S8E6 -- Ohana Guest | Peter Hudson

Start with a last-minute sprint tri in footy shorts and end with a finish line that feels like family—that’s the arc of Peter “Huddo” Hudson. We sit down with the four-time 515 finisher, personal trainer, and stalwart of the UM Australia Dream Team to unpack how a brutal first swim, a life-changing crash in Hawaii, and years of volunteering forged a deeper reason to race. What emerges is a raw, generous look at the culture that defines Ultraman: you arrive as strangers, you leave as family.

Huddo walks us through the early days—being dragged into a race the night before, dog paddling next to a lifeguard, then getting hooked on the grind that builds real endurance. He shares how coaching and community carried his business through COVID, why day two on the bike still ties his stomach in knots, and how crews and race volunteers quietly stitch the event together with 20-hour days and calm heads. We revisit Hawaii 2015 and Scott McDermott’s horrific crash, the “Relentless” bracelet found at the scene, and the long road to Scott’s 2018 return. Along the way, you’ll hear why rival crews stop to help, how a blind athlete’s grit rewrites fear, and what it means to finish when the clock says you shouldn’t.

We also dive into purpose: fundraising after losing his mum, staging a solo double iron to turn grief into action, and the moment Huddo received the inaugural HUDDO Award minutes before learning his uncle had passed. It’s a portrait of resilience anchored by service, friendship, and a shared promise to bring everyone home safe. Plus, a peek behind the curtain at UM Australia’s evolving live stream and the launch of UM New Zealand—new routes, bigger climbs, and the same heartbeat.

If stories of grit, community, ultra endurance, and human kindness move you, hit play. Then follow the show, share it with a friend who needs a lift, and leave a review so more people find these voices.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• UM Australia 
• Ultraman World Championships
• Living the Warrior Code (Documentary)  Link
• IM Coeur d’Alene
• UM New Zealand

Shout outs and mentions in this episode:

• Jeff Morris (S7E11)
• Shane Duffy (S4E5)
• Matt O’Brien (S8E5)
• David Kalinowski
• Mike Coughlin (S2E7)
• Erica RIley (S8E2)
• Beñat Oliveira (S7E6)
• Brittney Litton (S8E7)
• Scott McDermott (S1E9)
• Adam Fox   
• Gary Wang (S2E6)
• Staci Studer
• Christian Isakson (S3E5)
• John Domandl (S7E7)
• Daniel Merange 
• Dayle Jordan
• Mel Kemp
• Jason Clark
• Shae Hamilton
• Kim Jenkins
• Gillian Winterford
• Tiffany Dahl
• Steve King (S1E1)

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Huddo: From Footy To 515
• 3:35 First Triathlon Chaos And The Hook
• 7:05 Coaching Life, COVID Hits, And Resilience
• 10:17 Discovering Ultraman’s Family Culture
• 14:30 Why Stories And Trauma Fuel Ultra Goals
• 18:54 Volunteering Demands And Crew Fears
• 22:58 Athlete Highlights And Racing With Limitations
• 26:16 Hawaii 2015: Scott McDermott’s Crash
• 33:25 Processing The Aftermath And Finishing
• 37:19 John Domandl’s Crashes And Grit
• 42:10 Recovery, Relentless, And Return In 2018
• 47:40 Racing For Cause And A Double Iron Solo
• 51:45 Building UM Australia And New Zealand Plans
• 55:35 Dream Team Camaraderie And Legends
• 1:00:30 The HUDDO Award And Personal Loss
• 1:05:20 Looking Ahead: Livestreams And New Races

Transcript

Meet Huddo: From Footy To 515

Larry 0:48

My next guest has four 515 distance events under his belt, two at Ultraman Australia dating back to the first events in 2015 and 2016, and two times in Hawaii. He has attended every UM Australia race and claims to get more out of being on the Dream Team than actually racing. His day job has him working with people as a gym owner and personal trainer. Joining me from his home in Melbourne, Australia is the man known as HUDO, Peter Hudson. Welcome to the podcast. Welcome and uh thanks for thanks for joining me today. I see you're wearing your UM Australia gear, so you're repping the brand. You've spent a lot of years on the on the volunteer side after doing your first two races there. And uh we can get into some of that stuff with you as well. But uh just before we do that, um, I want to find out a little bit more about you. And uh usually what I like to ask people is you know, what was your life like before Ultra? What were you doing? What what what was it like? Were you into sports? Were you a typical footy guy in Australia? Were you a surf lifesaver? Uh what did you do?

