Ep 23: When the Borders Closed… Paralympic Coach Channa Marsh’s Life Reset

Channa Marsh knows what it means to reset.

In 2020, she travelled from Perth to Queensland for a triathlon… and never went home. COVID border closures stripped away her house, job direction, and community overnight. What followed was months of rebuilding; and a shift from triathlon to running that would redefine her path.

Since then, Channa has podiumed in road races, won the SEQ Trail Series long course, endured her first DNF after tearing ankle ligaments at Kosci, and somehow still finished top-10 at Ultra Trail Australia despite a shuttle bus mishap.

Now, she’s taken on a new role at the ACT Academy of Sport, helping develop Paralympic athletes in the lead-up to Brisbane 2032.

In this episode of Runbelievable, Joshie and Matty sit down with Channa to unpack resilience, identity shifts, high performance from both sides of the stopwatch, and what it really means to chase excellence; personally and professionally.

Channa would like to acknowledge the incredible role her coach Andy Dey from RunCo. has played in shaping her running journey.

In this episode:

• The COVID border closure that changed everything
• Rebuilding life and community through running
• Winning the SEQ Trail Series
• Battling Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S)
• Balancing athlete identity with a PhD in Sports Science
• Her new ACTAS role and the road to Brisbane 2032
• What success looks like now

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Transcript

Intro

Channa 0:07

Yes, I was collecting data on the people around me, what their strengths were, what their weaknesses were, and I knew that I was the better climber. So I made that move going on the uphill over that fridge and just sprinted the heart out for the rest of the 2K.

Matty Flips The Script

Joshie 0:25

Hello everybody and welcome to Run Believable, the podcast that celebrates the human side of running. I'm your host, Josh Christian, 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 gets waking up day after day. From the last and the lesson to four to one run, 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 whose journey is that diverse. We might actually need to set aside an entire unbelievable series to her. You truly can't make up the stuff that she's gone through. I cannot wait to chat with her. Maddie, welcome back. Yeah, thanks, Justin. It's always good to be here. Always a pleasure having you, my friend. Um yeah, kick us off with some meme-worthy magic.

Matty 1:12

Yeah, it's something that's not really meme-worthy, but something that's becoming very much a talking point and is highly visual and commented on in relation to run-in events, and that is uh run-in-event signs. So spectators on the sideline with different signs. So I find that they can be motivating, but the other I also find that they can be an annoyance, um, depending where I'm at within within the race. What about you, mate? Like, how do you find you flipped the script this time?

Joshie 1:43

I love it. I don't mind them. Every now and then there's the one that's like the tap for boost or whatever, Super Mario. I love that. The other one.

Matty 1:51

That one. That one because I it's always at the end when you're dying, and you see that, and it's like nothing can save me. Well, so you're telling those little kids by the side of the right stuff, don't you? Um, and one that sticks with me every time I see it at an event is you paid for this.

Joshie 2:08

Yeah. And it said uh due to the cost of living crisis, today's marathons now 44.38 kilometers or something like that, which I think are hilarious. Um yeah, we're gonna have to kick off a poll or something and see what people. Yeah. Um, thanks for that. Yeah, Maddie.

Matty 2:30

Just before we go, mate, I just want to say there's one out there that is chafe today, brag tomorrow, and that's for you, mate.

Runbelievable Rundown

Joshie 2:37

Thanks. I appreciate that. That can be my motto. We might have to get some t-shirts um printed with that slogo on it. Um well, thanks, Maddie. Let's um get stuck into the unbelievable rundown. Now, a couple of weeks ago, we conducted a poll and it was all to do with how or whether or not people wash their shoes. Now, I don't know if you saw this one, but I basically had three options. I think it was washing machine, hand wash, or don't wash. Um really interesting mix. I was actually surprised at how many people use the washing machine. Um I don't remember seeing your response there, Maddie. What do you do?

Matty 3:09

I don't clean the I don't clean them at all. I think if you washing machine um can damage the foam, so I've heard.

Quiz Time: Parkrun USA

Joshie 3:15

Um that's what I wasn't sure about. Yeah, and I think what's the bags apparently that protect the shoes. Yeah. Yeah. One of the listeners sent me something. I can't I'll have to share it with um yeah with the group because yeah, I found it quite intriguing. But yeah, look, everyone knows that you're so a wash with cash, you just throw your shoes away and then they get too turkey. I'm broke, mate. I'm broke. Um now look, there's actually quite a few new listeners. So what I actually want to do now, Maddie, is take the opportunity to thank you guys sincerely for tuning in. If you're on a run as we speak, we sincerely wish you the best of luck getting through your session or whatever kind of run you're doing. And if you see those idiots on modified e-bikes, then make sure you give those bastards an ear for they really piss me off. And look, Maddie, it's no secret that we want to grow. So if you're new to the podcast and you're enjoying hearing the stories that we're sharing, if you can please just take 15 seconds out to subscribe and give us a rating. We really want to grow and keep bringing you stories that shape who we become. And following along with the podcast is certainly the best way of helping us out. Either that or wire us a fuck ton of cash to pay for our production costs. We have a quiz, Maddie. I know you love them. I do, I do love them. And it's all about Parkrun USA. Now, what got me thinking about this is oh, I saw you throw your head back. Two of our most recent guests are actually from the US, as you know, we had Ari and we had Jill, and neither of them had even heard of Parkrun, let alone participated in one. And I know it's not overly big over there, my friend. Um did you know that it's not that huge?

