September 10, 2024 • 37 mins
We're back with part two of Gareth Jones' amazing journey. If you haven't listened to the first episode, we strongly recommend you do because it reveals his incredible backstory and what has led him to take on the adventures in ultra running. In this episode, we dive into Gareth's experience running the Swiss Alps 100, a race known for its stunning scenery and challenging terrain.
Gareth shares why he chose this particular race and the preparation that went into it. He talks about the unexpected challenges he faced, including the harsh realities of high altitude running and the mental hurdles that came with it. Despite these obstacles, Gareth's determination and love for running helped him push through to the finish line.
We also get a glimpse into Gareth's life beyond racing, including his social media presence as the "Mental Health Wanderer" and his new venture into coaching. Gareth's story is one of transformation and resilience, making him an inspiring figure for anyone facing their own battles.
Don't miss out on this captivating episode that not only highlights the physical demands of ultra-running but also the mental fortitude required to overcome life's toughest challenges.
Here is Gareth...
You can follow Gareth on Instagram here - https://www.instagram.com/mental_healthwanderer/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hi everyone, this is Michele Graglia. This is Marianne Hogan.
Hi, I'm Adrian McDonald.
I'm Katie Asmund. Hi, this is Anthony Gasols. Hi, my name is Meg Morgan.
Hey, it's Jordan Trove. This is John Ray. This is Ryan Van Duser,
and you're listening to the Gotta Run Racing Podcast.
Hey everyone, we're back with part two of Gareth Jones.
(00:22):
If you haven't listened to the first episode, we strongly recommend you do because
it gives you his incredible backstory and what has led him to take on these
races that he's doing now.
Well, let's get to Swiss Alps because this is a race.
We've obviously spoken to the race director and a few people that have run this race.
(00:44):
Race and we know how stunning
switzerland is so let's get to it and
why did you pick this race in particular because there's
so many events in europe it's hard
to pick one why this one because i wanted to run in the snow believe it or not
okay yeah i i know i know a lot of people have laughed at this but i thought
(01:08):
you know let's try something different let's go for a snow ultra All right.
So I Googled, so I thought, where will there be snow? Switzerland,
Norway, all these places, okay?
The Swiss Alps 100 popped up. Okay. So that looks absolutely fantastic.
Let's go for it. I waited up until the stroke of midnight to sign up for it.
(01:35):
And I did. As soon as midnight struck, I signed up for it, and that's how I
ended up getting the number two bib.
Oh. because i was because i was so eager you
know i wanted to get it done when i say i'm doing something i'm
doing it uh well it
wasn't until it was about three weeks later my wife turned to me and she went
(01:57):
okay so what am i gonna need to wear in switzerland she knew full well what
to wear she knew where she was getting at with this and i was like we're gonna
need warm clothes aren't you,
know you're gonna need nice warm jacket and an act and everything and she turned
to me and she went you absolute idiot she said it's going to be about 30 or
degrees out there this summer.
(02:23):
So so yeah maybe this this is me to a t okay i see a race i don't really do any i don't do any like
research on the race, nothing at all. I'm just adding.
I'm like, yep, I'm doing that. Okay, let's do it.
By the way, it doesn't snow all year round in Canada, just in case you think
(02:47):
you need to come here next.
It's 35 degrees Celsius out right now.
Really? Wow.
Yeah.
But that's why I signed up for it. but
the other the other reason was because the elevation
(03:08):
the elevation as soon as i did do
my research on the race and i looked and i was like them mountains
they are i consider
myself to be quite a mountain goat and i grew up
surrounded by mountains like snowden and penavan
and all the ice peaks in wales but these
mountains were something else they were just walls
(03:30):
of solid stone you know it was absolutely
incredible so how did
you prepare if you would ask me if you would ask me before the race how have
i prepared for this i would have said to you i've run up and down snow done
a few times i've run been doing like 1500 meter runs i thought i was very well prepared,
(03:54):
If you ask me now how I prepared for it, I tell you I wasn't.
Straight up. There's a lot more than... Maybe it's because I've only been running three years.
I mean, I've done quite a lot in that three years, but this was a proper...
This was a proper ultra race, in my opinion.
(04:17):
There's a lot of other races I've done, and not to knock them down,
but you get really, your cutoff times are really good and everything,
and I seem to always come top 10 in races.
But out there, it was something else. It was very fast-paced.
(04:37):
And you had to keep on top of it.
You had to keep ticking away. way otherwise we were
going to get timed out and I was thinking you know I'm I'm
nearing I'm nearing the middle of the pack here I gotta
keep going like you know but it all
it all started very well I started right
to the back of the race like I do every single race
(04:58):
even if even if it's a race that I win I always
start to the back because I like it
I like running past people I like saying hello all to people
and everything and i find you enjoy it more
it takes the pressure off you i quickly made my way
i must have been like three or four from the front and these
guys were just going for it i thought okay this pace
(05:19):
i've done this pace up mountains before and then all
of a sudden i was short of breath i start
to get i start to get an headache oh no yeah
the altitude altitude you know the altitude
hit me like a ton of bricks and i
think yeah and and like the further you
climbed up the the worse the headache was getting
(05:40):
and then you come back down again and the
headache would subside you know you'd get better and.
That just went on throughout the race and i
knew i knew then i knew within the first three
miles of climbing uphill i was
i'm in in trouble here or i need to
slow it down and run my own race and
(06:03):
and that's exactly what i done i enjoyed it i sat back and relaxed took on more
water done everything correctly and i know if i had carried on pushing the pace
push it pushing the pace i probably wouldn't have lasted 10 miles yeah sometimes
you just have to admit that guy's amazing.
(06:24):
And i literally take my hats off to them i'd still like to see them come and run in wales but,
yeah it was yeah that was fantastic we've heard about running in wales it sounds terrifying to me.
Yes. Again, it's something else. If you, if you, if you pick an ultra in Spain,
(06:48):
you can almost guarantee you're going to have warm weather.
If you pick an ultra in Canada during the winter, you're probably going to get snow.
Am I right? Oh yeah. In Wales, you know, you can pick an altar in the Bracken
Beacons on the warmest, sunniest summer's day ever.
The next thing you go, torrential rain and snow.
(07:09):
You know, you never really know what to expect. Hey, sign me up.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. So tell us about the Swiss Alps, because you run past some amazing views.
