00:00:00
Sometimes we're climbing on this cliff
00:00:01
face that you might fall down. You
00:00:03
actually might die. I was pushing beyond
00:00:05
hypotherm. My teammates had to put my
00:00:07
clothes on for me. I couldn't speak.
00:00:09
>> Who is Molly Spark?
00:00:10
>> Say I'm an adventurer. I'm 22. She might
00:00:13
sleep for roughly 8 hours over the whole
00:00:15
event. You're moving for 22 hours a day.
00:00:18
I tore my ankle 3 days before world
00:00:20
champs a few years ago and did 600ks on
00:00:22
a torn ankle. I'd fractured my sac. One
00:00:25
of our teammates actually, he got
00:00:26
chopped off the mountain. How do you
00:00:28
fight those intrusive thoughts?
00:00:29
>> That's probably my downfall. Get in half
00:00:31
a music bar in about 48 hours. Drunk
00:00:34
nothing. There was tears dripping down
00:00:36
my face. I just s looked at mom and she
00:00:38
was just like crying.
00:00:39
>> Are you proud of yourself?
00:00:40
>> She always made me smile.
00:00:42
>> Molly Spark, welcome to my podcast.
00:00:45
>> Thank you so much for having me on this
00:00:46
Saturday. Was it morning afternoon?
00:00:49
Yeah.
00:00:49
>> Yeah. You you flew um down you flew to
00:00:51
Aland from Christ Church especially for
00:00:53
this.
00:00:54
>> Yes, I did. So, you're welcome, Dom. I
00:00:56
hope I do you uh proud.
00:00:58
>> Well, I appreciate you making the
00:01:00
effort. It's really cool.
00:01:01
>> Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm super excited and um
00:01:04
tomorrow's a mission day, so hopefully
00:01:06
I'll get out in the hills tomorrow, but
00:01:08
I did this just for you. So,
00:01:09
>> yeah. Well, I I appreciate you being
00:01:11
here and um um you paid for it as well.
00:01:14
Like you you paid for your own flight
00:01:16
up. Um even people in my own team here
00:01:18
were like, "Who would pay to go on your
00:01:20
podcast?"
00:01:22
>> I would. I would.
00:01:23
>> And I appreciate it. What's your mission
00:01:24
tomorrow? the Sunday after we're
00:01:26
recording this.
00:01:27
>> Yeah. Um I'll head up to Hamnner Springs
00:01:29
and uh bike in from the Hamnner to St.
00:01:32
James and then climb up what's called
00:01:35
Mount Princess and there's like this
00:01:36
beautiful princess bath at the top of
00:01:38
Mount Princess and then I'll just kind
00:01:40
of traverse back down and bike back to
00:01:42
Hamnner. So it'll be a good like 10 12
00:01:44
hours something like that.
00:01:46
>> And I follow you on Instagram. Um
00:01:48
Molly's Missions is your handle. This Do
00:01:50
you do this most weekends?
00:01:52
>> Uh yeah. Yeah, especially in summer at
00:01:54
this time of year. Um the weekends are
00:01:57
definitely made for missions and you
00:01:59
know I I guess I just utilize my time
00:02:01
the best I can outside of work. But
00:02:04
yeah, no, I love it and uh it's a
00:02:06
privilege I'll be able to get out in the
00:02:08
hills. Yeah.
00:02:08
>> So this isn't um um specific training
00:02:11
for what you do, which is a thing called
00:02:13
expedition racing. This is just you
00:02:15
living life to the full.
00:02:16
>> Yeah, totally. Yep. me and my mates just
00:02:18
go out, have some fun, and yeah, I'm not
00:02:21
actually training for anything
00:02:22
specifically like currently right now.
00:02:24
But when I am training, I actually don't
00:02:27
even have a structure really. I just go
00:02:29
out and that's probably why I don't
00:02:30
paddle very much because I don't really
00:02:32
like paddling very much. So, I just get
00:02:35
out on my bike and on my feet. So yeah,
00:02:38
I guess with my sport it's very um you
00:02:41
don't have to it's not like triathlon
00:02:44
where you have to you know hit a certain
00:02:45
wattage and you know if you can survive
00:02:47
on 1 hours of sleep at night you'll be
00:02:49
you'll be doing pretty good.
00:02:51
>> Yeah, there's a lot lot I'm curious to
00:02:53
um ask about and learn about like in
00:02:55
terms of the the you training and stuff
00:02:56
like that because I'm I'm like a I'm a
00:02:58
road guy so you know what you got to do
00:03:00
like if you can go out and run 30ks you
00:03:02
can probably do a 42k marathon on event
00:03:04
day but I don't know how you can train
00:03:06
for a 6 day event. So there's a lot to
00:03:07
talk about, but first of all, uh, one
00:03:10
question in two parts.
00:03:11
>> Okay.
00:03:12
>> Who is Molly Spark and what is
00:03:14
expedition racing?
00:03:15
>> Okay, perfect. So I guess me, I am
00:03:19
Molly. I am in a I'd say I'm an
00:03:21
adventure racer, but it is just my
00:03:23
expensive hobby basically. Um, and I
00:03:27
work with kids, so that's awesome. I'm a
00:03:29
twin. I have a brother, an older
00:03:31
brother, and we are farmers from North
00:03:34
Canterbury. So we have uh oh eight or so
00:03:38
hill properties um beef properties in
00:03:41
North Canterbury and I've kind of just
00:03:43
grown up around the mountains getting
00:03:45
out there kind of you know classic
00:03:48
farming life. Um went to school in town
00:03:52
in Christ Church and yeah now I'm 22 so
00:03:55
out of school for about what 4 years now
00:03:58
something like that. went to uni,
00:04:00
studied sport and exercise science, and
00:04:03
I guess I've found that passion of
00:04:05
adventure racing, expedition racing. Um,
00:04:09
and now I can kind of takes me all over
00:04:11
the world, which I'm so so grateful for
00:04:14
because, you know, some people would
00:04:16
love that to have that as their sport.
00:04:18
And I've just had that opportunity to do
00:04:21
that, which is awesome. And I guess
00:04:24
expedition racing is, how do I explain
00:04:27
it? Um, people always think when I
00:04:30
explain it to them, they're like they're
00:04:32
actually in disbelief and it's really
00:04:34
hard to explain. So, basically
00:04:37
expedition racing is you bike, you
00:04:40
mountain bike, you trek, um, you
00:04:43
navigate and you paddle. And sometimes
00:04:46
they can throw in some, you know, uh,
00:04:49
rock climbing or ab sailing or something
00:04:51
like that. But basically, you navigate
00:04:53
with a map and compass for as long as
00:04:56
you get to the finish line. So you might
00:04:59
start in, you know, let's just say
00:05:02
Oakland and you sometimes don't even
00:05:04
know your finish line and they give you
00:05:06
maps and you have to find little
00:05:08
checkpoints along the way and yeah, you
00:05:11
just kind of wander around the hills.
00:05:12
you're in a team of four. So, typically
00:05:16
um it's three boys and one female. So,
00:05:20
three male, one male, uh female. But you
00:05:24
can have a 50/50 split or a three and a
00:05:26
one. You just have to have one of each
00:05:28
gender. And you have to kind of stay
00:05:30
within 50 m of each other the whole
00:05:32
time. You sleep when you want to sleep,
00:05:35
you eat when you want to eat, you carry
00:05:36
everything on your back. And yeah, it's
00:05:40
um and it's pretty tough. Like sometimes
00:05:42
you're walking for example uh I tore my
00:05:45
ankle 3 days before world champs a few
00:05:47
years ago and did 600ks on a torn ankle.
00:05:51
So, you know, you do push yourself
00:05:54
beyond what is you think is humanly
00:05:57
possible and then you get to the finish
00:05:59
line and you're like, "Holy heck, how
00:06:01
did I just do that?" And like, you look
00:06:04
back and you're like, "I just, you know,
00:06:06
we just did 1,000 kilometers in 6 days."
00:06:09
You know, some people wouldn't even do
00:06:11
that in their lifetime. And we've just
00:06:13
done that in six days on, you know, uh
00:06:17
maybe in a seven-day adventure race, you
00:06:19
might sleep for roughly eight hours over
00:06:21
the whole event. So, if you put that
00:06:24
into perspective, that's roughly an hour
00:06:26
to 2 hours a night. And then you are
00:06:29
you're moving for 22 hours a day. Uh no
00:06:33
matter what weather, what circumstances,
00:06:36
you know, you pop a tire halfway through
00:06:39
the Neas Valley, you got to fix that
00:06:41
tire or you're running out. So yeah,
00:06:44
it's um it's a pretty brutal sport, but
00:06:47
>> cuz I think for a lot of it's it's a
00:06:48
very niche sport. Um, and I think a few
00:06:51
years ago, Richie McCall was part of a
00:06:52
team that did Godz, which your dad's
00:06:54
done five times. You've done Heaps, and
00:06:56
that was probably when it made a
00:06:57
crossover into sort of mainstream media,
00:07:00
I think.
00:07:00
>> Yeah, Richie definitely bought in a lot
00:07:03
of media, like, you know, it's not like
00:07:06
the rugby where you can film the whole
00:07:08
game. Everyone always says, "Why don't
00:07:10
you bring a GoPro with you and just film
00:07:12
the damn race?" You know, it would be so
00:07:14
entertaining listening to our 3:00 a.m.
00:07:16
midnight chats with our teammates. Like
00:07:18
the delusional chats is like, you know,
00:07:20
you've been out drinking all night, but
00:07:22
except you just haven't slept for seven
00:07:24
days. And yeah, so Richie, he I think he
00:07:27
might have done it about oh, he must
00:07:29
have done God's own three or four times
00:07:31
now. And yeah, it's definitely gotten a
00:07:34
lot bigger, especially in New Zealand,
00:07:36
you know, um being on One News and stuff
00:07:38
like that. It's uh it's pretty cool. And
00:07:42
you know, I would love that a camera
00:07:44
crew could come around with us the whole
00:07:46
time and film the whole thing, but it's
00:07:47
just unrealistic and that can't
00:07:49
physically happen because, you know,
00:07:51
sometimes we're, you know, climbing on
00:07:54
this cliff face that you might fall
00:07:55
down, you actually might die. So, there
00:07:58
definitely places where you literally
00:08:00
can't film um because you have to have
00:08:03
your full attention. But yeah.
00:08:05
>> Yeah. And you you say you're climbing on
00:08:07
a cliff face and you might die. And um I
00:08:09
mean when you're tired and you're
00:08:10
fatigued and you're hungry and you're
00:08:12
cold like the the chance of um mistakes
00:08:15
increases.
00:08:15
>> Huge. Yeah.
00:08:16
>> What is this? Um
00:08:18
>> are you familiar with type two and type
00:08:19
three fun?
00:08:20
>> Yeah. Is this type two or type three?
00:08:23
>> And for anyone that doesn't know, I've
00:08:25
got the um the definitions here. Type
00:08:27
two often in involving misery,
00:08:29
exhaustion, or discomfort while it's
00:08:30
happening.
00:08:31
>> It happens a lot.
00:08:33
>> Type three fun is not fun during or
00:08:34
after, but makes for an epic story of
00:08:36
survival. Oh, shivers. There's
00:08:38
definitely a bit of both. I think I just
00:08:42
I weirdly love the sport so much. Like
00:08:45
people say like, "How do you actually
00:08:47
like this thing?" Like I actually I
00:08:49
genuinely love it. And the boys in my
00:08:52
team often go, they've never heard me
00:08:54
say like often you go, you know, you get
00:08:57
to day four or five and most the team is
00:09:00
going, "Why don't we just play golf or
00:09:02
something?" You know, like it would it'd
00:09:03
be a lot easier. I've never said that
00:09:06
before. like I'm get chop it out from
00:09:09
hypothermia or whatever and I'm still
00:09:10
like this is epic. Um so it does tell
00:09:14
I've got heaps of great stories. So I
00:09:16
think there's definitely a bit of both
00:09:18
but
00:09:19
>> type 2.5
00:09:21
>> Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, it's definitely
00:09:24
sometimes is survival out there for
00:09:25
sure.
00:09:25
>> Where do you you mentioned before about
00:09:27
um you um competing in one of these
00:09:29
events with a broken ankle for the the
00:09:31
best part of you five six days. Where do
00:09:33
you draw the line between like toughness
00:09:35
and stupidity?
00:09:36
>> Yeah. Yeah. People often say you're so
00:09:38
strong, but I say I'm so stupid. I think
00:09:40
um I don't know it, you know. So this
00:09:45
story for example, 3 days before World
00:09:47
Champs in Ecuador, um we were training
00:09:50
on a volcano and we me being me, I was
00:09:53
like, let's film this, you know, we're
00:09:55
at 5,000 m above sea level. Let's do a
00:09:58
we vlog, you know. And so I was had my
00:10:02
camera out filming and I just wasn't
00:10:05
watching where my ankle was going and
00:10:07
sure enough totally like tore two
00:10:10
ligaments completely. Um and instantly
00:10:12
blew up like a tennis ball. Uh and I had
00:10:17
the night before the race it was like my
00:10:20
ankle was black like it I I couldn't
00:10:22
move. And I had the night before the
00:10:25
race, I had about nine physios and
00:10:27
sports doctors message me cuz my photo
00:10:30
had circul, you know, circulated the the
00:10:33
sports doctor um websites.
00:10:35
>> You were going viral.
00:10:36
>> Yeah, my ankle was going viral. And so I
00:10:39
had all these people messaging me
00:10:41
saying, "Don't do the race. You're so
00:10:43
stupid." Like, you know, you're going to
00:10:45
do permanent damage. But because I love
00:10:48
the sport so much and also I'm in
00:10:50
Ecuador like if I pull out my teammates
00:10:52
have also pulled out and everything is
00:10:55
self-funded and everything like that. So
00:10:56
you know you're overseas there's not
00:10:59
really any choice. Um but I think that
00:11:02
was a bit stupid because my ankle took
00:11:04
about over it's still still sore about 2
00:11:06
years later. So uh
00:11:08
>> yeah I don't know.
00:11:10
>> I can I can yeah I can understand that.
00:11:11
um not wanting to let you know you if if
00:11:13
it was an individual sport you could you
00:11:15
know you could self eliminate and it's
00:11:17
no big deal but if you're letting three
00:11:18
other people down it's quite a bit of
00:11:19
pressure.
00:11:20
>> Yeah it is a bit of pressure and I don't
00:11:22
know dad and my mom and my grandfather
00:11:26
and everything they're so strong and so
00:11:28
resilient. I'm like I've I've got that
00:11:31
in me to just you know you just keep
00:11:33
pushing beyond normal. So, I guess I
00:11:38
sometimes it's stupid and sometimes it,
00:11:40
you know, takes you in the right path or
00:11:42
the wrong path. And hopefully I'm going
00:11:45
down the right path, but uh yeah, in
00:11:48
terms of injuries and things like that,
00:11:50
it's a, you know, I've pushed through
00:11:51
things that I probably shouldn't have
00:11:52
pushed through, but you know, once
00:11:55
again, type three. It's good story.
00:11:57
>> Yeah. Good yarn for later. I notice on
00:11:59
your right wrist, you've got a a little
00:12:00
tattoo that says stay strong. Is that
00:12:02
like a a mantra for
00:12:04
>> Yeah.
00:12:04
>> a reminder for in races? Yeah, I guess
00:12:06
so. It's just my little saying. I think
00:12:08
I've got you got my mountains in my
00:12:10
favorite place in the world. And yeah, I
00:12:14
guess it's just a little bit just like,
00:12:16
you know, resilience these days is a
00:12:18
dying trade. And I think um you know, if
00:12:20
you can, you know, if you can be
00:12:23
resilient, I think it's a a trait that's
00:12:25
um important to have. Yeah.
00:12:26
>> What's a it's a buzz word these days,
00:12:28
isn't it?
00:12:28
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I actually was listening
00:12:31
to Richie Mccor's speech the other day.
00:12:33
Um what awards was it?