Matty 4:55

No, I knew that it wasn't huge over there, um, if at all. I I'm well aware of of the UK and and some parts of Europe um where it is it is a thing. But the US, yeah. I've spoken to a number of people online and no idea. So question number one.

Joshie 5:12

Across the US, are there over or under 89 park runs? Under. Incorrect. There's 97.

Matty 5:22

Okay.

Joshie 5:23

Mmm. He's off to a flyer. Oh, always. Question number two. The average finish time is it over or under 33 minutes? I'd say over. You're correct. It's 3421, which is about three minutes slower than the average finish time in Australia. So there we go. Make of that what you will. Question number three. The largest attendance at a US parkrun, is it over or under 345 participants? I go over. Correct. And I believe that was in 2022. Okay.

Matty 6:16

What do you think? Well, I had no idea that they had park runs back then in 2022 in the US. Yeah. Yeah, they've had them for a while. They're just quite interesting.

Guest Spotlight: Channa Marsh

Joshie 6:25

Haven't been that popular. Yeah. Well, how'd you all go at home? Feel free to let us know. Today's guest knows high performance from both sides of the timing chip. She's raced at a national level, rebuilt her life during COVID, and now works at the ACT Academy of Sport, helping to develop the next generation of Paralympic athletes. She's a sports scientist and strength and conditioning coach and even has a PhD in sports science. Can we please all welcome Chana Marsh? Welcome, Chana.

Channa 6:56

Hi guys, uh yeah, fabulous to be here. Thank you very much.

Joshie 7:00

We're actually going to start in the year 2020. You were living in Perth, you traveled to Queensland, I believe, for a triathlon event, and then everything changed. What on earth happened?

Channa 7:13

Uh yeah, a bit of a turning point for me, actually. Uh so yeah, March of 2020, I think that most people in the world remember that point in their lives. Uh I and every single person in the world probably has their own uh little COVID story or big story. Uh mine was basically, yeah, I traveled to from Perth to Brisbane and went to the sunny coast for the Millabar triathlon. I was competing there. And it happened to be, I think it was the last big uh mass event that happened in Australia before COVID shutdowns hit. Um so I was due to fly back to my home in Perth uh not long after the triathlon. And in one swift call of the government, uh Mark McGowan um from yeah, Western Australia shut down the WA borders. And that was kind of it for my life in uh WA for the very, very foreseeable future. So um yeah, everything kind of changed from that point onwards. I uh lost like you know, where I was living, uh my state, uh my work as well, because I was working full-time at the university doing my PhD at the same time. Uh, and everything was face to face. And so lost that at that point in time. And um, yeah, couldn't couldn't get back to Perth for at least uh, I think it was like 12 months later. I was able to get to get back to Perth uh to see a relative who was not well. There was a lot of paperwork that had to happen for that. And yeah, so 12 months later I went made my first trip back to Perth, tapped up my house and moved back to Bristol um permanently. So March of 2020 was a deep month.

Joshie 9:11

Yeah, that's needless to say that Mark McGown's not on your Christmas card list.

Channa 9:17

Um You can say that, but like, yeah, the lockdown worked really well in Western Australia, and I was happy for that because you know we've all got you know grandparents or everything like that. So uh yeah, I was happy for them, but also a bit sad for myself.

Joshie 9:35

That's a lot to go through. I mean, losing what'd you say, your your your house, your sort of career direction had to change, your community as well, I guess. Like um, what impact did that have on you, I guess, beyond sport?

Channa 9:49

Uh I I found that really, really difficult. Um and I think it's because when everything shut down and everyone went into that kind of crisis isolation stage of their life. Um it was basically people yeah, it was like 12 weeks of isolation kind of in terms of the lockdowns. And no one was hiring because no one knew what was happening, um, the future direction of anything. Um, yeah, so no one was hiring in terms of work. Um, people were reluctant to uh go out socialize and make new friends. Um so I found this social isolation really, really difficult.

Joshie 10:38

Um but so did you know many people here at the time? I say here you're in camera, we're in Brisbane. Um but yeah, did you know um many people in Brisbane at the time? Like, did you have any sort of form of social outlet?

Channa 10:51

Yeah, so I was actually extremely lucky. So my partner fiance was living in Brisbane. So yeah, no, I I was extremely lucky in terms of that situation. I didn't know anyone else. Um, so it was a really interesting time in our relationship because we had gone from three years of long distance relationship to sharing a very tiny one-bedroom apartment in isolation over town.

Joshie 11:21

I used to be a fly on the wall.