Were you able to see the glacier running along
the glacier were you able to see that during the day yeah so
(07:30):
i was i was quite i was quite lucky i got there in the
day and i'm really really well done to jacob as well he started the race an
hour early so people could people like the back runners could see the glacier
in in the daylight and it was it was quite i was actually on um i was doing a live,
(07:51):
live video when i was coming up to the alice glacier and
i remember saying on the live feed right hold on hold on watch
this view and as i come over the brow of the ill i remember
thinking of myself i looked at this and i was like i
was like i was totally totally blown
away by what i was seeing it was like looking
at what it was looking at a wallpaper on the phone oh wow is
(08:15):
this real kind of thing it was it's
probably one of the most spectacular things i've ever seen in my life I've been
all around the world with the military and seen some seen some cool places but
just looking at that it was this thing that's thousands of years old and now
I'm running next to it it was quite yeah it was quite surreal you know.
(08:37):
And that was, that was a big moment for me and, and going up Brythorne as well.
Do you know that, that big, the big peak going up there was,
was quite, was quite a, a surreal moment for me.
And I had moments of reflection where I thought 10 years ago,
I was this raging drug addict.
And now I'm staring at this beautiful thing running 100 miles into a South.
(09:00):
So it was like, how can someone's life change so, so drastically?
And and i did uh you know i had a
few tears as well a couple of times as we're doing these long
runs and there were there were tears of joy you know and
and i was really blown away by the by
the breathtaking views i'm looking the
root year on strava now and there's
(09:23):
a couple of there's a couple of places that really stood out
for me and just looking at
them i'm like how did i get through that how did
i get through that part how did i get through that part but
i know that maybe not the first couple
of runners because they were just flying but i know everyone after like the
(09:43):
top 10 place because our times are pretty close within the hours you know all
the way down everyone thought the same it's not an easy route and it's definitely
not for the faint-hearted if you had.
Lost concentration at all if you
had lost any concentration at all during that race you
know that was that was it you have to be all over your
(10:05):
admin you have to be all over yourself which makes
it which makes it really exciting to push to
push yourself out and put yourself out
of that comfort zone and that was the best thing for
me i think was that your first time actually running through the
night in a race actually yeah that's
that's my longest race so i've done
(10:26):
i've done like multi-day events like
when i when i done the office dyke i
run through the night and cam brian way i run through the night but that was
my longest race through the night where i didn't have a choice i had to keep
going yeah when when you when you're doing your own multi-day event you you
you got the choice you can stop you can sleep you haven't got no
(10:49):
time limits on you. But when you run in a race, it's different, isn't it?
You have to keep going. You have to keep chipping away.
And it was quite...
It was quite strange because I'm very much a talker, especially when I get tired.
I start telling people my stories and we just get chatting.
(11:10):
But because everyone out there were from different countries all over the world,
you'd catch someone up or someone would catch you up.
And you wouldn't know where they were from.
You wouldn't know what language they spoke. I was having a conversation with a guy from Japan.
Oh, wow. He didn't understand a word. He didn't understand a word I was saying,
(11:31):
but he kept smiling at me.
And this was going into the night. And then I kind of done a tactical stop where
I tied my shoelaces up. He pushed on a little bit.
And we spent the night, probably, you know, the best part of the night like
(11:51):
that, a good 15 to 20 miles where he was about 15 meters in front of me.
And I could see his head torch. he could see mine i could
see an head torch behind me again about another 100 meters and everyone was
so close yeah but yet so far away if you know for sure but i think it i think
(12:11):
it's that comfort of i was definitely thinking it even though the language barrier
was there and everything,
because we could see each other's head torches that comfort
factor was still there and the stars was
shining down and the floor coming over
the part of the mountain that i come over was just
glistening with the air because the very minerals
(12:35):
out there the crystals were incredible and the sand was just glittering it was
breathtaking in the night that's so special and and it was wow yeah it was it
was amazing tell us about now you're coming down to the the finish line.
You've got 5K left in this race.
What is going through your mind thinking, my God, I'm going to get this thing done?
(12:59):
Yeah, so, it's quite funny. So, you come into Fiche and,
and you're literally about 5k away from the finish okay
but on your watch is telling
you on your watch is telling you you've still got 15k to do oh no i can i i
can see the finish line okay i i can see i can see it on the route here okay
(13:24):
all right i don't know if you've looked at the route but if you look at the
route you can see where the finish is and you can see where the
last checkpoint is and i was like why are we doing this i remember i remember
speaking to a woman at the checkpoint and i was like i was angry i was tired
(13:44):
and i was like i just wanted pizza and i was like it's very familiar.
We've got another i was like we got another 15
kilometers to do and another over 1200 meters
of elevation to climb i was like i knew
my wife was down there waiting for me but yet
we still had to go up the mountain and around and so
(14:07):
by the time the last when the last five kilometers come
i rang my wife and it was i think it was 20 past seven and she said to me you
better hurry up because the they stopped selling pizza at eight o'clock and
i remember i remember picking my I pulled those up and I just started running
and I think I'd done that last 5k in about 35 minutes.
(14:32):
Was she telling the truth or was she lying to you?
Lying, lying, yeah. But, you know, them last couple of kilometers,
they're always special because you know you've made it and you just have to
keep grinding on to get to the finish.
And, you know, you can hear the crowds cheering.
(14:56):
You can see familiar sights. You can smell smells you've smelled before.
And you know it's little things like that are just silly
you know and you come around and then
you come to the finish line and you know my wife was there
the race directors and other participants were
there and i guess like it's the
(15:17):
feeling that i get i always get
it after every single run how did i
do that and i think
i'll always get and i think i'll always get that same feeling i
don't think i'll ever finish a race thinking yeah i
smashed that because you don't
smash races like that you know you train on
(15:39):
you train hard for them and you and you
work hard doing it as well and yeah yeah
it's quite quite amazing wonderful well big
congrats for finishing the swiss alps 100 you've finished
in 37 hours which is an incredible time and
you get tickets to western states hard
rock and bad water will you
(16:01):
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(16:23):
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(16:44):
We'll have the 3.0 leg recovery system on hand.
Not only that, but AirRelax is offering our listeners a 10% discount if you
order using our link and coupon code, which will be posted in the show notes. Check it out.
100%. 100%. I can't wait. Yeah, that would be amazing, wouldn't it?
(17:08):
I think that's kind of next on my bucket list is to move further abroad.
Yeah, that would just be something else.
Incredible of those three which
one would you want to do the most probably hard rock i think yeah i think that's
more your speed yeah definitely i think yeah obviously i train i train more
(17:35):
efficiently for this time maybe i should do a bit more research as well,
well there's plenty of videos on youtube about hard rocks you know what you get yourself into.
Now on your social media gary yeah you go by the mental health wanderer can
(17:59):
you tell us a bit about that yeah so the the name kind of comes from i was sitting
there one night and i was thinking and,
you know, what can I name this page? And...
And then they come across me, and I thought, the reason why I run,
the reason why I walk adventure is because of my mind, because of my mental health.
