . Enjoy.

If you haven't listened to the Jimmy Ashby story please jump on Ep.72. In this episode we will piece together Jimmy's race across Australia during 5,500km Self Supported Bikepacking Race the Indian Pacific Wheel Race. Note: The IPWR was cancelled half way through Day 2 due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. Jimmy shares his thoughts both Pre Race and Post Race with then 2nd place Matt Hill..

An incredible story about a competitive elite level endurance athlete balancing his real world with a passion for smashing himself. Nick walks us through his 7 years of representing Australia in Cross Country Skiing before transitioning into the brutal world of Ultra Running. Fascinating listen. Enjoy

Lucy recently completed a record 66 Day run along the 3,000km Te Araroa Trail from the Northern tip of New Zealand's North Island to the most Southern point of the South Island. A harsh off road route that accumulates 80,000 metres of climbing. An incredible story of an inexperienced athlete believing and chasing dreams. Enjoy

At the age of just 18 Jimmy Ashby set off from Australia on what became a 39,000km adventure around the world by bike. This story is incredible humbling and a must listen for everyone not just athletes and adventurers. Jimmy shares a beautiful outlook on life that will inspire all. Enjoy.

The Episode brings the listeners up to speed on The Hidden Athlete Project which is based in one of the poorest regions of Uganda. For finer details please have a quick listen to Episode 65. The project is a listener funded initiative. To be part of the project please refer to the donor details here: https://thehiddenathlete.com.au/masaka-cycling-club/ or send any questions to [email protected]

Brad walks us through his action packed life story starting with his AFL U19 Morrish Medal Win for the best player in the league before accumulating almost 50,000km via 50 Countries by Bike. Then comes the brief 24Solo Mountainbike career that ended in three races for three podiums racing the best on the planet before closing out his elite XC MTB career racing and beating some of the worlds best Euro World Tour riders at the 1,400km Croc Trophy. Hard as nails. Enjoy.

Brodie Chapman just closed out an incredible 2019 cycling season representing Australia at the World Champ's Road Race and signing a new pro contract with FDJ. This rapid rise to cycling fame has been far from the norm. Enjoy Brodie's amazing story and a little guest segment by dad Rhett.

This USA Ultra Endurance couple had a dream of Running one of the worlds harshest trans-continental crossing's from Darwin Australia to Adelaide. 3,700 km self supported by bike through the Tanami Desert, isolated for weeks at a time. This is a story of human resolve paused with funny tales of characters and environmental harshness. Enjoy what is an incredible journey.

Buckle up for some serious crazy. Beck Butler can boast one of the most impressive Ultra Endurance race portfolio's amongst some of the strongest & fastest Ultra Endurance athletes. Jungle Marathon (Amazon), Marathon Des Sables (Morocco) and first Australian woman to complete the 200 mile+ destination trail races in the USA finishing Top10 in all. Plenty to share in this little chat. Enjoy.

After winning 4xAge Group Triathlon World Championships Kate decided to turn Pro at the age of 32 and race the very best Off Road triathletes from around the world. It didn't take long to notch up her first win in the Netherlands. A ripping human and an extremely humble athlete. Enjoy.

This is a special opportunity for you the listener to be involved in an exciting little project called The Hidden Athlete Project. A project very close to our hearts. Please listen for your call to action and come on the ride of your life. We promise we will make you super proud. https://thehiddenathlete.com.au/masaka-cycling-club/

Jason competed as a pro triathlete on the world stage for over 25 years and during that time completed over 85 Ironman distance triathlons. The man they call Shorto quickly became known as one of the toughest and more resilient triathletes on the circuit. A fascinating listen. Enjoy

What an incredible young man. At just the age of 24 Tom has already accomplished some incredible achievements, having completed the Murray River at just 19 by Kayak before navigating his way through a 3,800km river network across four States on a Stand Up Paddleboard. Yet it is his last 5,000km Self-Supported Duathlon from Cape York to Wilsons Prom that sits as his greatest disappointment to date. Find out why. Enjoy

Everesting is a Cycling concept that has swept through the masses becoming one of the most sought after badge's of honour amoungst the best (and worst) hill climbers across the globe. Andy Van Bergen is the man behind the concept. Andy walks us through the history of Everesting and his personal journey leading to the creation of this incredible concept. Enjoy.

A fascinating listen to yet another elite Plant Based ultra endurance athlete. Jacob burst onto the Ultra Endurance Cycling scene this year by winning the IPWR in a little over 15 Days. An extraordinary achievement given the unsupported nature of the 5,500km race. Enjoy listening to this incredibly humble superstar.