Channa 11:25

But we made it through stronger than ever. Um, but also it meant that my social connections also became uh quite about him. Um so that was also difficult because we're both very like independent people. Um so yeah, I actually found the first couple of years in Brisbane quite socially difficult, which is when I kind of turned to running. Um, and that became like my social outlet.

Joshie 11:52

And was that um in training that you joined, or was there another run club you were part of before then?

Channa 11:57

No, I joined in training. Um I actually can't remember why. I think that I was running along the Kedron Brook one evening. I think we used to do Tuesday evening trainings, and I was running over along the brook one evening and thought, hey, what's this club? Everyone seems to be having a good time. Maybe I'll look at joining a running club. And so I joined with John. Um, John was the coach at the time. And um yeah, that was pretty much the start.

Joshie 12:26

That's so chance chance discovery.

Channa 12:29

Yeah, yeah. Um yeah, one of the best things as well. Um, it was such a good yeah, introduction to socializing in Brisbane.

Joshie 12:40

So, what made you focus on running then instead of triathlons? I mean, was it that you just reflected on the the training load that's involved with triathlons? Um, what was it?

Channa 12:53

Yeah, firstly when COVID hit and all of the isolation occurred for lockdowns, uh, training for triathlon became extremely difficult to do. Um, I was also training the the worts at that point in time because I'd qualified for it. Um, but yeah, due to COVID lockdown, like you couldn't go very far outside your house. So riding kind of was a bit of an iffy option. You couldn't really go to cools um for a very long time. Um, so I just transferred to yeah, running as my only exercise that I did. And I'd always kind of wanted to try to get better at running because that was my strength in triathlon. Uh, but of course, triathlon, you have to do three different disciplines and try to fit it into your week. Um and yeah, I just found that I actually had so much more energy in my life um through just focusing on one discipline and realized that I was probably doing triathlon for the wrong reasons um when I was in it. Um and yeah, just completely fell in love with running and um figuring out like the regimended training that you could do to make those differences in your performance and time. Um, something that I couldn't do when I was trying to focus on three different disciplines at the same time.

Matty 14:20

Okay. I remember going back then and I wasn't running that much during COVID. Um, I'd probably just started and then stopped and started. But you had to wear a mask. You're only allowed out for one hour a day, weren't you? And you had to wear a mask.

Channa 14:36

Yeah, absolutely.

Matty 14:37

How did you guys find or how did you try to find training with a mask? Like that to me is I die.

Joshie 14:45

I don't even remember that. I wasn't running back then.

Channa 14:49

Probably yeah, probably found it terrible because coming from um Kerth, it's not it's hot, it's dry hair. But coming to Brisbane, you've got that added um added layer, like the humidity, and then you add a mask on top of that. Yeah, yeah. Absolutely horrible.

Joshie 15:07

Well, it's impressive that you stuck with it. I mean, with all the life changes that were happening to you. I mean, you're rebuilding your life essentially from the ground up, um, rebuilding community, which it sounds like running really helped you with. Um let's take a moment to talk about your running achievements. And you've and look, I am gonna have to apologize in advance, Chana. You have quite the rap sheet. Um, we're not gonna be able to cover all of your amazing achievements. Um, but from what you told me, your first serious running focus um, or at least event, was Brisbane Roadrunners. Uh, and I think you said there was a 10k that you raced in 2022. You finished second, I think behind Norissa O'Donnell, was it? Um in the time of 38 minutes. Can you take us back to that day um and talk us through your experience?

Channa 15:55

Uh yeah, that was probably the first running event that I actually put some dedicated uh like strategic training in place, just focusing on uh running as my sole discipline. And yeah, um pretty sure John was coaching me at that time as well. Um and yeah, I I actually don't know what happened on that day. I just ended up being in a pack of females um who were just all so lovely and just um kind of pushing each other. Well, just absolutely being honest with each other and pushing to our absolute limits and kind of like Narissa had already flown off. Um but yeah, she had already collected the first place, I reckon, by the second kilometer. She was absolutely so insanely good. Um, and then there was three of us who were sticking together in a pack and kind of swapping the leader and knowing that only two other people out of that pack could end up on the podium. And I think that just gave us all such a lift and such a drive. And I really enjoy that tactical kind of race. Um and I don't know, it just pushed me to new heights um on that particular day. Um, the environment around like Brisbane Roadrunners event is just so much fun as well. So many people, everyone was cheering us on along the way because they could kind of see what situation we were in, I guess. Um and yeah, I ended up getting two 5k PBs on that day during that. It was a pretty good race.

Joshie 17:37

Oh, that's brilliant. So it sounds like that really lit a spark in you that day.

Channa 17:43

Yeah, 100%. Because I could see from conception uh what dedicated uh training and a structured uh training program could do in terms of performance. And then yeah, just having that spark with those other females around me to kind of push us all, honestly, uh, was just so much bar. Yeah.

Joshie 18:04

But it sounds like from what you told me, you didn't spend that much time focused on roadrunning after that. You I think pretty quickly went on to the SCQ trail series and you you set uh you set that series a lot. I think you podiumed nationally. Um what was it that trail running unlocked in you that you couldn't quite get from roadrunning China?

