Andy Dubois – Endurance, Belief & the Business of Coaching Ultra-Runners

So I had an interesting pathway to my current career.

I went to uni and did a Bachelor of Surveying, qualified as a surveyor.

Worked as a surveyor for a year and a half and was bored out of my brain at the age of 22.

I thought, I'm 22, I've got another 44 years of my working career left.

I can't

handle doing this.

The government were giving out retirement packages, trying to downsize, so I took a retirement package at the age of 22, which was enough to buy a stereo, I think, but that was it.

LAUGHTER I then retrained in health and fitness because I was always passionate about health and fitness.

But at school, I was one of the smartest kids in the school, maths and physics.

So back in the 80s, it just wasn't, you just didn't go into health and fitness.

If you were smart, you went to university.

So I revisited that and trained up as a personal trainer.

So I was a personal trainer for ages, went to London, was a personal trainer there.

Just some coaching courses in triathlon and running and stuff.

So your personal training was my life until Sydney.

And then when I was in Sydney, I'd set up a website and I got an email from someone who said, do you coach ultramarathoners online? And I said...

Yes, I do.

That's exactly what I do.

Meaning you hadn't really done it, had you?

I'd done it in person.

Like I was the guy at the gym that everyone went to if they wanted to run a marathon or whatever.

So in 24 hours I quickly adjusted the website to reflect the fact that I did coach ultramarathoners.

And he was the first one back in 2011.

And then I realised after a while that, A, I love doing it.

And B, it would get me out of going to the gym between five and nine in the morning and five to nine at night.

So I had an interesting pathway to my current career.

I went to uni and did a Bachelor of Surveying, qualified as a surveyor.

Worked as a surveyor for a year and a half and was bored out of my brain at the age of 22.

I thought, I'm 22, I've got another 44 years of my working career left.

I can't

handle doing this.

The government were giving out retirement packages, trying to downsize, so I took a retirement package at the age of 22, which was enough to buy a stereo, I think, but that was it.

LAUGHTER I then retrained in health and fitness because I was always passionate about health and fitness.

But at school, I was one of the smartest kids in the school, maths and physics.

So back in the 80s, it just wasn't, you just didn't go into health and fitness.

If you were smart, you went to university.

So I revisited that and trained up as a personal trainer.

So I was a personal trainer for ages, went to London, was a personal trainer there.

Just some coaching courses in triathlon and running and stuff.

So your personal training was my life until Sydney.

And then when I was in Sydney, I'd set up a website and I got an email from someone who said, do you coach ultramarathoners online? And I said...

Yes, I do.

That's exactly what I do.

Meaning you hadn't really done it, had you?

I'd done it in person.

Like I was the guy at the gym that everyone went to if they wanted to run a marathon or whatever.

So in 24 hours I quickly adjusted the website to reflect the fact that I did coach ultramarathoners.

And he was the first one back in 2011.

And then I realised after a while that, A, I love doing it.

And B, it would get me out of going to the gym between five and nine in the morning and five to nine at night.