(18:21):
Like, what am I doing out there? I'm not running. I'm not like some super fit guy and everything.
I'm just a guy that's going for a wander.
And then I thought, yeah. And then I thought, you know, I put two and two together,
and like, mental health wanderer, and it's kind of stuck.
Stuck and it and it it explains a lot
(18:41):
and i think it's yes and i think
it's good it's good and it's bad because when
you got the name mental health in the actual social media one tracks people
from all walks of life and i mean people that need people that need your help
people that want to ask for your help and people have tried to take advantage
(19:01):
as well but by having the name in.
On my social media and when i achieve these these
long runs and these challenges i set myself and they
see the mental health wanderer and they think you know
what's this guy's story and it draws them in it's not just
ultra runner jonesy or ultra runner
gareth you know it's mental health wanderer yeah and
(19:24):
i'll never change it i have been asked would
would you take the mental health out of it no i wouldn't no no
that's no that's who you are that's who you are
and that's why you're doing what you're doing and spreading
the message and it doesn't have to be about running if if
people can find something that works for them that's what it's all about right
(19:47):
you have to find what works for you yeah that's that's that's definitely it
and you know it works for me and like I always say to people when they tell me,
you know, your knees are going to be buggered in a couple of years or you won't
be able to run and everything.
And I'll say to them, well, if I can't run, I'll find something else I enjoy.
(20:08):
I run because at the moment I'm good at it. But the day that I fall out of love
with running, I'll stop and.
I don't run to have trainers offer sponsor or to do podcasts even or anything.
I run because it brings me joy.
And the day that starts to feel like a burden or I'm doing any harm to myself,
(20:32):
then I'll stop and I'll take up something else, maybe boxing.
That's painful. Yeah, but I think that's what it's about.
Out and i think that's what i think that's what every ultra
runner feels you know they they feel a deeper
connection with it they don't just feel it as running and
(20:53):
training when you're out there on your own and in the middle of their mountains
and it's just you against the world you know you literally do feel like rocky
balboa and it's a fantastic feeling yes it is do hard shit do epic Epic shit. Yeah. That's the model.
Have you ever run into somebody maybe on the street or someone you haven't seen
(21:18):
in maybe 10, 15 years and they don't recognize you because they knew who you
were at one time and they see you now and they're like,
oh, my God. What a change. What a change.
Has that ever come across you in life?
Absolutely. all the time especially when i first especially when i first started out with the page,
(21:39):
and because i work away with the military so i'm
away a lot and when i started doing
this ultra running thing and i started the mental health
wanderer page you can almost feel people's negativity
like oh i remember him when he was
fat and he was on drugs and he was violent and he was
all this and as horrible as it
(21:59):
is to say people want you to fail they follow you to watch you fail yeah well
let's be honest I haven't failed even if I was to dnf a race even if I was to
start an under mile race and only get two miles in to me I still not failing okay because I'm trying,
now I see these people that are on my page or even on the streets that I was
(22:24):
bullied by as a kid And I think...
I'll never look at myself and think, yeah, I'm better than you. I'm better than that.
But I have to be honest, we all fall foul of it.
And I just think in the back of my head sometimes I'm like, yeah,
look where you are now and look where I am.
(22:45):
Subconsciously, I think that. Never say it out loud at all. I'm not that type of person.
But it is like it's strange how times change
and one person that's calling you fat and
useless and you're never going to make it and then
the next thing you walk in past them on the street and the
(23:05):
tables have turned and it happens quite
a lot actually but then you get the positive well
where people say to you i always knew
you're going to make something of yourself which which
again is fantastic and like like i said to
two at the beginning the followers that i've got
they're all real followers you know they've been there since the beginning and
(23:28):
every race i do every time i post something i have comments i have messages
and you know it's probably 10 of my running and 90 of i do not want to let them down.
Because they are amazing speaking of that
you're also offering coaching services now
(23:51):
so how can people find you online if they
want to check out your coaching yeah so
i thought the coaching was a good opportunity because i'm kind of unique to
other coaches a lot of coaches have got like 40 50 years experience behind them
but i've got like i think i've got a little bit something else because I've
come from an ordinary background through running.
(24:14):
I started when I was obviously with the drugs, and then I started when I was overweight.
And I've got to myself where I am now, and I just like to help people more with
the mind and the physical attributes as being a PTI.
Yeah, if anyone wants to reach out, just message me on the page, really.
And I got a whole list of questions I like to ask them.
(24:37):
Because I find you really have to get to know someone first before you can even
begin to coach them, you know?
Yes. Yeah. And you got to make sure that it's the right fit.
That's important for sure.
Definitely. And there's this one question I always ask someone.
And they'll message me about coaching and they'll ask oh any chance you can
(24:57):
coach me or can you help me get to this race and I'll always reply with do you
want to be coached do you want to do this race,
you know and I'll ask them the reason why I'll ask them why they want to do
this race why they want coaching why they want to run because I think that says
a lot about someone and it helps you as well.
Definitely. And we'll post a link to your website in the show notes just for
(25:21):
anybody because your website's not just about your coaching.
It's other aspects of what you're up to as well.
But we're wondering when either the book or the movie is going to come out. So just a fun question.
And I think I have an answer. We'll see what you come up with.
Who would you want to play you in the story of your life if you could pick any actor?
(25:46):
Oh my God. I guess like, do you know James Corden? Yes.
I guess, I guess James Corden would be pretty cool. Wow.
Yeah. Because he was, he was slightly overweight. He's a funny guy and everything.
I can, I can picture him running ultra marathons as well.
I was going to say Daniel Craig. Nah, nah, nah.
(26:10):
Have you ever heard of Charlie Engel? No, I haven't.
He's an American ultra runner But before ultra running He was a crack addict
And he spent 16 months in a federal prison And he became the first person To
run across the Sahara I have heard of him With Canadians Ray Zayab And Chinese runner Kevin Lin Yeah,
(26:32):
yeah It took him 111 days That's right, yeah,
yeah yeah and yeah the
documentary is called running the sahara i'm pretty
sure there's a book out as well isn't it that's right he wrote a book that's
what we're asking when's your book gonna come out yeah i've got another i've
(26:52):
got another three big races next year to do and i might be ready to write something
then after these but yeah i have to learn how to a ride first.
You can get somebody else a ride for you. You just tell him the story. He'll ride it.
Yeah, it's a good idea. What are the three big races, Gareth?
(27:15):
So I've got, obviously I've got Marathon des Sables in April.
Then I've got, I haven't really disclosed one, but it's going to be a race across
Scotland, 220 miles. Nice.
So that looks really good. That looks like an awesome race.
But then I want to take a step away. So towards the end of next year,
(27:36):
because I've done so many races this year and last year, I really want to do
something self-supported again.