Channa 18:25

Um you know what, Josh? I got injured after that 10 kilometer road race. Oh, did you? Unsurprisingly, I mean, when you outperform like that, uh like out of your skin, um yeah, you're probably gonna end up with some kind of niggle or injury. Um, and so uh trailer running provided that um uneven kind of um stepping pattern um because my injury was probably like an overuse injury at that point in time of doing too many steps in the exact same patterning and just not having that face built up behind me because I didn't have that uh full running experience under my belt yet. Um so I tried one trail run a week um to add that diversity into my stepping stride and just fell in love with inaugural reservoir, it's just beautiful and those single finding trails, and I think I fell in love with it because um I'm a bit of a stronger kind of gal. Um I definitely don't have a um yeah, thinner kind of uh female body. Uh and so I found that my strength was probably in the trails and the climbing and the descending.

Matty 19:46

And it's easier on your joints as well, isn't it? What trail running? Yeah, I've heard it is easier because it's like it's dirt, like rather than solid. Maybe I'm wrong.

Joshie 19:59

You're speaking to a sports scientist uh okay No, you're 100% right.

Channa 20:06

Like it is easier in some ways um on the joints, like just running on the dirt and doing that different stride patterning, um, yeah, on most strides. Uh so not getting as much of that overuse um repetitive action. Uh, but also it could be really hard on the joints if you're doing like those long, steep downhills, um which really cook the knees a little bit.

Joshie 20:32

Yeah, see, Maddie tends to roll down the hills, so that's why industrial feel at this joint. Well, just avoid hills.

Channa 20:40

The best way to get down the hills, Maddie.

Joshie 20:44

Um tell us a little bit if you don't mind, Shana, about your um uh your PhD in sports science.

Channa 20:51

Oh, uh, it feels like a lifetime ago. Um, so I did a PhD in sports science at the University of Western Australia. So yeah, I went through the whole hog and did a double major degree in sports science, exercise and health there. And then did an honors project, and then uh yeah, thought that I wanted to go down the academic kind of pathway there. And so I ended up doing a PhD, but I also thought that I really enjoyed uh high performance sport and the integration of like what can we do with research and put it into an actually applicable situation to improve performance. Um so I had yeah, that practical application component in my PhD, working with like real life people, um, taking them through exercise programming and seeing what happens. So my PhD was in uh twins. So I did a twin study. So we're looking at identical and non identical twins, and then we ran them through. three months of uh running and cycling program and then three months of a uh uh achievement-based uh strengths development program as well. And we were looking at, well, firstly uh what happened within the body in like comparing the two modalities of exercise. Um you know does one person respond to one type of exercise over the other type of exercise or do they respond like similarly to both types of exercise? And then also adding that genetic component in them with the twins to figure out if there's a genetic or a um more nature versus nurture component as well in terms of response to exercise. So yeah it was super interesting.

Joshie 23:01

Sounds super complex too over what time frame did you conduct your research?

Channa 23:06

Oh it was a lot um so I was probably I was doing so many hours so probably like 12 to 16 hours a day uh it was a lot um and data collection was over a three year period uh and I completed it within five years because COVID hit so yeah my goodness wow everyone's got their own PhD story but I have heard five years is about the average for a PhD in Australia. So yeah not sure if that's true but I like to think that I yeah keep the average with mine.

Joshie 23:44

We'll talk about how your research uh well maybe your research isn't directly involved in your current role but we'll talk about that in a moment. Um I guess what I do want to explore is what's it like being I guess an athlete yourself and also a sports scientist when your own body isn't cooperating.

Channa 24:04

Do you ever sort of feel this tension between trusting your instincts versus applying a layer of science oh I mean you're just saying like a physio shouldn't treat themselves I try to outsource as much as I can uh in terms of my physio, my coaching and everything like that. Because I think as humans we're like our worst most definitely like worst enemy in terms of uh pushing where we probably shouldn't. Um yeah uh but I do uh use a lot of sports science in uh yeah what I like to do myself in sport um I don't know if I call myself uh yeah an athlete um but I do enjoy uh pushing myself as much as I can in my sport and I'm gonna stop you there Chana um you say you're not an athlete I think you're our first guest though that has a world athletics profile oh well athletics profile yeah you didn't know that didn't even go back um yeah I think you ran a you ran a super quick half um it was like mid-120s I thought yeah you have a world athletics profile that makes you an athlete in our eyes if you're running those times you're an athlete yeah I didn't even know I had a profile there you go but yeah I do implement a lot of uh sport sites into my own uh training and experience I guess but also just because I have to uh pilot test a lot of the equipment that we have here at work um so I work for ATC uh sorry I work for the ACT Academy of sport so act us uh here in Canberra and yeah uh the a lot of the the equipment that we get that we have to use on our athletes um I usually test on myself first um and then I like to apply it to my own training as well. Um yeah and I just find that super interesting um to yeah see that's cool yeah how I'm going um and then my do pre-post testing uh every now and then um but also yeah just testing out the equipment and knowing how to apply it to myself and my own sport as well. Um yeah I'm super lucky and yeah it's it's interesting.

