Man That Can with Lachlan Stuart

Chasing My Potential Through 58 Marathons | George Sheppard #619

Lachlan Stuart / George Sheppard Episode 619

Message me your 'Takeaways'.

Ever wondered what drives someone to run 58 marathons across 58 states in just 58 days? Join us as we sit down with the adventurous Lachlan Stewart, who draws inspiration from the legendary James Lawrence and his 50 Ironmans in 50 days. Lachlan opens up about his journey toward an inspired life, emphasising the mental resilience needed to overcome extreme challenges. From embracing solitude on the road to connecting with diverse communities, he shares profound insights into pushing personal boundaries and the exhilarating rewards that come with it.

Mentioned On Today's Show:

  • Lachlan's challenge is inspired by a desire to do more with his life.
  • The journey will be both physically and mentally demanding.
  • Community support plays a crucial role in Lachlan's journey.
  • Mental health struggles are a significant part of Lachlan's story.
  • Lachlan aims to inspire others through his challenge.
  • The logistics of running 58 marathons require careful planning.
  • Past experiences have taught Lachlan valuable lessons about resilience.

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Follow Lachlan:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lachlanstuart/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@lachlanstuart91
Website: https://themanthatcanproject.com/
Newsletter: https://lachlan-stuart-tmtcp.ck.page/profile

Do Something Today To Be Better For Tomorrow

George Sheppard:

And we're good to go. Yes, and a very good afternoon to you one and all. I'm your host, george Shepard, for a very special episode of man that Can podcast. Today on the show we've got our very first guest, mr Lachlan Stewart, who seemingly has lost his marbles and has decided to run 58 states, 58 marathons, sorry, across 58 states in 58 days, an absolutely insane task that I don't believe anybody has ever accomplished before, and I've prepared some hard-hitting questions here for the man himself. Don't you cheat? Don't you look ahead at the answers at the questions? But well, shall we just get started? Are you nervous?

Lachlan Stuart:

I'm nervous and are we running with that voice? I?

George Sheppard:

would be nervous. I would be very nervous too. It's class. Yes, we are running with this voice today, and if I get tired of it I will stop, but right now I'm having quite a bit of fun. So the very first question, lachlan Stewart, what the fuck is wrong with you? What inspired you to take on such an extreme challenge, and how did you come up with the idea of 58 marathons in 58 states in 58 days? The viewers want to know.

Lachlan Stuart:

The viewers want to know. I almost want to put on an accent for this one too. Firstly, happy birthday. Oh, thank you very much. It is your 37th day around the sun. It is, and I appreciate you very much. It is your 37th day around the sun, it is. I appreciate you saying so. Stop dodging the question. You've taken some time out of your day for this, so why? What inspired it? Was the question.

George Sheppard:

Yes, I believe it was. What the fuck is wrong with you?

Lachlan Stuart:

What the fuck is wrong with me has been. It's a question we'll probably never get to the bottom of. I think I'm just not all there. What inspired this challenge? The challenge was inspired by the fact that I was sitting in America and for the last 12 months, I've not been able to do a lot of things from a career standpoint, and I've watched you guys live an inspired life and do what you want to do, and I've always had this idea that that's what I want to be doing. Amy inspired me to do that 10 years ago and then, obviously, as we've spent more time together and Emma, I see you all doing it, and so for me, I'm like well, I'm very happy with my life, I've got a great life, but I want to do more.

Lachlan Stuart:

And then I had a podcast guest, which was, at the time, the podcast guest that I was telling you I was most excited about James Lawrence Iron Cowboy. He did 50 Ironmans, 50 days across 50 states with his family, and I was like, man, that's pretty cool, that would be a great way to see the country. And the idea went around my head and I was like I can't do that because he's already done that. I need to do something different. So I borrowed his idea and then I was like maybe Australia, sorry, the USA states, the New Zealand states and the Australian states.

Lachlan Stuart:

And then I realized New Zealand doesn't do states, they do like regions. And there were 16 of the bastards, so I'm not doing 16 more marathons, so I scratched New Zealand. Nobody likes Kiwis. Anyway, all the Kiwis are going to come after you. Then we landed with Australia and I was like how good getting to tour like two countries that obviously we live in the US, love Australia and always will call it home. But get to see that Because we've traveled probably more of America than we have Australia by car and it's been cool to see those ones and then just have that adventure. But also get to challenge myself, bring community together, but also see what I'm made of bring community together but also see what I'm made of Like to try, and maybe I could imagine, george, that if I'm having 2,500 meters running, so that's about 10, I don't even know 1,000 hours of running or 100 hours.

Lachlan Stuart:

Maybe 100 sounds more correct. That's a lot of time to be in your head. I'm going to learn a lot about myself, so I think that's fun and that's what I've done it for, and I hope as a byproduct I inspire people to do greater things in their life.

George Sheppard:

That's where we're at Very good. Actually, I will stop the shtick now because… Hurting your eyes.

Lachlan Stuart:

I can't see through those glasses.

George Sheppard:

And this is actually a serious interview that they look so ridiculous.

Lachlan Stuart:

I knew that it was awesome.

George Sheppard:

I want to make sure that we do get into the uh, the crux of of what makes lachlan tick here, without becoming a a comedic routine. Um, you did, you did mention that. Uh, you know it's a lot of time spent up in your head and, uh, one of my questions here I'm just going to jump down a little bit because I feel like you know, there's going to be quite a a lot of moments where there's somebody running with you. You know people are coming on the journey with you, but for the most part, this is going to be a very long and lonely road for you.

Lachlan Stuart:

Yeah.

George Sheppard:

And you know it's not just. It's not just one marathon. This is 58 in a row and there's going to be times when you're up in your own head and you know talking yourself out of it. How do you deal with that voice in your head and how do you deal with those lonely moments on the road? Do you find peace in those moments?

