This week I'm joined by a man who set the goal of completing a physical challenge every month for a year. It has now become much more than that and within the last 10 months Mark has completed some incredible physical feats from 7 Ironmen in 7 days, ran 100 miles up South Coogee steps, 100k in a weight vest, 125 mile ultra, 30 marathons in 30 days, attempted the world record for burpees in an hour and much much more.
Mark Branniff is a CrossFit coach who is on a journey to become one of the fittest people on earth, next year he will run a 100mile race each week for the WHOLE year!! He wants his name mentioned in the same sentences as David Goggins, Ned Brockman, the hardest geezer, so on and so forth, endurance is his game!
In this episode we talk about the why behind Mark doing all these huge challenges, his mentality, how he gets through certain situations, the choice to suffer, his background, how he has developed from it and much much more.
It's a very interesting listen and a great insight into the mind of someone who is on a mission to do some pretty impossible things!
All in all I found this one really really interesting and I hope you do to!
If you want to follow his story you can find Mark on Instagram: The_Branniff
Also follow my Instagram for health & fitness content, along with more podcast updates: @functionality_unlocked
Disclaimer: this podcast represents the opinions of Eoghan and his guests to the show. The content here should not be taken as medical advice.
Time Stamps:
0.50 – pre ramble
2.05 - pod starts and how the 12 challenges in 12 months idea came about.
4.15 – Challenges Mark has done so far.
9.05 – Planning to run 100 miles every week for 52 weeks next year.
10.15 – Wanting to become a pro athlete.
11.47 – Fitness background and what he was doing before this year.
15.28 – Current mantra and choosing your suffering. The voice in his head that calls out when he’s not proactive in training.
18.55 – The struggles of posting content, dealing with opinions and self-limiting beliefs.
23.49 – How much he’s changed over the year.
26.20 – Building undeniable proof for yourself, staying with the process and fully believing in himself.
30.20 – Standout challenges for Mark and how he prepares for these big events.
36.00 – Rest days and the impact Crossfit has had on his muscle endurance.
38.47 – Striving for greatness.
42.30 – Dealing with emotions during events, races and staying going.
49.10 – What Marks self-talk is like and the importance of striving for something.
53.20 – Celebrating his achievements and failures.
56.58 - Headspace on the lead up to some of these big events.
1.00.10 – Favourite stories from the past few months.