Joshie 26:37

So what's the difference between Actis and the AIS? Are they affiliated?

Channa 26:42

Um yeah so every state and territory has their own um yeah so we're ACT Academy of sport Queensland Academy of Sport um and so on and so forth and um the Australian Institute of Sport um is like the top umbrella of that oh okay yeah yeah so like a governing body type thing uh kind of yeah they uh um they service a lot of the camps the national camps that come through okay um and then they'll service like some of the um uh uh the academies that are like located here in Canberra so like the Center of Excellence for the basketball pro like the national basketball program and stuff like that um yeah it's all very interesting so I am uh with in the ACT Academy of sport um but I work on site at the AIS because that's where we are located.

Joshie 27:54

Yeah right but I don't what can you tell us um what can you tell us about your role specifically and what you're doing?

Channa 28:02

Oh um I'm gonna well I'm hugely passionate about my role um I'm about seven weeks in at the moment I think and it all comes off of the back of a huge grant funding that the Australian put uh government put into Paralympic sport and um upskilling a lot of people um and putting a lot of funding into like equipment and um programs and the athletes themselves. And so yeah my my role comes off of the back of that. So that funding got passed through in end of 2024 I think and then from there every single um stake and territory like the QAS um and us and so on and so forth have their own uh Paralympic uplift unit they call it and basically um Paralympians might be identified through talent identification days um and then brought into the network um to then um yeah basically bolster them up um give them high performance um environments to train in um so I do the strength and conditioning and like sports science side of things here um at Actis uh with the yeah um up and coming Paralympic athletes.

Joshie 29:36

Right. And is this with a focus um on the 2032 games in Brisbane or um you're working on the LM games okay yeah.

Channa 29:46

Yeah so I think the funding is for two years and then yeah as all things are um yeah with this kind of thing just trying to see how it goes and trying to build something from the very start and then hopefully there'll be yeah additional funding that continues on uh more progression more pathways towards hopefully the aim is Brisbane 2032 that's that's so important so important I mean um I think the Paralympics are becoming more sort of popular and watched by people and some of the stuff you see there is just unbelievable.

Matty 30:25

You know like people running triathlons with a guide and um all different sorts of things it's just out of this world like it's it's it has to be watched it's it's amazing. Yeah.

Channa 30:37

I guess they they face they face uh additional barriers that able-bodied athletes don't um and so uh what can tell us channel that excites you the most about working in this space I think the amount of growth potential uh because yeah historically this yeah this hasn't been done before this is all brand new um and now each state and territory has their own unit that it's being developed and yeah we're seeing so many people uh coming coming through that they have not had uh like funding or um you know they they're borrowing equipment that doesn't fit them or their particular impairment um wow and now they might have the ability to uh yeah get that kind of fixed um and go through classification and yeah then be able to get the confidence and the high performance um coaching behind them to actually be able to go in local then state then international kind of competition um so I think the amount of growth that is here and also the athletes themselves are so inspiring um and yeah what they go through um how they get around any of their impairments um and then yeah uh how much they can push themselves as well is quite inspiring.

Joshie 32:07

Yeah yeah I love it to hold my self back sometimes because I might go to help them in the gym and I'm like oh no they absolutely have this um absolute troopers so I don't I love it yeah is it also um I don't know how to word this but is it also I guess a brutal reality that there will come a point where not every athlete meets the milestones they need to to continue in this pathway and you have to I guess um you know deliver a uh an unfortunate message to them yeah I'm sure that there will um uh I assume that some of the other states and territories who are in front of us in this situation this pathway uh might be looking at that at this point in time or yeah earlier down the track than we are um but the main point of this at this point in time is probably exposure and that early development phase.

Channa 33:05

Um but yeah that's the harsh reality of sport unfortunately in every single aspect whether you're able bodied or um para um is that yeah if you're going for the highest echelon of performance within your sport um some people are going to make it and some people unfortunately you have to have the hard conversations with them. But thankful that is um not in my particular role. So yeah we put our performance plans in place for the individuals um more so to make sure that they are motivated to stay on track and we kind of yeah know if we're program our program is working or not and whether we need to um like change the program up um to suit them more or um yeah get different benchmarks and stuff like that along the way. So yeah it's all very exciting.

Joshie 34:05

I love it, Chana. What we're gonna do now is uh take a few moments to talk about your own running experiences. Um I know you've had uh a lot of successes you've talked us through a few of those um last year it uh I think for the first time didn't quite go your own way um you were participating in the COSI was it 32K?