00:12:34
>> Oh, the Hillburn. Yeah, the Hellberg's
00:12:36
award. And his speech was just it, you
00:12:39
know, if if everyone listens to that
00:12:41
speech and and actually pays attention
00:12:44
to it, I think, you know, the world will
00:12:46
be a better place. And um he's he's got
00:12:48
to the top of his game because he has,
00:12:50
>> you know, sacrificed a lot and
00:12:52
discomfort is um you know, I sit through
00:12:55
a lot of discomfort, but sometimes you
00:12:58
got to push through that to be
00:12:59
comfortable on the other side and that's
00:13:01
where you grow. So yeah, definitely stay
00:13:03
strong is a good mantra to have.
00:13:05
>> Yeah, I love it.
00:13:06
>> Yeah.
00:13:06
>> Um, okay, a few quick questions about
00:13:09
expedition racing. The pack weight, the
00:13:11
pack you carry, what what does it weigh?
00:13:13
>> Um, so usually
00:13:15
>> usually the So the boys often carry more
00:13:17
than me. Uh, cuz I'm quite a small
00:13:19
human. So,
00:13:22
uh, there is probably cuz they've
00:13:24
obviously got, you know, especially in
00:13:26
New Zealand, you've you've got big packs
00:13:28
because our mountains are huge and they
00:13:30
also love to do a what's called a
00:13:32
packcraft. So, packcrafting is these
00:13:35
inflatable boats that basically you just
00:13:38
blow up and then you paddle them down a
00:13:40
river, pack them back up and then you
00:13:42
trek for another 50ks or whatever it is
00:13:44
and then find another river and patcraft
00:13:46
down it. So, you know, the pet crafts
00:13:48
are roughly 5 kg each, plus your life
00:13:53
jacket, helmet, uh, paddle, food for 3
00:13:58
days, water. So, your pack can get quite
00:14:00
heavy. Um, theirs would probably be Oh,
00:14:04
it'd be over 10 kilos. Their one would
00:14:06
be Mine would probably be like Oh, mine
00:14:08
would probably be 7 to 10 and there's
00:14:10
probably be like 10 to 15 depending.
00:14:13
>> That's not bad. I was just thinking,
00:14:14
>> but we we get the piss taken out of us
00:14:17
because we apparently don't carry enough
00:14:19
gear and uh our gears
00:14:22
like our our sleeping bags are about
00:14:24
that big. So, what would that be for the
00:14:27
people that aren't watching?
00:14:28
>> Yeah. For those of you that are
00:14:29
listening to this rather than watching,
00:14:30
it's like um oh, I don't know, just a
00:14:32
bit bigger than a Pringles canister.
00:14:33
>> Yeah. Yeah. No, less than less than half
00:14:35
a Pringles canister. Yeah. And they
00:14:38
weigh, you know, stuff. So, you know,
00:14:41
there you you're definitely not thriving
00:14:43
out there. Like you're thriving. Uh is
00:14:47
never you're never thriving actually. Um
00:14:50
so yeah, you carry obviously your
00:14:52
mandatory gear. So packs can get very
00:14:55
heavy, especially in this last god zone.
00:14:58
Like there was no water anywhere. So you
00:15:00
know, you'd be carrying at least 5 kilos
00:15:03
of water because you're not filling up
00:15:05
your bottles in, you know, 2 days or
00:15:07
whatever. So yeah, they can get heavy,
00:15:10
but overseas races is a lot on tracks.
00:15:13
So you often, you know, I've just got
00:15:15
your I can do 48 hours of the we 12 L
00:15:18
pack quite often. Yeah.
00:15:20
>> Wow.
00:15:20
>> Yeah.
00:15:20
>> Oh, so there's no aid stations or
00:15:22
anything?
00:15:22
>> No. No.
00:15:23
>> Oh my god. I've had it too good for too
00:15:25
long. You have?
00:15:27
>> No aid station. In fact, when we used to
00:15:30
race in New Zealand, we raced a lot in
00:15:31
New Zealand before we went overseas. And
00:15:35
in in the southern Alps, you know, you
00:15:36
can't just go to the dairy and get some
00:15:38
chocolate milk. Um or for your sake some
00:15:42
lollies at, you know, 5k mark. Um and so
00:15:46
when we went to South Africa for the
00:15:48
first time, we realized that you can buy
00:15:50
food cuz often passing towns in in the
00:15:54
overseas races. And oh my gosh, it was
00:15:56
the best thing ever. And in Africa, the
00:15:59
Wii the weed dairies equivalent to in
00:16:02
New Zealand, um they stayed open all
00:16:05
night for us racers. So we got there at
00:16:07
like 3:00 in the morning and you know,
00:16:09
we just bought all the pies, chocolate
00:16:12
milk, like anything you can imagine. We
00:16:15
just ate all of it. It was the best
00:16:17
feeling in the world. Yeah, it was.
00:16:19
Yeah, it's pretty cool.
00:16:20
>> Oh man, I can't imagine how good that
00:16:22
would taste.
00:16:23
>> It's literally like the best feeling.
00:16:25
Well, in Africa, I was very, very sick.
00:16:27
So, actually, I didn't eat very much in
00:16:29
that race. But, you know, I
00:16:32
getting a pie is like it's just you
00:16:35
can't explain it. It's just the best
00:16:37
thing ever in the world.
00:16:39
>> And um so it's teams of four, you said
00:16:42
before. Often two females, two males,
00:16:44
but usually three males, one female. Do
00:16:45
you have like specific roles?
00:16:47
>> Yeah, totally. Yeah. So, I guess I've
00:16:50
been racing with my team Fair Youth for
00:16:53
5 years now. F E A R.
00:16:56
>> Yeah. Fair youth. Yeah. Yeah. So, I've
00:16:58
been racing with them for 5 years. So,
00:17:00
you kind of every single race you learn
00:17:02
so much about yourself, but also even
00:17:05
more importantly, you learn a lot about
00:17:07
your teammates. So, we've, you know,
00:17:10
we've developed that trust and that
00:17:11
connection. And so, we've got obviously
00:17:15
your main navigator. And in our case is
00:17:19
typically Finn Mitchell, uh, who's just
00:17:21
an absolute weapon. He did God's Zone at
00:17:23
16 a few years ago, which is and it took
00:17:27
us 8 and 1/2 days and he was our main
00:17:29
navigator.
00:17:30
>> Are you allowed to do it at 16?
00:17:31
>> You weren't, but we were.
00:17:33
>> But it's awesome to see that so many
00:17:35
youth are coming through because when we
00:17:38
did it, we got on the start line and we
00:17:40
had so much criticism like what are
00:17:42
these kids doing here? Like they don't
00:17:44
deserve to be here, you know?
00:17:45
>> Really?
00:17:46
>> Yeah. like they were like what are they
00:17:48
like
00:17:50
especially overseas they're like you
00:17:51
line up on the start line they're like
00:17:53
they look at you funny like what the
00:17:54
heck but now it's really awesome to see
00:17:56
so many youth coming through because
00:17:59
>> the average age of an adventure race is
00:18:01
42 years old so I'm 22 so I started when
00:18:04
I was 18 in the big races so that's very
00:18:07
young uh anyway so we had we have a
00:18:10
navigator often a backup navigator cuz
00:18:13
obviously you know the navigator is not
00:18:15
sleeping as Well, so they can get
00:18:18
extremely exhausted. Uh, and then you've
00:18:20
often got like a pack horse who, you
00:18:23
know, just load them up. And then I am
00:18:27
in my my role is like the motivator, the
00:18:30
organizer, making sure everyone's in
00:18:33
line in check, you know, everyone's fed,
00:18:35
watered. Uh, yeah. And that's morale
00:18:37
boosting. Yeah, totally. You know,
00:18:40
>> how do you how do you train yourself um
00:18:42
for the mental side of it? Yeah, it's
00:18:44
it's it definitely if you ever do an
00:18:47
adventure race or an expedition race,
00:18:50
it's the thing that people I think um
00:18:54
don't think too much into it. And it's
00:18:57
the thing I think that will push you
00:18:59
towards that top end of the field, you
00:19:01
know, like after a day racing or two
00:19:04
days racing, you know, it's the mental
00:19:06
side of things that's going to push you
00:19:07
through and you know, being cold, being
00:19:09
hungry. So there's so many variables and
00:19:13
yeah, the mental side is something that
00:19:16
we've never really talked about as a
00:19:18
team and it was really cool in this last
00:19:20
Godzone. we uh got to about day four or
00:19:25
whatever and sometimes you just have
00:19:26
random chats and this new fell who
00:19:29
joined our team first ever race like he
00:19:32
was amazing and Sam I don't think he'll
00:19:35
mind me sharing this but he um he goes
00:19:39
I've got a little uh trick for you know
00:19:42
everyone goes through tough times in
00:19:43
adventure race you know you go highs
00:19:45
lows whatever uh and it's your team that
00:19:47
will help you push through and he goes
00:19:50
do you guys want to here my little my
00:19:52
little trick for if when things get
00:19:54
tough and everyone goes I'll go on
00:19:56
because you know I race with
00:19:58
Southlanders like they're farmers they
00:20:01
you know they've never even probably
00:20:02
heard of mental strength or whatever
00:20:04
before. So Sam goes, "I've got a we
00:20:08
trick." And he goes, "When you're going
00:20:10
through a tough time," and I'm sure Dom,
00:20:12
you've, you know, sometimes you're
00:20:13
running a marathon, you're like, "This
00:20:15
sucks." You know, and he goes, "I
00:20:18
physically smile and think of something
00:20:20
that makes me happy." And and he said
00:20:24
that it pushed him through the the tough
00:20:26
times. And so we were like, "Oh, yeah,
00:20:29
that's a great idea." And then we talked
00:20:30
about it for ages. And then Finn, who's
00:20:33
just, you know, typical Southlander
00:20:35
farmer, couple days later, he goes,
00:20:38
"Sam, I uh tried your technique and it
00:20:41
really works." And I was like, I almost
00:20:43
wanted to cry. I was like, "Oh my gosh,
00:20:46
he these these farmers have actually got
00:20:49
emotion." I was like, "Wow."
00:20:52
And then so now I guess it's really
00:20:56
awesome to see that our team is bonding
00:20:57
in that way. And yeah, the mental
00:20:59
strength is definitely about 80% mental
00:21:01
and 20% physical when you're out there.
00:21:03
And
00:21:04
>> yeah, who can push through the hardest?
00:21:06
I guess
00:21:08
>> there's obviously like physical training
00:21:10
you can do like you got to be physically
00:21:11
fit and able to able to just keep going
00:21:14
and going and going. But like with your
00:21:16
role as being like the team sort of um
00:21:18
cheerleader or whatever,
00:21:19
>> like how can you train yourself to do
00:21:20
that with sleep deprivation? Do you do
00:21:22
you like deliberately deprive yourself
00:21:24
from sleeping? No,
00:21:26
>> no, no, no, no, no. Um you I'm actually
00:21:28
a very good sleeper and I sleep you know
00:21:31
sleep eight plus hours a night and I
00:21:33
guess definitely I'd say one of my
00:21:37
strengths is the sleep deprivation. I
00:21:39
handle sleep deprivation quite well. I
00:21:42
don't know if that's a physiology thing
00:21:44
or females or just it is just me. But
00:21:48
yeah definitely the first night's tricky
00:21:50
because your body goes into shock and
00:21:52
you don't typically you don't sleep the
00:21:54
first night. So, you know, sometimes the
00:21:57
race might start at 6:00 p.m. at night.
00:21:59
You've been up for 12 hours already, and
00:22:01
then you're pushing through that night,
00:22:03
and then you're pushing through the
00:22:05
second night up until about 3:00 a.m.
00:22:07
And then you'll sleep for 1 to 2 hours,
00:22:09
and then you'll repeat that again. So,
00:22:13
uh, sleep deprivation is something you
00:22:16
literally can't train. You know, you the
00:22:20
that the sleep deprivation
00:22:22
post race is the thing that is the wor
00:22:25
like is the worst thing for your brain,
00:22:27
your recovery, everything like that.
00:22:29
Like after a race, it's a level of
00:22:32
fatigue that it's really hard to
00:22:34
explain. Like you just your eyes can't
00:22:37
stay awake. And sometimes you're walking
00:22:39
with your your fingers like this on your
00:22:41
eyes and you just can't you cannot keep
00:22:45
them awake. and anything you do
00:22:49
the most delusional chats is is just
00:22:52
like sometimes your teammates are asking
00:22:54
you uh you know what's 7 * 7 and you
00:22:58
can't work it out because you're just so
00:23:00
exhausted. One time in um Oregon
00:23:03
actually um we had to do a cognitive
00:23:06
test before we climbed up this rock face
00:23:09
which was quite dangerous like we were I
00:23:11
yeah we definitely were roped in but it
00:23:13
was pretty dangerous anyway. So we had
00:23:15
to do as a team of four, we had to go
00:23:19
around in a circle and we couldn't
00:23:20
communicate with each other and we had
00:23:22
to count up in sevens all the way to
00:23:25
100. So you know 7 14 whatever it is
00:23:28
next 21 whatever. My bad at maths are
00:23:32
the best of times and we had to do it
00:23:34
and it was hilarious. It's like we we we
00:23:37
didn't get it the first time and then we
00:23:38
had to sleep for 10 minutes. Come back
00:23:41
and and you're asleep. Like you are
00:23:43
asleep when you're when you're doing a
00:23:45
10-minute power nap. Like you're
00:23:46
dreaming. You're out in 1 second. And
00:23:49
came back and luckily we got it. But we
00:23:52
just saw everyone's brains just like
00:23:53
ticking over. We weren't allowed to use
00:23:55
our fingers or anything to count up in
00:23:56
sevens. And then after the race, we were
00:23:59
talking to one of the American teams who
00:24:01
have got three engineers and an
00:24:04
accountant in their team. and they
00:24:05
failed four times this test because that
00:24:09
you're so mentally just fatigued. And
00:24:12
that's why the navigators I just find
00:24:15
them so incredible because how are you
00:24:18
supposed to navigate with a map and
00:24:20
compass on 8 hours of sleep in 7 days?
00:24:22
And
00:24:23
>> that's I feel like that's definitely
00:24:26
something that helps me be motivated and
00:24:28
stay optimistic is helping them get
00:24:31
through. you know, uh, if I'm feeding
00:24:35
myself or having a drink of water or
00:24:37
whatever it is, I'll make sure that
00:24:39
they're also doing that because they
00:24:41
often forget, you know, their heads in
00:24:43
the map. They often forget to eat or
00:24:45
drink or whatever. Uh, so that's
00:24:47
something that I make sure I prioritize
00:24:49
is look after the navigators cuz they
00:24:51
will look after you.
00:24:54
>> Do before an event, do you get um like
00:24:57
anxious or are you just excited? Oh, the
00:25:00
first time I was just so excited. Like I
00:25:03
was like I had no idea what I was going
00:25:05
coming in for and dad had done five
00:25:08
godzones before. So I kind of had been
00:25:11
around it. But now I get a little bit
00:25:14
nervous cuz I know like
00:25:15
>> you know it's going to suck.
00:25:17
>> Yeah. I know there's going to be some
00:25:18
hard times but it's definitely more
00:25:20
excitement than nerves. But yeah, going
00:25:24
into it being fully recovered and
00:25:27
whatever is is nerve-wracking in itself.
00:25:30
But I've gone into, you know, this last
00:25:33
Godzone I went into it only had done,
00:25:35
you know, two bike rides in a trick or
00:25:38
something like that because I uh
00:25:40
fractured my sacrum only a few months
00:25:42
before. So in my back. So that was
00:25:45
nerve-wracking because you are done
00:25:48
physically.
00:25:48
>> Yeah. like I didn't know if my body
00:25:50
could actually go for 7 days and and it
00:25:54
did which I was really proud of but I
00:25:57
think it was more my strength in the
00:25:59
mind cuz I studied sport psychology so I
00:26:02
can kind of push through that
00:26:04
>> sense of holy heck what are we about to
00:26:07
go do
00:26:08
>> um have you got a partner?
00:26:10
>> No. Could you could you when you do get
00:26:13
a partner will it have to be someone
00:26:15
that's into this? Could you be with
00:26:16
someone indoorsy?
00:26:18
>> I I I don't think so. Like I People
00:26:22
often ask me, "Do you ever just sit down
00:26:24
and relax?" And I'm like, "Well, not
00:26:28
really." But I said to them, I said,
00:26:30
"When I'm exercising and when I'm out
00:26:32
there in the mountains or in the hills
00:26:33
or whatever, that's actually my form of
00:26:37
relaxation." Are you the same?