Ben Cureton is a 3xOlympian, Olympic Silver Medalist, World Champion and 8xNational Champion in the sport of Rowing. Ben is also a Sub 9hr Ironman Triathlete, Ironman Age Group Winner and has completed Kona Ironman World Champs in 9h20m. Then there is his 6th in one of the worlds hardest 50mile Ultra Running events and lastly, just finished 2nd in a 700km Ultra Cycling Challenge in Corsica. An incredible Endurance athlete. Enjoy the wild world of Ben Cureton.

Sam has won countless State & National Swim titles both in the Pool & Surf but is more well know for his Open Water Swimming achievements over the past decade, representing the Country at Fina World Champs both in the 5km & 25km. Sam also holds the record for the most Pier To Pub wins (7) and recently smashed a huge field at the 20km Rottnest Channel Swim. Plenty to talk about with this superstar. Enjoy.

Incredibly fortunate to sit down with this legend of Australian Road Cycling. Iffy walks us through his world including 4xNational Road Cycling Championships, 3xHerald Sun Tour Wins, 1972 Munich Olympics and a Bronze medal at the 1970 Commonwealth Games. A genuine icon of Australian Road Cycling.

Emily walks us through the Emotions and Psychology of the Endurance Athlete and Adventurer. A fascinating listen as we delve in to the world of the weekend warrior and pro athlete....communities dear to her heart. We cover how these groups could use the power of the mind to enhance and manage performance. Enjoy

Steve Sullivan drills host Ross Burrage about his recent finish in the 2019 Tour Divide as well as some other stuff.

An Ultra Endurance Cyclist who burst on to the scene in 2018 by Winning the 5,500km Indian Pacific Wheel Race then backed it up with a record breaking ride in the 2019 6,800km Trans America Bike Race placing him amongst the best Ultra Cyclists on the planet. An incredible athlete.

In five short years Lael Wilcox has become known as one of the worlds best Ultra Endurance Athletes. The overall winner of the 6,800km 2016 Trans Am Bike Race & 2015 Female Winner of the 4,400km off-road Tour Divide. This current Tour Divide record holder shares some amazing insights into the crazy world of Ultra Endurance Cycling. Enjoy

This is an incredible tell all story of what an elite Ultra Endurance Athlete can put themselves through when in their darkest moments. Josh's description of his 2017 Tour Divide race is mind blowing. Enjoy listening to one of the most likable and humble Ultra Endurance Athletes currently still racing.

This is an incredible story of bravery and skill. Ant walks us through the crazy world of free diving and the skill necessary to become one of the worlds best. He shares his story on becoming a 2xWorld Record Holder for an Ice Dive that reaches 75m below the surface. Insane story. Enjoy

Alice is a multiple National and World Champion Rower who has experienced her share of adversity but what you will find fascinating is her transition into one of the worlds best stair climbers. Alice has won the Eureka Tower climb 7 times, won the Empire State Building climb in just her second start whilst in her prime as a rower. A very interesting story. Enjoy.

Amongst some horrific injuries and life adversity, Alistair has managed to accumulate 18 UCI Track & Road World Championship Medals including 6 Individual World Championship Gold Medals. He has also won 2 Paralympic Silver Medals and was recently awarded the 2018 Australian Para Athlete of the year.....all by the age of 24.

After turning pro just 15 months ago Grace Thek has hit the pro ranks in impressive style...with six Half Ironman distance podiums in her first 10 Half Ironman starts. A genuine up and comer from an elite running back ground. One to watch closely. Follow Grace's journey on Insta: @gracethek

One of Australia's most experienced Ultra Endurance Cyclists is currently preparing for one of the worlds most prestigious off-road Bikepacking races...the Tour Divide. Nick is the first ever Single Speed rider to complete the grueling Race To The Rock and Hunt1000 and was on course in the 2017 Indian Pacific Wheel Race when the sad news of Mike Halls death spread down through the competitors. Enjoy.

If you want to be inspired to get off the couch and squeeze the most out of life then have a listen to Chris' story. His account of an adventure around South Georgia Island with three good mates is incredible. They did it in record time and were only the third group to do so. Loved this listen.

Ty & Lewis provide some insight into the world and evolution of the Bikepacking community in Australia. They walk us through their experience at the most prestigious off road Bikepacking event the Tour Divide and some more recent Australian events like VicDivide550. Enjoy.