Channa 34:26

Uh yeah in November last year yeah in a in podium contention uh and then it all went to shit um can you talk us through what happened that day still trying to press that to that on myself actually it all happened so quickly um yeah I was feeling pretty good on that day um and yeah started out nice and conservatively and I think I got through about 8k um so from so if anyone hasn't done the course you pretty much start at Perisher and you uh go down a little bit down the Perisher road and then up halfway um around Perish at mountain and then down again to basically the start line um and then you go up over the back and then you follow uh a little windy tiny path um that's very rocky very tree rooty um single track all the way down to Bullock's flat which is Threadbow Valley and I think you bomb down about 800 meters in about a nine kilometer stretch. Wow uh so it's it's yeah yeah it's a little bit hairy um that that particular trail and unfortunately yeah I was just a victim of betrayal on that day took one wrong step I think and um ended up rolling my right ankle uh which is a little bit scary because at that point it's it's almost cliff face on one side. Oh yeah um so my instant reaction was to jump the opposite way into uh like the wall on the other side and um yeah ended up hearing and feeling a snap in my ankle and was quite a bit of pain and yeah yeah turns out I tore or snapped my ATFL which is uh one of your ligaments at the front of your ankle and I dislocated and relocated my talus at the same time. Ouch ouch yeah yeah so um I was in quite a bit of pain at that point in time and I was just extremely lucky that first aid was about 200 meters further down. Um not so lucky that they were actually tending to a girl who was far worse um than me, poor thing. And I think she had actually um broken uh her tibia so one of the main bones in your leg. Um so yeah I absolutely had nothing to complain about. Um I was all good. Still can't imagine a scenario where you're having to be uh triaged on course yeah is that is it true that that was your first um DNF yeah that's my first ever DNF um yeah bit of a big one um bit devastating uh but I also had a DNF on the weekend as well um in my most recent race um yeah tried to do the Australian national championships fight uh 50 kilometre again in Trenbow Valley track I really should stay away from that place you should just do what Maddie does and avoid going back to the side of trauma I was trying to conquer my fears yeah I it seems to be that every time I go to altitude um even though threadbow is about I think it's like 1100 or it's actually not that high um I seem to get a bit of altitude sickness um so full headache can't sleep uh nausea um dizziness um so on and so forth um yeah which is really annoying um because I don't know what to do with that information um there's signs aren't they they're they're there's signs that maybe not again depends if you believe in most mountain runner though and uh you're always gonna go to the um altitude for those that's right that's right now China are you happy to take a few moments to explain something called red S to us and how it's impacted your life oh yeah good question Josh um I honestly think uh the red esque subject can probably take up like a whole episode uh for yeah this particular situation and I think yeah a lot of females and yeah a smaller proportion of males also uh go through uh something called red S if they're doing uh sports at like especially an endurance sport at the level that we're going through. Um so red S stands for relative energy deficiency syndrome um which is basically I'm not going yeah not going to go into the science of it because yeah that's not my background or history. Someone else could explain it better. But uh yeah basically in some situations like there's different types of it but the situation that I had was probably that I wasn't fueling myself well enough for the exercise that I was doing. So it leaves a lack of energy um within your body to be able to uh firstly like exercise and do the training that you want to do and get the adaptation that you want. But also yeah if you um get it bad enough then uh yeah daily living becomes a little bit harder as well just because you don't have um that reserve of the energy there to go about what you need to do as well. So yeah it's really hard to recognize sometimes uh when you are in a red S state and it probably took you many years to kind of get there. And so yeah I kind of got sick of feeling energy depleted and yeah having all of these um symptoms where like I was just fatigued and didn't have enough energy. Felt like my iron was constantly low and there was nothing I could do about it. And um yeah I took a year uh I think back in about 2022 where I decided to see a sports dietitian and engage with a sports doctor as well um to do a deep dive on why I was feeling the way that I was the way that I was feeling and um yeah started to address the issues um that I was going through and yeah it looks like I was in a bit of a red S state or heading towards that direction as an athlete and yeah uh since that kind of diagnosis I guess you call it and um yeah building upon that to get out of that situation. Um yeah it's just been such a learning curve um since that and yeah it's it's been a really really good one um in terms of I feel like I'm almost recovered. I feel like I still have good days and bad days. It's a long kind of recovery process. Um but yeah it's probably been like taking that deep dive with the sports dietitian as sports doctor was probably one of the best things that I've ever done. Um trying to address that as well.

Joshie 42:37

Well thanks for taking a few moments to explain that to us and apologies for putting you on the spot there. It sounds like it needs to almost be uh an episode in its own right. Yeah yeah absolutely well there is one story whilst we're um we're talking about trail running experiences that I want to explore with you and no matter how many times I think about this story of yours I have trouble wrapping my head around it. It was the Ultra Trail Australia um I can't remember what you have you're gonna have to refresh my memory what year that was um was it 2022?

