Runbelievable: Real Runners, Unreal Stories

Ep 16: Weaponising Change: Will Pattinson on Turning Pain Into Power

• Josh Rischin • Season 1 • Episode 16

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Will Pattinson didn’t ease into change; he went all in.

After years of a destructive lifestyle, Will reached a point where something snapped. No dramatic trigger. No slow build. Just a day where he’d had enough. What followed was a radical lifestyle overhaul that began with daily steps and quickly evolved into marathon running, ultra distances, and an uncompromising commitment to change.

In this raw and fast-moving episode of Runbelievable, Joshie and Matty sit down with Will to unpack how he transformed unhealthy habits into tools for healing, channelled addiction into discipline, and embraced extreme ownership as a way forward. From his first marathon in 2024 to a 100K ultra, and huge goals on the horizon (including Marathon des Sables), Will’s story is as intense as it is thought-provoking.

It’s a conversation about identity, control, and purpose.

Follow Will's journey: https://www.instagram.com/will_pattinson95/

In this episode:

  • Turning destructive habits into fuel for healing
  • From first marathon to 100K ultras
  • Setbacks including sodium overload in New York
  • Living with ADHD and channelling addiction into training
  • Strength training, structure, and extreme ownership
  • Big goals ahead: sub-3, Marathon des Sables, and major marathons
  • Using his journey to help others break destructive cycles

Runbelievable: real runners, unreal stories.

Interested in being a guest on the show? Hit us up!

Here’s how to keep in touch:

Strava Club: https://www.strava.com/clubs/runbelievable/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rnblv_official/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rnblv_official

Email: joshua@runbelievable.au

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Will:

If you set the tone for yourself, it sets the tone for everyone around you. Um and that's what that's what I want to be about. Motivating people to move. It doesn't have to be how I move or how the other person next to me moves. It's just uh getting out there and daily discipline and daily movement and it it just pushes you that little bit further. So that's what I always think about. If you're gonna sit sit in idle, you're not gonna go anywhere, are you in the car? If you sit in in a gear, you're gonna be moving forward. It can be first gear, it can be fifth gear, it doesn't matter. You're still going forward.

Joshie:

Hello everybody and welcome to Run Believable, the podcast that celebrates the human side of running. I'm your host, Josh Richard, and I'm here to bring you stories of grit, glory, and overcoming adversity. Each episode we'll dive deep into what first got people running and what keeps them lacing up day after day. From the last and the lessons to random butt shapes, this is why we run and how it shapes who we become. And coming up in just a couple of moments, you'll meet a runner who's undergoing perhaps the most extreme lifestyle overhaul we've encountered and achieving some remarkable results in the process. I really can't wait to chat with him. Maddie, welcome back. It's 2026. The year has just kicked off, and I'll tell you what, at the start of the year, I always find myself getting tripped up uh saying last year instead of this year, this year instead of last year. What about yourself?

Matty:

I'm the same, Joshy. I um, you know, especially with work, like I I am kind of old school and I use a notepad and pen um to take notes. And I always get the dates wrong. I always put 25 or 24 instead of 25 or 25 instead of 26. So yeah, it's yeah, it it happens to to most of us, I'd say.

Joshie:

I think so. So I think for listeners to please be very patient with us as we ease into 2026. Happy New Year to everyone who's listening, and I hope that you achieve all the goals you set out to. Now, Maddie, it's time for the Run Believable rundown, and this is where we share highlights, mishaps, misadventures, crazy sights and sounds, little wins basically. The sort of stuff that truly humanizes the running experience. Now, I'm starting to increase my volume again. I'm still not quite fit, but I'm at least starting to run a few times a week now. Um, this is something you probably can't relate to. It's chafing. Now, I reckon that I used to be able to get to maybe 15, 20 plus K's and yeah, you know, before I start experiencing chafe, but it's now happening to me even like 8k runs, 10k runs, like I'm getting, yeah, getting chafed pretty easily.

Matty:

Yeah, okay. Okay. I yeah, I have no advice to offer because I've never experienced it. Um I don't get chafe at all. So, um, but I don't know, maybe it's worth looking at what what you're wearing and why. Are you wearing seamless tights? Are you uh I have no idea. Um what is the cause?

Joshie:

Oh look, nothing's really changed. Um uh in terms of the attire that I wear. Um, yeah, nothing's changed. And it's just, I don't know what's happened. I suddenly am just more vulnerable. Um, and maybe I just need to build up a bit of endurance. Uh you know, I used to uh keep a jar of uh Vaseline in the car uh because if I drive to a spot where I would run, it'd be pretty easy just to apply some before I before I take off. But I haven't had mine in the car for ages. I actually remember last year, uh yes, it was last year, 2025. Um I I was at um an event at Brisbane Roadrunners, and I think it was a only a 10k, but I had to do as part of my program, I think seven or eight K's at the start and finish. And anyway, I get there. And oh I I I took um I think I took Natska and she didn't have um any Vaseline in there, but I reckon at one point she used to like it uh it may have been upside down and bit had like leached out into the center console. I'm like, I'm gonna go. You didn't, did you? I did. Yeah. I har I harvested what was left in the console and put it on my bottom bits and if it wasn't for that, I uh I don't know that I would have been able to make it at home. So have you tried have you tried the um sorry, have you tried the like bodyguard and stuff like that? That um Yeah, look, I think it works. You do want to know something? I've got one of those small um portable ones. It's actually they're shaped quite conveniently. Uh, you know, it's no different to probably carrying a gel, so I might actually just get in the habit of carrying that around with me. So anyway, lots of uh lessons still to be learned for myself. And if you have something that you would like to contribute to the Run Believable rundown, then send it our way. Today's guest didn't ease interchange, he went all in. What started with Daily Steps only a few years ago became a complete lifestyle overhaul, turning old destructive habits into fuel for something far more intentional. From first marathons to ultra distances and a mindset that's been built truly on extreme ownership. His story is raw, fast moving, and anything but ordinary. Can we please all welcome Will Pattinson?

Will:

Yeah, hi, I'm Joshua and Matt. Um, thanks for having me on the Rumbelievable podcast. Um, yeah, looking forward to telling my story.

Joshie:

Not a problem. Yeah, it's our pleasure. Look, Will, your story really grabbed our attention. And for those who don't know, Will has a very well-curated Instagram page where he's um chronicled his life transformation in a truly engaging and powerful way. And that's something which we'd um we love to share in the in the show notes because uh honestly, Will, what you've done with putting together that uh that page and chronicling your your journey is um is is truly impactful.

Will:

Yeah, thank you very much. Yeah, touching on that, I suppose, yeah, I'd like to uh share my journey now that um yeah, I've been able to flick the switch and turn it around and uh inspire others out there to do the same. And yeah, at the start of it all, uh yeah, it was probably a bit uh daunting there, um, to be fair, doing your first couple of posts. But uh when yeah, putting yourself out there and um for me being vulnerable, um, I think yeah, it just grows you into a bigger person.

Joshie:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And good on you for taking those initial steps because to essentially take what was a uh you've almost created a chronicle of your destructive habits uh and have gone, you know what, I'm actually going to turn this into some kind of fuel for my reinvention. Um so that takes a lot of courage and it's very powerful, and hopefully you've had some really good feedback.

Will:

Yeah, no, I've had a lot of good feedback from it. Um, I suppose, yeah, there for years on end, uh it was the other opposite way. But um, yeah, being able to flick the switch around uh into that um yeah, new um yeah, I suppose addictive habit, I'd be lying. If it isn't another addictive habit, uh but yeah, channeling it into something uh that's healthy and uh gives you good longevity has uh been excellent. But uh at the start of it, uh it was a very tough uphill battle uh to get into that uh groove. Uh but yeah, once yeah you put the hard yards in, as anyone knows, uh your startly uh awards.

Joshie:

Yep. Exactly right. And we'll touch on your journey shortly, we'll touch on your um marathon achievements and obviously what's to come next. But before we do, uh wouldn't uh I think it would be remiss of us to not touch on what life was like for you before you went through this transformation. I mean, can you describe what life looked like for you um like just an ordinary day?

Will:

It was an absolute uh yeah, roller coaster to be fair. Um vicious cycle of yeah, um drinking and uh drug taking, and then uh yeah, led into gambling and all went hand in hand to be fair. Um firstly went off to boarding school in Sydney and uh it sort of unraveled a bit from there. I was a shy sort of kid going into that uh environment, then gave me that uh sort of intensity and I suppose an uncomfortable feeling. And uh then, yeah, a couple of years into school there that sort of started to creep in with the alcohol and then uh yeah, down the track the drugs, and uh yeah, then led into gambling after that. Um it also sort of went hand in hand from there and yeah, just got worse and worse as it came. And I suppose uh looking over the journey was um it was, yeah, drink on the weekends, heavily binge drink, and uh and then trying to recover myself, uh yeah, then to go again the uh weekend after. There was uh no hobbies, no direction, no purpose, just felt lost inside and out as a person.

Matty:

Wow. Um did that can I just can I just ask that like you mentioned you went to boarding school. Um was it that discipline? Like um I know schools are like that, and I went to school like that, the discipline um that you have in school, and um you know it's almost shut down, and then when you get to that point where you're free, um everything's at your fingertips, and it's like I'm gonna do it all, and you do.

Will:

Yeah, I suppose it was the intensity uh coming from a a small country town out at um Molong, New South Wales, and being in that smaller environment, and and I suppose touching on comfort zones, obviously we'll talk about that later on in the in the running sense of things, but uh yeah, being in my comfort zone out there at Molong, um a small school of yeah, I can't remember now, I think it's about a hundred hundred maybe at most, um, and yeah, going home each day and after school and having mum and dad there um to support um support you um in everyday life of school and then getting to the end of year six and um and then yeah, making a decision g to go to boarding school and uh yeah, it was a great a great opportunity and I'd never take that away. Um lifelong friends and networking I got out of that um has been amazing, but uh yeah, for for myself, uh looking back on it now, hindsight's a um a funny thing, and uh yeah, it was um it was probably a thing that uh wasn't for me really at the time.

