#165 - Hannah Moore Said "Why Not?" and Took on Extreme Endurance Challenges, She's Proof YOU Can Too!

From her first EVER race at Colchester Zoo, to a BRAND NEW race in Melbourne with RunThrough, Hannah Moore joins Ben Sheppard on The RunThrough Podcast to share her journey from competitive swimmer as a child to taking on some of the toughest endurance challenges in the world.

After stepping away from swimming, Hannah rediscovered her love for the water, which eventually led to open water events, marathon swims, and now training towards her first Ironman in December. In this episode, Hannah reflects on growing up in competitive swimming, moving to Australia, finding confidence through sport and how even though swimming could be perceived as a solo sport, for her it was the people that made it.

She also shares the story of preparing for a 20km swim, only for the event to be cancelled at the last minute, and how she dealt with the disappointment after months of training and sacrifice. They also explore Hannah’s "why not?" mindset has helped her take on challenges she once thought were out of reach.

Hannah Moore - https://www.instagram.com/hannahmoore.fitness/

Ben Sheppard - https://www.instagram.com/bensheppard93/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to the Run Through Podcast. It is Ben Shepard here. And this is a really cool episode, actually, with Hannah Moore. Because her first ever race was with us at Run Through at Colchester Zoo. And now, living out in Australia, she's going to be at the first ever Melbourne event that we are putting on in Albert Park on the 12th of July. And its story is incredible from a competitive swimmer as a child to now taking on some of the world's toughest endurance challenges. Hannah actually lost her love for swimming for a little bit, stepped away, but then rediscovered her love for the water. That is, led her to open water events, marathon swims, and she's now training towards her first Iron Man in December. In this episode, Hannah reflects on growing up in swimming, the move to Australia, finding confidence through sport, and how swimming could be perceived as a solo sport. But for her, it's actually the people that make it. She also shares the story of preparing for a 20-kilometre swim, only for the event to be cancelled last minute, and how she dealt with the disappointment after months of training and sacrifice. And one of the main things that I took out of this conversation was Hannah's mindset. She's got this why not part of her personality, and I really love that. If you want to do something, why not give it a go? Hannah Moore is on the Run Through podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

I just thought, wow, how does somebody swim 10k? I was like, that is unbelievable. Like, how do you even do that? I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. And I was like, I don't really think I can do it, so I'm gonna sign up. I am the biggest technique advocate you'll ever be in your life. If I could go around and teach everyone to swim and help everyone with their technique, I would like it's I'm so so passionate about it. I've just done a half marathon and it was kind of like uh see if you can survive it type situation. But this one I will be bitter and I am ready to PB attempt. My name is Hannah, and I create content on social media and I'm training for an Iron Man currently.

unknown 2:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

I think let's start with where you are in the world, because I always find this a little bit mad when we're like, you know, I've done get I've done podcasts with people all around the world, and it feels mad that I'm standing in my spare room in essence, and you're probably in your flat, and we are literally in different parts of this, like on earth. Um, where are you right now and how did you get there? It's probably a nice way to start.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Yeah. So I live in Melbourne, Australia. I have been here for almost a year and a half now, and it was a completely in the spur of the moment move. There was no thought really to it. Like had the idea, and then like a month later, I was here.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

That's mad. Like, what is the difference then? Because I I've got a few people that obviously I know quite well that are like living out in Australia and and the kind of pace of life feels very different. And I don't know, the culture of like work-life balance feels like there's there's a there's a little bit of a difference there as well between the UK and Australia. How have you found the move from the UK? And um, does Australia now feel like home?

SPEAKER_01 3:16

That's a good question. Um I've definitely found the move a lot harder than what I originally thought. Um, in the sense of you're so far away from home. Everyone says you can get on a flight, you're home in 24 hours, but yeah, it is 24 hours and then you're home. But then it's also it's a lot of money involved in the cost of getting home. And when you're in your day, your friends and family are all sleeping, so you've got to be quiet, strong-willed, and and stick with it rather than just crumbling after the first couple months, which is what I was like, this is not a good idea. Um, but there are so many benefits to it, especially where I am in Melbourne. Melbourne is just the sporting capital. There is so many amazing things going on, and the opportunities and just the way of life around sport and fitness is so different to the UK. It's really, really inspiring and interesting. You cannot be inspired living in Australia. It is yeah, it's unreal.

SPEAKER_00 4:21

It feels like sport is kind of, and and I get we get that in this country, like it in a small way, but it's definitely not like it is in in Australia. Like it's it's fully ingrained, isn't it? Like it feels like it's just within the culture.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Yeah, and the the kids here are insane. Like they're just diving into the ocean, jumping off the pier. Like, the stuff they do is absolutely unreal. The swimming garlas that they have, running races, they have access to so many amazing facilities and so many amazing sports, like uh ultimate frisbee, super popular here. Still not really sure what that is, to be honest. Might have a little dabble. Um but yeah, it's just it's it's so nice to see, it's so refreshing. It just makes me happy.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Um, I saw a TikTok a while ago, and I can't remember who did it, but it was like, and and I was away with my partner last week and we were talking about this. The fact that after work you could genuinely just go for like a surf or like that that seems like mad to me. Like I can go for a wander outside in the woods, and yeah, that's lovely. I get it, but it's not quite the same. That that must take a little bit of kind of getting your head around that. There's kind of you are working, but also it kind of does feel like do you know what it is as well?