Lachlan Stuart:

Look, I'm not going to lie and say I find peace. I think there's definitely times where I do find peace, like when I was testing back in Nashville doing back-to-back marathons and halves. They got to a point where I couldn't even listen to music, like my head was just like on it was just on a different planet and I didn't enjoy that. I just needed to hear nature, like that was awesome. So I'll be very interested to be in that state in a city where there's a lot of things going on. But I feel for myself it's the challenge of how I'm going to respond to adversity, because this is I've chosen to do this and the reason, you know, one of the reasons why I've done it is I've always struggled, you know. I'm sure you've seen me struggle with my mental health, like some days I'm awesome and other days I'm, you know, at rock bottom, and but so for me, doing things like that puts me in that position by a choice, and it allows me to choose how I respond to that. So I can either listen to what my voice is telling me where it's like quit, it's cold, or you're hurting, or you don't have to do this, or I can do what I choose to do, which is like push through it, and I know that I'm in control of my mind, which gives me more confidence on a sad and rainy day where I'm like, well, I've been here before, I've got to just ride it out. So I think for me that's how I look at handling it, and another part of it is there are people that I know, you know, work in mental health, so a lot of people that are close to me myself included have moments where they can't get control of that, and so I hope to inspire people by doing something that they may seem ridiculous Sorry, they may view as ridiculous. To me it's not super ridiculous, but to them go. If Lockie can do that, maybe I can get through whatever I'm going through. That's the idea. So there's like the intrinsic you know the self-battle that I'm always dealing with day in, day out. And so there's like the intrinsic you know the self battle that I'm always dealing with day in, day out. And then there's, hopefully, inspiring other people, and so when I'm, when I'm losing the fight with myself, I sort of look bigger picture and I'm like who's relying on me? What am I really doing this for? And I grab motivation, you know, that's why it's so good when we travel. You know the six of us.

Lachlan Stuart:

It's like now that we've spent so much time together, everyone sort of understands everyone's mood and what they need when they're in a specific mood.

Lachlan Stuart:

You know, for me it's like you guys accept that sometimes I just fucking want to be left in the back left hand corner of the car and have my airpods and don't want to talk to anyone and that's me recharging. It's not that I don't want to be around people, um, but then there's times where it's I'm maybe struggling, but then you'll say something stupid that's laughable, and then it pulls me out of that, and then vice versa. You know, I'm sure we all lean on each other and that's one of the best parts about community. So, yeah, if I'm struggling, which I'm sure I definitely will, you know I'll have liam there or, you know, have wes is coming along, or etienne, or I'll be able to facTime you guys and that will help. And I think one of the best things that I've, the best toolkit that I've built, is understanding the things that help me and at what point I need to use them. Does that answer the question?

George Sheppard:

Yeah, definitely, and it's probably important to note that it's because I get that whole thing of being able to switch on that robot mode, yeah, and, you know, in a much lesser capacity, being sober for the entire year, uh, which I've never, I've never done in my life.

Lachlan Stuart:

By the way, this is my first birthday that I've.

George Sheppard:

I've not had a drink since I was 18, so this is is that why you're sweating right now? No, I, I do, uh, appreciate that, because you know you can switch it up, switch it on and off as like a robot mode, and nothing's going to get in the way. But this is like a next dimension of that, because there is it's not just like oh, you know, friday night rolls around, oh, I could have a beer. No, no, I'm not going to do it like that's an easy decision to make, whereas this is every single day for 58 days. Yeah, you're having to switch it on and not just the runs, like you've got the travel and it's the logistics behind it trying to make sure you're eating enough, making sure that your muscles aren't getting tight. You know all the things that are around the run.

Lachlan Stuart:

Liam's got to be busy rubbing my muscles.

George Sheppard:

Yeah, a little private time for the muscles, yeah, a little private time for the boys, but you know that, like the runs, you know, in an essence, are the easiest part of what you're about to do, I agree, um. So, yeah, it is. It is quite commendable that, yeah, you're able to, you know, have that mental challenge. And that's that leads into my next question. I mean, obviously you're doing the, the physical training, but how do you mentally prepare for something like this? How do you? What's the training like for the inside of the brain?

Lachlan Stuart:

for me, I feel I've been training the mind for years because if I think about and you probably there's a lot of people who listen to this or even that I spend time around. Now that didn't know me a decade ago when I was a different person. And for me it's like every day I've been battling that and people talk. You know I've had people talk about addiction and I would never say I was addicted to anything apart from beating myself up internally. So I've spent my whole, from the moment I finished school, beating myself up for not being good enough, because I failed at football. I walked away and even to these days I have so many regrets about so many things. So, every day, the fact that I can get up and get into the gym because I don't people think that I love training and I love getting up early, but it's just what I've conditioned myself to do because it's what I believe makes me the best version of myself myself to do. Because it's what I believe makes me the best version of myself, because if I don't get up early, I then get in my head and I feel lazy and you know people say switch. It's probably like people saying to you go to bed earlier when your zone of genius is at night. You know, for me my zone of genius is 24. Sorry, sorry, get ahead of my head. How dare I accuse? But yeah, I know what you're saying. Yeah, so for me it's. I choose to be disciplined and do these things and that's the battle. Like I'm always training my mind because to get up at you know, whatever time I'm getting up five, and consistently do that when it's cold, when it's, you know, I I've not much sleep, like even when we're on tour, I'm still getting up, still training, still working. Nothing stops and that's me building that muscle. And so now it's just on a bigger scale.

Lachlan Stuart:

So I think, when people look at it, whether it's the physical component that people are like gobsmacked at, or it's the logistical component, or it's having two months away from my wife, or whatever it is, to me I've been training that on a smaller scale, just in what I do, much like you've trained your ability to be able to. You may be having a crap day, but as soon as a fan walks in the door, you're on and no one would know what's going on. And so to me I'm like how the fuck do you do that? Because I would love to be able to do that, but I can't. But somehow you do so. For me, that's like what I'm in awe of, much like people on the other side. So I think everyone's got that thing. And the more you double down on it and condition it whatever that looks like you're always looking for, okay, how can I test it a little bit more?

Lachlan Stuart:

And for me, I'm just driven by the fact that I wouldn't say I'm in a point where I don't think I'm good enough, but I definitely haven't achieved what I think I'm capable of. So I'm, you know, doing what I feel. You know we all have a gift. I think my gift is like doing hard shit to like, you know, suffering or doing things that most people would never commit to doing, especially like in our mid-30s, like the fact that I'm building this team put it together. You know, I've got people who actually believe in me, are investing financially, and making this possible to me is like super humbling. But it's also like, well, if I can do it at 33 and we've got a mortgage, we've got all these things going on, but I'm still taking two months out of my life even more because training is so hectic to do something that I want to do. That, I think, is going to be an awesome adventure. I wish more people would do that. So yeah, I've definitely tangented in there.