00:26:38
>> Oh, I get it. I get it completely. Yeah.
00:26:40
It's there's um meditative aspects to
00:26:43
it.
00:26:43
>> Yeah. like my brain just like I've got a
00:26:46
busy brain and you know I'm high energy
00:26:47
whatever but when I'm exercising or
00:26:50
training or racing or doing anything
00:26:52
like that my brain actually shuts off
00:26:54
and it's actually the time that I just
00:26:57
have so much just peace and clarity and
00:26:59
especially when you're with your friends
00:27:01
that you have such awesome times out
00:27:04
there and conversations and you build
00:27:06
such strong relationships and
00:27:08
friendships when you uh go through those
00:27:11
hard times and you know it's It's it's
00:27:13
the best feeling in the world. But no,
00:27:15
it definitely needs to be someone that
00:27:17
that can uh you know go in the mountains
00:27:20
and
00:27:22
go through you know rainstorms and not
00:27:25
get get annoyed.
00:27:26
>> Yeah.
00:27:28
>> Yeah. I suppose for someone like you,
00:27:29
have you have you got ADHD? Have you
00:27:31
ever been tested?
00:27:32
>> I've never been tested, but um my
00:27:34
algorithm at the moment is telling me I
00:27:36
am.
00:27:37
>> Yeah. So I um I I I suspect I probably
00:27:40
have, but I'm of an age where it just
00:27:42
wasn't diagnosed. I sort of find like
00:27:43
trail running and stuff, it forces me to
00:27:45
be in the moment.
00:27:46
>> Like you you your mind can't be anywhere
00:27:48
else.
00:27:49
>> Yeah, I I definitely probably have and
00:27:51
all my all my workmates think I do. So
00:27:54
>> my mom goes, "Oh, don't be ridiculous."
00:27:56
But I think that's her just her
00:27:58
generation, you know, like it's just
00:27:59
like
00:28:00
>> what what is that stupid thing? But I
00:28:02
don't know. I
00:28:03
>> like my mom. Oh, it's a fad. It's a fad.
00:28:05
Everyone wants it.
00:28:06
>> Yeah. But I actually don't I don't care
00:28:08
if I've got it. And I and I feel like
00:28:10
it's it's brought me to my place now cuz
00:28:13
if I wasn't like how I am, I don't think
00:28:16
I'd be sitting here in your podcast
00:28:18
studio. So yeah.
00:28:20
>> Yeah. Know it's it's good. There's a
00:28:22
phrase that gets um thrown around for
00:28:23
things like that. People say it's my
00:28:24
superpower, but I think it is in a way.
00:28:26
>> I think so. And you know, you step on
00:28:29
the start live, especially of an
00:28:30
expedition race, and everyone's a bit
00:28:33
weird. Everyone's a bit, you know,
00:28:35
>> that's your tribe. They're your people.
00:28:37
>> Yeah. They're all you all know that
00:28:39
every single one of them loves type two
00:28:42
or loves that feeling, you know, of of
00:28:47
just hardship. You know, you would never
00:28:50
enter one of these events if you didn't
00:28:52
know that
00:28:54
>> uh you could get through it or want to
00:28:56
even try. So yeah, I I think you know
00:29:00
every every trail runner or whatever I I
00:29:02
really love them and I can get along
00:29:04
really well with them. But yeah, I love
00:29:07
them.
00:29:07
>> Yeah, they're your people.
00:29:08
>> They are. Yeah.
00:29:09
>> All right. Well, let's go let's go all
00:29:11
the way back and paint a bit of bit of a
00:29:12
picture about who Molly Spark is. So
00:29:14
you're born July 17, 2003 in a farming
00:29:16
household. You told me before you've got
00:29:18
14 dogs.
00:29:19
>> Yeah. Yeah. 12 14 something like that.
00:29:21
Seven hunting dogs and seven working
00:29:23
dogs.
00:29:24
>> Thank God I don't look after them.
00:29:25
>> You still live on the farm?
00:29:26
>> Yep. Yep. So, uh, living in North
00:29:29
Canterbury, which I've only moved once
00:29:32
in my life, and it was 200 m down the
00:29:34
road, and you know, family is within
00:29:37
I've got a massive family. Uh, and we're
00:29:40
all within about half an hour of each
00:29:41
other. So, that's really nice. And I'm
00:29:43
really close with all of my cousins and
00:29:45
we're all a bit crazy, so I love
00:29:47
training with them. And, you know, we've
00:29:48
got my auntie's an Iron Man and she's
00:29:51
ran a marathon in every continent and
00:29:53
>> wow,
00:29:54
>> dad's done crazy things and my uncle. So
00:29:57
yeah, it's uh it's a really awesome
00:29:59
family.
00:29:59
>> Yeah. So your dad did five godzones.
00:30:01
>> Yeah.
00:30:02
>> So for you, so this is when you were
00:30:03
much younger. So this is like a
00:30:05
foundational memory then, your dad going
00:30:07
off and doing these things.
00:30:08
>> Oh, it was. And my uncle So he was So he
00:30:10
is a couple months older than my uncle,
00:30:13
younger or something like that. And
00:30:14
they've done so much together. So
00:30:16
they've done five godzones together.
00:30:19
Then Scotty, he is my dad's best friend.
00:30:22
And then they always just roped in a
00:30:24
random female. But it was more. And then
00:30:26
my uncle joined. Then they did a team of
00:30:28
four males. They just weren't ranked,
00:30:31
but they were the hillbillies. And I I
00:30:34
think I was 10 when they first um did a
00:30:37
godzone. And there was probably 20 or 30
00:30:42
support crew because we're so, you know,
00:30:44
everyone has got three kids and all the
00:30:46
grandparents came in and it was so like
00:30:49
it's it's ingrained in my memory
00:30:52
watching them go through this incredibly
00:30:55
tough time. And still to this day, dad,
00:30:57
Jeff, Scotty, whoever it is, say that
00:31:00
it's the best weeks of their life. like
00:31:03
you just can't explain the, you know,
00:31:07
the the memories that you gain with
00:31:09
these races and the strength you you
00:31:11
gain.
00:31:12
>> And I I I remember watching them at 10
00:31:15
and I said when I was 10, I was like, I
00:31:18
want to be the youngest female ever to
00:31:20
do a Godzone. And shall I tell you the
00:31:23
story how I got into how my teammate
00:31:26
found me?
00:31:26
>> Yeah, let's go.
00:31:27
>> Yeah. So, I remember saying that and
00:31:29
then also I went to Have you heard of
00:31:31
the Hillary Challenge before? up in
00:31:33
Oakland. Oh, in here. Oakland.
00:31:34
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What is it for anyone
00:31:36
that's listening that doesn't know what
00:31:37
the Hillary Challenge is?
00:31:38
>> So, the Hillary Challenge is basically
00:31:41
like a six day event for secondary
00:31:45
schools, like high school, secondary
00:31:47
school, and you have like regional
00:31:49
events. So, you get qualified and eight
00:31:52
teams go up to Great Barrier for year 9
00:31:55
and 10, and then Tongeredo for 11, 12,
00:31:59
and 13. So, you're a team of eight from
00:32:01
your high school and you just go and
00:32:04
race. Uh, it's not six days straight. I
00:32:06
mean, you do do like team challenges and
00:32:09
a little multisport race. But anyway, I
00:32:12
remember saying just randomly, I was
00:32:16
like, I want to be the youngest girl to
00:32:17
do Godzone. And this guy called Dean, he
00:32:21
heard me and he's now my teammate. And I
00:32:25
think he remembered that. And then we
00:32:27
went and did the secondary school, New
00:32:29
Zealand secondary schools adventure race
00:32:31
in Cromwell. And we came first in that
00:32:34
race. And the second place team was the
00:32:37
team I race with now, the boys from
00:32:38
Fjordland. And Andy Magnus, who uh runs
00:32:43
the Fair Society, so that's why we're
00:32:44
called Fair Youth. So he just runs these
00:32:47
grassroots race down in Fjordland and
00:32:50
just loves loves putting on big epic
00:32:54
events for just real cheap go out kind
00:32:58
of survive for a couple days and you
00:33:00
know get a cookie time at the end and
00:33:02
see you later work on Monday. So,
00:33:05
uh, he remembers seeing me at the end of
00:33:07
that Cromwell race and I was just me
00:33:10
being me, high-fiving everyone, talking
00:33:12
to people, and I remember getting a
00:33:15
phone call on my 18th birthday saying,
00:33:18
"Would you want to join our youth,
00:33:20
Godzone team?" And it was really like
00:33:22
that was the first time I think kind of
00:33:25
especially New Zealand, but essentially
00:33:27
the world that um, a youth team was
00:33:30
doing this big race. And so I remember
00:33:34
not Godzone couldn't even leave his
00:33:35
mouth and I said yes. And I guess that's
00:33:38
where my dreams came true basically. I
00:33:41
know it sounds a bit cliche but they
00:33:44
have. And from that moment uh just you
00:33:46
know they picked me up a few weeks later
00:33:49
and never met them before and we drove
00:33:51
up to Nelson and did this big 48 hour
00:33:53
race in Nelson and it was a definite
00:33:56
wakeup call. I had only done what 6
00:33:59
hours or whatever. And I remember
00:34:02
remember mom would be like, "Oh my gosh,
00:34:04
you're out there for 6 hours and and
00:34:07
load me up with my pack with about 14
00:34:09
sandwiches and, you know, like a big
00:34:11
bladder of water because God forbid
00:34:13
drinking out of a river." Um, and now I
00:34:16
can do, you know, 48 hours on probably
00:34:19
less gear than I did for 6 hours. But
00:34:22
it's amazing how your perspective
00:34:23
changes. And you know, uh, tomorrow I'm
00:34:26
about to go do 12 hours. So, you know,
00:34:28
like it just it's amazing how your
00:34:30
comfort zone shifts. And I feel like you
00:34:33
don't have to do 24 hours to have that
00:34:36
comfort zone shift. You can I just, you
00:34:38
know, everyone has their own their own
00:34:41
thing that they can achieve. So,
00:34:43
>> yeah. Well, um, Rang Rangoto, the
00:34:45
volcano just off, um, off Oakland here.
00:34:48
You see people that go over there,
00:34:49
they'll take the 25minut ferry over and
00:34:50
they'll go for a walk to the summit and
00:34:52
back and they'll have like one square
00:34:53
meal bars of like calm down. It's a 2 km
00:34:57
walk.
00:34:57
>> I know. or or or the opposite is you go
00:35:00
to Wanuker and you climb Royy's Peak and
00:35:02
you see these people with their, you
00:35:05
know, white fluffy hats and their white
00:35:06
puffer jackets and it's like all their
00:35:09
ski gear and it's like that they're one
00:35:11
minute into the hike and they're like
00:35:13
taking off all of the gear because
00:35:14
they're too hot and it's like it's a big
00:35:17
mountain like Royy's Peak. So,
00:35:18
>> oh, it's harder and it just switches
00:35:21
back and goes on forever. It's
00:35:23
impressive watching those like tourists
00:35:26
getting up to the top and they're
00:35:28
wrecked. But good on them. I say I
00:35:30
always talk to them and be like, you
00:35:31
know, have a good old yarn with them.
00:35:33
But yeah, it's it's quite funny watching
00:35:35
them.
00:35:35
>> I I reckon a lot of people probably stop
00:35:37
at the Instagram spot rather than going
00:35:38
to the summit.
00:35:39
>> Yeah, the Instagram spot. I mean, I
00:35:42
things always pop up on my on my phone
00:35:45
saying that um people that climb a
00:35:47
mountain, they just got they've got like
00:35:49
200 photos of the view that just gets
00:35:51
higher and higher. And I totally believe
00:35:53
that, but the sense of achievement when
00:35:55
you get to the top is outweighs the
00:35:57
price of 200 photos on your phone.
00:36:00
>> So, what were your mom's thoughts when
00:36:02
you started showing an interest in this?
00:36:04
Um, she's definitely more uh the person
00:36:09
I don't tell the stories of uh we almost
00:36:13
fell off THE CLIFF OR LIKE YOU KNOW
00:36:15
WE'RE packing pack pet packing down this
00:36:17
waterfall and you know the the stories
00:36:19
of near-death experiences as I tell dad
00:36:22
them cuz he he frosts them and he and he
00:36:25
knows he knows what they're like because
00:36:27
he's done so many of them and so I just
00:36:30
tell mom like, "Yeah, yeah, we're all
00:36:32
good." But she definitely was a little
00:36:34
bit more but she didn't really have a
00:36:37
choice. Um I I said I'm going to do this
00:36:39
and sure.
00:36:41
>> And you're doing it.
00:36:42
>> What about you? You mentioned before
00:36:43
you've got a twin sister. Is she How are
00:36:45
you alike and how are you?
00:36:46
>> Oh, we are the complete opposite in
00:36:48
every way. Like looks, personality. She
00:36:52
thinks I'm absolutely mad. And her all
00:36:54
her friends think I'm mad as well. But I
00:36:57
I kind of I kind of love it. It's it's
00:36:59
it's quite funny. But yeah, she actually
00:37:02
um is in a moon boot at the moment
00:37:04
because she uh rolled her ankle at uh
00:37:07
Electric Avenue. Uh you're
00:37:09
>> very different, aren't you?
00:37:10
>> Whereas I could should have been in a
00:37:12
moon boot rolling my ankle on a volcano
00:37:14
in Ecuador. That's that's literally
00:37:17
that's how different we are. Yeah.
00:37:19
>> Well, some might say like Electric
00:37:20
Avenue is like an endurance thing. It's
00:37:22
a it's a two-day festival. You got to
00:37:23
pace yourself. Don't go too hard too
00:37:25
early.
00:37:26
>> No. And if I was to go to that festival,
00:37:28
I'd be pretty sore at the end of it. I
00:37:30
wouldn't have my dance boogying like you
00:37:32
know if I was to go and do a Pilates
00:37:34
session tomorrow I think I'd be more
00:37:35
sore than climbing a mountain.
00:37:38
>> So what were you like when you were
00:37:39
little? Did you were you were you ever
00:37:40
sort of were you into girly girly stuff?
00:37:42
Did you want to be a Disney princess
00:37:44
ever?
00:37:44
>> No. No. Never. No. I've always been a
00:37:46
bit of a tomboy and never. Yeah. I was
00:37:50
what I'm quite um everyone always said
00:37:53
that I was I'm always I always did what
00:37:56
I wanted to do and I never followed you
00:37:58
know the typical route and I feel like
00:38:02
that's something that I'm quite proud of
00:38:04
because I wouldn't be here if I was to
00:38:06
follow the typical path and
00:38:09
>> you know I just have always been myself
00:38:11
and that's something that I feel like
00:38:14
yeah could could be a little bit more um
00:38:18
you
00:38:19
being in high school, people often just
00:38:21
follow the crown. And I feel like if you
00:38:23
are your true self, you'll end up in
00:38:25
your your happy place. And I feel like
00:38:27
I've definitely done that. So
00:38:29
>> yeah, 100%. Is there any um a story
00:38:32
maybe that you remember or that you you
00:38:35
know, you've just heard from parents or
00:38:37
family um that demonstrates you were
00:38:39
made of tough stuff that you know meant
00:38:41
you weren't a quitter.
00:38:42
>> Do you know what I mean? Anything from
00:38:44
like early on like that? This is part of
00:38:45
your DNA. Uh, well, I guess mom and dad,
00:38:48
they, you know, are hard, like the the
00:38:52
biggest hard workers I've ever met. And
00:38:55
I feel like I've definitely grown, uh,
00:38:59
you know, I've followed not their path,
00:39:01
but I've followed their toughness and,
00:39:04
you know, they work 365 days a year and
00:39:07
it's probably not the best or the
00:39:08
healthiest, but there's never really a
00:39:11
defining moment that I've gone, that's
00:39:13
why I'm like how I am. I feel like it's
00:39:15
just growing up around um people that
00:39:19
are like that. I feel like I've just and
00:39:21
it's also in my DNA like um of just hard
00:39:24
work and hard work pays off sometimes.
00:39:27
And
00:39:29
>> doesn't when you're a farm kid, you've
00:39:30
got no option e but to but to muck in
00:39:32
and help out.