Matty:

Yeah.

Joshie:

Now, sort of moving forward somewhat to when you decided that you you just had enough. Um you and I had a chat a few weeks ago, and you sort of I asked you this question, and uh I think maybe uh I hope in the over the last couple of weeks if you've had a chance to think about it a bit more, maybe there wasn't anything more deep than just uh a moment where you'd had enough, but you seem to suggest that there wasn't a trigger, there wasn't an event, uh a health episode or anything. You just one day had enough.

Will:

Yeah, no, well there were there was a lot of alarm bells, I suppose, ringing in the way of um yeah, having gout, high blood pressure, type two diabetes, like obese as well overweight. Um I was 136 at my biggest. Um and uh yeah, demoralising the gout was horrendous, and I wish that on anyone. Um that was uh I remember just demoralizing being out there and um and seeing people double my age, moving better than me, walking around. I remember um a friend will know we're in Portugal on a um on a holiday when I first went over to Europe and uh there was days there where I couldn't move and I couldn't get out and see uh see the place that we came to see on a holiday. It was demoralizing lying there with ice on my ankles, trying to get the swelling down and uh things like that and baltar and to uh calm it all down, and then uh that would be the band-aid, and then once it'd get fixed, then I'd go again with the drinking and things and poor eating lifestyle, and uh it just got worse and worse. And uh yeah, that's I got to a point where it was at Oktoberfest in uh Germany and similar sort of thing. I was sitting at an airport um there by myself. I left a day early. Um I was yeah, I was in a I suppose a bit of a dark spot of like, yeah, lost, directionless, no purpose, and thinking, what the hell am I doing? Um and that sort of gave me the little spark. And I suppose um having the addictive personality, um, getting back to London and getting into a bit of movement, um, and yeah, bled from then on.

Joshie:

You mentioned that you were dealing with uh with gout um when you and I chatted a couple of weeks ago, you also mentioned that high blood pressure was an issue and that you're on the verge of type two diabetes, is that correct?

Will:

Yeah, so yeah, the blood pressure was through the roof. I can't really remember the readings, but uh that uh that and and then the type two diabetes and like yeah, doctors and things that I'd go and see if you got medication or anxiety medication because it was pretty well just all band-aids, really. Um the core of the problem was I was trying to please probably other people around around me at the start, trying to get better. Um, and uh and that never works. Um you've got to want to do it for yourself and uh no one else first. Um and uh yeah, it rubs off on people around you when you when you do it for yourself at the end of the day.

Matty:

Yeah, I yeah, I I totally agree with it. And and um, you know, uh in terms of what you've gone through, it's it's absolutely amazing. Yes, there's an addictive personality when it comes to sport and and running or replacing those types of things or shifting lifestyles, and um, but that's not a bad thing, you know. A lot of people used to say that to me, and I hear it hear it, you know, spoken about a lot in terms of oh yeah, you just watch switch one for the other, but it's completely different because it's it's healthy.

Will:

Um you know, you're active. There's so many people out there knocking people that have had addictions and things and and have flicked the switch and went the other way and uh and good on them for yeah, flicking the switch around the other way. They're gonna live longer to start with, they're gonna make better decisions in life, they're gonna have a sharp mindset um and motivation and drive towards anything. It's what the yeah, it's what I found out of running. Clear mind, clear body, physically look good, and uh yeah, it's more about the mindset and the discipline to the and the structure um yeah, has given me is uh been amazing.

Matty:

Definitely, and I think the other thing to mention too is that the you know, throughout my years, and I'm not going into them now, but throughout my years, I'm a firm believer, but that drugs and alcohol um are the solution. They're the solution to the problem. The problem's underlying. Yeah, problems underlying that it is, and that's what needs to be dealt with, that underlying problem. Um a lot of people just see surface and see someone who's got addictions or problems. Um, that's who they are. Well, no, it's not. It's they're doing that for a particular reason. You've got to look beyond that.

Will:

100%, because you can easily go, yeah, go to the fridge, grab a beer out of the fridge and drink it. You're gonna do that before then going out and going for a 5, 10k run, aren't you? It's a lot easier to go the easy way out. I look at it as.

Matty:

Yeah.

Joshie:

Yeah, I think, well, what you're doing is showing that uh channeling an addiction into something that's a more productive and healthy use of time is okay. I think to judge the choices that people make, even if you are, and I think you're owning this, that you're you are addicted to exercise. I think people don't understand what it's like to live with with addiction and to overcome addiction that to channel it into something else is actually okay. Um, it's a less destructive way of living, and there's certainly um no judgment.

Will:

Um one thing you did want to to ask you the way is the other way is yeah, I take my hat off to people that can balance it. That's as that's just as strong as channeling it into something else. I don't knock people that yeah, want to go and have a drink either. So yeah, it's what open mind comes to that as well. Um if they can do that, that's just as strong as what I'm doing now is channeling it into something else with the running of fitness. If they can balance it, take the hat off. I tried it for years and it just doesn't work for me. Use full slippery slope.