SPEAKER_01 5:44

There's so many more things to be afraid of, like you know, like you want to go for a surf, that's fine, but you know unless it's you you've got to be a little bit careful. So your normal like walk is that it's not I that is the thing, it's not as bad as what everyone makes it out to be in terms of like that like scary, what old life and that it's not, but you are right in the sense of what they do after work and before work as well, is just so different to the UK.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

So let's talk about your sport in life then, and and we'll we'll obviously get back to Australia with with a few bits and bobs that that we need to chat about. But where did that first enter kind of your life as a kid? Like where what was what was that process of of growing up and being involved with sport?

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Yeah, so just my whole sporting life really has been centred around swimming. So uh when I was younger, I loved the water, and my dad got into swimming later in life, so obviously he really enjoyed it. My mum absolutely hated it and was desperate to not have that effect on me. So she really like sucked off and you know, took me to the pool, really pretended to enjoy the splashing, and yeah, she really absolutely hated it. She did such a good job at hiding it, but um, yeah, I loved swimming, it was so much fun. And when I got to a certain level, I joined a swim club, and I just remember being so nervous because I was like so little, and everyone else was so fast, and they were they were lovely, but for me, I was so intimidated, and then yeah, just walked into this club and just absolutely loved it, and I was like, Yep, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna I'm gonna be a swimmer now. So yeah, that was maybe um early like primary school kind of days. Yeah, it was quite a lot. I remember being in primary school and having swimming in the morning. So we used to swim at 5 45, come home, quickly have something to eat for breakfast, and then I'd go to like my year five or year six class. Um, and then sometimes we'd have swimming after school, or we'd have land training, or we'd have competitions at the weekends. So yeah, looking back, that's actually wild. But at the time it was just so so normal.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Swimming's a weird one, isn't it? Because I think we've all had, or most of us, probably in the UK, have had like a touch point with it because we do have that experience of like going to the pool in primary school and like having swimming lessons early on. But I think it's kind of interesting the disconnect that happens, and it's it's it's obviously more the one side than the other. Like a lot of people fall off and don't carry on and do it for like the long term. However, obviously it's something that you did decide to you know take a little bit more seriously moving through your life. Why do you think that was? Do you think it's because you were like pretty good at it? Do you think it was like like what what was the reasoning you kept doing it whilst loads of other people were like nah?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Um, I think I just enjoyed it. I have some really good friends. Like those friends that I made for swimming were just the highlight of my whole swimming career, like when I was younger. I there's not a time or an event that I remember really that stands out to me, but the friends and the times that I had with my friends, I could list so many memories, and it was just that. I had the most amazing coach as well. Like, she was absolutely fantastic, and just the people made it, they made me want to come back to every single session. I didn't like waking up in the morning. I never was happy when my alarm went off. I never enjoyed the swimming competitions, I hated the swimming competitions, but it was a weekend with my with my friends, and I was like, Yeah, I'm I'm so I'm down for that, and that was it. That friends made the sport for me.

SPEAKER_00 9:46

And that's I guess quite an interesting point as well, because you know, and this is when it's kind of the same with running, right? Like people will say it's very individualistic. I grew up playing rugby, and obviously that's a that's a very obvious team sport. There are 15 players and 21 players in the squad, and you know, you're going away and all that sort of stuff, you've got the change in room. But running and swimming, traditionally, people would look at and go, that's singular, that's you. Whereas actually, it's not the case if you put yourself in the situations like it can be if you're going on your own early doors on a Wednesday morning. But as you've said there, like actually, if you're in a club and you're with the people that you love and it's the same with running as well, it actually can feel like there's quite a lot of team camaraderie there, and it's not individualistic, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Yeah, I never understood why people said swimming was an individual sport. I I'm growing up, I was like, how is this an individual sport when I'm training with people every single day? Like, obviously, I I know you know there's a difference between individual sport and team sport, but I was like, in no aspect of this am I by myself. I'm constantly with my team. And like I said, if I didn't have that team there, I would not have turned up to practice. I wouldn't have enjoyed it. The highlight of everything was the people.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

And I think that's the case with a lot of stuff, isn't it? Like when you focus on the people, the best comes out of whatever situation that is, whether it be sport, life, relationships, friendships, it's like focus on the actual feeling that you get from the people. And then on the other hand of things as well, if if you're not getting a good feeling from the same situations, then it's like, hey, maybe, maybe this is something I need to take out on my life as well. Because if you weren't enjoying it and you didn't like the people, you probably wouldn't have stuck at swimming, right?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Yeah, I think, yeah, that is true. And you get to that point where I'm sure every, you know, kind of athlete or person who's growing up in a sport has has got to that point where they're like, Oh, I think this is I think this is it now. And, you know, people leave or they don't get the times they want, and they're like, they've got two options. You either pursue the sport or you pursue a career. To have both at an uh that semi-elite level is very hard, and it you lose a lot of elite potential sports people through lack of funding and and through various different things, but yeah, making decisions to to stop sport is uh and to walk away is is difficult. And I guess, yeah, seeing people go and knowing when the right time is, and maybe there's never a right time, you never really know. But I think I don't know, actually, I think you do, I think you do know. I think I do what I was doing. I was like, I'm not enjoying this anymore, and it was the difference between, you know, like as I spoke about previously, I didn't enjoy waking up early in the morning, but I did it, and I was happy that I was there. But when I was getting up early in the morning and I was getting to swimming and I didn't enjoy it, and I didn't feel better, and it's just the pressure of that I felt was just destroying my love for the sport. I was like, I can't do this anymore. Like it genuinely made me depressed. Like, I hated training, I hated racing, I wasn't good enough. It's just yeah, you spiral in that situation.