George Sheppard:

No, no that was good, and you actually touched on something before. That I do want to dig into is the two months away from your wife.

Lachlan Stuart:

I love this whiteboard you've got going on. I'm just scratching the questions out.

George Sheppard:

Well, you know, I'm just making notes as to what I think you know flow this narrative, but the strain that this is obviously going to put on your marriage. You know you're going to spend two months away from your wife and Amy's clearly worried about you, as we all are. I mean, we, we trust you and we know that you know your body and all that stuff, but there's so much that's out of your control. How do you, how do you deal with that stress? And how do you deal with the fact that you know there must've been some tough conversations, tough conversations between you and your wife? How do you, how do you dissuade that doubt or that that uh stress, that added stress that it puts on your marriage?

Lachlan Stuart:

it's interesting because we haven't had any tough. Liam asked me about this other day. He's like has amy like tried to talk you out of it at all? And she hasn't once. Like the initial, when I first mentioned to liam, and liam didn't flinch at it. He's like, yeah, I'll do it. I was like, okay, let's talk to the girls. And Amy's like thought I was joking. And then maybe two weeks later, I was like I think I'm like I can't stop thinking about doing this now, like let's do it. And she was on board with it.

Lachlan Stuart:

And when we were on a walk the other day, I'm like why haven't you tried to talk? What's the word? Let's just say rude. Because it's the first thing that has come to my head. When you've packed up your life to allow me to chase my dreams, why would I stop you doing what you want to do? And Amy and I have built that over the years because she's literally been with me through the most insane transformation of my life, like from when I didn't know what I wanted to do. You know, she helped, support me when I didn't have money. She helped me and stayed with me when I was overdrive, like so many things that I'm just like wow, like why would you do that? So she believes in me and wants me to, you know, fulfill what I want to believe in.

Lachlan Stuart:

I think we've had time apart, much like yourself and Kathleen, when you guys were touring for nine months at a time and we drop over for two weeks or three weeks and then it's, you know, another eight to twelve weeks apart. So we've done it before. Obviously we're in a different stage of our life and we haven't done that for maybe five or six years. We spend every day together. So it's going to be I it's probably going to be harder than I realize at the moment, but I think that she's supported me, so I don't feel that pressure. And I was saying to Liam the other day I was like this would be a fucking tough trip if I had to be worried about Amy messaging me every day, being like I can't believe you're so selfish to do this and everything like that. She just won't do that, and so for that, it makes everything so much easier. And the day that I finish she's playing CMC Rocks the next day. So that's going to be a cool celebration.

George Sheppard:

Do you reckon you'll be in any state to be able to go to that?

Lachlan Stuart:

Yes, okay, and what I believe? So my strategy.

George Sheppard:

We'll have to get a disability pass for you.

Lachlan Stuart:

Just wheel me in.

George Sheppard:

You're in the front row and you just sit there like.

Lachlan Stuart:

Yeah, with a drip in my arm getting fed, that'd be amazing.

George Sheppard:

Your legs will be cooked.

Lachlan Stuart:

I honestly don't believe. I think I'll be walking the next day. I think I'll be fine. I am not going out here to like try and rip a PB every single day. My goal is to complete it at a time that's very comfortable. My training is a lot faster than what I'm going to be running at. So running that 547 kilometers to 615 kilometers to me I could do day in, day out.

George Sheppard:

It's something to look forward to, yeah.

Lachlan Stuart:

I'm not worried about my body not being. I wouldn't be doing it if I believed that I wouldn't be able to train or move for months after it. I wouldn't do that because that would destroy my mental health, because it's such an important part of my life like waking up and training. So I'm very confident this could be famous last words, but I'm very confident that I'll be, I'll be, I'll be. You know, I don't dance anyway, so I can just stand on the side and tap my foot like this. I'll be fine, yeah, if your Achilles heel still works?

George Sheppard:

Yeah, true, achilles tendon. So the logistics of this, I think we've we've all discussed this. You know, you know your body, you know that you can do these runs. Yeah, you're claiming to be able to tap your foot at the end of it. How, how are you? It's a bold claim. It's a bold claim, cotton. How are you going to be trying to mitigate as much of the risk in terms of the logistics as possible? Obviously you got liam there as your, uh, tour manager. Yes, that he's a great tour manager. Yeah, um, but do, but what other support staff do you have? Do you have food? Like, how do you know what if a flight gets delayed? What? What do you? What are your plans?

Lachlan Stuart:

there. So the simple solution to any problem going wrong, rather than panicking, is if I have to redo a marathon in that location, I'll redo a marathon as much as I don't want that to happen. So to hopefully avoid that happening, what we're even doing with the route now is we're looking to get on like state lines, state borders, where there's four states, so we can minimize driving because obviously it's winter, so there's definitely going to be snow, there's probably going to be blizzards, so we can minimize that and maybe only have to do an hour drive and then, every sort of four days or five days, do a sort of three to six-hour drive. That's going to be much better for us and minimize things going wrong.

Lachlan Stuart:

From a food point, I've been working with my coach Even at the moment. Trying to learn to eat enough is the biggest challenge for me, because I don't like it. I'm not one of those foodie people who just think about their next meal. How many calories a day do you have to consume During the run? We're looking at anywhere from 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day. That's a piece of piss. I do that every day.

George Sheppard:

And you still look that good. Just get six McFlurries and you're good. Yeah, well, that's what.

Lachlan Stuart:

I will be doing. I'll probably get to a point where that happens, that happens, but uh, yeah, no. So I'm feeling pretty good about that. I'll obviously have meal timing and the team. So before one of the things that I'm excited about is, once we've got everything booked and everyone's ready, we'll have a team chat and I'll just be sort of sharing expectations, because I can imagine I'll probably get moody at some point and I don't want to be snappy or rude anyone, because I do appreciate everyone giving up two months of their life or however long they're coming for to help. So the idea will be like this is how I feel you guys can help. This is your job. When you're here, let's just do the best that we can in that moment and obviously get feedback from them around things that I'm potentially missing. But the most important things is making sure that I'm food, that I'm fed, I'm obviously looking after my supplementation and I'm sleeping well. If I can do those three things, everything else should take care of itself. Like to me.