So I've got a couple of ideas up my sleeve.
And I'd like to break that 600 mile barrier that I hit last time.
But it's finding something that someone else hasn't done, you know,
(27:57):
because ultra running is getting so big. It's like people are attempting things.
You're there in every way. So I'd like to do that one thing where I can say I've done that.
But it's very hard, so I'm kind of studying and just using my imagination a bit at the moment.
(28:18):
Well, I was going to suggest, come and run across Canada, but that has already been done. A few times.
Yeah, that's brilliant. That's fantastic. The sand is going to bring some unique
challenges versus the mountains that you're used to.
Yeah, that's going to absolutely break me. i'm not
(28:38):
very good in a warm climate so i really
have to do some acclimatization to it and i
guess that's kind of why i wanted to go for it one
because i'm raising money for a good charity but two because it's again it's
gonna it's gonna push me out of my comfort zone quite a lot this with this time
and it's and it's again you know it's like this this ex-drug user slash felon,
(29:06):
10 years ago now he's running across morocco and one of the best foot races
in the world it's like it's bigger than me a lot lot bigger than me just running
the races for others to see teenagers
to see it and think you know if this guy can do it then maybe i can
And I don't mean they all have to go out to buy a 12 pound pair of shoes from
(29:27):
pre-mark and start running.
What I mean, what I mean is if they, if they want to be a painter, they can paint.
If they want to play the piano, they can play the piano. It's just like the
world is ours for the taking.
And what do we get? We get 60 to 80 years on this earth.
Just make the bloody most of it. Absolutely. And it goes by too fast.
(29:48):
Yeah, it goes by too fast.
Definitely. This has been awesome. Yeah, what a story, Gareth.
It's really been wonderful learning more about you and your drive and your ambition.
And what an example you're setting for your three young daughters. That's quite special.
(30:08):
Thank you very much. It's been really nice talking to you. And I wish we had
longer so I could do some of your stories because I imagine your stories are pretty spectacular.
You get to hear our stories in person. Yes, in person.
Brilliant. Speaking of that, what's the tamest Welsh trail race that we could
(30:29):
do? Because I hate rocks.
Yeah, the tamest. There's a couple of nice ones.
There's a there's a nice one called the breck into cardiff
which is a nice one that runs past my hometown it's
pretty flat after the first couple of hills and
then you've got like the events run by gb
(30:50):
ultras which you've got manchester to
liverpool you've also got but that's in
england so coming into wales you've got
like the snowden marathon now i
know i know that's quite frightening and but this
but the for the views are spectacular you
know after the climb up snowed and it's amazing and it's all on quite good runnable
(31:14):
routes and trails okay yeah there's this not it's not like switzerland it's
nice so if i pick a race there you'd come and pace me you pace me
for the race oh 100 i would yeah i've got i've got a guy i've got a guy coming
over from france his name is lucian and i've just i've been working with him
(31:38):
he runs a trail run advisor site now which i've been ambassador for for a couple
of weeks and he's coming over from france to do a,
one of the trail marathons with me in december again it's just going to be amazing
you know sharing these opportunities with other people. I definitely take you up on that.
(31:59):
Come to Canada, I'll pace you. Definitely.
100%. All right, before we let you go, we're going to do some little rapid-fire
questions just for some fun, okay? You up for it?
Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Okay. What's the last concert you went to?
Green Day. Oh, wow. Nice. Yeah, yeah, that was amazing.
(32:22):
Very nice. okay do you have any
tattoos yeah oh cool that's that's a lot yeah that's a new one that's a new
one any running related tattoos yeah them oh that's running okay it's hard to
see on the video they've they've all got meaning behind them oh okay very cool,
(32:43):
yeah very cool what's a tv show that you're embarrassed to say you watch uh
uh i don't know vampire diaries okay.
Oh here's a good one you're on the trail and you stub your toe and you have
to curse in welsh what do you say what does that mean essentially,
(33:11):
what does that translate to fuck off,
you're telling the rock to do that yeah yeah that's good that language just
totally mystifies me there's so many consonants,
would you rather be a professional writer painter or musician musician definitely Definitely.
(33:37):
Good one. Definitely musician. Pick a superpower that you would like to have.
It's got to be invisibility.
It's a good one.
It's got to be invisibility.
It's popular. Yeah, I guess like walking around, you know, not having a care in the world.
No one knows what you're doing. You can just sit by the lake, just chilling out.
(34:01):
No bells, no nothing. It'd be great, wouldn't it?
All right. Well, we'll definitely keep in touch because we want to see how you do at Marathon de Sable.
And I'm sure it's going to be pretty epic. Actually, we have a podcast.
We did two podcasts on Marathon de Sable. We'll send them to you so that you can watch them.
(34:22):
Fabulous. Thank you. Yeah, I'd appreciate that. Thank you very much.
And it'd be great to keep in touch as well.
Absolutely. Yes, fab. Do you mind if I take a screenshot before we go? Sure.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you very much.
All right, Gareth. Well, enjoy your time off. Really nice meeting you.
(34:42):
You too. Thank you very much, both. All right. Bye.
Bye. And that was Gareth Jones, fresh off his finish at Swiss Alps 100.
What a story. Crazy. Wow. Unbelievable. What a journey.
The journey is not ending. It hasn't stopped. he's
(35:02):
only 34 oh he's got a lot of life to live yeah i can't wait for the book to
come out with the movie definitely unbelievable i like how he said when he bumps
into people he hasn't seen in 10 years and they just can't believe what has
he become right because they knew him what he was.
And that happens to you right from high school yeah same thing is that you're
(35:28):
doing what now Yeah, no one would ever guess that then.
Yeah, you can live so many lives in this one life of ours, can't you?
Yep, and there's so many chapters.
You have an interesting backstory too, but we'll get into that one day.
That's another day, but I need a few beers before I let that go.
But I like the fact that he thinks he has 5k left in the race.
(35:51):
Oh my God, that brought back flashbacks of Slovenia. Oh, man.
Many ultras that we've done. That you see the finish line.
Or you hear it, which is even kind of worse because you think it's close.
Yeah. And then you're going around it or why am I climbing?
I need to go down. Why am I going up? That happened at Mozart.
(36:14):
Oh, my God. And I was mad just like him. Yes. And I wanted pizza just like him.
Same, same. Yep. Oh, that is a mean race director's trick.
And as a race director, I would do it myself. Yeah, you would.
Sadistic bugger. But in any case, I can't wait to, hey, you know what?
(36:35):
We should look at something in Wales to see. I know, it looks beautiful.
I'm just actually quite terrified of running. Because you might get a hurricane
on a nice sunny day? Is that what you're saying?
No, it's not the weather, it's the terrain. Okay. Yeah, anyways.