Huddo 2:09

Yeah, so it probably was um from juniors through to kind of mid-20s to 30 was football. So Aussie rules football. Um, never fantastic player, but managed to hold my own in the kind of in the reszies and the twos. Um kicked a goal after the siren to win the game by a point. That was probably the highlight of my footballing career. Um yeah, did that and then kind of yeah, a few injuries, few issues, um stopped playing sport for probably a number of years, and then um kind of maybe around 30-ish, early 30s, I got into triathlon just from a mate ringing me up the night before a race and saying, Come try this out. So I went and had a go. I think I came maybe second last overall, something like that. But um, yeah, pretty much hooked from that point on. So it's been triathlon since.

Larry 3:10

Oh yeah. So really the guy was going to the race already and just called you up and said, Hey, why don't you come and have a race too?

First Triathlon Chaos And The Hook

Huddo 3:20

Yeah, so we were um there was the night before the race, he'd signed up and he said, Oh, I've got this race. Um, I've entered you in it. And I said, Oh, awesome, awesome. Like, let's get training. Don't really know what I'm doing, but I've I've got a bike. Uh I just bought a bike maybe a little while, you know, a couple of months earlier. I'd ridden 10 or 20k on it, and I'll like 1982 Centurion. And um I said, look, let's get training. You can teach me how to swim and I'll ride and do a bit of running. And he turned around, he said, mate, the race is tomorrow morning. So didn't have a lot of time to prepare, and yeah, pretty much straight into it from that point.

Larry 4:02

Right odd, right hard. And what was the distances on that one?

Huddo 4:06

So that was a sprint. So it was uh I reckon the swim was maybe 500. Um that yeah, right, obviously, 20 in the run, five. I just remember kind of dog paddling for I did maybe two free soul strokes, put my head underwater, got hit by what I'd call a massive wave, which now I'd probably call a ripple. Um, kind of swallowed water and dog paddled with the lifeguard next to me for 500 metres, uh, last out of the water and then on the bike and rode pretty well, sat there going, all right, it's 20k, I can do that, and then jumped off the bike and tried to run and just legs had no idea I've run 5k thousands of times in my life, and my legs just did not work. I had no idea what was going on. So, yeah, not prepared at all. Had footy shorts on for the swim, um, no wetsuit, just yeah, absolutely underprepared. Went in with no idea of what to expect and kind of came away from it thinking I'm never gonna do that again. But then, yeah, a week or two later, absolutely hooked.

Larry 5:14

I I think was it Shane Duffy that had a very similar uh first triathlon experience?

Huddo 5:22

I think there's been a few people. Some people just tend to jump into the deep end not knowing what to expect. So it's um yeah, just it was a whole different ball game to what I what I thought it would have been. And the distance is split up sound easy. I've swam 500 meters in a pool before, but I reckon I've swam 25 meters and stopped for a minute, got my breath back and swam 25 again. So it's uh yeah, whole completely different to what I thought it would be for such a small distance.

Larry 5:52

Yeah, I I was talking to Matt O'Brien on another episode, and and he had a similar where he had no swimming background. I said he can't be a true Aussie if he had no swimming background. He's like, Yeah, I couldn't do 25 meters.

Huddo 6:06

I think we're um we just grew up around the ocean. We may be we're playing ball sports on the sand and we're jumping in the pools and playing around in the pool every day, but I don't like unless you've actually like growing up like swimming lessons and whatnot, it's yeah, it'd be very rare for any of us to actually get out and train specifically for something like that and have a have a proper swimming background. You grow up by the beach, you might do nippers and things, but yeah, for for me, obviously Maddie and probably a few others, it's literally we're around water all the time. We kind of learn to swim, but then we're 18 years old just doing bombs off the diving board sort of thing, as opposed to actual swimming and technique.

Coaching Life, COVID Hits, And Resilience

Larry 6:50

Right, yeah. With the idea that you you got into triathlon, were you already working at the gym or owning a gym at that time? Or were you is that you were in triathlon and working out all the time, and then you decided to open up the gym?

Huddo 7:08

Yep, so I had a franchise, personal training franchise from uh 2007, 2008. So I became a personal trainer in 2007, opened my first business 2008. Uh triathlon got into around about 2011, I think was the first one. So I had a few years running it running an outdoor personal training studio or personal training group before I kind of took that next level fitness to kind of half Iron Man, Iron Man, Ultraman. Um, the gym's been more recent, so that's probably since I stopped competing, I've been in the gym the last kind of two years, and there's always a view to try and get back to doing what we did when we were, I'll say when we were younger. But um, yeah, going I'll I'd ideally I would like to see myself one day being back there and having a crack at Ultraman again. Um at the moment with the gym, it's just been uh hectic a lot busier than I would have expected it to be. So it's been a probably a lot less training over the last year or two. Uh probably the last five years, if I'm honest, just you know, COVID hit and everything else that was going on in life. So still trying to keep fit, keep healthy, but probably not so much the level that I would have been at five or ten years ago.