Lachlan Stuart:

This is the way I think about it is like your big moments when you're doing a show. You know, I know you say in the VIPs it's like 5% of the day the run for me is I'm not going to give you a percentage, like a small percentage of everything that I've been training for, um, to do that. So it's like my celebration, as much as it's going to suck. It's like every day, like waking up in a different place and getting to see new things and then get back in the car at the end and be proud of myself for doing that. That's like my celebration and I I've done the work in the lead up to be best prepared. You know as prepared as I can to that point.

Lachlan Stuart:

But yeah, flights will probably screw us up. That's why we've got a van in america. So the things the batteries may go flat because of the temperature, um, we're going to be sleeping in car parks at walmart like who knows what's going to happen. But that's what's going to make it an adventure. That's what you've taught me A grand adventure. I feel we'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. We're not going to sit there and think the world's ending because at the end of the day I'm running, it's not that bad.

George Sheppard:

Yeah, very good, very good. Now, you're no stranger to a challenge. You've done a few of these kind of things before, most notably the world record, even though it was not verified 42 rowing marathons, was it? No, it was 30 but 42K. Sorry, 42ks, but 30 days in a row. Yeah, a month long on the ergo. What is it about this particular challenge that like? What have you learned about yourself on this particular challenge? Like, as opposed to that last challenge?

Lachlan Stuart:

Your body adapts. Still, one person said to me and I'm not going to name names, but one person said to me that I got a lot of respect for I'll give you five days and I was like interesting. And so then it became about beating that and proving people wrong. But it was around day 7 to 11, my knees like the back of my knees just felt like you could feel them when that, when I was pushing out, it was just like throwing. Yeah, it was wild. But then day 11, I was like I remember saying to maddie, like because I don't think I can do too many more Like my knees are fucked. And then day 11, no pain, nothing like it just disappeared and I was just crushing it. And then I just kept getting fitter and fitter and fitter and faster and faster and faster until day 30. And it was really interesting. So that was the biggest lesson, because a lot of people hit that pain point and they may have multiple painful days in a row and so they stop.

George Sheppard:

I love it.

Lachlan Stuart:

So your body was trying to tell you to stop and then, it gave up because it was like oh my God, this guy's not listening.

George Sheppard:

We better just shape up and catch up, because he's not stopping here. He's so stupid, we're just going to let him go.

Lachlan Stuart:

Should we increase?

George Sheppard:

the pain threshold, sir, should we?

Lachlan Stuart:

increase the pain threshold, sir, it's hard to say, but there's something about suffering that, something about intentional suffering that I enjoy because it's just me versus me. I know most people quit and to me, the reason why a lot of people are unhappy and they're lacking confidence is because they've quit, like whether it's pursuing a career that they want or they've given up on a relationship or they've given up on themselves. That's why a lot of people you know, if we look at mental health, which is, there's so many variables financially, relationships, physical health, recovery, lifestyle in general that impact your mental health. So for me, if it's just me versus me, I know that if I'm struggling financially, I've been in this pit before I can get myself out of it. If there's tension in the relationship, I've been in this pit before once again I can get myself out of it, and it just puts complete responsibility back on me to do whatever is necessary to complete it. So I love that.

Lachlan Stuart:

As much as I hate it. I still like. I know that when I get through it I'm just going to be sitting there with the biggest smile. I love that feeling.

George Sheppard:

Yeah, defeating yourself.

Lachlan Stuart:

Yeah, I can't wait, like even thinking about that now. I want to start tomorrow, but then for the four hours when I'm doing it I'll be like I hate this.

George Sheppard:

What's the most amount of marathons you've done in a row up to this point Three?

Lachlan Stuart:

Three, yeah, so nothing. So it's a big question. I keep getting asked on social media what's the training load going to look like in the lead up to it? And I asked Dean because if I hadn't outsourced coaching, I would have been like, yeah, I'll do seven in seven days or something. Dean's your coach, dean's my coach and he's a lot smarter than I am. So he said we're just going to work with your fitness and see how your body's going.

Lachlan Stuart:

So the intent of the training block is to just get as many kilometers on legs, on your legs, so without injuring yourself, because you need to be ready for it. So there is no point doing seven marathons in seven days or anything, because all you're doing is starting the challenge earlier. And it's like, all of a sudden, it's not 58 marathon, it's 64. And your goal is to complete the 58, so we just need to have you ready for that. So, whatever my I'm wearing so many wearables he's so on top of my training, my kilometers and my speeds, and it's awesome. It's awesome watching it as a coach myself, watching how analytical he is over my body and my heart rate and all of the sleep to make sure that I'm every day in the best position possible to have a good training session. It's just like one training session at a time. Eating well, sleeping well gets me ready for the next training session.

George Sheppard:

Because it's interesting, how, like, because it's never been done before. How do you train for as a trainer? How do you train for? How do you as a trainer, how do you train somebody for something that's never been achieved?

Lachlan Stuart:

I would hate to be in his position, because I thought about it when I was running a couple of days ago. I'm like I wonder, if someone approached me to train them for this, like what would I say to them? Or like how, how would I periodize that?

George Sheppard:

um and I like it yeah, no, you go I was gonna say, like if somebody was like all right, I'm going to swim underwater without taking a breath from Australia to New Zealand. I need your help to train me. He's like well, I don't know You're going to die. But if it's Loggie Stewart, he's like no, I'm not going to die, I know my body.

Lachlan Stuart:

I know, yeah, no, uh, don't know. So I I think you know I'm appreciative that he did because I was looking for coaches and I've known dean for a number of years. He's done a lot of um triathlons and all really quick marathon runner and I was just like he's the guy for the job because he talks a lot about nutrition. He's, you know, very adamant on not getting injured, whereas some people would just be like, right, oh man, you're running a marathon a week for the next 24 weeks and I'd get injured and I wouldn't be doing it. So I like his. His approach to training is very similar to mine where it's just like I think for the runs it's get the body condition but the mind's going to be the thing that gets you there, do you?

George Sheppard:

have a mantra like what's your, I don what's your, in those moments where you want to give up.