SPEAKER_00 13:13

But I guess probably now, with obviously what we'll get into down the line, you're probably very thankful for those years, right? Because I think doing what you did back then has probably well, it definitely has helped you do what you're doing now. So I'd imagine if you turned back the clock, you'd be you'd be very thankful that you had that sort of ingrained in your early doors.

SPEAKER_01 13:34

Oh, so much so. And do you know it's it's the education that being in sport gave me. It's the nutrition, learning how to fuel my body, learning, you know, when something doesn't feel right, when what's aching pain and what's you know, actual pain. Those things you if you don't learn them early on, they're really gonna, you know, come back and and get you. So yeah, so grateful that the the nutrition one was a key one for me. Like we had we went to this university, we had testing, they did our like bloods, and I think we were like 12 or 13. And they were like, to live, to survive and just get through the day, you need 2700 calories. And I was like, oh, but I want to fuel swim. So you just learn so much about how to fuel your body. You learn about what types of food you needed, when you needed it, what you needed pre-swim, what you needed post-swim. So that education, taking it onto Iron Man training, ultramarathon swim training, run training is invaluable, so good.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

When did so, you know, we've spoken about the decision to kind of stop on a competitive level when you were when you were a bit younger, but what were those years like then between, because we don't get to the sort of ultra swimming, the Iron Man training, the 70.3s for a little bit. Like, what were those years in the middle when it came to the relationship with with sport? What did you what did you do? Did you continue playing sport? Was it more of a was there more aesthetic goals in mind?

SPEAKER_01 15:09

Like, what were those years between like those were the years of Kim Kardashian? Those were the years. Those were the years now we're talking where Kim Kardashian, you know, it was everyone, the goal was big loots and be in the gym and like muscle mummy. Those, yeah, that was the goal for me. I think the that time I um I'd always been like really struggling with my weight, and it wasn't I was, you know, like I said, so lucky that I had such amazing information around nutrition. So it was never intentional, which was so difficult, but I was really struggling with being like quite quite severely underweight. And I remember going to the GP and they were saying, look, there could be a number of things, but have you tried weight training? Like, have you tried this? This could help, and the longevity, you know, I was in a sport which was non like contact, it was my bones needed something. So um, like, have you tried the gym? So I was like, Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll go give the the gym a go. And just I loved it so much. Uh, and that is is kind of how I continued my journey. I was in the gym, I felt so strong, I felt really good, and it wasn't really about aesthetics other than a brief period of time. Um, but then yeah, I felt strong and I was like, cool, I'm strong, but I'm not fit. Like, you know, I could do a load of push-ups, but I couldn't run to the shop without being out of breath. So that's how I got back into swimming because I was like, hang on a minute, I need to improve cardiovascular fitness. Not really there with the running at the moment. Let's do the swimming. And then just started doing one swim session a week. It was with my dad at my local swim pool, with a local swim club, with my all my dad's old friends who he used to swim with, which was just so nice to see him with his old swim pals and everything. So, yeah, that's kind of how we got here-ish, half the story.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

Anyway, yeah, it's de I mean, it's definitely it's definitely like that's the that's kind of the um the spark that got you back into to where we are now. And it's it does feel mad, doesn't it, that it's like going and doing one swim session with your dad and his pals has got you to now looking forward to an Iron Man in December, which we'll obviously come to in a second. But like Yes. When you got back into the pool then and you'd had that time off, was there an enjoyment there again? Because that's kind of why you stopped, right? You didn't like it, you weren't enjoying it. Did you enjoy it again in the first instance? Uh you're like, no, not really, Ben, not really.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

But no, I actually no, the swim I didn't because it was so difficult because I was so aware of like all the times I used to do when I was younger. And this was I only had like a I did have a gap for a couple of years to be fair, but I was still so aware of the times that I used to do. And when I got back into training, I was like, wow, I'm so slow. Well, it's not slow, but you know, compared to when I was training, yeah, like whatever we would swim 12 hours a week. I was like, Yeah, I'm slow. But the thing that kept me going back wasn't the enjoyment in the pool, it was the social aspect again. Like all of those friends who were my dad's friends swam with him, had these amazing stories. These had really funny stories of their times that they used to do when they used to swim together, and then I was really looking forward to the swims, and then I realized, oh hang on, I'm getting I'm getting faster again. And it was just such a good feeling to to be like, oh my hard work is paying off. And then I just stayed consistent with it and was getting faster than when I was younger. And I was like, wow, this is really like I don't need to. Why was I swimming that much before? I could swim once a week, go in the gym, and that would be fine, which is actually super interesting because that's kind of what's come out now in the swimming world. Like, you do not need to be swimming 20 hours a week. Sprint swimmers are doing minimal distance, a lot of strength training, and breaking world records. So that's interesting to know now. But uh yeah, it was just kind of fell in love with it again, but in a different way. I wasn't chasing times that time, this time.