All right, and that concludes part two with Gareth. I hope you enjoyed it.
Again, please just hit like, like, like, like, like.
Thanks for listening. See you next time. Cheers. Bye.
Hi everyone, this is Michele Graglia. This is Marianne Hogan.
Hi, I'm Adrian McDonald.
I'm Katie Asmund. Hi, this is Anthony Gasols. Hi, my name is Meg Morgan.
Hey, it's Jordan Trove. This is John Ray. This is Ryan Van Duser,
and you're listening to the Gotta Run Racing Podcast.
Hey everyone, we're back with part two of Gareth Jones.
(00:22):
If you haven't listened to the first episode, we strongly recommend you do because
it gives you his incredible backstory and what has led him to take on these
races that he's doing now.
Well, let's get to Swiss Alps because this is a race.
We've obviously spoken to the race director and a few people that have run this race.
(00:44):
Race and we know how stunning
switzerland is so let's get to it and
why did you pick this race in particular because there's
so many events in europe it's hard
to pick one why this one because i wanted to run in the snow believe it or not
okay yeah i i know i know a lot of people have laughed at this but i thought
(01:08):
you know let's try something different let's go for a snow ultra All right.
So I Googled, so I thought, where will there be snow? Switzerland,
Norway, all these places, okay?
The Swiss Alps 100 popped up. Okay. So that looks absolutely fantastic.
Let's go for it. I waited up until the stroke of midnight to sign up for it.
(01:35):
And I did. As soon as midnight struck, I signed up for it, and that's how I
ended up getting the number two bib.
Oh. because i was because i was so eager you
know i wanted to get it done when i say i'm doing something i'm
doing it uh well it
wasn't until it was about three weeks later my wife turned to me and she went
(01:57):
okay so what am i gonna need to wear in switzerland she knew full well what
to wear she knew where she was getting at with this and i was like we're gonna
need warm clothes aren't you,
know you're gonna need nice warm jacket and an act and everything and she turned
to me and she went you absolute idiot she said it's going to be about 30 or
degrees out there this summer.
(02:23):
So so yeah maybe this this is me to a t okay i see a race i don't really do any i don't do any like
research on the race, nothing at all. I'm just adding.
I'm like, yep, I'm doing that. Okay, let's do it.
By the way, it doesn't snow all year round in Canada, just in case you think
(02:47):
you need to come here next.
It's 35 degrees Celsius out right now.
Really? Wow.
Yeah.
But that's why I signed up for it. but
the other the other reason was because the elevation
(03:08):
the elevation as soon as i did do
my research on the race and i looked and i was like them mountains
they are i consider
myself to be quite a mountain goat and i grew up
surrounded by mountains like snowden and penavan
and all the ice peaks in wales but these
mountains were something else they were just walls
(03:30):
of solid stone you know it was absolutely
incredible so how did
you prepare if you would ask me if you would ask me before the race how have
i prepared for this i would have said to you i've run up and down snow done
a few times i've run been doing like 1500 meter runs i thought i was very well prepared,
(03:54):
If you ask me now how I prepared for it, I tell you I wasn't.
Straight up. There's a lot more than... Maybe it's because I've only been running three years.
I mean, I've done quite a lot in that three years, but this was a proper...
This was a proper ultra race, in my opinion.
(04:17):
There's a lot of other races I've done, and not to knock them down,
but you get really, your cutoff times are really good and everything,
and I seem to always come top 10 in races.
But out there, it was something else. It was very fast-paced.
(04:37):
And you had to keep on top of it.
You had to keep ticking away. way otherwise we were
going to get timed out and I was thinking you know I'm I'm
nearing I'm nearing the middle of the pack here I gotta
keep going like you know but it all
it all started very well I started right
to the back of the race like I do every single race
(04:58):
even if even if it's a race that I win I always
start to the back because I like it
I like running past people I like saying hello all to people
and everything and i find you enjoy it more
it takes the pressure off you i quickly made my way
i must have been like three or four from the front and these
guys were just going for it i thought okay this pace
(05:19):
i've done this pace up mountains before and then all
of a sudden i was short of breath i start
to get i start to get an headache oh no yeah
the altitude altitude you know the altitude
hit me like a ton of bricks and i
think yeah and and like the further you
climbed up the the worse the headache was getting
(05:40):
and then you come back down again and the
headache would subside you know you'd get better and.
That just went on throughout the race and i
knew i knew then i knew within the first three
miles of climbing uphill i was
i'm in in trouble here or i need to
slow it down and run my own race and
(06:03):
and that's exactly what i done i enjoyed it i sat back and relaxed took on more
water done everything correctly and i know if i had carried on pushing the pace
push it pushing the pace i probably wouldn't have lasted 10 miles yeah sometimes
you just have to admit that guy's amazing.
(06:24):
And i literally take my hats off to them i'd still like to see them come and run in wales but,
yeah it was yeah that was fantastic we've heard about running in wales it sounds terrifying to me.
Yes. Again, it's something else. If you, if you, if you pick an ultra in Spain,
(06:48):
you can almost guarantee you're going to have warm weather.
If you pick an ultra in Canada during the winter, you're probably going to get snow.
Am I right? Oh yeah. In Wales, you know, you can pick an altar in the Bracken
Beacons on the warmest, sunniest summer's day ever.
The next thing you go, torrential rain and snow.
(07:09):
You know, you never really know what to expect. Hey, sign me up.
Yeah, yeah, definitely. So tell us about the Swiss Alps, because you run past some amazing views.
Were you able to see the glacier running along
the glacier were you able to see that during the day yeah so
(07:30):
i was i was quite i was quite lucky i got there in the
day and i'm really really well done to jacob as well he started the race an
hour early so people could people like the back runners could see the glacier
in in the daylight and it was it was quite i was actually on um i was doing a live,
(07:51):
live video when i was coming up to the alice glacier and
i remember saying on the live feed right hold on hold on watch
this view and as i come over the brow of the ill i remember
thinking of myself i looked at this and i was like i
was like i was totally totally blown
away by what i was seeing it was like looking
at what it was looking at a wallpaper on the phone oh wow is
(08:15):
this real kind of thing it was it's
probably one of the most spectacular things i've ever seen in my life I've been
all around the world with the military and seen some seen some cool places but
just looking at that it was this thing that's thousands of years old and now
I'm running next to it it was quite yeah it was quite surreal you know.
(08:37):
And that was, that was a big moment for me and, and going up Brythorne as well.
Do you know that, that big, the big peak going up there was,
was quite, was quite a, a surreal moment for me.
And I had moments of reflection where I thought 10 years ago,
I was this raging drug addict.
And now I'm staring at this beautiful thing running 100 miles into a South.