Lachlan Stuart:

Maybe we can get one, to be fair, delta, if you're listening. So all in my primary school and up to probably 16 years of age, whenever I was training for a track, I'd always listen to Born to Try by Delta Goodrum on repeat, and that's probably where I developed the habit of listening to songs on repeat that Amy very much dislikes. So, delta, if you want to, I'm sure she's subscribed yeah, I'm sure, definitely her demographic Born to try, but that's a, that's a, that's a tune. Or maybe you could write me some a mantra song. Yeah, what would? If you were doing it, what would your mantra be? Keep going, just keep going, just keep running. One more step, what's it? The?

George Sheppard:

fish off um nemo. Just get a dream. Yeah, just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

Lachlan Stuart:

Just keep running, one step at a time, all right, a bit of a fun question here um change a bit of a change of tone. Is this from a caller? Did someone?

George Sheppard:

this is. This is from uh justin, 13 years old, running through 58 different states, both both in the US and Australia. It's going to give you some pretty unique perspectives on the landscape and the cultures. What are you most looking forward to experiencing during this journey? Which part of each country are you most excited to run through?

Lachlan Stuart:

Oh, for some reason, like Montana or that area where we were on your tour, like getting to explore those mountains when we were touring with um shepherd, and it was from salt lake to where did we end up? At salt lake after, somewhere from between salt lake and wherever we ended up next, yeah, maybe seattle. Uh, there was this town and we arrived at 2 am or something. It was pitch black and it felt like there was a ranch was standing and I was like I'm going to be up at 5 am if this is a ranch, like I'm going to peep out the window in the morning. And if it's a ranch and it was, and we're surrounded by these incredible mountains and this beautiful farm, and I got up and made a coffee off three hours and I just loved it like that. To me, like that, that's like my dream landscape.

Lachlan Stuart:

So being in in Montana or any of those areas, and getting to run with the mountains around and obviously using your drone, which you're going to lend us, aren't you so doing? You know, having those, just getting to see that on foot, like it's like you exploring. Or when we went exploring New York on bike, like I feel like when you're on foot or on a scooter or something like you see the areas in a completely different way to a car. So definitely those areas, I think New York at night is going to be pretty. In the snow is going to be pretty amazing as well like in winter, be very different.

Lachlan Stuart:

But even then, just coming back to Australia, I've never really run around Adelaide or Tasmania, done a lot of running around Brisbane, but just being in the home state and hopefully having a heap of people around with us, that would be pretty incredible. I think Australia is just as unique and that's why I'm so excited to run around it, because I've never explored it that way. We're always flying or we're always in a car. So, yeah, I just think I'm very excited. I was inspired by you with your vlogging every day and like I never understood how great it's actually been until you can just click on an episode and be like holy crap, that's what we did that day. I completely forgot, yeah, so being able to look back, George's Journal on YouTube.

George Sheppard:

Check it out. A little plug there. Thank you, Lucky.

Lachlan Stuart:

No, you're welcome Dollar. So, no, you're welcome dollar. So being able to have 58 days of our trip or our adventure vlogged to look back on and be able to tell stories because no one once again no one's done, you know, people have done the 50 states of America, but no one's done the time zone, or like that adventure, Like how do we go from bloody San Francisco running a marathon straight onto a flight, to running one straightaway in Hawaii to then sleeping for no, get on another flight straight to Sydney, arrive at night and run another one Like that's going to be pretty challenging, I would imagine. Crossing that date line, oh, it's going to be horrible. So, yeah, I think I'm just so excited for all of it. There's going to be some places that we venture into that won't be as exciting, but at the same, the majority of it's going to be flat arid farmland.

George Sheppard:

Yeah, once you pass, like texas on the on the map of the, yeah, usa or the whole east coast is just flat. Yeah, there's like a really awesome uh, mountain range, the rockies, you know it runs through all the way down through to you know, arizona, where there's these like absolutely astounding rock monuments. And then you get to like new mexico and then you just hit flat, yeah, farmland, true, and I think that'll be the, that'll be the real mental hit.

Lachlan Stuart:

Fuck and that's straight away, but we are starting in alaska, so that is going to be cool. Good start, start. Probably never would go. I can't see myself ever going there, just because.

George Sheppard:

So that'll be cool, yeah, yeah. Question from Amy Is your life insurance up to date? Is that really for me?

Lachlan Stuart:

When do you get a young pair?

George Sheppard:

How do you handle injuries or the risk of burnout when running so many marathons consecutively? But I feel like you've sort of dealt with that yeah.

Lachlan Stuart:

I've dealt with it you know, plan a place if something goes wrong. No, my life insurance is not up to date, darling.

George Sheppard:

And the question for me is is your life insurance up to date?

Lachlan Stuart:

No, Sort that one out.

George Sheppard:

That's on the exclamation mark. Better sort that quick naughty. Were there any moments in your life previously not counting the rowing challenge that you did where you faced a relatively similar challenge, and how did that experience prepare you for this monumental task?

Lachlan Stuart:

oh, and it doesn't have to have been like yeah, like like a number of day event, it could be just like one moment.

George Sheppard:

It could be one moment that, in perspective, felt as challenging as this will. I've got two.

Lachlan Stuart:

Can I use two? You can use two. So the first one when I was 11 years old and I won the cross country when I was 10, which is not a big deal, but as a kid it's a big deal because I made my first rep 10. And I was obviously when I say obviously, just the people who knew me were probably sharing how I should probably win again and I was winning and I remember we were coming up this was in Milmeran and I started having an asthma attack and I was like I can't lose this, like I gotta keep keep trying to go. And I was like I can't lose this, like I gotta keep keep trying to go, and I was like like slowly not being able to breathe and in my head I'm like I can't quit, can't quit. And then it got to the point where I was like I think I'm gonna fucking die here, so I quit and that stood with me. I remember like falling over the fence and medics came and I was crying and I'm 11 years old, I'm watching these people like I was winning by a fair way, finally catch up and start running past and I was just shattered. I was like I'm never going to allow myself to quit something again and I'm also going to just make sure I'm on top of that. So, mum, you know I used to have this thing called a nebuliser, which was a machine to help me breathe and open up my lungs. I always tried to skip it because I was like I don't need that. And tried to skip it because I was like I don't need that. And after that I started taking nerd device yeah, it's a bloody nerd device keeps you alive. But I started taking like my health a lot more seriously after that point because I was like I. The only reason why I lost that, in my opinion, was because I didn't prepare well, and that's why preparation is so important to me with everything that I do.