00:39:33
>> Yeah, totally. And you know, if you're
00:39:35
not Dad would get home at mom and dad
00:39:38
both get home at, you know, 10:00 p.m.
00:39:40
at night and continue to work and get up
00:39:42
early in the morning. So, it's just it's
00:39:44
inground in me, but you know, my twin
00:39:46
sister, for example, she's not like
00:39:47
that. So, it's I I guess it's just
00:39:50
different personalities and Yeah,
00:39:53
>> that's so fascinating. So interesting.
00:39:54
So, you don't have the twin thing where
00:39:56
if you roll an ankle in Ecuador, she
00:39:58
feels the pain in New Zealand.
00:40:00
>> No, no, she doesn't. But we get along
00:40:03
really well, which is it was awesome.
00:40:04
Like, like she often says to me,
00:40:06
especially in high school, she's like,
00:40:08
"I would have never ever been your
00:40:10
friend in high school." I was like, I
00:40:13
probably wouldn't have been your friend
00:40:14
either, but because we are twins, we
00:40:16
have to get along and be together. But
00:40:18
yeah, it's it's Yeah, it's nice.
00:40:21
>> Yeah, there's that saying like you can't
00:40:23
choose your family.
00:40:23
>> No, exactly. And my older brother, he's
00:40:26
definitely It's actually a great story
00:40:28
actually. Sam, my older brother, he um
00:40:30
he just loves anything with wheels. So,
00:40:33
four-wheel driving, motorbiking,
00:40:36
anything with wheels. So, he's a very
00:40:38
good four-wheel driver as well. and he
00:40:42
does a lot of the tracks that I walk or
00:40:45
bike on. So often we're sharing um topo
00:40:48
maps or maps of where Sam's been and
00:40:50
he'll be like that would have been that
00:40:52
would be an epic bike ride or like an
00:40:54
epic trick and I'm like okay and then we
00:40:56
like interchange and during Godzone we
00:40:59
were um biking the whole Nevice Valley
00:41:02
and I actually saw Sam's tracks cuz he'd
00:41:05
before driving there a few days earlier
00:41:07
so he knew exactly where we were which
00:41:09
is quite special because I almost feel a
00:41:12
little bit connected to I'm like you
00:41:14
know any You don't see anyone but your
00:41:16
teammates out there and any ounce of
00:41:19
other other people is quite nice to
00:41:21
think about. So
00:41:23
>> you you're so full of energy. Do do you
00:41:26
Yeah. When when are you low? Do you
00:41:28
crash ever?
00:41:29
>> Um
00:41:30
not often. No. Um I don't know. I I
00:41:36
think one of the
00:41:38
that would be one of my strengths is
00:41:40
that I'm definitely a bubbly
00:41:42
personality. Um, I definitely crash
00:41:45
sometimes if I'm, you know, during a
00:41:47
race and it's hard, but I Yeah, it's
00:41:51
kind of hard to find that breaking point
00:41:53
of getting low in energy. Yeah. I I
00:41:56
don't know. I just have always been like
00:41:58
it. And I feel my my pop and my nana and
00:42:02
whatever they always say just don't
00:42:03
change. And
00:42:04
>> yeah. So,
00:42:05
>> how's your mental health been? Good.
00:42:07
>> Yeah, really good. Yep. Yep. Um, always
00:42:10
been I I don't know. It's It's hard
00:42:13
because people say like, "How are you
00:42:15
always like this?" And it just it's just
00:42:16
me. Um so yeah, it's been always good.
00:42:19
Yeah.
00:42:20
>> Amazing.
00:42:21
>> I don't know if it's going to stay like
00:42:23
that, but I feel like because I've found
00:42:25
something that I love so much and the
00:42:27
people around me, I just they bring me
00:42:30
energy and I surround myself with
00:42:32
positive and uh people. So my life's
00:42:35
been good.
00:42:36
>> Say you got a bad injury and you
00:42:37
couldn't do it anymore.
00:42:38
>> Yeah. Um
00:42:39
>> I've I've had that before multiple
00:42:41
times. Yeah.
00:42:43
>> Yeah. How's that? Is that challenging?
00:42:45
>> Um people say like mom said to me, she
00:42:48
goes, "I'm actually surprised at how
00:42:50
well you took it." I was like, "Yeah."
00:42:53
Like I guess you just can't fix what
00:42:56
happened in the past or you can't fix
00:42:58
what's happening right now. You know, I
00:43:00
broke my sacrum 4 months before God zone
00:43:02
and yes, it was Am I allowed to swear?
00:43:05
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:43:05
>> Yes, it was [ __ ] at the time. Um
00:43:08
>> that's a very mild swear word, by the
00:43:09
way. Like I remember it was actually
00:43:12
only a couple weeks before I went to
00:43:14
Canada for the World Champs and actually
00:43:16
let's just say that was a bit of a low
00:43:18
moment but it was only for about one day
00:43:20
and then I was like get over yourself
00:43:21
Molly and um think about the things that
00:43:24
you can do and I remember the lady the
00:43:27
sports doctor telling me, "Yep, you've
00:43:29
you've broken your sacrum and you can't
00:43:31
go to Canada and you'll have to tell
00:43:33
your teammates that you can't go and
00:43:36
you'll most likely be out for multiple
00:43:38
months." and I couldn't work. So, I
00:43:42
guess I just put all my energy into
00:43:45
getting right and getting, you know,
00:43:47
recovered as best as I could. And I'm
00:43:50
quite a product, you know, productivity
00:43:52
is quite high in my priorities. And I
00:43:55
just found other things that I could
00:43:57
study on and actually studied sport
00:43:59
psychology in that time. So, it's like,
00:44:01
you know, it's it's everyone has hard
00:44:04
moments, but I feel like if you can
00:44:07
channel what you can do versus what you
00:44:10
can't do is something really really
00:44:11
important. Yeah.
00:44:13
>> Yeah. There's a saying in sport, control
00:44:14
the controllables.
00:44:15
>> Exactly. Right. Yeah.
00:44:16
>> [ __ ] That's such a good mindset, eh?
00:44:18
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:44:19
>> It's incredible.
00:44:20
>> Yeah.
00:44:21
>> Yeah. I Yeah. Part of me when I was
00:44:23
doing this research, I was like, I you
00:44:24
know, it it is your personality in a
00:44:27
way, like you're sort of defined by
00:44:28
this. So yeah, it would feel very
00:44:31
strange maybe if if it was no longer
00:44:33
part of your life anymore.
00:44:35
>> Yeah. And I feel like definitely people
00:44:37
say like what would you be without your
00:44:40
sport? And I feel like when you're
00:44:42
injured especially, it's something that
00:44:44
you um definitely learn about yourself.
00:44:47
Like I I couldn't do anything. The only
00:44:50
thing I could do is go to the gym and
00:44:53
potentially lift some arm weights. And
00:44:55
you can tell that I haven't lifted some
00:44:56
arm weights in a while because I just
00:44:59
been climbing mountains.
00:45:01
So, um, yeah, and because I surrounded
00:45:05
with such amazing people, you can just,
00:45:08
you know, I I love going to the beach or
00:45:10
going out for a coffee and just having a
00:45:11
chat. So, you know, you find things that
00:45:13
you can do. Definitely.
00:45:14
>> Yeah. Is that what relaxation looks like
00:45:16
for you?
00:45:17
>> Um,
00:45:19
not really. No. Um, relaxation from
00:45:23
Yeah. Yeah. You an active relaxer. Have
00:45:24
you heard that term?
00:45:26
>> Yeah. Yeah. Like I like don't get me
00:45:28
wrong, love going to Fiji or whatever it
00:45:31
is and lying on the beach for a couple
00:45:33
hours, but I'm like I'm like what like
00:45:37
what else can we do here? Like what is
00:45:39
there to explore? And yeah, most of my
00:45:43
friends are the exact same. So it's
00:45:45
quite nice to just be able to like write
00:45:47
ah you know what are you doing in the
00:45:49
weekend? And they're like not much.
00:45:50
Well, let's go and do this, you know. um
00:45:52
instead of let's just sit on like I
00:45:55
can't remember the last time I watched a
00:45:57
movie like years ago years ago the
00:45:59
>> the plane ride up here today from Christ
00:46:02
Church like it's it's an hour 20 hour 30
00:46:03
is that torture for you
00:46:05
>> well I was actually thinking about it
00:46:07
Dom and it's really weird because when
00:46:09
I'm flying maybe that's my time to re
00:46:12
relax is flying cuz the the I'm like a
00:46:16
baby the constant motion and the sounds
00:46:19
I just fall asleep like that like on the
00:46:22
way I remember on the way to Africa a
00:46:24
few years ago, I was Have you heard of
00:46:26
the um term raw dogging a flight? Have
00:46:29
you heard of that?
00:46:29
>> Oh, yeah. Yeah. We You're not allowed
00:46:31
water. You're not allowed food. You're
00:46:32
not allowed movies. Not allowed.
00:46:34
>> There's extreme raw dogging.
00:46:35
>> Okay. I didn't extreme raw dog the
00:46:37
flight all the way to South Africa. But
00:46:40
I didn't watch one movie all the way to
00:46:43
I just fall asleep. I I maybe that's
00:46:46
Yeah. Relaxing is my time as um on the
00:46:50
plane or in a car if you're not driving.
00:46:52
Like I'll just fall asleep. And I
00:46:54
remember on the way home from Africa,
00:46:56
the boys in my team were like, "Right,
00:46:59
Molly, you have to watch a movie and
00:47:01
you're not allowed to fall asleep during
00:47:03
it." And I'm like, "Oh, for goodness
00:47:04
sake, like this is the hardest thing
00:47:06
ever." So they put on, you know, how you
00:47:08
can put on the same um movie at the same
00:47:11
time as everyone. They put on like
00:47:14
gladiators or something like that. Like
00:47:16
totally not up my alley at all. And they
00:47:19
forced me to watch the whole thing. And
00:47:20
when I'd start drifting off, they'd give
00:47:22
me a big elbow. And I'm like, this is so
00:47:25
unfair. Like all I want to do is sleep
00:47:27
right now. So yeah, that's my form of
00:47:30
relaxation is in the plane.
00:47:32
>> You're like the complete opposite to a
00:47:33
normal person.
00:47:37
>> I know. J, you've dropped some um
00:47:39
amazing I mean it, you know, you need to
00:47:42
stop and remember like you're you're 22
00:47:44
years old, you know, you're still at the
00:47:46
beginning of this um expedition racing
00:47:48
career. You've dropped some incredible
00:47:50
countries. Where have you been exactly
00:47:51
>> um with the sport?
00:47:53
>> Yeah. The first time we went to South
00:47:56
Africa for the World Champs, that was
00:47:58
the most insane race ever. You know, it
00:48:02
was 42° heat and it went for I think it
00:48:06
went for like 6 days. I think I got hyp.
00:48:09
Have you heard of hyponutriia?
00:48:10
>> No. What's that?
00:48:11
>> Uh, it's basically where you lose all
00:48:15
the electrolytes in your body. So, you
00:48:17
end up um you can't eat, you can't
00:48:20
drink, you're feeling sick, your your
00:48:23
whole just your blood is basically
00:48:26
like you can die. It's you start having
00:48:29
seizures. like I was at the point of I
00:48:32
need to pull out right now and of the
00:48:35
race. And I remember the first stage was
00:48:38
a 55k trail run along the sandunes and I
00:48:42
just remember feeling like so so
00:48:46
horrible. And then we went into this big
00:48:48
massive bike ride through the night and
00:48:50
I remember getting it was about 3:00 the
00:48:52
next day and I I hadn't eaten anything
00:48:56
the whole day. Like I think I'd eat in
00:48:58
half a musi bar in about 48 hours. Drunk
00:49:01
nothing. And I I was Yeah. The the
00:49:05
doctors on the course was like, "You
00:49:07
need to pull out." And I was like, "I'm
00:49:09
I'm I'm not doing that." So I remember I
00:49:13
never ever drink fizzy drinks. But they
00:49:15
gave me a can of Coke and it literally
00:49:18
brought me back to life. I They said
00:49:20
that you have to sit there for a few
00:49:21
hours and whatever. So anyway, ended up
00:49:25
drinking that and sure enough I I say
00:49:27
that the Coke is the lifesaver drink and
00:49:29
it sure is like it brings you back to
00:49:31
life and um only during a race like it's
00:49:35
bad for you obviously when you're just
00:49:37
drinking it every day but it bring me
00:49:39
back to life and yeah so South Africa
00:49:42
yeah insane
00:49:44
race. I should show you some photos of
00:49:47
what my legs look like after Africa. It
00:49:49
was it was like I have so many scars on
00:49:52
my legs from that race cuz you just be
00:49:55
bush bashing through thorns about that
00:49:57
thick. And
00:49:58
>> to this day, have you still got
00:49:59
>> Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. My legs
00:50:01
>> Oh [ __ ]
00:50:02
>> Full of scar.
00:50:03
>> Wow.
00:50:03
>> Yeah. Yeah. All from bush bashing. Yeah.
00:50:07
See?
00:50:08
>> Oh my god, that's unbelievable.
00:50:09
>> Yeah. Yeah.
00:50:10
>> How long ago was that?
00:50:12
>> Oh,
00:50:14
four years ago.
00:50:14
>> Okay. So, they they faded, but they're
00:50:16
going to remain.
00:50:17
>> Oh, yeah. But this is fresh like
00:50:19
Godzone. Like I think they're just
00:50:21
battle scars and everyone goes, "Oh, my
00:50:24
skin color scars easily anyway." But I
00:50:26
know
00:50:26
>> when when you see them, how do you like
00:50:28
how how do you feel? Does it does it
00:50:29
bring back memories?
00:50:30
>> It does. Yeah, I remember. I remember
00:50:32
some of the times that you get like
00:50:35
Yeah, I remember where I was at that
00:50:37
exact moment and I'm like, "Oh, for
00:50:39
goodness sake." And you know you
00:50:42
being in New Zealand like the Americans
00:50:44
always go how do the Kiwis always just
00:50:46
wear shorts and we're like because we
00:50:49
don't like wearing pants you know it
00:50:51
bursts your ego when when you're wearing
00:50:53
pants but I think I should start wearing
00:50:55
pants now because my legs are just so
00:50:57
scarred but it doesn't bother me at all.
00:50:59
But anyway, South Africa, Ecuador,
00:51:03
um Oregon, and then we were meant to go
00:51:06
to Canada, but that got pinned. And
00:51:09
then, um, Corsica at the end of this
00:51:11
year. Yeah. And I'm going into also
00:51:14
going to Canada this year to be the
00:51:16
junior world champs reporter over there.
00:51:18
So, that's super exciting.
00:51:20
>> Oh, yeah. Because um just recently for
00:51:22
the 2026 Coast to Coast, you dabbled in
00:51:25
some like reporting with Doo Allen,
00:51:27
previous um podcast guest. He is. I did
00:51:29
see that. And he isn't he amazing?
00:51:31
>> He's incredible. Yeah, I've had him on
00:51:33
the podcast and Simone Meer as well.
00:51:35
Another Actually, they were both
00:51:36
teammates with Richie for the Gods. They
00:51:38
were
00:51:39
>> um Yeah. Is this something you're keen
00:51:40
to do? Get into some sort of reporting
00:51:43
or
00:51:43
>> Yeah. Yeah. I don't actually know what
00:51:45
brings me more joy doing that or racing
00:51:47
it. Uh I I think I still do. I've got
00:51:51
wrinkles and tan lines from smiling the
00:51:54
whole weekend. It was just the most I I
00:51:58
don't know how to explain it. It was the
00:52:01
vibe of that race is something that
00:52:03
everyone should experience in New
00:52:05
Zealand. Even if you're not even doing
00:52:06
the race, just go and watch it because
00:52:10
I don't know. The top athletes are
00:52:12
amazing obviously, but it's the ones
00:52:14
that get in at like 11:59 and just, you
00:52:19
know, their their moms, their dads,
00:52:21
their their business owners or whatever
00:52:23
they are, and they just get through it.
00:52:25
And I don't know, it was it was
00:52:27
seriously the most epic weekend. And I
00:52:29
absolutely loved every single second of
00:52:31
it, even though we only got 3 hours of
00:52:32
sleep for three nights in a row.
00:52:35
Yeah.