Joshie:

There's a lot of powerful messages to take away already from this conversation. Will, I mean, you've mentioned about the you know, the vulnerability of I guess you've pretty much had to open your heart through this process and uh and adopting the changes that you have made takes a huge amount of commitment uh and courage and vulnerability. Um, did you have many people in your corner to help you implement these changes once you were ready?

Will:

No, not really. Well, at the start, as I say, the family, mainly family. I haven't really um spoken to too many friends about it. Uh there was a point there where it was me on my own out there. I was in London um and I just grinded away there. There's a few um few friendship breakup sort of things like that happened and uh and I thought this is this is the time that uh yeah I really go for it. And um yeah, putting in those hard yards at the start there were crucial to seeing the change um quickly. Um and that was just uh yeah, daily step counts was a non-negotiable thing for me at the start. And uh and I suppose it in a way being lonely, like there by myself thinking this is me, I've got to I've got to make this change for myself. I can't be listening to any other outside noise. I've just gotta stick with it here and uh things will get better. And I suppose that that comes down to again a bit of the ADHD and um addictive behaviour I have. Um once I got that small little sniff of uh that feel-good in me of uh something that wasn't a drink or um a white piece of powder going up my nose, it was um that feel-good energy inside of me of yeah, from exercise. I just kept on uh grinding away and pushing a and raising the bar a little bit more each um each day and week. And uh yeah, here we are today.

Matty:

I don't know I don't know how you did that in London. And and um, you know, I'm not not trying to be negative, but it's a young person in London on their own, like it's it's party central.

Will:

Um you know, I suppose when I um for me, I look at it as like I was in Sydney there here um before I went over there and um the party scene for me here was big. Um I yeah, that was my thing, and everyone would know me for that, drugs and drinking and everything like that, and just destructive weekends and vendors and everything that and then I went over to London and things got wor oh Europe on a holiday and things got worse. The exposure and uh to the that sort of lifestyle um is a lot more extreme uh than here. And obviously my addictive and um extreme uh way of doing things uh then skyrocketed up more there for the first probably year. Um and then uh and then yeah, that's when I did hit the rock bottom and uh started to change. Um and yeah, got into um got into the gym and daily step counts and things like that and saw the weight dropping very quickly and uh and just kept pushing. Uh and then yeah, got got through that uh that year of that, and I think it was about uh eight months sober or something through that first period, which gave me that uh foundation and saw the quick results. That was the game changer, the going sober from the drugs and alcohol. Um which uh if I didn't do that, I'd be yeah, I don't know where I'd be today or progress would be very slow. Um, for me, eliminating those two things w were the biggest factors of my life that ruled my life for ages and gave me nothing else in life of happiness or anything like that. Um Yeah, I wouldn't have got to where I am today. But then that led me to yeah, getting to another summer, I suppose the summer before I was drinking. That mindset came back again um of oh it's summer, we've got a drink. So I ended up, yeah, relapsing into that uh next summer for two to three months. Um and uh yeah, partied quite hard and uh and things, yeah. It sort of hit rock bottom, but I was still on the springboard from the a bit of the transformation I'd done in that eight months before. And um and I was lucky and blessed, I suppose, in a way I look at it now, is I'm sort of grateful that that relapse did happen uh because then that just absolutely skyrocketed everything once I got going again. And yeah, now I'm 56 kilos lighter than when I first started the journey. Wow.

Joshie:

Let's shift gears somewhat and start to look at your transformation. Now you said that you started with daily steps. Um and at some point I imagine you went, well, you know, this is either isn't challenging enough or I want to get a bit more out of my journey. Um can you remember when that changed for you, when walking wasn't enough and you decided to either start running or getting into the gym?

Will:

Yeah, so I I started the steps and um and then yeah, got into the gym. We tracked a bit of food and things there at the start. Um and uh yeah, I suppose I um I did a mile way and that was extreme calorie deficits and um and pretty well no carbs for a good year. How did you find your energy levels through that process? Well, I suppose uh it's hard to look back on it now, but I I suppose they were probably down a bit. Um but um it's yeah, I suppose just my mentality to the in the way of in the way of nutrition and running and things, if I if I really want something, I'll um I'll do it to um to yeah, to the highest sort of standard I can do it to to get those results I want to want to get.

Joshie:

So at what point did you look at running as a potential outlet? I mean, we'll talk a little bit more shortly about your running achievements and what's on the agenda down the track. But can you remember when you looked at running as being a potential outlet?