Lachlan Stuart:

The second thing, um, which probably leads to so, first year out of school, we were playing in the Malmeninga Cup, which is like the feeder to the NRL, like the Toyota Cup at the time, and I was having the most incredible campaign to date. There was talks of me going to all these clubs and everything like that. I was shaped up so I was playing center at the time against Lockie Maranta. So Lockie, if you're ever listening to this, you probably remember this and lucky Maranta went on to play 12 years of NRL and he scooted past me, stepped me and made me look like a fool. But as soon as I turned to sprint after him, it was like I got sniped in the back of the leg and my hammy just went. I dropped like a bag of potatoes and I I remember just being like the same sort of feeling and watching what would happen.

Lachlan Stuart:

And I still got the divot in the back of my hammy now and I was like I have to get back up and play because there's scouts here, like this is my shot. And so the medics are coming over and same thing. They're like what's going on. I'm like hamm. And same thing. They're like what's going on, I'm like Hammy for sure. They're like we're getting you off.

Lachlan Stuart:

I was like I'm not getting off, like I've got to stay on, like I'll figure it out, and you know I'm limping around. I was as useless as tits on a ball because I could not run. And same thing. Maybe three to five minutes later I put my hand up and go off and that was, I think, game three or four of a eight or nine game season, or like training period, and I knew that when I walked off I was not getting back on again and that was like that. That whole nrl thing was done and I was like why? And same thing, it's just like.

Lachlan Stuart:

At that time I had a big tantrum and got on the drugs and the drinking. But it still sits in my head now that if I can just prepare well, I'm just as good as a lot of athletes out there, because I, you know, analyze things very well and physically like I feel like I'm very talented in in certain certain um sports and I just don't want to lose. So now the only reason why I don't achieve my goals is if I haven't prepared and stuff. So, um, that's that. And I've had like two moments in my life that I would consider significant where I've had to pull out because of injury which I could have prevented, uh, and an asthma attack which I probably also could have prevented.

George Sheppard:

So it sounds like physical limitations have have kept your mental. Yeah, you've been there mentally. Yeah, you've been so disappointed that your physical limitations have prevented you from achieving, yeah, what you know you could achieve. Yeah, so now you're taking all the steps necessary to make sure that the physical limitations don't hold you back correct, and your body's going to be ready for it and you're going to have your nebulizer I'm probably not going to have a nebulizer, I'll just have an asthma puffer.

Lachlan Stuart:

Still a nerd yeah, still a nerd carrying a machine around now.

George Sheppard:

I haven't had an asthma attack flight a while well now, you talked about, you know, wanting to inspire others. What, what is it? What specifically do you hope people take away from this? What do you want other people to watch and and and feel from you doing this? Uh, is there a particular message or call is that you're running for? I know that you've. You're a big advocate of mental health. Yeah, do you want to talk a bit about that?

Lachlan Stuart:

for me, the mental health is everyone has it like 40 something percent experience negative mental health, but I think it's a day-by-day thing. But for me, you know, having had friends take their life by suicide, watch people in my family deal with it, personally dealt with it and just seeing the impact, the ripple effect that it can have. So not only does it impact the individual but like how it impacts other people is I'd love that the people that I can impact directly. I used to have this idea that I could completely change the world, probably similar to you guys, being the first band to play on the moon. And over the years I've realised, you know, having worked in a space for a long while, spoken to so many people, spoken to other people doing work in that space, it's not possible, like I don't believe it's possible, to change the world from mental health, but I believe I can change the direct people that I impact. That I gravitated to, how I present myself from that manner and that's what I want to do, like I want to prove to them that, oh, I want one. First, I want to be genuine in the fact that I my life's perfect. I still struggle with stuff, but these are the things that are working well for me and I believe they could help a lot of people because I've seen it and I always use Scotty Townsend, who you know as well, as a great example of that when we did the 30 rowing marathons.

Lachlan Stuart:

He would have been 48 at the time, but he just showed up every day. He didn't make a big song and dance about it like I did, but he, he rocked up every day and and set a goal of how many kilometers he was going to road and that slowly started increasing. And this was a guy who, you know, very quiet, very reserved, you know, maybe lack some confidence in his fitness ability and his physique, but over 30 days ended up on two full marathons and I think it was four or five half marathons, having not really rode before, and I just watched like if he pushed himself just because he committed to himself. But he was inspired by me doing it. It's transformed his life. It's it's also brought him in depth like the man that cam projects community. He's got a heap of good mates like he's still chipping away and changing his life and for me he if people can see that and they go I just want to go run 5K with Lockie, I want to grab my mate.

Lachlan Stuart:

And then something that I say, or the run that they go on and the person that they meet from these events gives them the opportunity to change their life. That's the job done, because for me, I would not be in this position had I not met Amy and obviously you guys. But I watched Amy. When I first met her, firstly it was like a fresh start. She didn't really know my past. She did not know really anyone that I grew up with, so I didn't have that baggage that I had to explain or run through. So it was a fresh start. And then I was watching someone who was pursuing her dreams and had a great support network around her.

Lachlan Stuart:

So inadvertently, I was learning these things that you could chase your dreams, the importance of having good people around you. You're going to cop shit, like that's part of it. So it wasn't foreign to me when I started copying copying shit and you just don't quit and it'll figure. You know you're always sort of weaving to make things work and that's what I've then gone on to do and I hope to you know, I hope, I hope to other people. I'm like they're aiming not in the fact that they want to marry me. But you know, I'm sure, yeah, but it's like, okay, well, lockheed's given us really an inside scoop on what it takes and, um, he's, you know, talked about these things, presented opportunities, pushed himself. I've failed plenty of times, then that's normal. I'm going to just take the normal path for me yeah, that's great and I do.

George Sheppard:

I love that moment when you, when you hit, whatever age it is, when you just stop giving a shit about what people think yeah, and you're like this I'm gonna I'm not gonna keep changing my personality to fit into somebody else's idea of who I'm supposed to be. But, uh, you know, like me with the pink hair and like, yeah, crossing my legs right now, like there'd be somebody out there thinking you know, oh, what a pansy or whatever. But like that's, I didn't even think about that, that's no, yeah, maybe not crossing my legs, but I know that there was a lot of people.