SPEAKER_00 19:31

I guess the thing is then when you're not chasing times, times kind of come with consistency, right? And I think that's the that's something probably a lot of people have experienced when there's like those peaks and troughs of training, and that's in essence what that was, right? It's a trough of training that leads you to another peak. It's like if you don't do something, you're gonna get worse at it, and that's that's like okay to accept, but then if you do it, yeah, you're gonna get better at it. Like, I personally have definitely found that before when you're like in and out of a running block or whatever, and I'm sure lots of people listening to this will feel the same. It's like, and it's kind of okay to be like, oh, my pace isn't where it was because you might be in a different period of your life or whatever. Um, yeah, it's super interesting what you say about kind of the gym and and swimming. I think you're seeing that a lot across lots of sports with like how important strength training is. When it comes to swimming, talk to me about the difference between fitness and technique. Like what is more important?

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Technique. I am the biggest technique advocate you'll ever be in your life. If I could go round and teach everyone to swim and help everyone with their technique, I would like it's I'm so so passionate about it, and technique is so important. Um and it's unfortunately one of those things that if you I feel like if you didn't grow up in a swimming background, you're not given the tools to really like succeed. Venice is great, that's that's great, but I don't know. You think of the Mo Farah, put him in the swimming pool. Like he's he's so much fitter than me, but technically, swimming-wise, I mean as far as I'm aware, he wouldn't he wouldn't beat me in a race. I don't know, that might be a good video to be fair, wouldn't it?

SPEAKER_02 21:16

But that would be a good video.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Yeah, technique is super, super important, and there's so many little things that go into it that play a massive part, which I think when people do Iron Man training, they neglect the swim because it's the shortest part of the triathlon in any triathlon. They're like, ah, I can get away with it. Maybe, but you're you're gonna start the bike flustered, your heart rate's gonna be higher, you're spending way much more time swimming and spending more energy doing this inefficient stroke. Learn the technique, the fitness is there. The fitness, once you've got it, it's like a jigsaw, it does come together.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Uh Hannah you just described every triathlon I've ever done there. That is that is me to a T. Um, and yeah, like look, I've I've I've I've been the person that's literally said, and I've probably got quite a good frame for swimming. I'm like quite tall, um, and like I've got my long limbs, like I in theory would be quite good. However, didn't really grow up with it. Um and I'm very much an advocate of because one thing that I hear a lot when you talk about triathlons is I'm not a very good swimmer. And I'm sure you hear the same thing. You say, like, I could get through the bike and I could do the run, but I'm not a very good swimmer. And I always say to people, I'm like, ah, it's the shortest bit you can get through it. Probably not the best way of thinking about it, but um, yeah, actually, it is such an important part of the race, and particularly if you're wanting to perform your best, it is something that I think needs to be focused on a lot more. You know, back in the day we've had um we've had uh Kat Matthews, who's yeah, like uh one of the most elite iron women on earth, and same as um Lucy Charles Barclay, they've both been on the podcast and talking to them about their sort of uh this well, particularly Lucy talking about her swim. Yeah, um it's like I did on the podcast call it her superpower, which she kind of said, Well, it yeah, but also no, because of how hard she's worked at it, it's not necessarily a superpower. But you can see when you're looking at that elite level how important that swim is to get people ahead of where where they need to be. And I would imagine for you now, like working your way to do what to do what you're doing and into this triathlon training and Iron Man training, um, having that as a strength must be quite nice.

SPEAKER_01 23:49

Yeah, it is nice. Yeah, I feel like it is a pressure lifted off my shoulders. Uh however, I'm not very good on the bike, which is um although I feel reassured in the swimming, like the swimming is the shortest part. If I could feel better on the bike, that would be ideal. Um yeah, I do, yeah, it does it's definitely a better feeling. However, pool swimming, open water swimming, two completely different things. So to get comfortable in open water swimming and uh feel confident whilst you're swimming is still a challenge. Like um, even when I started open water swimming, it's still something that you know takes a bit of time, takes a bit of work. It's good that you've got that basic foundation, but you've got to move it into a different setting, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Yeah, I guess let's talk to uh talk about that because one of the things I wanted to talk about was kind of like the things that you've done in the open water space. Um, talk to me about why you decided to then you know take pool swimming to the open water in the first instance, and then why that became I want to do some mad events.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Yeah. So it's Australia, it's the Australian effect.