Larry 8:36

And and how how was COVID for your business?

Huddo 8:40

Oh, terrible, mate. We um I reckon I went from eighty-ish members down to about 14 or 15. So I've managed to kind of like grabbed one or two here and there, lost one or two, but kind of kept that same core group that I've had for 10 to 15 years with a couple of editions. So um, and they've been absolutely fantastic, absolute lifesavers from that respect in terms of sticking around. Some of them have trained with me for since 2008. So like that's kind of 18 years that they've been with me now that whole time.

Larry 9:20

And are you still bringing new stuff to these guys, or are they just looking for an accountability partner?

Huddo 9:28

I try and say to people, I we the the whole idea is variety. So we always say, unless we're using like a measuring tool for a session, we try and vary the session all the time. So you try not to do the same session twice. So I'm sure even just mixing things up in that over the course of 18 years, I probably actually have done almost the exact same session twice without even meaning to, but yeah, for the most part, like it's it's something new all the time, unless we're actually going out for like a 4K time troll or something where we're specifically measuring how they've improved over the last couple of months.

Larry 10:04

Right. Yeah.

Huddo 10:05

So yeah, for the most part, always something different.

Discovering Ultraman’s Family Culture

Larry 10:08

Yeah. Well, can I ask you, like, you were there for the first UM Australia, the Ultraman Australia in 2015, and and competing at that race. Um, did you know what to expect when you signed up for that race? And what was it about it that now, you know, going 11 years later, you're you're still going to that race every year?

Huddo 10:34

It's um oh just first up, I mean, it's absolutely changed my life. It's probably as much as anyone else out there. Um had no idea what to expect going into it. Um, I try and make a point now of actually saying to people, and we talk to the athletes beforehand in the lead up and just say, Look, I I think you guys are going into this, you're thinking that it's a race, you're you're competing against other people, you're gonna find out very quickly that you're actually all in this together. Everyone's there to help each other. There's races that I wouldn't have finished if it wasn't for other people's crews. There's uh yeah, just there's a story about off topic slightly, but two it's Hawaii, so the world champs, and Dave Kalinowski is up against Mike Cogland for one and two in the world, and Mike Coghlan gets a flat tire, and Dave Kalinowski's crew sees him and goes, All right, well, Dave's coming second, Mike's coming first. Like they could have just left him on the side of the road for 25 minutes, and Dave could have comfortably won a world championship title. They've helped Mike and got him back on the road within minutes, and for something like that to happen in a race is like anywhere else in the world, it's just unheard of. So it just shows you sort of what Ultraman is and kind of the way that people care about each other within that race. So you kind of come in as strangers and you compete as friends or you compete as athletes, and then you leave as family.

Larry 12:10

Yeah. That's a that's a wonderful sentiment of the of the Ultraman motto that you know, over those three days, you you just see the the people coming in, and some are coming in with just fear, and some are coming in with wonder, and some are coming in with the grit and determination of going out and racing their best. But at the banquet at the end, everybody's just got their arms around each other, and it's a it's a different group, yeah.

Huddo 12:37

Absolutely. And the story, like there's just the different walks of life, the things that people I feel like, yeah, there's a few people that go into it and they're athletes, and that's what they've done all their lives, and they're in it to win it. But just the stories that for most of us, like mine was my mum passing away. Um, we've all had some, I feel like we've all had some sort of a sort of trauma. And it's almost like you need that in your life, something happening in your life to actually get to the point where you can put your body and put your mind through what you're actually doing for that three days. So it's yeah, some people come in, they're in it to win it, they're racing, that's what they've done. But for most people, it's you know, someone might have lost 20 kilograms, someone's broken up, divorced, and found themselves, someone's was drug addict or alcohol and got sober and found fitness, and it just happened that this is kind of a say it's an addiction, more of a healthy addiction than the other stuff, but that's what they've used and the trauma to actually get through. So the stories on day four are just absolutely unbelievable. And a lot of the time you don't hear anything about that, and people will be very quiet about it until that time, and then you hear that story and just realize just what they've gone through to actually get to that finish line.