George Sheppard:

When I dyed my hair pink, you know, my grandma was like why would you do such a thing? Yeah, and there were people out there who were just like George, why? You know, that's just so atrocious, yeah. But you know, their perception of me is not my perception of me and that's the same with you. Like you, whatever people think about you and the shit that they throw at you and the doubts and whatever they try and put onto you, that doesn't apply in your brain to what you think of yourself Exactly. And when you finally realize that it's so powerful, it's freeing.

Lachlan Stuart:

It's freeing Like, yeah, the fact that you're bold enough to walk around with pink. I love it. Like I've learned so much from you, even over the years. I still remember maybe it was six years ago or something when you're first just like man, you're just too rigid, like let's just have a day where you just do random shit, and that was hard for me to do, but I feel like I've definitely got much better at it and you realize that the world's not going to collapse when you start doing that and no one really gives a shit about you as much as you think they do, and that's when you can start having fun with it.

Lachlan Stuart:

Because, at the end of the day, a book that's still and I always talk about it is the top five regrets of the dying by Bronnie Waugh, who's an Australian palliative care nurse or was. She's now an author, obviously, and she wrote a book, having worked with a lot of people on their deathbed and she started obviously getting research done and writing things down around the five common regrets. And you're thinking about these people. Some of them have great lives, 90s, good innings, and then there's some people who are 18 and they've been diagnosed with cancer, but they're all talking about the same things and I thought to myself it's stupid of me to think that I'm any different to those people, as much that I'm any different to those people as much as I'm a testosterone-fueled young dude trying to make it in the world. I should probably listen to these people who are on or in a place where I'm going to be at some point, and so why would I not try and do the things that I genuinely want to do now? Like it just doesn't make sense to me.

Lachlan Stuart:

In a lot of the work that I do and a lot of the people that I work with, they want to do now.

Lachlan Stuart:

It just doesn't make sense to me, and a lot of the work that I do and a lot of the people that I work with, they want to do that, but it's so hard to do, and especially as we get older, we have more responsibilities, so we have mortgages, we have families and all of those sorts of things, which I completely understand. You have to think about more decisions there, but if you're in a position like we are ultimately or heading to, it's just like now is the perfect time to do the things that you want to do. Like I still can't believe that I'm running 58. I I'm so excited but I can't believe I've actually done it like I can't believe it's actually happening. The fact that it was an idea that I said to Liam off the back of a call to then go talk to Amy, and then I called Maddy Lancashire and he's like I'm in and that was all I needed to go okay, it's officially, it's happening, it's a legitimate idea.

Lachlan Stuart:

And then we've started building this crew and, like you know, putting all the logistical stuff, and now it's it's not if it's when, yeah, and that, to me, is what's really exciting, because if I can just take two months out of my career and away from my family which sounds ridiculous to just go fucking run, anyone can do whatever they want we get like it sounds so dumb to sound too, taking two months out of my life to go run, but that's what I've, that's what, for me, is enjoyable that's the brilliance of an idea and that's what I I love seeing time and time again.

George Sheppard:

And it starts as this little seed that you, you have, that doesn't feel like anything, but you plant it and then from there it just starts to grow into some beautiful you know redwood tree that eventually, you know it takes time and it it, it's going to have its setbacks, but eventually you know you're going to be standing at this redwood tree that eventually, you know it takes time and it, it, it's going to have its setbacks, but eventually you know you're going to be standing at this redwood tree that is of your own planting and, you know, looking back, going, oh my god, I can't believe. And it starts. That's how albums begin, you know, with shepherd it's like one small idea of a theme or something that you then plant, yeah, and water, and you know grow. And I liken it to pottery sometimes, where it's like you start with just a blob of nothing and then you start to develop it and shape it and put the details in and cut bits away and you know, as it grows, it starts to take shape. You know that's the magic of it. But it always starts with this tiny little thing that feels so insignificant at the time and so many people get to that point go oh, it's nothing, it's just a silly little thing. But it grows and it builds, and that's that's the beauty of time.

George Sheppard:

Passing with an idea is that it will always grow into something. Sometimes you know that the tree dies, and that's okay, you can plant another one yeah.

Lachlan Stuart:

What can I ask you then? What has helped you through? If there was to be one thing that's helped you overcome the fear of not living a conventional life, meaning you've just chosen to chase the dream in an industry that just seems so freaking, competitive and challenging and I don't know how many musicians make a full-time career out of it there must have been a point or maybe there hasn't been, but has there been a point? Firstly, where you've like I should probably go do something stable and secondly, when you've had the fear to actually continue pursuing your dreams, because you do have a door. You know you have so many responsibilities, like we do but what's helped you overcome that fear?

George Sheppard:

to just keep cracking the whip at it firstly, uh, I'm asking the questions here and this is my interview. No, I uh. Yeah, it's a great question and there's not a day that goes by where I don't feel like I've completely fucked up my life by doing this.

George Sheppard:

You know, there's, there's many, many times this even on your birthday you know, even on my birthday, because you ordered the biggest breakfast possible. Certainly messed up there. No, there's been plenty of moments, this year in particular, where we've hit rock bottom and you know we've run out of money and you know my wife is crying in bed because she misses her job and misses home and I'm the one that's dragged her over there. There's been some pretty dark moments where we've been like we've screwed up, we gave everything away and it hasn't worked out.

George Sheppard:

But then you get on stage and you get in front of a crowd and this is one part that you guys, as the support team, you probably don't get, which is unfortunate. But standing up on that stage and feeling that what you're doing is actually making a difference to people's lives, and hearing the stories about how, you know one of our songs the Best Is Yet To Come has saved someone's life or got them through a divorce or gotten through cancer, and you hear these stories and it becomes more than just you chasing a dream. It becomes something, something far greater and bigger than yourself. I love the way you eat that banana.

George Sheppard:

You're welcome, gotta keep my calories up but you know, and it's those very fleeting moments that you get a glimpse into success, and to me that's what success is, and it's the same as you you've got banana on your microphone.