SPEAKER_00 25:01

It's not Australia's fault.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

It's true. So yeah, I open water swimming in the UK is not as big as it is here in in Australia, I which surprised me because I you know we don't have sharks in England, but there's it's a few in Australia, but um yeah, it's just a huge, it's a huge thing here. There was in the open water season, so our summer, which is the UK's winter, um, yeah, there's events every single weekend. And one of my friends that I made at again, friends at swim club, it's always linked back to these relationships, was like, oh, you should come try this open water swim. And I was like, Oh, I don't know, I don't know. I kept putting it off and I thought I'll give it a go. And it was just it was kind of scary, but it was really good fun, and I felt safe because I was with a group, I felt I was with people who knew what they were doing, and yeah, I loved it. And then I just saw all these links, like little roots to a tree of all these possibilities of events and things that you can do. And um, I just thought, wow, how does somebody swim 10k? I was like, that is unbelievable. Like, how do you even do that? I was like, okay, I'm gonna do it. It that's it seemed completely unrealistic, and I was like, I don't really think I can do it, so I'm gonna sign up and see if I can do it, and that is kind of like the same link to why I did the Iron Man and why I do the swims, because they seem so hard, but it's such a fun process for something at the start to see so impossible, and then as you get further along in your training block, for it to seem oh you know, I could do this, and then leading up to the months before, be like, Oh yeah, I could smash it like 10k swim, easy, easy.

SPEAKER_00 26:51

So what was that like doing it for the first time? And yeah, talk me through the event that you did it at as well.

SPEAKER_01 26:57

Oh, yeah. So I I actually did it to qualify for another event. I was supposed to swim, uh, do a big swim in Perth, which was a 20k swim, but it unfortunately got cancelled the night before, which was you know fair. The conditions were so bad. Um, my uh skipper, the guy who has the boat, said if I was to do the swim, I'd be swimming like 25 to 30k. And when you're swimming in rough seas, it's yeah, he was like, You might get there. He was like, but me and my boat will definitely not get there. And I was like, right, we've we've got a problem then because I don't know how we get back from the island. Yeah, I think we could uh probably avoid that one. Um, yeah, so I was like, okay, cool. I just know that I need to take this swim nice and easy, there's no pressure on myself timing-wise, and um yeah, just kind of turned up, like a pretty locked in with my nutrition. And I always like I always have a song that plays in my head every time I do a long-distance swim, or because obviously, different to running, you don't have music, so you can't distract yourself. So if you're in a good mindset, you're having a great swim. If you're in a bad mindset, it is horrendous. But um, yeah, I just sung like the same song in my head for three hours. I just was literally swimming, and I I was fine, like it was not I don't want to say easy, but I've definitely had harder swims that have been shorter distance. But I think it's because I had no pressure, it was chill. I loved it, I really, really enjoyed it. And as soon as I finished it, I was like, oh no, I really like that. This is gonna get longer now.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

What is what's the longest swim you've done?

SPEAKER_01 28:37

Oh uh 10k.

SPEAKER_00 28:38

Is that 10k?

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

But you you've obviously got in your head that you do want to go a lot longer.

SPEAKER_01 28:44

Yes, I do have plans. I was even sorting out my plans today. I'm doing uh next year, I've got three big swims planned. So I've got 34k, 24k, and 25k um in quite a short period of time. Uh, because there's this thing called the Australian Marathon Triple Crown, and that is like a triple crown marathon swims. And I just saw that not many people had done it. So I was like, yeah, I want to I want to do it.

SPEAKER_00 29:15

So starting with the starting with the longest distance there. Yeah. You're like, yeah, there's a 34k. I was like, where in the world should you go in here?

SPEAKER_01 29:26

Yeah, that one's in Tasmania. So wow. Uh yeah, just a a river. And yeah, the hardest part about that is not actually the distance, it's the water temperature. Because it gets really cold. So yeah, that's gonna be a challenging one. Obviously, like any any of these swims, you're in cold water, like 20, it's not too cold, but you know, like that Tasmania swim could be kind of 16 degrees. You've got to be so careful you don't get hypothermia. Uh, so it's just like knowing the signs of that, knowing what to do to prevent it. So yeah, I'm still kind of like early stages of that cold water swimming journey, not enjoying it.

SPEAKER_00 30:06

What um what but for you, right? Because you you've kind of got, I guess, these two parts of what you're doing athletically now, and I want to get on to kind of the social piece here as well, um, because some of the stuff that you're putting out there is, yeah, I absolutely love anyway. We'll get onto that. But you've got the kind of triathlon side of what you're doing, and then you've got this kind of ultra-swimming side of what you're doing. Um, what do you feel is the difference between the two of them? Do you have one that you prefer? And I guess from a from a training perspective, is it hard to balance the two?

SPEAKER_01 30:41

Yeah, it is hard. Um, I prefer and find what I prefer and find easier the swimming. The swimming I do find a lot easier. The Iron Man training I do find a lot harder because of you have three different uh four different sports I find because the fourth one is your injury prevention and your nutrition. So you'll need to balance all of those all of the time. Um, like I said, I'm not I'm not a bike lover, I'm not a fan of the bike. Um, I have zero background in cycling. The running I love, the running I'm really enjoying, and I yeah, I just I really, really like that. But it's hard, you know. Like I the feeling I get after a hard run is not the same that I get after a hard swim in the sense of like actual physical exhaustion. Like I feel physically exhausted after a hard run, but after a hard swim, I'm like, okay, I recognise this. Maybe it's I just know how to deal with it a little bit more. Um yeah, Iron Man training definitely is triathlon training in general, to be honest. Yeah, I definitely find that a harder one.

SPEAKER_00 31:51

When did you first think I want to give it a go? Triathlon.