Larry 13:57

Yeah, yeah. And that's that's another reason why I do this podcast is um when people come on and they share their backgrounds and and we get to know them a little bit better, and we do an athlete in profile, and you know, we get to know who these people are that are coming to the race and why that what's their motivation. And and yeah, like you said, all of those stories you've mentioned, I've had four, five, six different people come on and tell that story for all of each of those different stories.

Why Stories And Trauma Fuel Ultra Goals

Huddo 14:25

Yeah, yeah. There's some absolutely amazing yeah, background stories and things like that. And that's why we talk about now, before the race, I think I said earlier, we talked to athletes before and just try and say to people, introduce yourselves, get to know each other because you're gonna be spending a lot of time out on course. It might be different people on different days and whatnot, but you're gonna you appreciate it a lot more if you actually know a little bit about these people before they're actually racing. And again, you still see that at the end of the race, but to go into it and have people actually introduce themselves and get to know each other before the race and meet and kind of chat back and forth about how training's going and all that is just yeah, sensational way to do it.

Larry 15:06

Yeah. And I think that's probably one of the reasons why the um the race preview podcast is always one of the highest rated, is people do want to know who the other people are that they're racing against before they get to the race. And I I've always I've come from a crew background. I I've not raced the 515 distance, but uh like you were saying, even the all the crews, like you're you're just you're leapfrogging with one another all day long. And it and yeah, like you said, maybe your athletes are strong swimmer or they're a strong biker or they're a strong runner, so you're gonna get different crews on different days that you get to meet, and just hanging out on the side of the road and getting to know them is the magical part of what this race brings.

Huddo 15:52

It's the one thing I haven't done yet, mate. I haven't crewed at one of these because it's it's too hard. The um racing, 12 hours maximum. You're done, everyone's looking after you, you're doing what you enjoy doing, you're swimming, you're riding, you're running.

Speaker 8 16:07

Yeah.

Huddo 16:08

The volunteering is oh mate, we've had some 20-hour days. Like we are literally up at 4 a.m. and we're packing up at midnight or later to get ready for the next day, and then crewing just I'm too scared to actually do it because I'm sitting there going, that's someone else's race in my hands. And I just don't know if I'm actually good enough and fit enough and smart enough to actually help someone get through that. So the crewing, I'll one day I will.

Larry 16:38

Yeah.

Huddo 16:39

But so far, it's the one thing I have.

Larry 16:41

You would be you would be a fantastic crew member. You have a ton of knowledge to share. You'd be perfect for it.

Huddo 16:48

I'll just be able to hand off bananas because I know to give them off at the top of the hill, not the bottom of the hill. That's about that's about as good as I go with crewing, I reckon.

Larry 16:58

Well, um, when we speak about UM Australia, or in your case, Ultraman Australia, as you raised it, um, what was your highlight when as a as an athlete?

Huddo 17:10

Oh um probably just finishing, like finishing each day, getting out of the water. Um like I said, swimming wise, I wasn't a great swimmer. Um, I've got a few issues with my vision, um, contact lenses, uh corneal transplant. So I was kind of told there's stuff that I couldn't do. Swimming was one, riding was going to be always going to be an issue as well, just with the wind in my eyes and whatnot. So it just just finishing for me was the highlight, the absolute highlight. Probably going to a world championships. I never thought I'd be able to do world champs at any sport, uh, let alone one of the toughest kind of ultra endurance events there is. Um, then yeah, on top of that, just I've got four nieces and nephews. I've carried three of them across the line at different races. So there's one that I haven't done yet that I'm it kind of keeps me thinking that at some point I've got to do another one just for that. But being able to cross the finish line with my crew and my niece and my two nephews is like, yeah, absolute highlight of my life.

Larry 18:21

Right, yeah. Well, um, I know Jeff is listening. So, Jeff, make sure that Huddo trains up somebody to do his work and let him race again.

Huddo 18:32

There's quite a few people that can do my job. I'm uh won't be very hard to find someone that can go out and sit on the corner on day one and day two. So, yeah, it it wouldn't be too hard to find a replacement for me, I don't think.

Volunteering Demands And Crew Fears

Larry 18:47

Do you do you have a highlight as a volunteer uh all these years from 2017 to 2025? What what's been like the most memorable thing being the volunteer?