George Sheppard:

I love it. It's those moments of it's, those moments of fleeting, like you get a peek into what you're doing is actually helping people and changing lives, and I think that's that's what keeps you going. You know there's there's nothing else that I'd rather be doing and I've done. I've done the jobs like I've worked in retail, I've worked at a cafe. It was very short-lived in both situations, because I just couldn't live a life where I wasn't in control, or I was being told what to do or I didn't have that freedom to be able to just make my own decisions at any given point of the day. And you know there's times where I don't have that in the band. You know like we're on a tight schedule and I'd love to stop at this national park and just go wandering around for a little bit.

Lachlan Stuart:

Yeah, but you know the drone stops. We gave George two drone stops on this trip because he's just constantly like Liam and I went ahead the day before and we literally arrived four hours before these guys because they kept freaking stopping, and so the next day we're like George, you get two drone stops. You better make them worth it.

George Sheppard:

But hey look, now we've got the footage and nobody regrets it.

Lachlan Stuart:

No, but we were also on time so it was a win-win.

George Sheppard:

But I've also learned to appreciate that those deadlines are going towards building something for us and ourself, you know, rather than being at a corporate job where I'm giving up my time and I'm sacrificing so much for somebody else's business or somebody else's dream. This is on my terms. It's me choosing to do this because it's building something for all of us rather than, yeah, someone else, and I think that's what's kept me going.

Lachlan Stuart:

I think it's interesting as well because we would be very different, almost polar opposites in how we go about doing that, and that's what for people listening is we're both building what we believe to be the best life possible for ourselves, even though we're obviously family as well, but how we're going about doing it and I've come from like a real rigid and time-focused and managed Goal-setting- yeah like I'm like that end of the spectrum where yours is the complete opposite but it's both worked out.

Lachlan Stuart:

Like obviously it's not always, as you mentioned, a great day, but we're still making progress. So I think, for people who maybe don't relate to the goal setting or the extremely managed time approach, like it's still possible and vice versa.

George Sheppard:

Um, you know, that's what I think is really cool well, we're reaching the end of the interview here, ladies and gentlemen, but I'd like to, uh, I'd like there's two more questions that I'd like to ask. Uh, the first one is when you cross the finish line on that 58th marathon, that very, very incredible moment, when you just hit that finish mark with all the people around you that have been running, because you're finishing in brisbane and it's going to be your hometown and all your friends, and it's the last run, and everyone's going to be excited, yeah, what do you think is going to be going through your head? Is it relief, pride, exhaustion, love what is it?

Lachlan Stuart:

whatever I say now, it's probably going to be the complete opposite. I think it'll be. Definitely I would imagine I would feel overwhelmed. But I'm also very excited to see who's there and who's had their own breakthroughs. Like that's what I'm, you know. I really hope, and whether mum or dad listen to it, I really hope mum or dad do like a 5K To me that would be just killer. Or Linda, like people that I know and care about a lot, I would love to see them moving at the end of it. That's, you know, even hudson, like I love the idea of having hudson run. So if I see, if I see people that I know that have done something that they normally wouldn't do, fuck, that's going to make me feel awesome, and obviously people that I don't know. So hearing that. But I definitely feel like it'll be a great moment to just be able to know that the next day I don't have to get up and do it all over again you get to go to.

George Sheppard:

CMC Rocks yeah, you get to go and rock out. Watch Amy absolutely blow the roof off.

Lachlan Stuart:

It's going to be. No, I don't think I'll be able to Similar to like if someone were to ask you what it was like playing the AFL Grand Final.

George Sheppard:

whatever, you can throw a few words out there but I don't think you can ever truly put those moments into words, because the experience of the entire thing is, you know you can never predict what it's going to be, and so at the end of it, you don't know who you're going to be. You're going to be a completely different person. You don't know what, what, uh, what that moment will hold for you exactly. I mean, can I just say hudson's going to be so proud of you. I can't wait to see.

George Sheppard:

He's such a cool kid and then, like having you as his uncle is like he's going to grow up to be the most driven and like inspired young man. I can't wait to see his journey from watching you do this and how much it's going to change his life. And I mean, you know you've been like such an important fatherly figure in his life and obviously he's got Cam and your mum and all that. But I think he looks up to you so much and I'm really excited to see what his reaction is to you doing this. I think it'll be very cool.

Lachlan Stuart:

Yeah, those are kind words, but yeah, I'm pumped to see that's going to be amazing. All right, that's going to be amazing all right.

George Sheppard:

My final question if you could give advice to someone who wants to take on a seemingly, seemingly impossible challenge like this, what would it be?

Lachlan Stuart:

just truly take responsibility for it. I think it's everything that I talk about is personal responsibility. So if you're committing to it, then you have to find out how to make it work. Because when I started and it's why I'm documenting so much of it around, like how the hell I'm getting sponsors learning about sponsor decks, the route, the planning we're documenting all of it because for so many years there's been many things that I've wanted to do and I haven't known what that next step is and so I haven't done it.

Lachlan Stuart:

I remember no word of a lie and I was speaking to Troy about this, who was my boss when I first was in Toowoomba. I wanted to run from Brisbane to Toowoomba. It doesn't seem like it's 178K, it's usually the other way around. Yeah, sorry, toowoomba to Brisbane. And I was looking at doing it and I had to go through each council. Like this is how complicated I made it because I didn't ask people, no one was really doing it. So, like you need to get approval to run along the road through each council and it ended up being like a lot of council, so I just quit. I was like no, and I was thinking about that only a couple of weeks ago.

Lachlan Stuart:

I'm like now. I would just call the councils and sort it out and make that happen. Just like now, I'm asking people in my network to help me. Or you know, youtube's a beautiful tool. Like everything is available for you to learn and put it together. And I'm once again. There's going to be so many things that we couldn't have predicted. We needed to have sorted when we start, but being able to trust that myself or Liam will be able to navigate that when it rocks up. So I think when you take personal responsibility for everything, it's you're choosing the results that you want and the outcomes that you want by how you respond to that. Very good, put those glasses back on.

George Sheppard:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's about all we have time for today. Thank you for tuning in to one of the most special and exclusive man that Can podcasts around. What episode is this Number? This Shit? 6-19. 6-19. Absolutely Well. Well, that's a marathon. That's a marathon in itself, lachlan, thank you so much for your time today and, uh, we hope all the viewers at home garnered something uh from this and I know I certainly did and we all wish you the best in this absolutely insane endeavor thank you so much, that was fun, thank you over to you in the studio.

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