SPEAKER_01 31:57

Hmm, uh I I actually don't know how this happened.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

Like I just got an email one day and it said you're entered into a 70.3.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

What's going on? Yeah, yeah, that's that's what it feels like. Yeah. I I don't really, I honestly don't really remember. I know that I was getting back into swimming, and but like short distance swimming, like I'd gone back to what I was doing when I was younger, which was like 50s or hundreds, um, and breaststroke, you know, not even swimming. I mean, you could do breaststroke in a in an Iron Man, that's fine. But um, yeah, the oh yeah, it I I don't I really don't know. I did a half marathon and I loved training for the half marathon. I really enjoyed it and I enjoyed I had a coach and he was brilliant and yeah, I just loved it. And I was like, okay, cool, I liked this, I liked that, but honestly, I really don't know. I I remember thinking Iron Man sounded hard, and I was like, how are you running a half marathon? Well, the 70.3, sorry, how are you running a half marathon after cycling 90 kilometers? Like, how do you cycle 90 kilometers? Like, hang on a minute, like what is this sorcery? Um, I don't know or remember why I did it all.

SPEAKER_00 33:21

Where did you do your first one? First 70. In Melbourne.

SPEAKER_01 33:24

It was in Melbourne. In Australia, yeah. What was that like?

SPEAKER_00 33:26

What was that what was that kind of like moment crossing the line? Like, I mean, there's there's there's highlights on your Instagram so people can kind of go and yeah, go and find them. But um, yeah, what what did that feel like and what was the difference between finishing something like that to finish like a an ultra swim?

SPEAKER_01 33:43

Yeah, um the Iron Man finish, and it was just I was I I knew I was gonna cry like from the moment I signed up for it. So as soon as I crossed this finish line, I'm just gonna cry. Um yeah, it was just so the race was so much harder than what I thought it was gonna be. Obviously, I knew it was gonna be hard, but I didn't expect to be able to push like I did. Like I was running, I was like, oh, this is fast. And then I was 10k in, I was like, okay, we're still going. And then I'm like 15k in, and I was like, man, I'm gonna get half marathon PB at this rate. Like, I need to keep pushing. That I didn't expect. I did not expect to be able to perform as much as I did, and I've never mentally been in a place where I'm like, lock in, push, like keep going. So that was interesting. Feel like I found a new version of myself that day, and then the finish line, you it's just like relief um that you've done it, and it's not even relief of the race, it's the relief of all of the months and the hard work that you put into the training, and it's just like wow, I I did it. Like every single session that I did before was was worth it, so yeah, a really, really great feeling. Um, the difference between that and the like the marathon swims. Well, the marathon swim, I was like, Yeah, that was good. It was good. Like I got a really good, I got a good sense of achievement, but I think because I knew it wasn't the end goal, like I knew maybe if I had done that 20k swim and swum to the island, my response would be different, and I I feel like I would have been more emotional about it. But yeah, for me currently, the biggest feeling of sense of achievement and the biggest feeling of emotion for finishing an event was the 70.3, definitely. Uh actually, no, it wasn't. It was my first Olympic distance triathlon where I was in my hometown and my mum almost cried watching me finish the race. I was like just on in like my local seaside town. That was the most emotion I felt because yeah, just all my friends and family were there.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

Yeah, that's the that's so cool. It's it's funny those moments, isn't it? That sometimes you don't think it's gonna be big, but then you're like, oh my god, this feels like enormous. This is crazy. Um the the 20k swimming, that's that's interesting, just to touch on just um once again quickly, you know, being cancelled and that whole thing of you know having that whole lead up and for somebody like you as well, documenting the whole process in terms of like social media and then it not happening. Yeah, that must have been quite a big thing to like process as well, not only the fact that it's not happening, but the fact that you've kind of then gotta share with the audience that it's not happening, you've got to get around that fact in your own head that you've trained all this time for something. Like, how how did you kind of deal with that process of you know, it was the right decision, but it probably didn't feel very good?

SPEAKER_01 36:55

Yeah. Well, the first thing I did was just try and look immediately and see what other swim I could do. I was like, there has to be something else like next week that I can do. I have to do it. Like, I cannot sleep until I do this 20k. And I was like, I have to do 20k. Um, my friends at the swim club were like, Hannah, if you want to swim 20k at the local bay, just swim 20k. We'll be your support crew. But I was like, no, it needs to be to an island or it has to be extravagant. So I straight away went into like planning mode. I was like, okay, cool, this isn't gonna happen, so let's get ready for the next thing because we have to have something else. Like this can't be it. Uh, but it was it. Um, with events like doing big swims, there's there's a lot of costs attached to it, which people don't see. Um, and even I'm guilty of not really talking about the associated costs with it. Um I don't know why, actually, because it's probably helpful for people to know. But uh yeah, like we flew to a different part of Australia. I took my family with me. We obviously stayed in accommodation there. You have to pay for the uh the boat and the people on the bow. Um, yeah, so financially it's a it's a big thing as well. But yeah, obviously I was upset and I did have to have like a little moment, but I didn't want to be ungrateful. Like, I don't know, it was weird because I was like, Oh, the event is cancelled, but I've still done it, I've still done the training. But yeah, you do feel I was like, Oh, maybe I do feel a bit like not a fraud, but you're like, uh, I didn't do it. I've never had that before, I've never been stopped by something like that. So, and I think with the swimming as well, like just battling, like just it trying to injury prevent like shoulders, it's just so difficult. And I spent I was in physio like four days a week, like at some some weeks, just you know, keeping on top of things, maintenance, and I was like, man, I've really a lot of time has gone into this. It's not gone how I wanted, but look, every it couldn't have happened. And we had a meeting with uh my support team, my parents were there as well, and there was like eight of us at this table, and like I said previously, the the skipper said, Oh, I can't get there. And I remember him saying to like my mum and dad are like, He he said, I cannot guarantee Hannah's safety. I because if something happens to her, the waves are too big, I can't get to her, and there's dangers, my boat could go into her, there's all these different problems. My mum and dad are like, please, Hannah, like, please just don't do it. And I was like, No, unless the event's getting cancelled, there's no way I'm not doing it. I was like, they need to cancel the event properly because I can't be the one to pull out, but yeah, that decision was.