Huddo 18:58

Oh um, probably not one. There's just like I miss the finish lines of a lot of athletes the first few years because I was out at day three turnaround. Um, just being able to be at that turnaround on day three and saying to people like that's a marathon done. You're on your way home now, like just to see everyone's face and see how much you're hurting at that point and still getting themselves to the finish line. Um, seeing people actually finish on day three now, I can get back there in time and get to watch people do that. Um helping people, I love settling nerves before the before the race, everyone comes in and we go through a line in registration, you sort of move through, you get your you get your race kit, you get your band on, it's all starting to turn real. Uh merchandise, and then they come round to me and I kind of go over the three maps, the three days of the maps. And um just some of the people in there are just like you just don't know what to expect. They see these maps and they're like, they've got no idea. Their crews are asking, where do we go? What do we do? Just to be able to settle some nerves and not even talk about the that, but just to kind of talk to like let people know that they're not by themselves when they're racing. There's always going to be someone around, people are gonna help each other, and they kind of walk away from it going like I was absolutely myself at this point, and you've kind of calmed my nerves, and now I just I want to get I want to get started, I'm excited. So, yeah, just yeah, in terms of volunteering and that, the highlight, listening to the stories on day four and just yeah, kind of calming people in the lead up to it is yeah, just awesome. Changing people's lives like mine was being able to step behind the scenes and go, all right, I know what it meant to me to finish. That's awesome. It's one person to do that to 50 people every year is that gives me goosebumps. Um just unbelievable feeling, best feeling in the world.

Larry 21:00

Yeah, yeah. And I know that's why everybody on the dream team keeps coming back. I mean, Jeff's got such a solid crew of people that are always there working because they've had that that experience. I I know Eric is racing this year, so that's that's one off the team, but uh yeah, it's gonna be uh a fantastic year again come May when when everybody's out there on the course. And uh I'm looking forward to doing the live stream again and and working with all of you. Hopefully, we get you on camera a little bit more this year.

Huddo 21:34

Right, we talk about that all the time now. It's like that was a just for you to get through that three days of that from the other side of the world was absolutely phenomenal effort. So, like we're up at 4 a.m. until kind of 10 p.m. or midnight, and I think you must have been going through. Like just unbelievable, complete change in your lifestyle for three or three or four days while you're doing it, and then probably another week. Afterwards, like we find it takes a week to recover volunteering. So I don't know what you went through after that.

Larry 22:06

Yeah, yeah. No, it was definitely uh uh uh own ultra experience as and with the time changes as well. So yeah. Did you get a medal? Uh I well, I got a trophy if you look over my shoulder here.

Athlete Highlights And Racing With Limitations

Huddo 22:22

I can't, yeah. There you go. You did see. I hadn't even noticed that. That's awesome. Yeah, you definitely zoom. And young Benito running round. So um Ben Yat was Ben Yat, yes, he was amazing. Uh oh, I we're laughing our heads off at point. He, I don't know if you know the story of um, I think he did tell it, he was um got out of his car and he wanted to follow someone for about a kilometre, and he ended up running for about an hour, and he was like, Oh no, my car, my car. And someone actually pulled up with his car and he said to him, like, what happened? How did you drive it? How did you get it here? They turned around and go, Mate, you jumped out of the car, you left it running with the keys. And he goes, Oh, I just got carried away. So he ran for an hour away from his car. Someone from a crew jumped in the car, drove it 10k to him, and gave it back to him. That was absolutely hilarious, but yeah, he just did not stop for three days.

Larry 23:20

Yeah, he he was he made he made a very big difference in what that live stream was. Um, because we originally we had planned to have two people doing that job, and I think one got recruited to do something else race related, and so he ended up being the only one. So yeah, and I know he's coming back again this year to hopefully help out a little bit, and then he's gonna be supporting an athlete on day three.

Huddo 23:46

Yeah, but so we're gonna have to find someone else for I think he ended up running 84k.

Larry 23:51

Yeah.

Huddo 23:53

It should be all right.

Larry 23:54

You better you better not answer Jeff's emails for a while. They might it might be looking at you.

Huddo 23:58

Yeah, I might be looking at the five goals now, just not answering that one.

Larry 24:04

Uh we will be right back to my conversation with Huddle. But I want to break in here for just a minute to give you a preview of how the guest on my next episode answered the question, what was your life like before Ultra?