Will:

I suppose I I the walking felt felt good, and then I just started putting in a few, a few um, well, I've got to that, yeah, 10,000 steps, maybe even nearly 20,000 when I was peeking just at walking. And then I just started to feel good. I was like, oh, I'll start jogging a little bit here and there, and um and I started like obviously putting a bit of interest into pe people that inspired me on the on social media, which was uh which is a great tool if you use it right. Um there's so many people out, amazing people doing amazing things out there, and uh that gave me the drive, I suppose, thinking, well, if that person's doing that, why the hell can't I do it, um do that, or even uh try to do it better? Like it's um that's how I looked at it, and that's it. And then that sort of gave me more of a drive. So I signed up to my first event, which was a half marathon. That was scary at the time because I was first ra hadn't really run 20 21ks. I think I'd run around 10, 10 or 15 at most, uh, to start with, and uh and yeah, just grinding away to get ready for that. And then that came and that was in November last year. Um and only recently, wow. Yeah, so it's been about a year, I think, uh a bit over a year now of uh my running journey um properly from there. But uh yeah, and then it was just once I got once I did that, I suppose it was it was like what's next, and signed up to the Paris Marathon in April and uh ran 329 there and it gave me that sort of consistency. Um, and I suppose I'd turn up every time to a party and um and go yeah, go at 110 percent at that, and I thought that's uh that mentality um came out with me on the pavement each morning. Like it's um get up and get into it, and uh and it sort of just uh evolved around me as well. The the struct I love getting up early to do it because it sort of just completely structures me for today, um in the way of the mind and uh yeah, it just gives you that clarity, it's it's um unbeatable.

Matty:

It's um what I guess one of the things that that I can pull out of that and and um the structure. It's you've gone from a very unstructured life and way of living to a very structured life. It's it's polar opposites.

Will:

Yeah, well that's the thing. I was I was structur had no structure whatsoever before even friends, even going to a pub or something. I'd go to a pub back in the day and I'd want to go to the next thing straight away. I wouldn't want I wasn't present at all in the moment of there. And I I just I I like yeah I was I was there, but I I feel I personally I didn't mentally uh yeah feel there at all. I was sort of just like a I suppose felt like a bit see th seef see-through really at the time. Um and it was sort of it got to a point where it got scary, like, who am I? Like, what's my identity? My identity was just a party animal and piss rack, really. That was uh me twelve or so years. And then to flick it into the other way and uh and yeah, put it into that was uh great. And it's sort of yeah, I was pretty blessed at the start, got a few little niggles here and there with running, and but it's been pretty rosy since till something recent um in New York. Um and that was uh and that was a yeah disaster in the end, but uh I've learned a lot more out of uh that disaster than uh than what I happened over that last or before that, everything before that was yeah, rosier ran from London to Brighton, 100 K's in under ten hours, um things like that. What's next? Um, what's next? And then when that New York marathon came, and the problem happened uh with the nutrition um beforehand, um the sodium thing, uh it was a massive learning curve, and uh and it's just made me more and more hungrier for the next thing and uh and a huge thing to take away. I'm still a rookie to the game, obviously. I'm only a year in for it, and uh and I want to master it.

Joshie:

It's actually quite incredible, not just the f the physical transformation. I mean, that in itself is incredible enough, Will, but the the achievements and the running goals, uh uh it's it's not that common to be able to go from literally nothing and carrying 130-something kilograms to running you know sub three and a half hour marathons and running 100 Ks from London to Brighton. I mean, uh do you ever stop to pause and think about how incredible it is and just how quickly it's all come?

Will:

Yeah, I suppose, yeah. Pause it pause a bit, but at the same time, I quite uh I suppose I see the results I want to see because I am quite hard on myself. And uh in a way, you've got to look at that a bit and try to rein it in a bit, but uh I do like being sort of yeah, flirting on the edge of uh yeah, pushing yourself to that uh yeah limit um where it can go either way, I suppose, uh with either getting injured or things like that. But it I suppose that's where I see my success, and that's what I how I love about love, how I train um is I'm pushing myself a little bit more each time. And I find the amazing thing with running, um, you might go out for a run today and it'll feel completely different to tomorrow. You'll be thinking about other things that you weren't thinking about yesterday, or new ideas with uh business ventures or uh things like that, or relationships, friendships, uh everything. You just feel so much more present in the moment and yeah, urge anyone to get out there and esteem movement.

Joshie:

One thing that I've learnt from speaking to a number of people now that have gone through not the same but similar journeys to yourself, Will, is um that they feel like they're more present, that they're a better partner, a better friend, a better sibling, son, daughter, whatever. Um, has that been your experience? And have you noticed that as a result that friendships around you and relationships have changed compared to what they looked like before you went through this?

Will:

Yeah, 100%. Yeah, no, you're deadly right there. It's um if um if you set the tone for yourself, um, it sets the tone for everyone around you. Um everyone, yeah, everyone either gets inspired by or wants to be on that on that journey with you, and it's exciting because it brings everyone together, gets everyone motivated, um, and that's what that's what I want to be about. Um, yeah, motivating people to move. It doesn't have to be how I move or how the other person next to me moves. It's just uh getting out there and daily discipline and daily movement, and it it just pushes you that little bit further. And um the comfort zone, I suppose. That's what I always think about. If you're gonna sit sit in idle, you're not gonna go anywhere, are you? In the car, if you sit in in a gear, you're gonna be moving forward. It can be first gear, it can be fifth gear, it doesn't matter. You're still going forward, you're not going backwards.

Joshie:

So when you're going through those moments of feeling uncomfortable, do you ever consciously look back at your journey and use that for inspiration? Or are you so programmed and hardwired now into wanting to excel that it's not even a part of your conscious thought process that you just go? No, no.