SPEAKER_00 39:54

But like you also say, like it is better that it was taken out of your control. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 40:00

Yeah, it is better, yeah, because there is no, like I said, there is no way. He the the my support team, the ones that are there to make sure I'm safe, were telling me that they could not make sure I'm safe, and because of all of these conditions, and I just was like, I can't I don't hear any of this. Like none of that matters to me because I will I feel unstoppable. Um, yeah, so I think it is a good, a good decision that that was it was taken out, and I think that's probably where moving forward, there's a big lesson that I've learned is knowing when to call it, which I have done, which is really good. I did an open water swim race uh recently, and not the same situation, but kind of similar. I was like, no, I know I recognise this, I recognise something's not right, and I'm gonna change what's happening here and deal with it better. So yeah, it was it was frustrating. Yeah, I feel like yeah, the odds were against me leading up to that swim. I didn't have a huge training block, like people had been doing 40k swimming a week for this, and uh, I hadn't really done as much training as what I should have because it was so soon after the 70.3. I think I had like four months to kind of get ready. It was super, super last minute, and um, yeah, like I said, shoulders, uh swim distance, it just yeah, everything was kind of against me for that swim.

SPEAKER_00 41:22

But we've got next year, like you say, um, did you say February, the first one?

SPEAKER_01 41:28

Hopefully, yeah, February, March, definitely. March would be the 25k.

SPEAKER_02 41:33

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

Then we've got April 24k, and the river swim is just kind of when you would like, which is preferably the warmer months. So yeah, trying to lock in a date for that.

SPEAKER_00 41:45

But we've got something to get through before then. Yes. Um in December. What are you doing in December?

SPEAKER_01 41:54

A full Iron Man, my first Iron Man.

SPEAKER_00 41:58

How are you feeling about that?

SPEAKER_01 42:00

So excited. I'm so excited. Yeah. I feel like I don't have I I'm not worried about it, which it's not like cockiness or anything like that, because I know it's gonna be really, really hard, but I'm so excited to to carry on with my training. I think I'm just enjoying it so much, and I'm making so much progress, and it's just so it's amazing to see look back and see your progress and everything that you're doing, and your physical health, and like your mental health, and how it all plays into one. And yeah, like uh I know it's gonna be hard, and I'm definitely not gonna be excited when I'm there. I'm gonna be very nervous, but I'm excited to to be there and to experience it and the atmosphere and everyone, and just to like you know, run the red carpet, all of that stuff will be really good.

SPEAKER_00 42:54

It's almost an excitement to be nervous, isn't it? Like that's almost like what I'm getting. Like, you're you know it's gonna be amazing, and you know there's like a huge amount of excitement there, and there will be a lot of nerves there as well when it's happening, I'm sure. Um obviously compared to a 70.3, I'm not I'm not saying anything that uh nobody knows here. It is double the distance, and I imagine thinking back to that 70.3 fit finish line, a kind of like the performance and how you did perform as well, it must be difficult to kind of weigh up like how you treat this a little bit, or is it yeah, is it very easy for you? Is it perform to the best of my ability, or is it get through?

SPEAKER_01 43:35

Oh look, I just want to get through it. I just wanna, but my coach wants that's the difference because I what I want versus what he wants is is different. But I you know, I just want an easy life, you know. That's that's why I just want to get through it. But he obviously look, he's brilliant, he's he's programming all my sessions, he he can see my stats, he can actually. You know, logistically be like, well, why would we just have a chill time where like you can really compete here? So I'm gonna do whatever he tells me to do. I wholeheartedly trust him, he's been fantastic. So if he gives me paces and a time goal, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna try. And that extra motivation during the race is just so good. And I think I'm already in that mindset where I'm like, okay, cool. If I'm mid-race and things don't go to plan, it's okay. Like there's no public time goal. There will never be a public time goal because I don't think we would know even what sort of time is achievable until we are closer to the race. I'm not trying to look, I'm not trying to qualify for anything. Let's just put it like that. Like, I'm just trying to get through it, get through the training block, enjoy it. That's what I really want to do. I want to enjoy it. Because the 70.3, I I I just was too locked in. I was too like blinkers on and just focused. Whereas I really want to high fives, you know, Iron Man.