Brittney 24:21

And then I went on my OE, so overseas experience in New Zealand seemed to go to the UK. I actually had a really good time. I was working in a seafood restaurant in Malay, which is where the Harry Potter train finishes up in Scotland. And I was really drunk at this pub called the Steam Inn. And because it was a coastal town, a lot of the fishing boats would come in to drop off fish bed calls for the day and then selling on an angle back now. And then I remember saying to some of the skeletons and I've always wanted to be on the TV's cage. Let's bring an inbody sitting in a cell free, so I think I'll talk to you and study the light and not to see. So I'd ring a little bit. I don't know. And next thing I know I like that and it's hoodly and the corner of the blue is a little bit of light coming from the roof. So and it was really hot and I had no idea what I was. So went over to the light and climbed up to see it and that's 40 miles into the North City on a six-week journey dedication colour.

Hawaii 2015: Scott McDermott’s Crash

Larry 25:56

That backpacking adventure came compliment of Brittany Litton. She will be the athlete in profile on the next episode of the podcast dropping March 20th. And that wasn't even the craziest story. If you want to make sure that you don't miss any of these amazing people sharing their stories, be sure to follow the podcast wherever you get your podcast. You can do that right now, just like Mary Jo says at the end of each episode. All right, back to my conversation with Huddo. Well, let's let's move on to your your second race of 2015. Um, you talked about it a little bit. You said going to Hawaii and and being in a world championship was like a super big deal for you. And and that was a really big year at Hawaii because there were a lot of the OGs in the field there, a lot of big guns, a lot of people that had some really good races under their belts already. Um, as you mentioned, Canadian, I gotta say Canadian, uh Mike Coglin won that year. Um I've had him on as a guest too in season two. Um but but the big story out of 2015 obviously was uh the two crashes that happened, and and you were a part of of one of those with Scott McDermott. Um Scott had been working on a documentary about doing the race, uh doing Ultraman Hawaii. And uh he didn't know that this was the way the documentary was gonna turn out, as most documentary uh people do. They start filming and they see what it becomes. Um, but it obviously became more than just about what it is to do that race. Um so I'm gonna play uh a little clip from his documentary. It's called Living the Warrior Code and it's available on YouTube. It's uh it's free, it's there. Uh a fantastic uh video. So if people are watching this on YouTube or listening and they want to go back, Scott came on the podcast as well and talked about it. So you can go back and listen to Scott talk about the the documentary by himself. Um so I want to play a little clip um and then we'll come back and we'll we'll get your reaction to it.

Speaker 9 28:16

As you come up to these bridges, there's sort of a there's a footpath and there's a road, and so I'm down the road. Looked up, saw Scotty's go on the footpath, and then um I just heard this sickening, just this thud. And uh yeah, Scotty just went down right in front of me, probably doing 60, 70k an hour.

Speaker 1 28:35

He sort of launched off the footpath of the bridge, but then onto the road. It was like the bike had just slid out.

Speaker 9 28:41

I was off the bridge on the other side of the bridge before I could um stop the bike. Jumped off, ran back, and yeah, he's just he's just wedged um in the gutter.

Speaker 1 28:54

It was like he was twisted, but his head was twisted the complete opposite way. And my immediate reaction was he's broken his neck.

Speaker 9 29:04

It's just blood, it's bleeding from the head, and Foxy was already there, it already stopped, and I think he might have even said he's looking. I think he's dead.

Speaker 1 29:12

I didn't think he was going to survive that crash.

Speaker 29:16

I uh came up, I'm not sure exact time frame, but it seemed like it was within probably 30 seconds of when the accident occurred. I immediately was managed to kind of get my head around the vision of the cars and see that there was an athlete laying on the ground. And then when I came upon him, I thought that was the last time someone's got. I thought he was gone. I didn't I didn't think there was any way someone laying in that much blood would recover from that. You wanna you wanna not believe that's the case? And um, I was really happy to see when he started to make some movement.

Speaker 9 29:47

He tried real hard to get up at one point, and we just had to hold him there and hold him down.

Speaker 5 29:52

And uh then he was just back to Lot's Day. We kinda thought, well, he should be here by now. And of course you start thinking, well, you know, Peter was there, and um, so is Adam and Gary. Okay, if if one of them had a flat and one of them's helping or whatever, why is all four of them stopped?

Speaker 9 30:11

So I kind of put my finger in his hand, closed his hand around me, I just said, if you could hear me to squeeze my finger. And it was like the lightest, lightest squeeze that I've ever felt. It was like a little, not even a little baby, it was just a little tiny squeeze, but you sort of knew he was there.

Speaker 5 30:31

So we got out of the van and we're sort of looking back.

Larry 30:36

So we did discuss before that I was gonna be playing some clips for you. Um tell me what that means to to watch that back now and and and what it was like at the time.