00:52:35
>> For you, for you, do you see um like
00:52:37
Coast to Coast as like a cute little
00:52:38
event? Like, oh,
00:52:40
>> that sounds really it sounds really bad.
00:52:42
But yes, I'm like, it's too it's too
00:52:45
short and it's too fast. I like I'm I've
00:52:48
entered it hopefully for next year, but
00:52:51
I'm like I love the event, but I'm like
00:52:54
it's it's just it's like a sprint. It is
00:52:57
like seriously
00:52:58
>> for for a lot of people for a lot of the
00:53:01
weekend warriors that you're talking
00:53:02
about it'll be the the the pinnacle
00:53:04
event of their lifetime in terms of
00:53:06
physical achievement and it is it's a
00:53:07
massive a massive thing huge
00:53:09
>> levels to the game though right
00:53:10
>> there is and it's called the longest day
00:53:12
for a reason and it sure is. It's
00:53:15
seriously a long day. But us adventure
00:53:17
racers, you know, you know, we we just
00:53:20
go out and walk up these hills and, you
00:53:22
know, eat a whole packet of licorice all
00:53:24
sorts for breakfast and just, you know,
00:53:28
the the whole the sport is different.
00:53:30
It's completely different. You know,
00:53:31
they're calculated. They're
00:53:34
It's always funny watching a Iron Man or
00:53:36
a triathlete or whoever coming into
00:53:40
adventure racing and they're always
00:53:42
like, "Right, we need 500 mls of water
00:53:44
per hour. We need 90 g of carbs per
00:53:47
hour." And we're like, "Good luck.
00:53:52
Good luck keeping that structure because
00:53:55
all I'm worrying about is gosh, I've got
00:53:58
only one packet of Pringles left and
00:54:00
there's 12 hours left of this stage. You
00:54:02
know, one
00:54:04
the variables are huge. And I think
00:54:06
that's something so cool about our sport
00:54:08
is it actually doesn't even matter. Like
00:54:11
you you you survive off what you've got
00:54:14
in front of you. And if that's not
00:54:16
eating for 12 hours, that's just what
00:54:17
you have to do. Um,
00:54:19
>> yeah, just by any means necessary.
00:54:21
>> Yeah, totally. And and you know, during
00:54:23
this last Godzone, the stages just blew
00:54:26
out beyond ever imaginable. Like every
00:54:30
stage went over about 24 hours. So, we
00:54:34
packed We also didn't get given the
00:54:37
length of time for each stage. So, we
00:54:39
had to guess. So, we got given I think
00:54:42
we got given how many kilometers the the
00:54:44
the leg was. And so for example a 140k
00:54:49
bike ride we're like right that roughly
00:54:51
might take you know
00:54:53
12 hours whatever it is. So we would
00:54:56
pick for 12 hours worth of food and it
00:54:58
would go for 26 hours. So you know
00:55:02
>> that's that's a lot of time that you
00:55:05
need to make up for the thing that
00:55:07
you've got on your back. And you know
00:55:09
I'd be eating half a snake and shoving
00:55:11
it in Finn's mouth. And you know, you
00:55:13
just you just you just do what you you
00:55:16
get given basically. Yeah.
00:55:19
>> How do you how do you um avoid getting
00:55:21
angry or frustrated with teammates? So
00:55:23
So if some you know, you mentioned
00:55:25
before that you got to be within 50
00:55:26
meters of each other. So if someone's
00:55:28
get like getting tired or someone wants
00:55:29
a nap or someone's like dragging the
00:55:30
chain. Um yeah, how do you how do you
00:55:32
balance that? Maintain that relationship
00:55:34
with with also being competitive.
00:55:36
>> Yeah, totally. Uh it's something that
00:55:39
our team is quite good at. We've never
00:55:42
had a fight before in all of our years
00:55:44
of racing. Oh, maybe actually in equ.
00:55:47
But that's another story for another
00:55:49
day. We didn't fight. It was just very
00:55:51
tension. Like the tension was high. But
00:55:54
>> well, you're doing things that bring out
00:55:55
the the worst in in humans. You know,
00:55:56
you're cold, you're sleepd deprived,
00:55:58
you're hangry.
00:55:59
>> Yeah. Yeah. Totally. And I feel like our
00:56:02
team because we've raced a lot with each
00:56:04
other now. We know each other's
00:56:05
strengths and weaknesses. And it's real
00:56:07
funny like we get along really well, our
00:56:09
team. And it's quite funny often it's
00:56:13
the couple if you've got like a couple
00:56:15
um in your team and you see them falling
00:56:17
apart and sometimes that is the reason
00:56:21
why they've pulled out of the race
00:56:23
because of the fights and you know
00:56:26
people have tension at the best of times
00:56:29
but when you haven't slept for that long
00:56:31
and yeah totally cold hungry tired uh
00:56:35
you're sore it it definitely brings out
00:56:39
some zombies of in people. But yeah,
00:56:42
that's something that we can say that we
00:56:45
are quite good at is is that
00:56:47
teammanship. Yeah.
00:56:48
>> And what are your what are your finish
00:56:50
line fantasies during these things? Is
00:56:51
it is it um a hot shower? Is it clean
00:56:55
sheets,
00:56:56
>> big feet, all of the above?
00:56:58
>> We often start talking about it during
00:57:00
the race. We're like, right, what does
00:57:01
everyone want?
00:57:02
>> And it it's almost the the the
00:57:05
conversation you don't want to have day
00:57:06
one. You want to have it like day four
00:57:08
because torturous.
00:57:10
>> It's torturous. If you want a burger on
00:57:11
day one, god forbid, you know. Um, so
00:57:14
definitely like a lot of food. Like a
00:57:17
pie is just like, oh my gosh. Ice cream,
00:57:22
definitely a shower. But sometimes
00:57:24
showers hurt and sting because all your
00:57:26
cuts are now in cuz your immune system
00:57:29
is so so bad. One tiny little, you know,
00:57:32
like little quicks on your fingernails.
00:57:35
That's something that people might not
00:57:37
know, but that first race you use the
00:57:41
the most thing that gets used in a race
00:57:43
is your hands. You're always carrying
00:57:45
your poles. You're always holding on to
00:57:48
trees. You're holding on to your
00:57:49
handlebars or a paddle. Like you're
00:57:51
using your hands 24/7. And often during
00:57:55
the bush, your hands get all cut up
00:57:57
because you're having to grip onto, you
00:57:59
know, bush bash with your hands
00:58:01
basically. And that first race, my hands
00:58:04
got so swollen, so cut up that I could
00:58:06
barely even undo my like helmet or
00:58:09
anything like that. Like they were so so
00:58:11
so sore. Um, so that's something you
00:58:15
definitely need to work on is Yeah. your
00:58:17
your hands. But wait, what was the
00:58:19
question again? I can't even remember
00:58:20
why I got onto that topic, but
00:58:22
>> Oh, we were talking about Yeah. having a
00:58:23
shower afterwards.
00:58:24
>> Yeah. Yeah. So stinging in the shower.
00:58:27
So often when you get in the shower like
00:58:29
in your feet like that's another story
00:58:32
in itself.
00:58:32
>> Oh yeah cuz you you you just keep the
00:58:34
same socks on for six years.
00:58:35
>> Oh no no no. You do change socks but my
00:58:38
feet especially I
00:58:40
>> I'll show you some photos after of my
00:58:43
>> you don't want to see I I I I wouldn't I
00:58:45
don't want to show anyone but they this
00:58:48
only fans. Yeah, they got Godzone love
00:58:51
loves feet photos, but your feet just
00:58:54
get destroyed and your toenails and
00:58:56
whatever. So, a hot shower or just a a
00:59:00
bed cuz you you sleep on rocks like or
00:59:04
you know you sleep on sometimes when you
00:59:06
find like beautiful lush pine needles is
00:59:09
like the best feeling in the world. But
00:59:11
just to just to stop, you know, is the
00:59:15
best feeling. And does it give you a
00:59:16
greater appreciation of home comforts?
00:59:18
>> Absolutely. Like running water
00:59:20
>> is is seriously just the best thing.
00:59:23
Yeah. A bed is just makes you feel so
00:59:27
grateful for everyday life. Yeah. Yeah.
00:59:31
Totally.
00:59:32
>> Oh, back to coast to coast. You did the
00:59:34
coast to coast one year with um
00:59:36
>> Rey. Yeah. Andy Andy Reed. Yeah. Yeah. I
00:59:40
connected with him in Sydney last year
00:59:41
for the for the marathon. I think he ran
00:59:43
it last year in um like Jandles and with
00:59:45
a surfboard.
00:59:45
>> Yeah, he did. Um he's a good Yeah,
00:59:47
totally. Like I messaged him the day
00:59:50
before that event and we keep in contact
00:59:52
which is really awesome. And
00:59:54
>> I don't know if you heard the interview,
00:59:56
but we got interviewed for TVNZ uh
00:59:59
couple weeks before this the coast to
01:00:01
coast a few years ago. And he goes cuz
01:00:04
he can talk more than me. And he goes,
01:00:06
"We can both talk underwater with a
01:00:08
mouthful of marbles." And it was the
01:00:10
most just the race just was so good.
01:00:13
Like we literally were talking the whole
01:00:16
time. And have you done goats pass
01:00:18
before?
01:00:18
>> Yes. Yeah, I did that a few years ago.
01:00:20
Um guiding a kid through. It's um
01:00:23
>> How How far is it? Like 30ks 35k?
01:00:25
>> 32ks I think.
01:00:27
>> But it's not even really running. E like
01:00:28
you're scrambling up rock faces, you're
01:00:30
crossing rivers. I loved it though.
01:00:32
>> Oh, it's the most awesome run. And even
01:00:34
if you have the opportunity to hike
01:00:37
through it, it's it's yeah, definitely
01:00:39
something that I that I would recommend.
01:00:41
But anyway, we're about 2ks into the run
01:00:44
and Rey goes in his funny we Aussie
01:00:47
accent. He goes, "Molly, when are the
01:00:50
the rocks going to finish?" And I said,
01:00:52
"Mate," I said, "I'm sorry, but we've
01:00:55
got rocks for 30ks of this." And he he
01:00:58
was he he finished uh that run. and
01:01:02
Steve Gurnie. Have you interviewed Steve
01:01:03
Gurnie?
01:01:04
>> Oh, no. I Yeah. Um, Coast to Coast
01:01:05
Legend.
01:01:06
>> Legend. Yeah. So, Rey collapses on the
01:01:09
floor and he's just like, and I'm just
01:01:11
standing there like, "What?" And Steve
01:01:13
goes, "Come on, Molly. Give Rey some CPR
01:01:17
because obviously he's a Bondi rescue
01:01:19
surf lifesaver." And so, that was really
01:01:21
funny. And he got hypothermic in the
01:01:24
river. And I said, "You need to harden
01:01:25
up. Everyone's I'm in a t-shirt right
01:01:28
now." And he's like, "I'm cold." And
01:01:30
then the second place, we were in first
01:01:31
place at that at that point and the
01:01:33
second team went past. I was like, Rey,
01:01:36
I said, "This is all your fault."
01:01:40
>> Of course, I was joking, but yeah, it's
01:01:42
quite funny.
01:01:43
>> Yeah. Hey, let's um focus on Godzone for
01:01:46
a bit.
01:01:46
>> Yeah.
01:01:46
>> Okay. So, what is God zone specifically?
01:01:49
>> Yeah. I guess
01:01:51
>> where does this where does it go from
01:01:52
and to?
01:01:53
>> Yeah. Well, you don't know. So,
01:01:55
sometimes it's a point to point and then
01:01:57
sometimes it's a loop. So you yeah you
01:02:00
don't know it's it's definitely I'd say
01:02:03
New Zealand's if not the world's
01:02:05
toughest adventure race. Um
01:02:08
>> just the the vast just the
01:02:13
New Zealand in itself is hard adventure
01:02:15
racing but Godzone just likes to make it
01:02:17
that next level. You enter this race and
01:02:20
you know that you need to be happy in
01:02:24
the mountains by yourself with the
01:02:26
equipment that you've got. You also need
01:02:28
the skills to navigate because the
01:02:30
navigation is tough. Uh and the rivers
01:02:33
especially um you know you're paddling
01:02:36
in rivers that are gnarly basically cuz
01:02:39
when you race overseas it's like yeah
01:02:41
it's tough but more the elements is
01:02:44
what's tough because we're not used to
01:02:45
it. It's you know sometimes you're often
01:02:48
on tracks and things like that. So in
01:02:50
New Zealand you don't have tracks and
01:02:53
it's going to be awesome. The World
01:02:54
Champs is here in two years and it's
01:02:57
going to be great to see those top teams
01:02:59
come to New Zealand and really
01:03:03
um experience the New Zealand navigating
01:03:07
and terrain because for example a few
01:03:10
years ago I think Estonia came and
01:03:13
they're one of the best teams in the
01:03:14
world and they were like where are the
01:03:17
tracks in New Zealand and we're like I'm
01:03:20
sorry you know we don't have tracks here
01:03:23
and That's why when we go overseas, it's
01:03:25
more of a speed like a it's more of a
01:03:27
faster race because you are often biking
01:03:31
on tracks like this last week, the
01:03:34
Magnificent. Have you heard of the
01:03:35
Magnificent?
01:03:36
>> What's that?
01:03:37
>> So, the Magnificent is part of the AR
01:03:40
World Series, which Godz race in itself.
01:03:44
So they're just amazing that they've
01:03:46
just got that they're not affiliated to
01:03:49
anyone whereas the magnificent is
01:03:51
affiliated to the Adventure Racing World
01:03:54
Series. So if when you win that race,
01:03:56
you get an free entry to world champs
01:03:59
basically and it's the first one and
01:04:01
only one in New Zealand. But anyway,
01:04:04
this Yeah, magnificent. It's Yeah, there
01:04:07
is no tracks which is just that's what
01:04:10
we're used to. But when we go overseas,
01:04:12
we're like, "Oh gosh, we have to run on
01:04:14
a track now, whereas we used to have to
01:04:17
just slog up these hills for hours and
01:04:20
hours." And they had to bike, you know,
01:04:22
even in this last god zone, we had to uh
01:04:25
carry it was 50% biking, 50% walking
01:04:29
with so the bike stages, for example,
01:04:31
was 140ks and we'd be half biking and
01:04:35
half carrying our bikes over a a track
01:04:39
that is barely walkable and it was
01:04:43
horrific. In fact, we had to carry our
01:04:45
bikes up this hill called the Acaron
01:04:47
saddle for I think around 4 hours and it
01:04:50
was like shingle scree. So you would be
01:04:52
you've got your bike on your um on your
01:04:56
shoulders trying to walk up this hill
01:04:59
sliding down and it was Yeah, it was
01:05:02
tough. Yeah. And you get to the top of
01:05:04
it, give each other a fist pump and walk
01:05:07
down the other side cuz you couldn't
01:05:08
bike down it.
01:05:12
you you're not painting a very sexy
01:05:14
picture of the sport.
01:05:15
>> I know. And that's what and that's what
01:05:17
people say. They're like, "Why do you
01:05:19
say how
01:05:21
grim it is?"
01:05:21
>> Yeah. But it's that's what I love. I
01:05:24
love telling these stories because it's
01:05:26
it's it's just so much not so fun in the
01:05:30
moment. It's almost laughable in the
01:05:31
moment. But I don't know if any I was
01:05:35
talking about it with my friends the
01:05:36
other day and if everyone can do their
01:05:40
form of an adventure race or an
01:05:42
expedition race, I feel like the world
01:05:45
would be a better place because you you
01:05:48
learn so much about yourself. You learn
01:05:50
so much about your teammates and you
01:05:54
know you you do push outside your
01:05:56
comfort zone. Whether or not that's 3
01:05:58
hours or 3 days, everybody learns and
01:06:02
once you get through it and once you get
01:06:03
to the other side, you go, well, I if I
01:06:06
can do that, I can I can now do more
01:06:09
things. And yeah.
01:06:11
>> Yeah. 100%. You know, you hear people
01:06:13
talking about building resilience. And I
01:06:14
suppose what this does, it's like any
01:06:16
obstacles that come your way in
01:06:18
day-to-day life, you're going to be able
01:06:20
to draw on these experiences and go,
01:06:22
well, I survived that, so I know I can
01:06:23
survive this.