(09:00):
So it was like, how can someone's life change so, so drastically?
And and i did uh you know i had a
few tears as well a couple of times as we're doing these long
runs and there were there were tears of joy you know and
and i was really blown away by the by
the breathtaking views i'm looking the
root year on strava now and there's
(09:23):
a couple of there's a couple of places that really stood out
for me and just looking at
them i'm like how did i get through that how did
i get through that part how did i get through that part but
i know that maybe not the first couple
of runners because they were just flying but i know everyone after like the
(09:43):
top 10 place because our times are pretty close within the hours you know all
the way down everyone thought the same it's not an easy route and it's definitely
not for the faint-hearted if you had.
Lost concentration at all if you
had lost any concentration at all during that race you
know that was that was it you have to be all over your
(10:05):
admin you have to be all over yourself which makes
it which makes it really exciting to push to
push yourself out and put yourself out
of that comfort zone and that was the best thing for
me i think was that your first time actually running through the
night in a race actually yeah that's
that's my longest race so i've done
(10:26):
i've done like multi-day events like
when i when i done the office dyke i
run through the night and cam brian way i run through the night but that was
my longest race through the night where i didn't have a choice i had to keep
going yeah when when you when you're doing your own multi-day event you you
you got the choice you can stop you can sleep you haven't got no
(10:49):
time limits on you. But when you run in a race, it's different, isn't it?
You have to keep going. You have to keep chipping away.
And it was quite...
It was quite strange because I'm very much a talker, especially when I get tired.
I start telling people my stories and we just get chatting.
(11:10):
But because everyone out there were from different countries all over the world,
you'd catch someone up or someone would catch you up.
And you wouldn't know where they were from.
You wouldn't know what language they spoke. I was having a conversation with a guy from Japan.
Oh, wow. He didn't understand a word. He didn't understand a word I was saying,
(11:31):
but he kept smiling at me.
And this was going into the night. And then I kind of done a tactical stop where
I tied my shoelaces up. He pushed on a little bit.
And we spent the night, probably, you know, the best part of the night like
(11:51):
that, a good 15 to 20 miles where he was about 15 meters in front of me.
And I could see his head torch. he could see mine i could
see an head torch behind me again about another 100 meters and everyone was
so close yeah but yet so far away if you know for sure but i think it i think
(12:11):
it's that comfort of i was definitely thinking it even though the language barrier
was there and everything,
because we could see each other's head torches that comfort
factor was still there and the stars was
shining down and the floor coming over
the part of the mountain that i come over was just
glistening with the air because the very minerals
(12:35):
out there the crystals were incredible and the sand was just glittering it was
breathtaking in the night that's so special and and it was wow yeah it was it
was amazing tell us about now you're coming down to the the finish line.
You've got 5K left in this race.
What is going through your mind thinking, my God, I'm going to get this thing done?
(12:59):
Yeah, so, it's quite funny. So, you come into Fiche and,
and you're literally about 5k away from the finish okay
but on your watch is telling
you on your watch is telling you you've still got 15k to do oh no i can i i
can see the finish line okay i i can see i can see it on the route here okay
(13:24):
all right i don't know if you've looked at the route but if you look at the
route you can see where the finish is and you can see where the
last checkpoint is and i was like why are we doing this i remember i remember
speaking to a woman at the checkpoint and i was like i was angry i was tired
(13:44):
and i was like i just wanted pizza and i was like it's very familiar.
We've got another i was like we got another 15
kilometers to do and another over 1200 meters
of elevation to climb i was like i knew
my wife was down there waiting for me but yet
we still had to go up the mountain and around and so
(14:07):
by the time the last when the last five kilometers come
i rang my wife and it was i think it was 20 past seven and she said to me you
better hurry up because the they stopped selling pizza at eight o'clock and
i remember i remember picking my I pulled those up and I just started running
and I think I'd done that last 5k in about 35 minutes.
(14:32):
Was she telling the truth or was she lying to you?
Lying, lying, yeah. But, you know, them last couple of kilometers,
they're always special because you know you've made it and you just have to
keep grinding on to get to the finish.
And, you know, you can hear the crowds cheering.
(14:56):
You can see familiar sights. You can smell smells you've smelled before.
And you know it's little things like that are just silly
you know and you come around and then
you come to the finish line and you know my wife was there
the race directors and other participants were
there and i guess like it's the
(15:17):
feeling that i get i always get
it after every single run how did i
do that and i think
i'll always get and i think i'll always get that same feeling i
don't think i'll ever finish a race thinking yeah i
smashed that because you don't
smash races like that you know you train on
(15:39):
you train hard for them and you and you
work hard doing it as well and yeah yeah
it's quite quite amazing wonderful well big
congrats for finishing the swiss alps 100 you've finished
in 37 hours which is an incredible time and
you get tickets to western states hard
rock and bad water will you
(16:01):
be putting those tickets to the lotteries hey guys compression
therapy is something most runners are familiar with whether it be socks sleeves
or recovery products right norm you got it compression plays a huge role in
reducing swelling and inflammation speeding up muscle recovery preventing delayed
onset muscle soreness aka DOMS,
(16:23):
and relieving muscle pain.
You guys are all runners, you know that.
We are very excited to be partnered with Air Relax Canada.
In fact, we'll be offering free demos of their leg compression therapy at both
Rainbow Trail Run and Island Lake Classic this year.
So if you're signed up for either race, make sure you swing by the tent to try out their system.
(16:44):
We'll have the 3.0 leg recovery system on hand.
Not only that, but AirRelax is offering our listeners a 10% discount if you
order using our link and coupon code, which will be posted in the show notes. Check it out.
100%. 100%. I can't wait. Yeah, that would be amazing, wouldn't it?
(17:08):
I think that's kind of next on my bucket list is to move further abroad.
Yeah, that would just be something else.
Incredible of those three which
one would you want to do the most probably hard rock i think yeah i think that's
more your speed yeah definitely i think yeah obviously i train i train more
(17:35):
efficiently for this time maybe i should do a bit more research as well,
well there's plenty of videos on youtube about hard rocks you know what you get yourself into.
Now on your social media gary yeah you go by the mental health wanderer can
(17:59):
you tell us a bit about that yeah so the the name kind of comes from i was sitting
there one night and i was thinking and,
you know, what can I name this page? And...
And then they come across me, and I thought, the reason why I run,
the reason why I walk adventure is because of my mind, because of my mental health.
(18:21):
Like, what am I doing out there? I'm not running. I'm not like some super fit guy and everything.
I'm just a guy that's going for a wander.
And then I thought, yeah. And then I thought, you know, I put two and two together,
and like, mental health wanderer, and it's kind of stuck.