Channa 43:12

Uh I did it last year yeah Australia was last year so I had a cracking year last year. Yep um tell us about that experience yeah so yeah I did ultra Australia UTA um last year decided to do the 20k um actually it's 22 but they call it the 20k uh which is a source of contention for trail runners um and so with the event you book a um event shuttle bus um from wherever you're staying um in the blue mountains to the start line and so uh yeah you pre-book and you pay for your bus um and it's meant to yeah pick you up at a certain time um you pick which bus you want to go on um depending on what group you're starting in. So um Um, yeah, I was jumping into the elite wave. Um, and so yeah, picked my bus that I was told to pick, and then the bus didn't show up. Um, and I ended up missing the start line. Um, yeah, elite wave. And yeah, yeah. So that was an interesting experience. Um, because you just for all the training that goes into it and the um yeah, the mental preparation and the like I went and did like a RECI a few weeks before. So um that preparation as well. Um, yeah, when something like that arises that you haven't accounted for, um, yeah, you just got to recalibrate the brain and think, okay, well, what am I gonna do now and how am I gonna approach this? Um and yeah, just trying to recalibrate the brain was an interesting experience for me. And I learned a lot from that race. Um, it ended up being a really, really fun day overall. Um, but yeah, it was just sad to know that maybe I could have done better, or um, maybe it would have been a yeah, a different race if I had got onto the start line in time.

Joshie 45:28

What China's left out there is I think the bus turned up 45 minutes late, so you missed the start by about that amount of time, and you managed to finish eighth. Whoa. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. The adrenaline would have been pumping, I imagine. Wow.

Channa 45:47

Yeah, I missed the I missed the start line by a few minutes. Yeah.

Joshie 45:52

Okay. Still a few minutes can be the and I guess the other factor there is it's not just about the time, just the stress and the anxiety about not being able to be on the start line to, you know, run through whatever your pre-race process is or routine. I mean, that's a another complicating factor. How how did you go about resetting your mindset in that moment?

Channa 46:14

Oh, I don't think I did, Josh. I tried to, yeah, as I said, I learned a lot from that day because I tried to chase time. Um, and I absolutely, so the first eight kilometres of the race is a bomb downhill into the valley. Um, and I ended up running like a and then thing it was about a 330 average. Um on a whale. Yeah, it was a terrible experience. So then obviously I blew up after that. Um and yeah, yeah. So it was a learning experience not to try and chase time in that um particular situation. Because yeah, as soon as when I got to the start line or I was running down to the start line because the bus drops you at the top of the hill, you've got to run about, I think it's a kilometer and a half or two kilometers down to the start line. And so you can hear the start line for about two kilometers. So I heard everywhere I'm going as I was running to the start line. And um, yeah, that's that's kind of the devastating point. And obviously, you just go into um automatic kind of survival mode at that point to okay, like my race is gone. I've got to try to catch everyone. I'm behind hundreds of people though. Um, yeah, got to get around all those people, and then okay, I've got to chase spots, places, time, and I should have taken a different approach to it. Um it was a learning experience.

Matty 47:47

Yeah. Could be chaotic, I I assume. Like you, you know, mentally throws you out mentally when you hear everyone start, but then just chaotic mentally as well. Um, it can go either way.

Channa 48:00

Yeah, absolutely.

Joshie 48:02

I'm gonna take the time to read out just a couple of your achievements. And if any of these are wrong, uh just correct me. Um 2023, Brisbane Trail Ultra, 20K, finished first. Uh same year, two we trail run, 10k finished first. 2023, Bridge to Brisbane finished 11th. 2023, uh SEQ Trail Series Bayview, finished first. And 2024, the uh uh Australian Trail and Mountain Running Championships in Orange finished second. I know that there's quite a few that I've missed either side of that, Chana. Um of all of those events and all of your achievements, which would you say sits in your hall of fame? Whether it's for the achievement, the learning experience, what would you say of all of your races you've taken the most away from?

Channa 48:59

I think the Brisbane Trail Ultra 20km I can't remember what year that was, somewhere between COVID and now. Um when I won. Uh and it's not because I've won, I think it's how I did it. Um, and I think that forced a different level of mental tenacity uh for me to be able to firstly get through that run. And secondly, I was reversing so there's two other girls who were with me for much of that race, and they both had paces as well. So I was the fifth wheel um who was trying to get edged out the entire time. And yeah, I'm just really proud of myself for being able to get through that race and uh yeah, come out on top with that one. And yeah, just push myself to the absolute limit that day, um, mentally and physically. So yeah, it was it was good fun, and that was probably a huge learning curve for me that you can physically and mentally push yourself past your limits.

Joshie 50:12

Was it a close finish? Can you remember?

Channa 50:14

Oh, it was a sprint finish. Yeah. And if anyone knows me, I have no sprinting legs whatsoever.

Joshie 50:21

So we have some.

Channa 50:25

At the two kilometer to go mark, I decided to make my move um because along the way I um I like to collect data. Um I'm very yeah, analytical and you know, my sports science and everything like that. And I yeah, like to take a bit of an analytical approach um when I'm I guess I'm racing. And yeah, so I was collecting data on the people around me, what their strengths were, what their weaknesses were, and uh the two kilometre to go mark. I knew that there was uh we're going up over, can't remember what the bridge is called, uh, but one of the bridges that crosses the brown snake. And I knew that I was the better climber. Um, so I made my move going on the uphill over that bridge and just sprinted the heart out for the rest of the 2K.