Processing The Aftermath And Finishing

Huddo 30:51

Um I still struggle watching that. I've um I reckon I've watched that docko 15 times, probably more. And um I just I can't kind of sit through the crash scene still. I think I've watched it twice and um it kind of just takes me straight back to it. Um I just remember like we're having a great day, and Foxy and I were sort of back and forth 50, 100 metres away from each other. I was a bit sore. I pushed to keep up with him, he turned around and go, Oh, I don't my back three. I'd say, look, just kind of stick near me, keep me in your sight, and we'll get through this. And yeah, kind of come up with Scott and um just um chatting to him, chatting away, just like we're having an absolute rip of time. This is unbelievable. And then um Yeah, I think I said uh like in the document, I'm like, we've only got a half-year man to go, like 90k and we're done, and he hammering it. And then just right in front of us, he just went down and um Yeah, we got back to him and it was just it was like a horror thing. It was um there was blood everywhere and um he wasn't moving. Um I remember the weird thing that the only thing I remembered from it for a long time was I couldn't get my phone out of my I had my phone on so my crew could follow me, sort of thing, and just in case. And I couldn't call it, I think I must have gloves on, whatever plastic cover. I couldn't ring, I couldn't use my phone. And a car stopped, and I remember yelling out to a car, call 911. And like in Australia, it's triple zero. Yeah, and so call call 911, call 911, and um that was like the for a long time, that was sort of the only thing I remembered about it was being able to actually I got that right somehow. Um, but just kind of I didn't yeah, never even thought about it and just said that, and then um yeah, Foxy and I obviously came up and trying to help him. Gary Wayne was there as well, and um yeah, he was just out of it, and then a couple of times he kind of like forced himself up, and someone had said that people try and do that when they've had a kind of traumatic injury, they kind of regained consciousness, they get up to go, like, I'm alright, I'm alright. We're like just trying to hold him down, and um, then he was he'd just go again, and it felt like uh just it felt like forever. Like we were just there, and um obviously ambulance came, got him away, took him away. Um like wasn't gonna go, Toxie wasn't gonna go, and um thing was Doug came up and just said, like, you guys just keep like you've gotta go, you've got time, you can do this, just you know, go easy, get through. And um we kind of took off together and like yeah, finished arm in arm at the end of the day too. Um yeah, I just had an amazing bond with Scotty and Foxy from that time. I remember the funny thing was as well, like we're going, I think it's the Kahalas, like the last 20k or whatever, and the wind was blowing just crazy. And I remember just saying to Foxy, like, we've had enough, let's just hold back. I think Gary and Stacy were in front of us, and we could watch them, and they were sort of every kilometer or two, Stacy get blown across the road, like a meter or two, and we were like, All right, well, there's a break, like a break in the trees, let's like just prepare for it because we're like with the worst, the last thing we want now is another accident, and then um about a kilometer from the end, this like pitfull dog just come running out and started trying to nip it. Foxy. So we got through, we like kind of finished and we were like, we yeah, survived that obviously. And um looking back on it now, and just the yeah, the bond that we kind of have with Scotty and his crew and um just the race overall, just absolutely amazing. Um yeah, just it was a terrible time, and like I say to people at the time, you never I'll never remember what time I got for any of my races. Two of them were I think 20 seconds apart overall, but um the two Australian ones, but couldn't tell you what the time was, but you'll always remember like the people and the things that happened through that through the race.

Larry 35:33

Yeah. Yeah, and that was that was a very scary accident, and it wasn't even the only accident because Christian Isaacson also went down on that day. Um when when you're there and and you you kind of like just force yourself to get to the finish line, what was it like at the finish line at on the end of that day, at the end of day two there? What was what was the vibe?

Huddo 35:58

It was actually a really weird one because um like you'd expect that with everything that went on. I don't I don't think we even knew about Christian at the time. It was just like it was all just Scotty. Um I remember getting off my bike and it was like I hadn't raced and got the other 2015 and every 150 to 200 kilometer ride that I'd ever done, I get off the bike and I'm absolutely cooked and my legs are killing me. I struggle to get off the bike. I remember just kind of jumping off the bike and walking over to Foxy and eventually just going to have a shower and stuff, and like not even feeling like I'd like not even feeling the physical effects of it, not even realizing that we'd actually gone and ridden almost 300 kilometers. Um kind of everyone was just in shock and it still hadn't really hit me what had happened, like when it like I mean, I think it took months to actually um get back to where I I kind of wanted to do anything like that again and kind of learn to kind of deal with it. Um but yeah, it's just a it was a yeah, really surreal. Like that was it for me. It was I'll get up the next day and we'll run if we run, but like kind of nothing else mattered at that point.