Stuck and it and it it explains a lot
(18:41):
and i think it's yes and i think
it's good it's good and it's bad because when
you got the name mental health in the actual social media one tracks people
from all walks of life and i mean people that need people that need your help
people that want to ask for your help and people have tried to take advantage
(19:01):
as well but by having the name in.
On my social media and when i achieve these these
long runs and these challenges i set myself and they
see the mental health wanderer and they think you know
what's this guy's story and it draws them in it's not just
ultra runner jonesy or ultra runner
gareth you know it's mental health wanderer yeah and
(19:24):
i'll never change it i have been asked would
would you take the mental health out of it no i wouldn't no no
that's no that's who you are that's who you are
and that's why you're doing what you're doing and spreading
the message and it doesn't have to be about running if if
people can find something that works for them that's what it's all about right
(19:47):
you have to find what works for you yeah that's that's that's definitely it
and you know it works for me and like I always say to people when they tell me,
you know, your knees are going to be buggered in a couple of years or you won't
be able to run and everything.
And I'll say to them, well, if I can't run, I'll find something else I enjoy.
(20:08):
I run because at the moment I'm good at it. But the day that I fall out of love
with running, I'll stop and.
I don't run to have trainers offer sponsor or to do podcasts even or anything.
I run because it brings me joy.
And the day that starts to feel like a burden or I'm doing any harm to myself,
(20:32):
then I'll stop and I'll take up something else, maybe boxing.
That's painful. Yeah, but I think that's what it's about.
Out and i think that's what i think that's what every ultra
runner feels you know they they feel a deeper
connection with it they don't just feel it as running and
(20:53):
training when you're out there on your own and in the middle of their mountains
and it's just you against the world you know you literally do feel like rocky
balboa and it's a fantastic feeling yes it is do hard shit do epic Epic shit. Yeah. That's the model.
Have you ever run into somebody maybe on the street or someone you haven't seen
(21:18):
in maybe 10, 15 years and they don't recognize you because they knew who you
were at one time and they see you now and they're like,
oh, my God. What a change. What a change.
Has that ever come across you in life?
Absolutely. all the time especially when i first especially when i first started out with the page,
(21:39):
and because i work away with the military so i'm
away a lot and when i started doing
this ultra running thing and i started the mental health
wanderer page you can almost feel people's negativity
like oh i remember him when he was
fat and he was on drugs and he was violent and he was
all this and as horrible as it
(21:59):
is to say people want you to fail they follow you to watch you fail yeah well
let's be honest I haven't failed even if I was to dnf a race even if I was to
start an under mile race and only get two miles in to me I still not failing okay because I'm trying,
now I see these people that are on my page or even on the streets that I was
(22:24):
bullied by as a kid And I think...
I'll never look at myself and think, yeah, I'm better than you. I'm better than that.
But I have to be honest, we all fall foul of it.
And I just think in the back of my head sometimes I'm like, yeah,
look where you are now and look where I am.
(22:45):
Subconsciously, I think that. Never say it out loud at all. I'm not that type of person.
But it is like it's strange how times change
and one person that's calling you fat and
useless and you're never going to make it and then
the next thing you walk in past them on the street and the
(23:05):
tables have turned and it happens quite
a lot actually but then you get the positive well
where people say to you i always knew
you're going to make something of yourself which which
again is fantastic and like like i said to
two at the beginning the followers that i've got
they're all real followers you know they've been there since the beginning and
(23:28):
every race i do every time i post something i have comments i have messages
and you know it's probably 10 of my running and 90 of i do not want to let them down.
Because they are amazing speaking of that
you're also offering coaching services now
(23:51):
so how can people find you online if they
want to check out your coaching yeah so
i thought the coaching was a good opportunity because i'm kind of unique to
other coaches a lot of coaches have got like 40 50 years experience behind them
but i've got like i think i've got a little bit something else because I've
come from an ordinary background through running.
(24:14):
I started when I was obviously with the drugs, and then I started when I was overweight.
And I've got to myself where I am now, and I just like to help people more with
the mind and the physical attributes as being a PTI.
Yeah, if anyone wants to reach out, just message me on the page, really.
And I got a whole list of questions I like to ask them.
(24:37):
Because I find you really have to get to know someone first before you can even
begin to coach them, you know?
Yes. Yeah. And you got to make sure that it's the right fit.
That's important for sure.
Definitely. And there's this one question I always ask someone.
And they'll message me about coaching and they'll ask oh any chance you can
(24:57):
coach me or can you help me get to this race and I'll always reply with do you
want to be coached do you want to do this race,
you know and I'll ask them the reason why I'll ask them why they want to do
this race why they want coaching why they want to run because I think that says
a lot about someone and it helps you as well.
Definitely. And we'll post a link to your website in the show notes just for
(25:21):
anybody because your website's not just about your coaching.
It's other aspects of what you're up to as well.
But we're wondering when either the book or the movie is going to come out. So just a fun question.
And I think I have an answer. We'll see what you come up with.
Who would you want to play you in the story of your life if you could pick any actor?
(25:46):
Oh my God. I guess like, do you know James Corden? Yes.
I guess, I guess James Corden would be pretty cool. Wow.
Yeah. Because he was, he was slightly overweight. He's a funny guy and everything.
I can, I can picture him running ultra marathons as well.
I was going to say Daniel Craig. Nah, nah, nah.
(26:10):
Have you ever heard of Charlie Engel? No, I haven't.
He's an American ultra runner But before ultra running He was a crack addict
And he spent 16 months in a federal prison And he became the first person To
run across the Sahara I have heard of him With Canadians Ray Zayab And Chinese runner Kevin Lin Yeah,
(26:32):
yeah It took him 111 days That's right, yeah,
yeah yeah and yeah the
documentary is called running the sahara i'm pretty
sure there's a book out as well isn't it that's right he wrote a book that's
what we're asking when's your book gonna come out yeah i've got another i've
(26:52):
got another three big races next year to do and i might be ready to write something
then after these but yeah i have to learn how to a ride first.
You can get somebody else a ride for you. You just tell him the story. He'll ride it.
Yeah, it's a good idea. What are the three big races, Gareth?
(27:15):
So I've got, obviously I've got Marathon des Sables in April.
Then I've got, I haven't really disclosed one, but it's going to be a race across
Scotland, 220 miles. Nice.
So that looks really good. That looks like an awesome race.
But then I want to take a step away. So towards the end of next year,
(27:36):
because I've done so many races this year and last year, I really want to do
something self-supported again.
So I've got a couple of ideas up my sleeve.
And I'd like to break that 600 mile barrier that I hit last time.
But it's finding something that someone else hasn't done, you know,
(27:57):
because ultra running is getting so big. It's like people are attempting things.