01:06:24
>> Yeah. And it and what I love to say is
01:06:27
it strips you back to your raw self.
01:06:30
Like so many life these days is busy.
01:06:33
There's so much social media and uh you
01:06:36
know you're driving on the highway and
01:06:38
going to work and you know it ends up
01:06:40
being a roller coaster of the same same
01:06:42
same. But going out in nature, going out
01:06:46
doing something like that, you know, you
01:06:48
don't have your phone. you all you've
01:06:50
got is yourself and focusing on that one
01:06:53
step ahead. And I always say you've got
01:06:56
to disconnect to reconnect. And my form
01:06:59
of disconnecting is going out and doing
01:07:02
things like that. And I love it when I
01:07:05
bring my friends into the bush or into a
01:07:08
track and they've never done anything
01:07:11
like this before and it's the some of
01:07:13
the best experience that they've ever
01:07:14
had. Imagine, you know, doing that once
01:07:18
a month or whatever. The world would be
01:07:21
a better place. It seriously would be.
01:07:23
Yeah.
01:07:25
>> So, yes. So, the day after we're
01:07:26
recording this, you've got like a 12-h
01:07:27
hour a full day mission tomorrow that
01:07:29
you talked about earlier and then back
01:07:31
to back to school Monday. Back to work
01:07:33
Monday. Yeah.
01:07:34
>> Yeah. How will your body be on Monday?
01:07:35
Will you be sore like some doms or not?
01:07:38
Really
01:07:38
>> some doms. Um, yeah, maybe it might be a
01:07:42
little bit sore. I don't know. Depends
01:07:43
on how hard I push it tomorrow,
01:07:45
>> right?
01:07:45
>> Yeah.
01:07:46
>> Jeez, you're super fit, eh?
01:07:48
>> Um,
01:07:49
>> do you do any sort of formal formal
01:07:51
fitness? Like what what like what do you
01:07:52
do during the week?
01:07:53
>> Yeah. No, I I train during the week. I
01:07:56
get up, you know, 5:00 in the morning
01:07:57
and get on my bike. And I'm Yeah, I'm
01:08:01
I'm I'm I often during the week I'm on
01:08:04
my indoor trainer and I'll head I head
01:08:07
to the gym or head in the mountains in
01:08:09
the afternoon. But I'm Yeah, I'm
01:08:12
definitely more of a routine structure
01:08:14
during the week and then the the
01:08:15
weekends are for big missions and Yeah.
01:08:19
>> #Molly's missions.
01:08:20
>> Yeah. Molly's missions.
01:08:22
>> So 5:00 in the That's um that's
01:08:24
seriously disciplined by the way,
01:08:25
>> right?
01:08:26
>> Getting up at 5:00 a.m. So you do that
01:08:27
every morning?
01:08:28
>> Most mornings. Yeah.
01:08:29
>> And then work and then what does an
01:08:30
evening look like for you? A week night
01:08:32
evening?
01:08:33
>> Um oh, you know, I'll head to the gym
01:08:36
and then come home and kind of make
01:08:38
dinner. And I I do a lot of organizing
01:08:41
for like yeah like my team and just I
01:08:45
always there's always something to do
01:08:47
you know clean the car whatever it is
01:08:49
and go help on the farm or whatever it
01:08:51
is. Um yeah I I definitely live a busy
01:08:55
life but I I I love it and I feel like
01:08:58
you know sometimes when you go on
01:08:59
holiday and you stop that's when you
01:09:02
feel tired.
01:09:04
So if you just keep going, you know,
01:09:06
you're not going to feel much tiredness.
01:09:08
>> You just you need to be busy, eh?
01:09:11
>> Well, my job is very active as well.
01:09:13
Like we are running around with kids all
01:09:17
day and it's very high energy. So
01:09:20
>> yeah, I definitely do live an active
01:09:22
lifestyle, but I love it.
01:09:24
>> That um very first Godzone, what did you
01:09:26
learn about yourself during that if
01:09:28
anything?
01:09:28
>> Yeah, it was definitely a wakeup call.
01:09:31
Uh it was 8 and 1/2 days. We
01:09:36
we one of our teammates actually he got
01:09:39
chopped off the mountain and yeah it was
01:09:44
that was crazy. We'd never seen that
01:09:46
before and we kind of continued on as a
01:09:49
team of three and then one of our they
01:09:51
wanted four teenagers out there. So, we
01:09:53
called in one of our mates to help us
01:09:55
finish the last stage. And yeah, I was
01:09:59
my feet were in serious
01:10:04
like I've never actually know I have
01:10:06
been in that much pain before, but at
01:10:08
that moment that was the most pain I'd
01:10:10
ever been in my life. And I remember
01:10:13
coming to the last stage and we had a
01:10:16
21k beach trail run. It was titled trail
01:10:21
run. I'm like running after 8 days. No
01:10:24
thank you. But I remember loading myself
01:10:27
up with painkillers and there's a video
01:10:30
of me um one of cuz this race was
01:10:34
supported and Andy uh our support crew
01:10:37
he put my shoes on for me because I
01:10:40
couldn't put my own shoes on and there
01:10:43
was I tears dripping down my face
01:10:45
because putting shoes on was like the
01:10:48
most severe pain I could ever imagine.
01:10:50
And my mom and my dad were watching Andy
01:10:54
put shoes on me. And I was remember just
01:10:56
gripping. I was sitting on a seat. I
01:10:57
just remember gripping the seat because
01:10:59
putting shoes on was just so so so
01:11:02
painful. And I just s looked at mom and
01:11:04
she was just like crying cuz she was
01:11:06
like she was watching her daughter in
01:11:10
that much pain having to go do a the
01:11:14
final stage of the god zone. And I
01:11:17
crossed the finish line. We ran it. We
01:11:19
pass like teams running in the running
01:11:22
past and I don't know what I learned
01:11:25
about myself is that you can you can do
01:11:28
hard things basically and I got to the
01:11:31
end of that race and sure enough one
01:11:34
second later I wanted to sign up for the
01:11:35
next year. But um I don't know, you
01:11:39
definitely learn that you can push
01:11:42
beyond what you think you can and I feel
01:11:45
like that's
01:11:46
>> yeah something that adventure racing
01:11:48
definitely helps you do.
01:11:50
>> Yeah.
01:11:51
>> So um what does an average 24 hours look
01:11:54
like in Godz or is there even such a
01:11:56
thing as an average 24 hours?
01:11:57
>> Um typically in the first day so every
01:12:00
single race is different. So sometimes
01:12:02
you start with a paddle, sometimes you
01:12:04
start with a bike ride. It all depends.
01:12:07
And so the first 24 hours is definitely
01:12:10
harder and faster. Uh that first 24
01:12:13
hours is definitely the hardest part for
01:12:15
me because the boys are like, "Let's
01:12:18
go." And they just send it and I'm like,
01:12:20
"Oh god, I don't want to go this fast."
01:12:23
Um and then they settle into their own
01:12:26
kind of speed. and kind of after roughly
01:12:30
2 or 3 days I come into my own and
01:12:33
that's when I start getting faster and
01:12:37
um yeah that's definitely where I I love
01:12:41
kind of day three onwards and yeah
01:12:44
there's no typical 24 hours it's but you
01:12:47
definitely don't sleep the first night
01:12:48
basically unless you get dark zoned
01:12:50
which means you can't legally you're not
01:12:53
allowed to paddle on a river in the dark
01:12:56
though if you get there at 12:00 in the
01:12:58
morning, you have to sleep until the the
01:13:02
river opens technically. So
01:13:04
>> at like 5:00 a.m. 6 a.m.
01:13:06
>> Yeah. So you would get a good 5 hours of
01:13:08
sleep, which for the first night, you
01:13:11
know, that's happened a few times during
01:13:12
the race and it's a real pain because
01:13:14
you're full of adrenaline and every team
01:13:17
catches up to you. So it's kind of
01:13:19
annoying. The dark zone sucks, but it
01:13:22
sucks in the first couple of days, but
01:13:24
it's kind of luxury in the last couple
01:13:26
of days cuz you're like, "Oh, thank God
01:13:28
we can sleep for 7 hours and not 1
01:13:30
hour." Yeah.
01:13:31
>> How do you I'm probably projecting here
01:13:32
with this, but I'm just imagining if I
01:13:34
was doing one of these races, how how do
01:13:35
you um like how do you control the
01:13:37
negotiation with yourself? Like when you
01:13:40
know if if you're telling or know if
01:13:42
you're telling yourself you like you're
01:13:43
done or you're tired or you know you
01:13:45
want to be chopped out. Um,
01:13:47
>> like how do you how do you fight those
01:13:48
intrusive thoughts
01:13:49
>> which must enter your mind at some
01:13:50
point?
01:13:51
>> Um, I don't ever have the thought of I
01:13:54
want to pull out.
01:13:56
>> Um,
01:13:57
>> like I've never kind of had that feeling
01:14:00
because but I think that's probably my
01:14:03
downfall because I push beyond what I
01:14:07
probably should because
01:14:08
>> you just don't quit.
01:14:09
>> Yeah. like this last god zone uh we were
01:14:12
paddling on the Mulra sounds and little
01:14:15
to our knowledge every single other team
01:14:17
was stopped because of the weather um
01:14:20
and safety reasons. So we were on the
01:14:23
soundss we were us and team Rab were the
01:14:26
only team um on the full course because
01:14:29
this race was just too big and too hard.
01:14:32
So we were the only team that had got
01:14:34
through the full course basically. Every
01:14:36
other team had cut a couple stages off.
01:14:39
Anyway, we were paddling on the sounds.
01:14:41
It was probably 7:00 in the morning.
01:14:44
Swells were huge. It was pouring with
01:14:47
rain. It was bitterly cold. The tide was
01:14:51
against us. We were moving 2 km an hour
01:14:54
on the sounds and I was just
01:14:59
deteriorating. I was pushing beyond
01:15:02
hypother. I was hypothermic and I we
01:15:06
pulled over to the side and we put all
01:15:08
of the extra clothes. I was like I
01:15:10
couldn't move like the my teammates had
01:15:13
to put my clothes on for me. And I
01:15:17
remember Josh who was in my boat just
01:15:19
whacking me on the back like Molly are
01:15:22
you okay? Like you're not you I I I
01:15:25
remember like being unconscious and like
01:15:28
kind of not physically able. And he's
01:15:31
like are you okay? um like I couldn't
01:15:33
speak because of how cold and just it
01:15:36
was so bad. So anyway, luckily, thank
01:15:39
god, there was a safety boat next to us
01:15:42
and I they the the boys in my team were
01:15:45
like, "No, we have to pull it like this
01:15:47
is unsafe now." So we yeah called the
01:15:51
safety boat over. They lifted me out of
01:15:54
the boat and I just like fell onto the
01:15:56
boat and yeah got um went to hospital uh
01:16:01
after that because I hadn't peed in 40
01:16:03
hours. So 48 hours and my kidneys were
01:16:06
under stress and things like that. So,
01:16:09
uh, yeah, there's definitely times where
01:16:12
I probably should have said, "Right, we
01:16:14
need to pull the pin or I need to do
01:16:18
this because of how I am." But yeah,
01:16:21
it's a definitely it's a positive and
01:16:23
negative thing.
01:16:24
>> There's there's a theory that um,
01:16:26
actually I got this from Sir Steve
01:16:28
Hansen when he was on the podcast. I
01:16:29
I've quoted this a lot.
01:16:31
>> Yeah.
01:16:31
>> His theory is that a a person's greatest
01:16:33
strength is often their greatest
01:16:34
weakness.
01:16:35
>> Exactly.
01:16:35
>> So, it's probably you with your mental
01:16:36
toughness, maybe.
01:16:37
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And but I
01:16:40
mean, as we say, type three fun. It's a
01:16:43
great story.
01:16:45
>> Are the um are the are the boys in your
01:16:46
team quite protective of you?
01:16:48
>> Um
01:16:49
>> well, they watch out for you because
01:16:50
they know you're not going to watch out
01:16:51
for yourself.
01:16:52
>> Um no, we kind of, you know, just kind
01:16:55
of get on with it. They're they're
01:16:57
great. They're great teammates. They're
01:16:59
great fun. But I I don't know. Sometimes
01:17:02
we probably
01:17:04
Yeah, we haven't pro we've probably
01:17:06
achieved that because we I've pushed
01:17:08
through more than what I should have.
01:17:10
>> Um you've painted quite a bleak picture
01:17:12
to be fair of this god zone, but um on
01:17:14
the flip side, what are some of the
01:17:15
magical moments you've experienced in
01:17:17
one of these godzone races?
01:17:19
>> Yeah, it's the places you get to go is
01:17:22
outweighs everything. Um, like for
01:17:25
example, the barometer trek in this last
01:17:28
godzone was just the most magical
01:17:31
scenery. And what is awesome is you get
01:17:34
to see places that no one gets to go to,
01:17:37
you know, like we get to go through
01:17:40
private land that only the farmers will
01:17:42
get to see. And yeah, you get to paddle
01:17:46
on rivers that you never thought you
01:17:48
would ever go to. And I feel like for
01:17:52
example tomorrow like I'm going to go do
01:17:54
this epic mission. But during these
01:17:56
races you experience a lifetime's worth
01:17:58
of missions in seven days. And what's
01:18:02
awesome is you get to do it with like
01:18:04
your best friends. Like the my teammates
01:18:07
are like my brothers. Like I just love
01:18:12
experiencing things with them. And yeah,
01:18:15
and the people you meet along the way is
01:18:17
is, you know, you'll probably be the
01:18:19
same. Like the people you've met along
01:18:21
the way,
01:18:22
>> they become lifelong friends and yeah,
01:18:24
you create memories that are just so
01:18:27
hard to explain to somebody that hasn't
01:18:29
been through them.
01:18:30
>> Yeah.
01:18:30
>> You when when you find your your tribe,
01:18:32
your community, your like-minded people,
01:18:34
it's there's something super powerful
01:18:36
about it, eh?
01:18:37
>> Yeah. Yeah. And I mean my sister for
01:18:41
example, she's got great friends, but
01:18:43
you know, and and goes through
01:18:44
experiences, you know, at the club or
01:18:46
whatever, but my the bonds I create, I
01:18:50
just feel like it's just a lifelong
01:18:52
friendship. And I I I wholeheartedly
01:18:55
agree with that and so does my dad. And
01:18:58
you know, they they still talk about the
01:19:00
times that they had during Godzones and
01:19:02
you know, this is 10 years later, you
01:19:05
know, so
01:19:07
I I don't know if you'll be able to put
01:19:09
this in words, but um Yeah. What's it
01:19:11
like when you reach the finish line and
01:19:13
you can stop moving?
01:19:14
>> Yeah. It it it doesn't have words
01:19:18
because it's just so like you're so
01:19:21
exhausted that the emotions actually
01:19:23
don't come when you reach your finish
01:19:25
line. You you cross the finish line and
01:19:28
most of the videos is is quite um just
01:19:31
boring. Like you cross the finish line,
01:19:33
you're like done. Yeah. Job done. Oh
01:19:35
yeah. handshake, give maybe give them a
01:19:37
hug and go to sleep. Like there's a
01:19:40
video of me lying on the finish line of
01:19:42
Ecuador, like literally 1 minute later
01:19:44
and I'm just asleep. Um, and the the
01:19:49
emotions actually come about a week
01:19:51
later when you start to be a little bit
01:19:53
more conscious and then you start
01:19:56
remembering that feeling of crossing the
01:19:58
finish line. And yeah, you kind of don't
01:20:00
have the energy to have emotions at the
01:20:03
finish line, but yeah, it's it's a
01:20:06
pretty surreal feeling. Yeah, surreal
01:20:09
feeling.
01:20:09
>> And what about the recovery in the the
01:20:11
day or two afterwards? Do you do you you
01:20:13
do you do you bank sleep? Do you sleep
01:20:15
okay?
01:20:16
>> It's no. Um a recovery after these races
01:20:20
is probably a good one to two months. So
01:20:24
you've have you heard of your HIV or
01:20:27
your heart rate variability and things
01:20:29
like that?
01:20:29
>> Yeah, I don't really know much about
01:20:30
I've heard of it and I've heard some
01:20:31
about it on some podcasts, but I don't
01:20:33
know much about it.