Will:

I yeah, I definitely look back back at my journey and think how shit shit it was and and what what I can use out of it to keep on motivating me to move forward for sure. Um you the past is never gonna be um yeah completely vanished, um, is it? I use it as motivation and uh and yeah, life experiences for myself to then go out there and uh yeah help people and uh coach people in the way of uh yeah, changing their lives. I I look at yeah, life experiences more valuable than a signature on a paper that someone's been to a uni or something to get uh get those degrees. Um they uh yeah, I suppose haven't been on the side of the pendulum that someone who has had addiction to then move into the into the new life they're in.

Joshie:

I think that's what grabbed my attention when I saw your profile that this wasn't just like I say, someone that had come out of school and got a cert three and assert four in fitness, and you know, all of a sudden they're a they're a trainer, that you've actually walked the talk and you've had that lived relatable experience.

Will:

And I'm I know that people like as I say to people out there, I've got no certifications in uh health, fitness or um sports science. I've got uh yeah, all certifications under the sun in life experiences, which uh PhD, yeah. Yeah, PhD and uh masters and everything in it. Uh and I look at that as uh a shitload more valuable than a signature on a paper.

Joshie:

Exactly right. Um you've mentioned before that nutrition is a huge factor and plays a huge role in your journey. What does that look like to you now? So what was that, sorry? Uh nutrition. I know that that's a huge focus area for you at the moment.

Will:

Yeah, the nutrition side of things for me at the start was brutal uh to get to where I was. But uh it was quite hard actually to change it from that like weight loss uh journey to then into the performance to where I am now. Um but my I just yeah, keep it keep it simple, basic, and that uh that's the way that you see see your success as you look over my whole journey. Um it's been pretty simple uh uh transformation to get to where I am. It's easy to say that now, but you look how I've done it, it's been 10,000 steps, uh cutting out carbs, eating high protein to stay satisfied, but then I've had to change it a bit now. Um obviously uh with the training I'm doing to get the energy source in. But it's uh it's uh predominantly uh whole foods, uh chicken, egg, meat, um, mince, uh avocado, fats, feta, uh, goat's cheese, um, everything like that surround. And then on the bigger days of bigger days of running and things like that, I yeah, I implement the carbs in of yeah, pasta, it's potato, things like that.

Matty:

Yeah. You say it's you say it's very simple, but you say it's not. And just to sort of um touch on that a little bit, it's like eating can become sort of a habit too when you're in bad habits. And then you you know you're changing and even um changing your diet, and then even working with a calorie deficit. Calorie deficit when you've gone from someone like 136 kilos, it's very, very hard to do. Um, you get very hungry. Um, so no, and then yeah, and then you change to there to the performance side of things, um, you're eating more, and that's hard as well, because in your your mindset is I don't want to go back to being that one 36 kilo guy. Um, so it's it's simple, but yeah, it's it's quite hard.

Will:

Yeah, it's in I I in the way saying it was simple and yeah, quite hard. I suppose my weight uh I find um predominantly came around the alcohol and everything I was doing with the drugs and you name it. Um I was quite a healthy eater in the period of when I was when I was drinking. I wouldn't over overindulge in uh junk food and things. Obviously on the Saturday or Sunday I'd binge eat a little bit because I'd be trying to catch up on food I'd miss for two days or something being out on those benders. But um during the week it'd be uh it'd be fairly clean. So cutting out that alcohol um you can call it nutrition, yeah. Cutting out the alcohol and drugs um from it to start then made it easy for me because I was already sort of I was already eating well before the transformation. It was the alcohol and drugs that screwed it all up. Um and then coming the performance side of it's been probably the hardest bit because yeah, obviously you need to fuel your fuel your body to perform, especially the amount of mileage and things I'm doing at the moment. Um, yeah, fueling yourself so you don't burn out or get injured. Um, yeah.

Joshie:

You know, I'm a big believer that we learn more from our failures than our successes. And you sort of touched briefly before on your experience in New York with the sodium overload. What can you tell us about that experience? Because that I think was probably a huge moment for you.

Will:

Yeah, so I went into the went into the race and um very confident I was gonna break uh the sub three hours um in this in my second math on done all the training. It's pretty evident uh with the training block that I was gonna was gonna get it. And then uh yeah, stupidly uh the day, the day of the race, say I I tried something new um and learnt something very quickly um about 24k into the race. Um and that was taking some salt tablets uh before and uh yeah, obviously my sodium levels spiked right up and uh and yeah, I was cruising along and then yeah, calf cramped up, cramped up, went rock solid, and uh it was game over from there and it was demoralizing um because the amount of training I put in um put into the event uh was extreme and uh and got to the day and it all uh all fell apart. But uh as you said, you learn more from the failures and success, and uh I learnt a lot from that day, and I and I can't wait for the next thing. And the beauty thing is you you can do it again, can't you?

Joshie:

Well, that's exactly right. I mean, it's not to take away from what you went through, because that would have been just a a horrendous experience.