You're there in every way. So I'd like to do that one thing where I can say I've done that.
But it's very hard, so I'm kind of studying and just using my imagination a bit at the moment.
(28:18):
Well, I was going to suggest, come and run across Canada, but that has already been done. A few times.
Yeah, that's brilliant. That's fantastic. The sand is going to bring some unique
challenges versus the mountains that you're used to.
Yeah, that's going to absolutely break me. i'm not
(28:38):
very good in a warm climate so i really
have to do some acclimatization to it and i
guess that's kind of why i wanted to go for it one
because i'm raising money for a good charity but two because it's again it's
gonna it's gonna push me out of my comfort zone quite a lot this with this time
and it's and it's again you know it's like this this ex-drug user slash felon,
(29:06):
10 years ago now he's running across morocco and one of the best foot races
in the world it's like it's bigger than me a lot lot bigger than me just running
the races for others to see teenagers
to see it and think you know if this guy can do it then maybe i can
And I don't mean they all have to go out to buy a 12 pound pair of shoes from
(29:27):
pre-mark and start running.
What I mean, what I mean is if they, if they want to be a painter, they can paint.
If they want to play the piano, they can play the piano. It's just like the
world is ours for the taking.
And what do we get? We get 60 to 80 years on this earth.
Just make the bloody most of it. Absolutely. And it goes by too fast.
(29:48):
Yeah, it goes by too fast.
Definitely. This has been awesome. Yeah, what a story, Gareth.
It's really been wonderful learning more about you and your drive and your ambition.
And what an example you're setting for your three young daughters. That's quite special.
(30:08):
Thank you very much. It's been really nice talking to you. And I wish we had
longer so I could do some of your stories because I imagine your stories are pretty spectacular.
You get to hear our stories in person. Yes, in person.
Brilliant. Speaking of that, what's the tamest Welsh trail race that we could
(30:29):
do? Because I hate rocks.
Yeah, the tamest. There's a couple of nice ones.
There's a there's a nice one called the breck into cardiff
which is a nice one that runs past my hometown it's
pretty flat after the first couple of hills and
then you've got like the events run by gb
(30:50):
ultras which you've got manchester to
liverpool you've also got but that's in
england so coming into wales you've got
like the snowden marathon now i
know i know that's quite frightening and but this
but the for the views are spectacular you
know after the climb up snowed and it's amazing and it's all on quite good runnable
(31:14):
routes and trails okay yeah there's this not it's not like switzerland it's
nice so if i pick a race there you'd come and pace me you pace me
for the race oh 100 i would yeah i've got i've got a guy i've got a guy coming
over from france his name is lucian and i've just i've been working with him
(31:38):
he runs a trail run advisor site now which i've been ambassador for for a couple
of weeks and he's coming over from france to do a,
one of the trail marathons with me in december again it's just going to be amazing
you know sharing these opportunities with other people. I definitely take you up on that.
(31:59):
Come to Canada, I'll pace you. Definitely.
100%. All right, before we let you go, we're going to do some little rapid-fire
questions just for some fun, okay? You up for it?
Yeah, yeah, let's do it. Okay. What's the last concert you went to?
Green Day. Oh, wow. Nice. Yeah, yeah, that was amazing.
(32:22):
Very nice. okay do you have any
tattoos yeah oh cool that's that's a lot yeah that's a new one that's a new
one any running related tattoos yeah them oh that's running okay it's hard to
see on the video they've they've all got meaning behind them oh okay very cool,
(32:43):
yeah very cool what's a tv show that you're embarrassed to say you watch uh
uh i don't know vampire diaries okay.
Oh here's a good one you're on the trail and you stub your toe and you have
to curse in welsh what do you say what does that mean essentially,
(33:11):
what does that translate to fuck off,
you're telling the rock to do that yeah yeah that's good that language just
totally mystifies me there's so many consonants,
would you rather be a professional writer painter or musician musician definitely Definitely.
(33:37):
Good one. Definitely musician. Pick a superpower that you would like to have.
It's got to be invisibility.
It's a good one.
It's got to be invisibility.
It's popular. Yeah, I guess like walking around, you know, not having a care in the world.
No one knows what you're doing. You can just sit by the lake, just chilling out.
(34:01):
No bells, no nothing. It'd be great, wouldn't it?
All right. Well, we'll definitely keep in touch because we want to see how you do at Marathon de Sable.
And I'm sure it's going to be pretty epic. Actually, we have a podcast.
We did two podcasts on Marathon de Sable. We'll send them to you so that you can watch them.
(34:22):
Fabulous. Thank you. Yeah, I'd appreciate that. Thank you very much.
And it'd be great to keep in touch as well.
Absolutely. Yes, fab. Do you mind if I take a screenshot before we go? Sure.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, that's awesome. Thank you very much.
All right, Gareth. Well, enjoy your time off. Really nice meeting you.
(34:42):
You too. Thank you very much, both. All right. Bye.
Bye. And that was Gareth Jones, fresh off his finish at Swiss Alps 100.
What a story. Crazy. Wow. Unbelievable. What a journey.
The journey is not ending. It hasn't stopped. he's
(35:02):
only 34 oh he's got a lot of life to live yeah i can't wait for the book to
come out with the movie definitely unbelievable i like how he said when he bumps
into people he hasn't seen in 10 years and they just can't believe what has
he become right because they knew him what he was.
And that happens to you right from high school yeah same thing is that you're
(35:28):
doing what now Yeah, no one would ever guess that then.
Yeah, you can live so many lives in this one life of ours, can't you?
Yep, and there's so many chapters.
You have an interesting backstory too, but we'll get into that one day.
That's another day, but I need a few beers before I let that go.
But I like the fact that he thinks he has 5k left in the race.
(35:51):
Oh my God, that brought back flashbacks of Slovenia. Oh, man.
Many ultras that we've done. That you see the finish line.
Or you hear it, which is even kind of worse because you think it's close.
Yeah. And then you're going around it or why am I climbing?
I need to go down. Why am I going up? That happened at Mozart.
(36:14):
Oh, my God. And I was mad just like him. Yes. And I wanted pizza just like him.
Same, same. Yep. Oh, that is a mean race director's trick.
And as a race director, I would do it myself. Yeah, you would.
Sadistic bugger. But in any case, I can't wait to, hey, you know what?
(36:35):
We should look at something in Wales to see. I know, it looks beautiful.
I'm just actually quite terrified of running. Because you might get a hurricane
on a nice sunny day? Is that what you're saying?
No, it's not the weather, it's the terrain. Okay. Yeah, anyways.
All right, and that concludes part two with Gareth. I hope you enjoyed it.
Again, please just hit like, like, like, like, like.
Thanks for listening. See you next time. Cheers. Bye.
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