01:20:34
>> Yeah. So your watch is definitely not
01:20:36
your best friend after these races.
01:20:39
You actually have terrible sleeps for a
01:20:41
good week afterwards cuz you're you you
01:20:45
get severely
01:20:47
have when you had CO did you have the
01:20:48
night sweats?
01:20:49
>> Yes.
01:20:50
>> Yeah. So you get that for about a week
01:20:51
after just all the inflammation leaving
01:20:54
your body. You're in pain. You can't
01:20:57
walk to the toilet by yourself. Your
01:21:00
feet like when you're horizontal
01:21:02
sleeping and as soon as you wake up and
01:21:04
put your feet down, all the blood rushes
01:21:06
to your feet and then it's like painful.
01:21:09
Um you're so hungry. It's you can't
01:21:13
explain how hungry you are. You pee a
01:21:17
lot. You Yeah. So sleeping is actually
01:21:20
terrible for about a week and then and
01:21:23
then you you get really fatigued and
01:21:26
then like going to work is just like you
01:21:28
can't keep your eyes open. But like
01:21:31
>> you're a terrible employee.
01:21:32
>> Like you're no my work apparently had
01:21:37
every single computer open just watching
01:21:39
the dots. They loved it and every single
01:21:42
school was messaging me and I get back
01:21:44
and they call me Sparkles. My They don't
01:21:46
know my name is Molly, but Sparkles,
01:21:49
where have you been? We saw you on the
01:21:50
TV and they just asked me all these
01:21:53
questions and yeah, it's pretty cool.
01:21:55
But the recovery. Yeah. So, your heart
01:21:58
is is really affected by um a race like
01:22:02
this. Like,
01:22:03
>> yeah,
01:22:03
>> you're you're putting your body under
01:22:04
some serious serious stress and you're
01:22:06
almost talking about it romantically.
01:22:08
>> Yeah. But I kind of love it. Like it's
01:22:10
like, you know, and every single
01:22:12
adventure racer you'll talk to, they'll
01:22:13
tell you the same stories and they'll
01:22:15
come back for the next year and do it
01:22:16
again. And it's Yeah. You are We are
01:22:20
mad. We are mad basically. Yeah.
01:22:22
>> Yeah. How good. I might have to turn
01:22:24
this air con off. I think I'm GETTING
01:22:25
HYPOTHERMIC HERE. How's your
01:22:26
temperature?
01:22:27
>> I'm a little bit cold. But now that you
01:22:29
say about hypothermia, I always had um
01:22:32
whenever we're cold during a race or
01:22:35
during training, I always say that cold
01:22:37
is a mindset. And um it's kind of
01:22:40
backfired me on backfired with me now
01:22:43
because now my workmates whenever I'm
01:22:45
out coaching in the cold, they'll go to
01:22:48
me, Molly, you can't complain you're
01:22:50
cold. You said to us that cold is a
01:22:52
mindset. And the the the first thing
01:22:55
that my workmates told me when I got
01:22:58
back from God zone, they didn't say
01:23:00
anything. They go, I thought you said
01:23:02
cold is a mindset because I obviously
01:23:04
got ch um had to pull out because of
01:23:06
hypothermia. And I said, no. I said it's
01:23:09
backfired me. That's backfired that
01:23:11
saying for me.
01:23:12
>> You won't believe that. Look at this
01:23:14
card. What does it say at the top of
01:23:15
this card?
01:23:16
>> Cold is a mindset. What does it say?
01:23:18
>> Mindset. I've got some questions here
01:23:20
about your mindset.
01:23:21
>> Wow. Do you think mental toughness is
01:23:23
something you're born with or something
01:23:24
that you've had to build over time?
01:23:26
>> Um, it's definitely something that you
01:23:29
have to build, but also it's probably
01:23:33
quite genetic as well. um just with who
01:23:35
I've grown up with. But
01:23:37
>> no, definitely you got to yeah, you
01:23:41
definitely build it. And I feel like
01:23:43
with what I do, it's quite easy to build
01:23:45
it because there is you can't quit. Like
01:23:49
there's no option to stop. So you you
01:23:52
have to keep pushing through discomfort.
01:23:55
Yeah. And I feel like that's definitely
01:23:56
what keeps you growing. Yeah. Mindset
01:23:59
grows.
01:24:01
>> It's fascinating, isn't it? Especially
01:24:03
you being a twin. So you and your sister
01:24:05
exactly the same DNA, identical born you
01:24:08
within minutes of each other, I guess on
01:24:10
the same day and you completely
01:24:12
different people.
01:24:12
>> Yeah,
01:24:12
>> it's wild.
01:24:13
>> Yeah, it is pretty crazy.
01:24:14
>> I I did this one of the toughest um
01:24:16
events I've done. Oh, I feel
01:24:18
embarrassing even saying it.
01:24:19
>> No, please don't because I love it. I
01:24:20
love it.
01:24:21
>> Um do you know the the Mo Tapu run?
01:24:23
>> Oh my god, it's it's happening right now
01:24:25
today.
01:24:26
>> Oh, actually.
01:24:26
>> Yeah. Yeah. Moabu's on today.
01:24:28
>> Yeah, today I think it's like 52k 55k.
01:24:31
Yeah. And there's some really really
01:24:32
steep bits, but um
01:24:33
>> it's 3,000 m of climbing.
01:24:34
>> Yeah, it's huge.
01:24:35
>> It's huge.
01:24:35
>> It's huge. Yeah. So, I was I was at the
01:24:37
start line looking around. I I hadn't
01:24:39
really done any trail training for it,
01:24:40
but I knew I could run the distance.
01:24:42
>> Yeah.
01:24:42
>> And I was looking around seeing all
01:24:43
these old like old ladies with head
01:24:46
torches on. I was like, I'm going to I'm
01:24:47
going to beat all these people. No
01:24:48
worries. And then the first couple of
01:24:50
cases just on a gravel road and I was
01:24:51
doing all right. And then it's then it
01:24:53
was one of the toughest things I've ever
01:24:54
done in my life. and I was finished near
01:24:56
the the tail end of the field, beaten by
01:24:58
all those people that I smuggly thought
01:24:59
I was going to beat at the beginning.
01:25:01
But there were moments during that race
01:25:03
where I was like all alone, couldn't see
01:25:05
people in front of me, couldn't see
01:25:06
people behind me.
01:25:07
>> And I was coming up with this narrative
01:25:09
in my own head about um the Instagram
01:25:11
post I was going to write
01:25:12
>> with my reason for like pulling out at
01:25:14
the next aid station.
01:25:15
>> Oh, dumb. No.
01:25:16
>> Yeah. Yeah. And then I got to the next
01:25:18
aid station, had some jet planes and
01:25:20
some coke and and I I was off again. It
01:25:22
was one of the most amazing days of my
01:25:24
life. But do you do you not have those
01:25:26
thoughts at all
01:25:27
>> in these events where you're sort of
01:25:29
thinking, "Oh, you a lot of it is coming
01:25:32
up with an excuse."
01:25:33
>> Yeah.
01:25:33
>> Isn't it? Coming up with an excuse about
01:25:35
why you can't do it anymore. You just
01:25:36
don't have that.
01:25:38
>> No, I I I don't know why. I think lots
01:25:42
of people do, but I mean sometimes I'm
01:25:44
like, "God, just I just want to stop or
01:25:48
just like But I kind of make it as a
01:25:50
joke." Like I'm just like like sometimes
01:25:52
you're bush bashing through the bush
01:25:54
like this and you're like I remember
01:25:56
saying this sucks and everyone's like
01:25:58
yeah it does but you just like laugh
01:26:00
about it. But like the Mo Tapu I feel
01:26:03
like I would struggle with that race
01:26:06
purely because it's so fast and also
01:26:10
like you're by yourself. Like I'm so
01:26:12
lucky I have my teammates to help me
01:26:14
push through. Like
01:26:16
a individual event is so much harder
01:26:18
than a team event I would feel. Yeah.
01:26:21
>> Oh, so it's too short. Too short for
01:26:23
you. It would be a sprint for you,
01:26:24
wouldn't it?
01:26:25
>> Oh, and that's what I get scared about.
01:26:26
Like, like my friend's doing it right
01:26:28
now and she's an adventure race and I
01:26:30
said she's quite nervous about it. And I
01:26:32
said, "You're tough. Like, you can I
01:26:35
said to her, I said, "You know how to
01:26:37
push through discomfort." And she's
01:26:38
like, "Yeah." I said, "You've got this."
01:26:40
Like, you know how you know we're like a
01:26:42
Land Cruiser. We can just keep going. M
01:26:44
>> um whereas you know a little 5k run if I
01:26:48
if you were to tell me tomorrow go all
01:26:51
out do a 5k I would be more nervous
01:26:54
doing that than entering a six day
01:26:57
adventure race.
01:26:57
>> Oh you're being ridiculous.
01:26:58
>> I'm I'm genuinely not being ridiculous.
01:27:01
I would be freaking out. Seriously, I
01:27:03
would be. I I everyone's different and
01:27:06
that's what's awesome about this world.
01:27:08
So
01:27:09
>> what makes someone or actually
01:27:10
specifically what makes you good at
01:27:12
this? Like is it is it natural talent or
01:27:14
is it mostly determination and tenacity?
01:27:16
Um definitely I'd say determination and
01:27:20
um I've always been quite once I've got
01:27:23
a goal or once I want love something or
01:27:27
something like that like I will do
01:27:29
everything I can to get there like and I
01:27:32
believe that everybody if they find
01:27:35
their hobby or their passion they will
01:27:39
do anything to achieve that and
01:27:43
everyone has the ability to do at
01:27:46
whether or not you want to be the best
01:27:48
at chess or Rubik's race or whatever it
01:27:52
is. Um, you can get through by teaching
01:27:57
yourself perseverance and determination.
01:27:59
It's definitely not natural talent.
01:28:01
There's so many stories of, you know,
01:28:04
all blacks or whoever it is. They come
01:28:07
from nothing and they, you know, my
01:28:10
mom's best friend, she's Julie Seymour,
01:28:12
the silver fern.
01:28:14
>> Yes.
01:28:14
>> Yeah. So that's my mom's best friend.
01:28:16
Yeah. So she never made a rep team. She
01:28:18
never made the top teams through high
01:28:20
school. She just pushed and pushed and
01:28:23
kept on going and kept persevering and
01:28:27
trained herself to be the best one of
01:28:29
the best silver ferns in the world. And
01:28:31
she she was a silver fern captain for
01:28:33
many many years. And I feel like that's
01:28:35
a great story and there's many stories
01:28:37
like that. Yeah.
01:28:38
>> Has Yeah. Julie that's a name I haven't
01:28:41
heard in a while. Have they got kids?
01:28:43
>> Julie. Yeah, Julian. Julia. Wow. They're
01:28:46
going to be talented. Dallas Seymour.
01:28:47
Yeah. New Zealand Sevens.
01:28:49
>> So, Josie, her uh their daughter is an
01:28:52
extremely good net player, which is
01:28:54
really cool.
01:28:54
>> No [ __ ]
01:28:55
>> Good jeans.
01:28:56
>> Yeah. Very good jeans. Yeah. But also,
01:28:59
Josie's a determinated. Like, she's
01:29:01
determined, you know. Oh, good jeans
01:29:03
only gets you so far. Yeah.
01:29:06
>> Oh, hallucinations.
01:29:07
>> Oh, yeah.
01:29:08
>> Have you had hallucinations in
01:29:09
>> all the time? I love it.
01:29:13
I absolutely love it. Like people always
01:29:16
go like it's easier to get
01:29:17
hallucinations, you know, illegally. I'm
01:29:20
like, "No, I've never done that." But I
01:29:24
definitely get them all the time. Yeah,
01:29:25
I I'm prone to hallucinating. Yeah, for
01:29:28
sure.
01:29:28
>> Like what? And when do they normally
01:29:30
begin? Is it like day one?
01:29:31
>> Day one.
01:29:35
>> Day one. But I think day one is is just
01:29:39
a shock to the body, right? like you
01:29:40
haven't slept in over 40 hours or
01:29:42
whatever. But I often hallucinate lots
01:29:45
of animals. Like every single rock is
01:29:48
like a dog face. You often see huts
01:29:52
because that's what you want to see. Uh
01:29:54
you see bike boxes, transition areas.
01:29:59
Uh what else I see? I've seen security
01:30:01
cameras a couple times. That's weird. Uh
01:30:03
what else do I see? Um oh, penguins in
01:30:07
the middle of the bush. Octopus. like
01:30:09
yeah, you can see anything. I haven't
01:30:12
seen any like bad things yet, which is
01:30:14
nice because that means my brain's not
01:30:16
like cuz I think it's like your
01:30:18
subconscious or something, isn't it?
01:30:19
Like I don't know.
01:30:20
>> I don't know what what it is. Yeah, it's
01:30:23
your mind playing tricks on you. But um
01:30:25
>> yeah, happens.
01:30:26
>> So, how do you how do you snap out of
01:30:28
it? So, you say
01:30:28
>> you can't.
01:30:30
>> Yeah, it just you literally can't snap
01:30:32
out of it. you just blink and you're
01:30:33
like seeing all these things and then
01:30:35
you just tell your teammates you're like
01:30:37
I can see like these things and they're
01:30:39
like that's not there. But I guess sleep
01:30:43
sleep is the only way.
01:30:44
>> But you just I mean what's awesome is
01:30:47
the sun comes up and it's another day
01:30:50
>> and how how good is it being out there
01:30:52
when this when it goes from dark to
01:30:53
light and the sun rises? You must
01:30:55
>> super cool.
01:30:56
>> You must have seen some crazy sunrises.
01:30:58
>> Oh, some of the most amazing sunrises.
01:31:01
Like what's awesome is when you do a
01:31:04
mission by yourself, you know, you start
01:31:07
at 7:00, 6:00 in the morning, you've
01:31:09
missed the sunrise. Whereas during a
01:31:11
race, you go through the whole night and
01:31:13
you're at the top of a mountain at 3:00
01:31:16
in the morning, walking down the
01:31:18
mountain and seeing the sunrise. It's
01:31:21
Yeah, it's pretty cool. And when the sun
01:31:23
comes up, it's your you get this sense
01:31:27
of energy that uh
01:31:29
>> Yeah. your mood
01:31:30
>> lives. Yeah, totally. And it's it's like
01:31:33
this natural form of energy that you you
01:31:35
get from the sun and
01:31:37
>> Yeah. And then you're like, "Oh, well,
01:31:39
don't need to sleep until 3:00 the next
01:31:41
morning."
01:31:42
>> Are there any like standout moments
01:31:44
where you think you've been lucky to
01:31:45
survive?
01:31:46
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely this last
01:31:48
god zone. And also,
01:31:50
>> no, no one dies though.
01:31:52
>> No, someone died
01:31:55
two weeks ago at this race called the
01:31:57
Sea to Sea in Florida. [ __ ] Yeah.
01:31:59
>> When when you hear that, how do you
01:32:01
feel? Is that true?
01:32:02
>> Well, no, because it was actually he got
01:32:06
hit by a car, so it wasn't his fault.
01:32:10
But there are definitely moments where
01:32:12
we could have died. Like for example,
01:32:16
this race called the WTF, so the
01:32:19
wilderness traverse of Fland.
01:32:21
>> It's a great acronym.
01:32:22
>> Great acronym. Um, we were in pedling
01:32:26
this river. I think it was the Holy
01:32:28
maybe. I don't know. But we were first.
01:32:30
We were in first place at this stage.
01:32:32
And we were paddling down this through
01:32:36
this massive gorge. And it was epic.
01:32:38
Like the white water was just so
01:32:41
awesome. It was just on sunset, so we
01:32:45
knew that we had to get out of the river
01:32:47
at some point and walk the side of the
01:32:49
river because once I think it was about
01:32:51
9:00 p.m., it was a summer race. 9:00
01:32:54
p.m. hits, everyone has to be off the
01:32:55
river and you have to walk or sleep,
01:32:57
your choice. So anyway, we're paddling
01:33:00
and uh we look at we were the second
01:33:02
boat. Um I think it was Josiah and I
01:33:05
just and I were the second boat and Dean
01:33:08
and Finn were the first boat and we saw
01:33:10
them just waving at us like, "Stop,
01:33:13
stop, stop." They were I remember seeing
01:33:16
them on top of a rock with two
01:33:19
waterfalls on either side of them. So
01:33:21
they were in the middle of these two
01:33:23
waterfalls and we were paddling straight
01:33:26
for this huge waterfall. Like if we went
01:33:29
down it we would be dead. It was rocky.
