As an elite athlete Brendan Davies has travelled the world, competing with some of the best runners on the globe.
It wasn’t until his late twenties that Brendan started competitive running. With a post-graduate qualification in Special Education and a career as a teacher, it took time, significant commitment and strong race results before the opportunities as an elite athlete opened for him.
The sport of ultra-marathon requires a year-round commitment that features global meets, mixed with domestic competition and it was a permanent move to the Blue Mountains that further sparked a love for the outdoors and a love for trail running. A sense of exploration has always driven Brendan and led him through an eventful career as an ultra-marathon runner.
“That’s what hooked me into the sport (my love of the adventure of it) and always maintaining that strong curiosity and not taking it too seriously. At the end of the day, if you take it too seriously, you’ll fall out of love with it,” Brendan said.
“Once you fall out of love with it, that’s when things start to go wrong, and you wouldn’t end up become a life-long runner. I’ve always wanted to be someone that runs forever”.
A balanced perspective on life and on competition has benefited Brendan both on and off the trail. He has had a storied career, highlighted by many accolades (such as 4 X Australian Male Ultra Runner of the Year), yet it is the opportunity to travel the world and explore nature’s beauty that resonates strongly with him.
“I’m a very intrepid minded person, so I love traveling. I feel so blessed to have gone to some of the places I’ve been – there’s no way I would’ve got there otherwise,” Brendan said.
“That’s one of the best things about running, it’s a truly global sport – you can go anywhere with it.”
Whilst still competing in races around the world, it has been the shift to coaching that has become a focus for Brendan and he takes pride in the ability to share his learnings and experiences with runners of all levels.
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