Will:

I mean, yes, it's from vomiting to vomiting to collapsing, dude. But um, yeah, I suppose that fighting mentality of just getting to the finish line for me was the key. I wasn't walking away without getting getting the there. So but um yeah. I can't believe you dragged yourself over the finish line after cramping. Burning desire still uh to this day that uh that happens. So it's um yeah, it adds fuel and motivation to the fire for the next thing, which is uh not too far away.

Joshie:

I wonder if you're referring to Marathon de Saab or are you?

Will:

Yeah, the marathon I've got um well a couple of warm-up sort of events before that. Um a pilgrim's event over two days. But yeah, the main main event is yeah, the Marathon de Saab in in April over the six days um uh the six stage event, sorry. Um and uh yeah, I can't wait for that. Um and it's gonna be a a real test.

Joshie:

So uh there'd be a lot of uh listeners that aren't aware of the marathon de Saab. It's uh there are a couple of documentaries on it. Um so for the for the benefit of those listening, can you take a few moments to explain to us what it is?

Will:

Uh yeah, it's an event across the Morocco Desert, um roughly uh 250 kilometres, uh six-stage event, and uh with uh yeah, variance of uh distances each day and uh yeah, 20, 30k for the first couple approximately. And then uh there's a big day of nearly a hundred in the middle. Um and uh yeah, self-supported event. Uh so carrying your food and uh your sleeping equipment and things like that. So um yeah, working all that out as well. It's uh it's very technical of what you want to carry, the pack weight and uh things like that, and then obviously the extreme conditions you can be in. I've speaked to a few people about it, and then ye different years have changed. Last year it pissed down rain. The the year before it was 46 degrees one day. Um so it's uh yeah, it's a testing event. It's yeah, obviously one of the toughest events in the world. That's awesome. Yeah.

Joshie:

And I assume that completing it is the goal. Um setting any combined base goals. Yeah.

Will:

Completing it's the completing it's the goal, and also the goal, yeah. My goal is to hopefully yeah get in the top 40, but uh the completion of it uh is the main goal to start with. Who knows what the weather and uh things can throw at you, and and that's gonna be the beauty of it. Um how far can you go? How many sand dunes can you climb and uh and yeah, the heat and uh the different types of weather throughout the whole event?

Joshie:

Is it that event that has oh there's one I've seen where you when you get overtaken by the camels or something, then you're basically.

Will:

Yeah, that's correct. Yeah, you get dead D and F the uh the camels overtake you, uh yeah, you uh you get taken taken home. Wow. Yeah.

Matty:

What if you're on the last leg?

Will:

200 euro you've got to carry 200 euro cash with you as well, because if you do DNF you have to pay for the transport back, so Oh getting some two hundred euro transport back, I'll be holding on to it. Oh my gosh, that sounds brutal. Wow, so now that's where It's uh yeah, it's a sk it I s I sort of like that sort of uh feeling leading into something over yeah, as I touched on before the comfort zone, I'd be well out of my comfort zone there and finishing something like that um will be absolutely life changing. Um as I touched on with the half marathon this um in November last year, straight away after that, I was thinking what's next sort of thing, and to finish something that big um and and that quickly in the in that year, it's uh it'll just set the bar high for the next thing.

Joshie:

So what does the training regime look like for marathon desab?

Will:

Um at the moment it's just a lot of zone zone two running, really. Um and it's great being back uh in Sydney here and uh back around some hills as well. Uh London's pretty flat as a tack, and uh obviously you want to get some good elevation in and heat work uh leading into it. So getting those hills in and uh and just long mileage. Uh I think some of the top sort of blokes are doing three or four hundred K um a week, but uh I'm at the bone that's crazy. Yeah. Sitting around at 100 kilometres a week now at the moment, so uh probably for the next four weeks and then go to probably 130, 140, and then peak it at around 160 to 170 at the back end and uh and get ready for the thing then. So but then I'll get back to London. Obviously, it's gonna be bitterly cold as well, so um I have to book in a few uh heat chamber running events in in in a 45 degree heat chamber on a treadmill with pack and everything on uh to climatise myself to get ready for the for the race.

Joshie:

Oh wow. Because I was gonna ask, you know, ha will you travel as part of your your training or just try to simulate.

Will:

Potentially, yeah. Um I've been looking at uh a few things uh around around Europe and uh even maybe Kenya.

Joshie:

Wow. So what month is that? I think you mentioned uh the first one. April is uh it starts. We are certainly going Do you know if it can be tracked online? We'll certainly be yeah.

Will:

Uh I think I'm pretty sure you yeah, you'll be able to, yeah. I'll also be uh getting some footage along the way.

Matty:

Now you'll go ahead, Maddie. No, I was just gonna say, how do you you started running a year ago? So look at that and look at now, and you're going to do this massive event in the desert. Your progression and your your mileage, your your training, your everything must have just ramped up massively.