01:33:32
So like there was rocks and trees at the
01:33:35
bottom of this waterfall and our boat
01:33:39
lodged up against two rocks between the
01:33:42
waterfall. So it was the boys were on
01:33:44
the middle of the waterfall and our boat
01:33:46
was like lodged up in in the middle of
01:33:48
it. We like they launched us out of
01:33:50
their boats. And so there was four of us
01:33:52
standing on the middle of this rock on
01:33:54
sunset with our boats down the bottom of
01:33:57
the waterfall because they had fallen
01:33:58
down with the PLB everything in the
01:34:02
boats that we couldn't get. So we were
01:34:04
like, "What the heck are we going to
01:34:06
do?" Like we It was pretty scary. Like
01:34:09
it doesn't sound too scary, but it was
01:34:11
like it was one of the scariest moments
01:34:13
of our lives. So Dean like horizontally
01:34:17
jumped over the waterfall into like the
01:34:19
moving water and like swam out into uh
01:34:23
into the shore and then we luckily had
01:34:26
our paddles. So we he like put out his
01:34:30
paddle and Finn jumped and grabbed the
01:34:32
paddle and yet he got yanked to the
01:34:34
other side. So then it was just Sarah
01:34:36
and I on this water on this rock and I'm
01:34:40
bad at swimming in general and so I was
01:34:43
like I can't do this and he's like well
01:34:45
you have to. So I remember Josiah
01:34:48
picking me up and literally throwing me
01:34:50
and I like just caught the paddle and
01:34:53
they pulled me pulled me out into the
01:34:55
side of the river the river and it was
01:34:58
we were like really shaken up and we had
01:35:00
to walk all through the night with our
01:35:03
wet clothes and that was definitely like
01:35:06
a moment where we're like wow we that
01:35:09
could have been deathly.
01:35:11
>> Most sane people at this point would be
01:35:13
like okay let's yeah let's tap out.
01:35:16
Yeah,
01:35:16
>> let's tap out of this event and regroup.
01:35:19
>> Do you Yeah. What's your relationship
01:35:21
like with risk and fear?
01:35:22
>> Um I kind of love it. I I mean I
01:35:28
sometimes don't like it in the moment.
01:35:30
Like the LA a few months ago I did this
01:35:32
massive mission around Mount Cook and
01:35:34
there was multiple sections where I was
01:35:36
well outside my comfort zone like rock
01:35:38
climbing with no ropes and things like
01:35:42
that. But I said to mom, I said, "I'm
01:35:43
sorry, but I really want to keep doing
01:35:45
things like that because I just feel
01:35:46
like
01:35:48
I just love it. I don't know why. I just
01:35:51
the fear and I I don't know. There's
01:35:54
just I can't explain the feeling, but I
01:35:57
just love that feeling of fear and
01:35:59
risk." And definitely I won't push
01:36:01
myself out side where I'm might die.
01:36:05
>> Like I I will say like guys, I don't
01:36:08
want to do this, but then sometimes you
01:36:09
just have to. But yeah, and sometimes
01:36:12
there is no other way but to move
01:36:15
forward.
01:36:17
>> These weekend missions you do, do you
01:36:18
ever do them on your own or is it always
01:36:20
with Oh, you do?
01:36:21
>> Yeah, I do sometimes on my own, but most
01:36:22
of the time with mates. Yeah. Yeah.
01:36:24
>> Cuz that's probably riskier in a way,
01:36:26
isn't it? Doing it on Doing it on your
01:36:27
own.
01:36:27
>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But I
01:36:29
always bring a PLB.
01:36:31
>> Personal locator. Beacon. Beacon.
01:36:32
>> Beacon. Yeah. Yeah.
01:36:34
>> So, what does that do?
01:36:35
>> Oh, it rings the choppers. Okay. They'll
01:36:37
just come and get you probably. Probably
01:36:40
probably. Oh, so you've never had you've
01:36:42
never used it.
01:36:43
>> Touch wood? No.
01:36:45
>> And they they'll uh they'll they'll
01:36:47
charge you for the chopper, I'd imagine.
01:36:49
>> Yeah, maybe. Oh my worth it, though,
01:36:51
right?
01:36:53
>> Oh, imagine if it was Richie that came
01:36:54
to save you.
01:36:55
>> Oh, I know. Wouldn't that be great?
01:36:56
>> Have Have your paths crossed in any of
01:36:58
these events?
01:36:59
>> Yeah.
01:36:59
>> Yeah. All the time. Yeah. Oh, really?
01:37:01
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's great.
01:37:02
Yeah. Loves it. Um he actually
01:37:05
>> I should show you the video, but he
01:37:06
actually nearly um broke my ankle in the
01:37:09
god zone cuz he was flying the chopper
01:37:12
only from like here to It was literally
01:37:15
the chopper was like right next to us
01:37:16
and we were rock climbing down this
01:37:18
cliff face. It was pretty gnarly
01:37:20
actually. And Josh, my teammate,
01:37:22
dislodged a rock above me. And because
01:37:25
of the chopper, I couldn't hear Josh
01:37:27
calling rock, rock, rock. So the rock
01:37:30
skimmed past about that much and it was
01:37:33
a huge rock and that would have that
01:37:35
would have that would have been a race
01:37:37
ender. Yeah. And I said to Richie I said
01:37:40
you said that's your fault mate. Thank
01:37:42
you very much. You were way too close to
01:37:44
us.
01:37:45
>> But they got it on film and so it was
01:37:47
great because TVZ loved it. Yeah.
01:37:49
>> Even if um if you heard your teammate
01:37:52
shout out rock, what could you have
01:37:53
done?
01:37:54
>> Uh I don't know. Hopefully. I don't
01:37:58
know. Yeah, you are right. We often say
01:37:59
rock rock, but you kind of just stand
01:38:01
there, look up, and go hope for the
01:38:02
best. You know,
01:38:04
>> you just get a couple of seconds warning
01:38:05
that you're about to die potentially.
01:38:07
>> Yeah. Yeah. But um we should have
01:38:09
probably had helmets on that stage, but
01:38:12
>> Yeah.
01:38:12
>> Um when I had Simone Meer on the
01:38:15
podcast, she told me Richie's really
01:38:17
clumsy at these events.
01:38:18
>> Yes, I did hear that actually. Yeah. Um
01:38:22
I I haven't raced with Richie so I'm not
01:38:25
sure but I'm sure he's his
01:38:27
>> his I'm sure Richie outweighs his clum
01:38:29
clumsiness. He would be a great team
01:38:31
member I think. Yeah.
01:38:32
>> Oh 100%. Yeah.
01:38:33
>> Um then Dougal Allen told me a story
01:38:35
about Richie. Um he said one of the
01:38:38
stages where they were just trying to
01:38:38
keep themselves amused and entertained
01:38:40
overnight. Um Richie came up with a
01:38:42
thing where he asked everyone to come up
01:38:44
with three words that they'd like people
01:38:46
to use to describe them. Describe them
01:38:48
at their funeral.
01:38:49
>> Oh yeah. That's a great question.
01:38:51
>> And Doo said one of one of Richie's
01:38:53
words was um integrity. And he was like
01:38:55
he thought it was funny because he'd
01:38:56
only known him for like a day or two.
01:38:57
And that's definitely one of the words
01:38:59
he would have used.
01:39:00
>> What do you guys do? Have you guys got
01:39:01
any little tricks or strategies or
01:39:03
things you do to
01:39:04
>> keep spirits up in the night?
01:39:06
>> Yeah, you definitely just end up talking
01:39:08
lots of yarns of random stuff. like I
01:39:13
don't know there sometimes I try and
01:39:16
play games with my teammates like oh
01:39:19
game 21 or you know there's lots of like
01:39:22
game little games that you can just keep
01:39:23
going or go through the whole alphabet
01:39:26
you know do you know the game where you
01:39:27
might go apple and you go apple banana
01:39:29
and I might go apple banana
01:39:31
>> carrot
01:39:31
>> carrot yeah and you have to go through
01:39:33
the whole alphabet
01:39:35
>> and I love these games because it's just
01:39:37
fun and I love talking so I'm just like
01:39:40
oh what to know um but the boys
01:39:43
sometimes are like Molly what are you
01:39:46
doing like they can't even spell let
01:39:49
alone remember what A and Zed was so
01:39:52
yeah sometimes I join and sometimes I
01:39:53
don't but
01:39:54
>> cuz I suppose everyone's different and
01:39:55
when when different people are suffering
01:39:58
they have a different way of processing
01:39:59
it
01:39:59
>> well it's really weird because I talk a
01:40:02
lot and during the race I actually don't
01:40:05
talk that much I actually just
01:40:08
people think that's that's a lie but I
01:40:11
you my teammates. Yes, I do talk a bit,
01:40:13
but I'm often I often just am silent for
01:40:18
hours and hours. In fact, the first
01:40:20
Godzone, um, the boys hadn't really
01:40:23
raced that many days with me, and they
01:40:26
made a little card that it was like
01:40:29
three cards that they could give to me,
01:40:31
and it said, "Molly's 30 minutes of
01:40:34
silent. Shut the f up." And it just
01:40:36
said, "This card is used for half an
01:40:40
hour for the boys to just suffer and
01:40:42
soldier on with no positivity.
01:40:46
They've never had to use the cards,
01:40:47
thank God. But yeah, I've got I've got
01:40:50
it standing on my um duchess at home.
01:40:53
So,
01:40:54
>> God, you're a happy person, aren't you?
01:40:57
Just a real positive, you know, ray of
01:41:01
sunshine.
01:41:01
>> Oh, that's kind. Thank you.
01:41:03
>> When When do you Yeah. Are you ever sad?
01:41:06
>> Not really. No. No.
01:41:08
>> No.
01:41:09
>> When have you been your saddest?
01:41:11
U probably when my sports doctor told me
01:41:13
I couldn't do world champs in Canada
01:41:14
last year.
01:41:17
>> That's so awesome. God. Yeah. If we
01:41:20
could bottle up what you've got, um I
01:41:22
think New Zealand would be a better
01:41:23
place.
01:41:24
>> A same with you though, Dom. You're
01:41:25
very, very positive and happy person.
01:41:27
>> What are you What are you most afraid
01:41:28
of?
01:41:29
>> Most afraid of? Um
01:41:32
Oh my gosh. Most afraid of? I'm actually
01:41:38
um I'm actually not afraid of very much
01:41:41
many things because I just like saying
01:41:42
I'm a yes person, you know, like I just
01:41:45
like saying yes to things. Um afraid of
01:41:50
I don't know probably I'd say
01:41:54
the
01:41:56
I don't actually know. I actually don't
01:41:59
know what I'm afraid of.
01:42:00
>> Well, that in itself is an answer.
01:42:02
>> So that's fine.
01:42:03
>> Yeah.
01:42:04
>> Do you have any regrets? Any regrets?
01:42:09
Probably
01:42:11
regrets. I'd say
01:42:15
I I This is These are hard questions. I
01:42:17
don't think I've got regrets. I'm trying
01:42:20
to think.
01:42:21
>> That's a great way to live your life.
01:42:22
>> Yeah. I don't think I've got regrets.
01:42:25
No.
01:42:25
>> No.
01:42:26
>> Wonderful. Um, and the Richie and Doo
01:42:29
thing we were talking about before, say
01:42:31
it's your funeral. What three words
01:42:32
would you like family and friends to use
01:42:34
to describe you?
01:42:36
>> I hope they say that.
01:42:39
>> I don't know, maybe not three words, but
01:42:41
I just hope they say that I always made
01:42:44
them smile. I think that's something
01:42:46
that
01:42:47
>> like my workmate for example, she said
01:42:50
to me the other day, and I'll just say
01:42:53
my name is Sparkles, but they say,
01:42:55
"Sparkles, it's very hard to be sad
01:42:57
around you." And I feel like that is the
01:43:00
the probably the best compliment you can
01:43:03
ever get. Uh, and it's something I'd
01:43:05
probably want people to say at my
01:43:07
funeral is that she always made me
01:43:09
smile. Yeah,
01:43:11
>> you've got the perfect surname for your
01:43:13
personality, eh?
01:43:15
It's a pretty cool name, isn't it?
01:43:16
>> It's It's excellent.
01:43:18
>> I don't want to I don't want to change
01:43:20
it. Sorry for my future future husband,
01:43:23
but I don't think I'll be changing my
01:43:25
name. No.
01:43:26
>> Are you proud of yourself?
01:43:28
>> Yeah. Yeah. I' I'd say I am at the Yeah.
01:43:32
At the moment, I'm 22.
01:43:33
>> At the moment,
01:43:34
>> I don't know. I just feel like I've
01:43:36
lived quite a large and um you know
01:43:41
vibrant life and I'm only 22 and I
01:43:44
actually just can't wait for the future
01:43:46
because if I've experienced this much at
01:43:49
22, what else is in for in the future?
01:43:53
Yeah,
01:43:56
>> I think that's probably a good place to
01:43:57
end it.
01:43:58
>> Yeah.
01:43:58
>> Is there is there anything that's been
01:43:59
left unsaid? Is there anything that you
01:44:01
hoped we were going to talk about today
01:44:02
that we haven't? Um, no. I feel like
01:44:06
you've asked some awesome questions and
01:44:07
I've kind of just rambled on, so I'm
01:44:09
sorry about that. I've probably gone
01:44:11
beyond the topic of your question, but
01:44:14
yeah. No. Um, I've just super grateful
01:44:16
for the opportunity to come up here and
01:44:19
talk to you. And I hope I have not
01:44:23
inspired, but I hope I've just, let's
01:44:26
just say the word inspired others to
01:44:29
just get out there. Like, who cares if
01:44:31
it's just a walk around the block or a
01:44:33
walk around the park or talk with your
01:44:35
friends, go out there and experience
01:44:38
what beautiful New Zealand can have to
01:44:40
offer. Yeah.
01:44:42
>> Full stop.
01:44:43
>> Full stop.
01:44:45
>> We're done. Molly Spark, this has been
01:44:48
so awesome.
01:44:49
>> I've I've um by my my my perspective,
01:44:52
I'm doing a hard physical challenge this
01:44:54
year. I'm going to South Africa in June
01:44:55
for this run called the Comrades.
01:44:56
>> Oh, yeah.
01:44:57
>> It's which is like an iconic
01:44:58
ultramarathon. I know exactly what it
01:45:00
is. Yeah.
01:45:01
>> Yeah. And I've been um every time I
01:45:02
think of it's like a 100 days away now
01:45:04
from the time we're recording this
01:45:06
>> and I've I I get anxiety just thinking
01:45:08
about it. Um and I'm going to I'm going
01:45:10
to remember this chat and I'm going to
01:45:12
um draw on you and your energy on that
01:45:14
day.
01:45:15
>> Ah, that's awesome. Wait, whereabouts in
01:45:17
South Africa? Is it?
01:45:18
>> Um
01:45:20
it's I think it's Johannesburg.
01:45:22
>> Okay. You might Are you going to raw dog
01:45:24
the flight or?
01:45:25
>> Absolutely not. I'm going to watch all
01:45:27
the movies.
01:45:29
I'm going to raw dog the run though. No
01:45:30
headphones on the run. The raw dog the
01:45:32
run. Just see some elephants.
01:45:33
>> I always raw dog these um these these
01:45:35
events cuz it's like you you're doing
01:45:37
these things with like-minded people. I
01:45:39
think there's like 15 or 20,000 people
01:45:40
that do the comrades each year.
01:45:42
>> Um so why would Yeah. Why would you want
01:45:44
to block that out with AirPods?
01:45:45
>> Totally. Totally. No, you'll enjoy it.
01:45:47
It'll be amazing.
01:45:48
>> But hey, you're super inspiring and um
01:45:50
yeah, I'd urge everyone to follow you at
01:45:52
Molly's Missions on Instagram and I
01:45:55
can't wait to see what the future brings
01:45:56
for you. Thank you so much, Dom.