SPEAKER_00 45:04

And it goes so fast as well. Like, I know that sounds mad to say. Like, I've done a couple and it it goes so fast when you're in it. And then after the fact, you do, I think, you do look back at it and think, I wish I had taken more time, or I wish I had enjoyed that moment, or I wish I had. And you've probably seen this in so many of the things you've done. You've done so many amazing things. You probably wanted to like be a bit more present in the moment, which feels mad to say because you don't necessarily always want to be present in pain, but sometimes it's a good thing to have, isn't it? Because it's like, right, let's remember this exact moment where I am, what I'm doing, which is quite cool.

SPEAKER_01 45:42

Yeah, definitely. And that's what you know, races are about the atmosphere. Everything's amazing. I remember my first race, run through race, um, uh Colchester Zoo, Stampede, and it was the atmosphere, is what I remember. That is, and I it was the most amazing race. Even to date, that's probably still my favorite, more so than the Iron Man, because it just was so amazing, and the pacer that I had was amazing. He like gave me a hug at the end, and it's those moments that you remember, and it's the atmosphere and everyone cheering for you, and yeah, it's yeah, stuff like that is is un you can't beat that, really.

SPEAKER_00 46:24

Well, you're gonna get another run-through moment um on the uh on the 12th of July at Albert Park when we uh when we come to Melbourne. That must be quite cool for you. Like you say, first race a run-through race, and now you're gonna be racing with run through in Australia. Like, that's how kind of this connection's been made. I think um I think I can tell you're pretty excited for it.

SPEAKER_01 46:44

Yeah, I'm buzzing. I'm so excited. Yeah, because I think I'm a I'm gonna I've just done a half marathon and it was kind of like uh see if you can survive it type situation. But um this one I will be fitter and I am ready to PB attempt. So I yeah, I'm really, really excited, and I I love genuinely love the event, the location as well, as a Formula One fan round a Formula One track. Unreal. Yeah, I can't really beat that.

SPEAKER_00 47:14

I'm I'm I'm I'm really excited for you to to come and join us as well. It's gonna be absolutely sick. Um I just want to talk about the kind of the social media side of things before we wrap this. Um when did you first pick up a camera? When did you first think, you know what, I'm gonna share this story?

SPEAKER_01 47:31

Um probably not too long. Oh after I started the gym, actually. Okay, when I um had that gap between kind of no swimming, and that's where I was like, Oh, I really want to try and you know, see if I can gain some weight, gain some muscle. And I was I just remember feeling so proud of myself that I wanted to share it with people, and but I was kind of embarrassed, you know, like you're at that I think I was like 20, so oh maybe we shouldn't really be doing this, and I was like sending potential names into like the girls' group chat. Um, but yeah, that's uh maybe just before COVID, actually, and then because I remember crying when the gyms were shut because I was like, no, this is my happy place, life is over.

SPEAKER_00 48:17

What's it like though when you know you've picked the name and then the following's building, and you're like, oh my god, what's happening here? That must be a bit of a weird moment.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

Yeah, I don't know if I've really like realized that.

SPEAKER_02 48:32

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 48:33

Like, I don't ever see myself as someone that has a lot of people following them. Uh I just uh yeah, I don't know. I still don't really have like connection, but I I see like when I did start getting a little bit of a following, I was like, oh, this is cool. And then you you start developing different relationships with brands, and I was like, oh, this is cool, you know. Like these brands that I've purchased and used for years are wanting to work with me. Like, this is oh, thumbs up. Um yeah, like this is insane that they want to work with me, so yeah, that was uh a crazy moment, and those moments still exist to this day. It's been I've been doing social media a fair few years now, and um, yeah, there's still like these deals and collaborations and milestones and stuff that really I think again, maybe I just can't actually process how this is all happening still seems very like surreal.

SPEAKER_00 49:37

I think that's why I wanted to wrap up with that because um one thing that I have seen a lot on your on your socials, and like you inspire a lot of people to do like hard things because you're doing a lot of hard things right, and you can see that in the comments, but you also sometimes like see with people that do the stuff that you do, people saying, you know, I could never do something like that, or yeah, I could never in a half marathon or do a 70.3 or do an Iron Man or get into swimming or I don't know how to do it. The reality is that if you want to do something and if you want to get into something and if you want to give something a go, you are able to do that, aren't you? And I think that's probably a message that I imagine you want to share with people that you're yeah, you are able and you are capable, and if you want to give it a go, then you can.

SPEAKER_01 50:26

Yeah, I always say, like, why not? Why can't you do that? Like, there is no reason why you can't do that. Nothing is past, well, I mean, some things are not recommended, obviously, but um no goal is ever too big. Like you can be your biggest enemy, or you can be your biggest fan. You get to choose which one you want to be. And I want to be my biggest fan. I want to be the per I want to push myself, I want to motivate myself. And the things that you can achieve when you have a positive mindset or a can do mindset or a why why not mindset is just um unbelievable. But you have to, it's it's not I'm not sitting here saying, Oh, it's really easy. I've always been like this, like it's not easy, like it I've been in like super negative mindsets and you talk down to yourself all the time, but the power that you have to motivate yourself and then inspire yourself as well is yeah, no one can make that happen. Like you have to you you can do that, and once you believe in yourself, like anything, anything can is possible, anything can happen.