Will:

I I look at yeah, as I said before, I was uh probably one of the best at doing the party sort of scene. I didn't go for days, and and that was uh I suppose how the progressions came so quickly. I've just flicked it into something else. And and similar, I look at Ultra Running and and uh being that in that bender communic um environment of parties, it's just full-blown ticker, really. And how much do you really want it? Especially with the running being consistent. That's what I love about it. You get out of bed each day and you show up to yourself, you're not out there, you're not out there uh listen well, someone's not out there telling you to go out and run, you're like, I'm gonna go do this and I'm gonna keep going. Like and uh yeah, so I do a lot of recovery techniques as well. A lot of yeah, saunas, ice bars, um, compression boots and and things like that, massages, they all help quite a lot um to keep me in good nick in check.

Joshie:

So is part of your thought process then if you could go on multi-day benders, then a hundred K run over ten hours is nothing. Is that kind of how you solve it?

Will:

Yeah, that's how I look at it, yeah. I found that the 100k run from London to Brighton probably um easier than what the two marathons have been, to be fair. It's just full-blown ticker and how how how far can you go? I look at those backyard ultra things and I definitely want to try one of those um because yeah, that pretty well is the definition of definition of the backyard ultra. You look at uh that one over in Texas, it's um how far can you go is the uh sign above the where the uh seven, however the however long the K thing is, um, on the hour every hour. Um it's something I definitely want to do as well.

Joshie:

Now, Will, you're now using your journey to help inspire others. Um what can you tell us about what you're doing in that space and when someone comes to you stuck in their own sort of destructive loop? Uh what's I guess the process? How do you start that conversation?

Will:

Yeah, so I'm starting up, yeah, my own uh sort of lifestyle coaching around addictions, even just habits or um daily quality of life. It's not around it's not just around cutting out the drinking and uh going all in in fitness, it's helping people balance their lives as well if they do want to do both. As I said before, it's about being open-minded and uh and helping anyone just if they want to change a few things, implant change a few little habits in their life to better other things in their lives and uh approaching anyone with it is yeah, telling them a bit about my journey, but then also speaking um to them and getting their where their direction and things and where I can help is uh in the way of uh yeah, using my past experiences to motivate, inspire them, and my coaching tools from my journey that I've sort of yeah, coached myself to get to where I am today. And that's all became through life lessons. What I'm trying to teach is yeah, you are in that dark space now, but you've got uh you've got every bit of uh yeah, my help to uh get you get you out of that uh where I was as well. And uh and yeah, life's life's never over. Um you can always change.

Joshie:

Hey, do you have any the final thoughts or anything you you wanted to uh uh afford before we finish up, whether it's shout-outs or anything, just some final messages?

Will:

Yeah, I suppose uh yeah, um it's never too late to change. That's sort of like the last verse to anyone out there that is struggling and uh listen to the podcast. Um it's uh yeah, it's yeah, you're never too far gone. Um and never, never think that down on yourself. Uh that uh yeah, there's always going to be a light at the end of the tunnel if you put your hard work in. You can reach out to me. I'm always gonna be accommodating, uh, yeah, to help anyone out there get to where I am or or just improve their lives. I know how you I know how you feel that first initial text or or call um to discuss how you're feeling is very daunting, but that's the first step to the success and transformation. And yeah, I'd just like to thank you, uh Josh and Matt, uh, for having me on the Rum Believe uh podcast. It's been a pleasure uh uh talking to you guys and running you through uh how my journey's been uh along the whole way.

Joshie:

Well, Will, thanks for allowing yourself to be vulnerable and uh truly sharing your journey with us today. Your dedication to turning your life around is more inspiring than what you probably realize. And yeah, thanks again for taking the time to chat with us.

Will:

You can sort of get a yeah, you can get caught up in a bit of this way because you keep raising the bar higher and uh and that's like anyone wanting to better themselves. That's uh another thing to touch when you look at uh yeah, when you start working on uh on yourself, uh you see your real friends around you, then uh all those people other people brought off the face of the earth.

Joshie:

Well, Will, thanks again. We're certainly going to watch your journey with interest. Uh good good luck in April and the the lead up to that uh marathon decide we'll we'll be uh we'll be watching with interest. Yeah, definitely. Thanks again for chatting with me. Thank you. Thanks, thanks very much. Oh wow, Maddie, Will's story is certainly a sage reminder that it's never too late to change destructive habits. Yeah, totally agree, Josh.

Matty:

I think um I think it's a a lot of people might look at Will's story and and sort of think, you know, he's gone from one extreme to another extreme, but you've really got to look at it in the context. He's gone from an extreme that is destructive, um, and not just physically and mentally, but also relationships and his surroundings, to something that, yes, it's extreme, but it's positive. And it's doing positive things for his mental health and his physical health. And so, you know, I applaud that myself. I think that's great.

Joshie:

Yeah. It certainly is, and it's absolutely, as we said during the episode, um, no judgment when it comes to applying yourself in an extreme way. Uh, like I say, maybe it will uh applying himself in a far more healthy and productive way and put on him. I really can't wait to follow his journey. And that's it for today. If you have a run believable story of your own, then please send it our way. And if you'd like to be a guest on the show, give it a finally. If you can please take the time to follow, rate, and share the podcast with your running mates, we'd really appreciate it. And we'll see you for the next run believable event.