Joshie 51:18

That's awesome. Oh wow, I love that. Yeah, that is so cool. Um, well, we're gonna do something we haven't done before with any guests. We can do some fact-checking on the fly. I'm going to share my screen with you very briefly, Chana, and show you what I've been able to find on World Athletics. And it could just be a coincidence, but is this you? So, Sydney 2025. Oh, yeah, that's me. You haven't even mentioned this event. You're one event that got you on to the World Athletics.

Channa 51:56

That was a normal event. Um, not the event itself, but my performance. Um I yeah, I really wiped that event from my brain, if I'm being honest.

Matty 52:08

It's a pretty good time. I I definitely wouldn't be wiping that from my brain.

Channa 52:16

Um so with that particular event, so I was at Olympic Park in Sydney, um, and it was the New South Wales state championships for the half marathon. And a previous time that I got that was better than that, um, got me onto the elite start list. And I didn't realize like I'd never been really on an elite start list like that. Um, I brought up and you had your own marshalling area that you went into and you could make use of the you got your own change rooms and um you got refreshments and you know, access to any food that you wanted and access to the gym for warm-up and blah, blah, blah. Um, and so I was so overwhelmed mentally um because I'd never been in a situation like that. Did not think that I belonged whatsoever. Um that definitely showed during the race um because yeah, there happened to be um some very, very good races there, some Olympians, ex-Olympians, and stuff like that. And I just yeah, tried to keep up with them in the first of three laps. And yeah, just ended up dying in the end. Yeah. So I learned a lot from that race as well. As uh actually just run your own race and try not to keep up with the Olympians as well.

Joshie 53:43

Good on you though. I mean, there's something to be said though for being able to can compete in in that kind of atmosphere and with those athletes. I mean, even that in itself for those moments that you were keeping pace would have been amazing.

Channa 53:57

Yeah, absolutely. And I was feeling great and um yeah, keeping up with some of them um for a few kilometers, probably the first lap. And then, yeah, obviously the adrenaline has to wear off a little bit, and you actually realize how fast you're running and how much it hurts, and then everything kind of comes crashing down.

Joshie 54:18

Yeah, yeah. Well, good on you, uh, Channel. I mean, it got you onto the world world athletics, so you must have done something right that day. Um looking ahead to the rest of this year, in terms of your own goals, your own running goals, um, what does success look like?

Channa 54:34

Um I think for me, consistency at this point in time. Um if I can get a little bit of speed back, um, I've been lacking speed in the last year. Um, so if I can get a little bit of speed back and um yeah, make it through an ultra um trial run uh and just have uh I think a mentally tough year as well. If I can get some mental toughness back, because I feel like I've been lacking that over the last year in the races that I've done. Uh yeah, and I think that will just come with um consistency and doing races that fuel some confidence for me. Um so because I've had some unfortunate um races over the last year um and some unfortunate results and um yeah, things outside of my control, I think the confidence um in terms of viability is lacking a little bit.

Joshie 55:36

So I have no doubt that you'll find a way back, Chana. I mean, you you rebuilt your life um during COVID. I'm sure you can re-rebuild yourself um from a sporting perspective. Um look, when you zoom right out and forget about all of your podiums, your medals and kudos, how would you say running has shaped who you are today?

Channa 55:58

Oh, I think that I can push aside uh any podiums and medals and anything like that uh for myself because that's that's not why I run. Uh yeah, I think I run because I I love the process of uh yeah, the day-to-day ins and outs, uh the weekly building of the program. How am I like how many kilometers am I gonna do this week and how am I gonna break it down? Um, to yeah, stacking the weeks and the months on top of that. And yeah, I just I love the process of troubleshooting and rebuilding and then building even more. Um, and then yeah, figuring out like little tweaks along the way um in terms of performance or um I don't know, feeling good or um but yeah, I just I love everything that training brings to my life. Um yeah, and the social connections as well is a huge part of that.

Joshie 57:08

Chana, thanks so much for joining us on Run Believable. The way that you've been able to reset your life on multiple occasions is a true tale of resilience. And with your incredible contribution, we can't wait to see our Paralympic athletes shine in Brisbane 2020, uh 2032. Uh, and we hope that you can continue kicking your own goals along the way. It's been a true pleasure speaking with you today. Yeah, it's been amazing. Thank you.

Channa 57:36

Thanks, my host.

Joshie 57:38

Now, Maddie, imagine having to reset your life during COVID. Here's China having her entire life stripped away from her. And during that time, you're making a song and dance about whether or not Ripple Sport was considered an essential service.

Matty 57:54

Hey mate, but if I had to rearrange my whole life and run one hour 26 half mass, I'd rearrange the whole life.

Joshie 58:01

I think we all would. And it's today, folks, if you've got a unbelievable story of your own, we'd truly love to hear it. And if you'd like to be a guest on the show, get a stuff. Finally, this podcast provides on your support. So if you can please take the time to follow and share the podcast with your running mates, we'd really appreciate it, and we'll see you at the next unbelievable.