About Unprofessional Athletes

We train like pros, race like amateurs, and still show up to brunch like nothing happened.

Unprofessional Athletes are not here to preach about clean living or tell you how to get a six pack. We’re here to talk about the reality of trying to balance training and living, and staying vaguely functional while sometimes wondering why we’re doing any of this at all.

Who is the Unprofessional Athlete?

I discovered exercise in my late twenties — an age when most Olympians are already considering retirement. At the time I was pushing 100 kg, was a heavy smoker, and clinically depressed. So I decided to run my first marathon.

What followed was a 5 hour 30 minute shuffle fuelled by nicotine, stubbornness, and bad life choices. I swore I’d never do it again.

I might be lighter now, nicotine-free, and slightly less miserable, but I’m still not young enough, talented enough, or sponsored enough to make a living out of this. So I write about it instead.

What we do

• Complain about training

  Yes, we love it, but sometimes, like when you’re running 25k hill intervals in torrential rain, you start to question your life choices.

• Track mistakes

  The wrong shoes, the wrong fuel, the wrong race strategy. Write it down, remember it, maybe don’t repeat it?

• Remember recipes

  I cook a lot, and forget almost all of it. This is my public recipe book with occasional audience participation.

Welcome to Unprofessional Athletes. Breathe in, breathe out, and try not to pull anything.