Shortly after their wins at the 2021 Otway Odyssey we conducted a live interview with Dan and Bec McConnell at the Forrest Brewery on Saturday afternoon - and here is a recording of that fascinating discussion. Hosted by Adam Kelsall, their conversation starts with how they started on bikes, and expands to include like details on their racing highs and lows overseas, how they celebrate World Cup podiums as well as how their Odyssey victories unfolded and so much more. This is a very honest and insightful interview into the lives of Australia’s best mountain bikers. You’ll also learn if they bo ..read more

Make sure you tune into the final episode of the Rapid Ascent podcast with your host Ben Hucker and special guests Sam Maffett and John Jacoby. Sam is the General Manager of Rapid Ascent and John was the founder of the company in 2004.  They have some important updates for participants doing Rapid Ascent events in 2020. They also share some of their thoughts on the current situation with COVID-19. Be sure to tune in right to the end of the episode for their practical tips on staying fit and healthy and training for events in light of the current circumstances too.  It's also farewell ..read more

We're very excited to announce pro multisport triathlete, Ben Allen, as our guest for Episode 11 of the Rapid Ascent podcast. We've had some ultra runners, adventure racers and mountain bikers to date but Ben is our first pro (off-road) triathlete. Ben has more than a decade of racing experience specialising in the non-drafting format of Triathlon, from 70.3 Ironman, Long Distance, and the XTERRA World Off-Road Triathlon Tour. He popped up on our radar last year when he blitzed the rest of the field at the final Augusta Adventure Fest in November... by a stretch! He's also won the X-Adven ..read more

Brendan Johnston has cemented himself as the most consistently high performing mountain biker in marathon XC events all over Australia in recent years. He has collected 4X National XCM Championships, 19 straight Marathon wins and was a National XCM Series Winner in 2016/17. But he took the long road to get there. At just 17 years of age he had a paratesticular lump that needed to be removed. What followed was a series of operations and months of treatment. The physical and emotional toll was almost insurmountable. All this happened two weeks out from the UCI MTB World ..read more

From windy Wellington to sunny Wollongong, Samara Sheppard had her sights firmly set on Tokyo 2020. Her Olympic dreams have been shattered though. Changes to the Olympic selection policy made it almost impossible for Samara to qualify. Find out how she still manages to keep a big smile on her face though and hear about her new plans for the 2022 UCI Road World Championships. All the action will be taking place in her adopted hometown of Wollongong, New South Wales. Sheppard was born in Clyde in the South Island of New Zealand. She suffered a series of injuries as a runner which led her to move ..read more

We're super pumped to announce Kellie Emmerson as our guest for Episode #8 of the Rapid Ascent podcast. Kellie's a 3x Australian long-distance trail running champ, a PhD Student, Ultra Trail World Tour Runner, a Neurological Occupational Therapist and in-demand Running Coach. Oh and she's won the Surf Coast Century x3 times! But the best thing of all? She remains a humble, down to earth girl who counts her running achievements as incidental to a life of adventure. Tune in to hear Kellie's inspiring story in Episode 8 of the Rapid Ascent podcast with your host Ben ..read more

In the 1990s, Deanna Blegg was a super-fit 24-year-old. But she soon became a super-sick 24-year-old. She lost 20 kilograms in six weeks. She had constant fevers, sweats, nausea, and swollen glands. She could barely stand without passing out. A round of antibiotics had no effect. So she went back to the doctor who gave her the bad news... she was HIV-positive. Just two years later, HIV developed into AIDS—a process Deanna had been told would take 10 years. Her doctors gave her six months to live.  Tuner in to hear what happened next and her remarkable entry into the world of adv ..read more

Paul van der Ploeg has cemented himself as a force to be reckoned with in mountain biking over the past several years. Not only on the Australian mountain bike circuit, but also in Europe and around the world. The monster from Mount Beauty embraced the modern Eliminator XC format early in his career and picked up a World Cup Eliminator win in England 2011. In 2013 he WON the World XC Eliminator title in South Africa. Paul has since competed in the Enduro World Series (EWS) and a swag of other major MTB events on and off the road. And he was planning a massive ..read more

He's a father of four and runs a local gym in Geelong with his wife. But he's also a Guinness World Record holder and just completed 535 consecutive half marathons in June 2019.  In Episode 4 of the Rapid Ascent podcast we interview running machine and 2019 Surf Coast Century participant, Matt Daniels.   He's incredibly humble despite his achievements. And he's raised almost $100,000 for charity doing some crazy running adventures.  Now find out why he just completed 535 consecutive half marathons for a mate he's never met. We talk at length about the Surf Coast C ..read more

In Episode 3 of the Rapid Ascent podcast we interview the founder of Rapid Ascent—the man himself, John Jacoby. At just 19 John became a World Marathon Kayak Champion. He went on to win 3 more World Kayak titles along with 3 Multisport World Championships. He was the given the keys to the city of Melbourne at the tender age of 22 in recognition of these achievements. His crowning glory was perhaps winning the prestigious ‘Adventurer of the Year’ Award in 2015. But he talks of his adventures with his mates as his most satisfying achievements. And he even managed to scale Makalu in the Hima ..read more