John Domandl’s Crashes And Grit

Larry 37:17

Right. Yeah. And and then last year at UM Australia, there was the accident with John Demandel as well. Um, he's a blind athlete, and him and his pilot Daniel um went down not once, but twice. And and their second one was a a fair fairly serious accident as well. And I know the dream team was kind of on the scene and stuff like that and and uh dealing with it right away. Was there anything like when you were thinking about John that you were relating back to that previous experience, or how did that play out for you last year?

Huddo 37:58

I think like there's a funny story about John, I'll tell you in a sec. Just remind me about that one. But um I think for me, like just the roads wherever we go, wherever you're gonna race, you're racing, you know, you're riding 150 to 275 kilometers, you can't ride through nice streets and busy towns, like you're out on back road. So day two, whether there's you hear about a crash or there is a crash or anything, it's just a it's for me, I don't know if it's more than others, but from I have um really struggle with day two. Um find it really hard. I'm just I'm just happy when everyone gets off their bike. Day three, like throw the bike away, you're running, you're fine. But yeah, day two, a little bit day one, but day two is it's a scary day for me. It's um it's a really draining day. Um just until everyone kind of comes home safe. With Johnny, that was like the fact that he got back on, there's a couple of things with him where the fact he got back on after crashing the first time and rode again, the fact that if we crash, we kind of have a split second at least to realise what's going on. Johnny doesn't know until he's on the ground that he's going to be on the ground, like to be doing the speeds that he does, and like the the way that he rides and stuff is just unbelievable. I was actually day one 2015. I was behind him, I was in front of him coming down a massive hill, a lot of switchbacks, and they came flying past him and his pilot. And um, by the time I got halfway down the hill, I could see him at the bottom, and he he was like a kilometre down the road on this on the straight. So they must have they were they're they're doing speeds like a hundred kilometres an hour, and basically try doing that with your eyes closed, not knowing what's going to happen. Um, so yeah, for him to get up after the first one's amazing, but then it yeah, just that crash was absolutely terrible on day two. But then for him to go to hospital and the nurse said to him he had bandages all over both legs and arms, and um she goes, Oh my god, like and now what's happening? He goes, Oh, don't worry about that. That was yesterday's crash. I was like, that was absolutely phenomenal. That was awesome. I laughed my head off when I heard it. He still had a sense of humor even after that.

Larry 40:34

Yeah. And and and for me, I'm I'm on the other side of the world, and I got to experience him coming to the day two finish line. It was like 10 minutes after 12 or something, and him and Daniel showing up and walking over the finish line, and everybody there, like just so happy to see that they got out of the hospital. Um, even if he shouldn't have left the hospital. I don't know if he should have left the hospital, but uh it was like a really great emotional moment. And I think it was one of the ones that really showed the the power of the live stream as well, because everybody was able to share in that. And and we talked about Bonat earlier, he was really good about it, you know. Like, um my instinct would have been to run over to him with the camera. And Bonat was like, I'm just gonna hang back and he's talking quietly. I'm just gonna hang back over here and and it's like you know, gave them their time, and it was like, yeah, it was it was a great moment to to see that's something that the 50 people that were there might have seen if it wasn't for you guys actually being there with the live stream, but then you bring it to thousands of people worldwide to see just what it means to someone to actually kind of still cross that finish line, whether he's on his bike or not, but to get up and get down and do it.

Recovery, Relentless, And Return In 2018

Huddo 41:55

Like you said, he probably could have stayed in hospital for the night and walked up the beach on day three and done it. But um, yeah, to see him on day two and just to know that like he's not alright, but he was alright, was um, yeah, it just it kind of put everyone's mind of these going into day three as well. I think it was um made everyone feel a little bit better and just grateful that they could actually still get up and compete on day three when this has happened to someone else that's put in so much work.

unknown 42:23

Yeah, yeah.

Huddo 42:24

He's also promised his pilot that he'll lead, he'll pilot his, he'll pilot Dan next year so Dan can sit on the back of the bike and Johnny will actually ride it.

Larry 42:39

Um well, getting back to Scotty's story for the people that haven't seen the dock before. Um his his recovery was much longer. He didn't come back to that finish line uh at the end of day two. And there was a real struggle for him. Um part of what he knew what he was doing, he was working on trying to get back to racing the 515 distance again and going back to Hawaii. And there's a part in the documentary where in during his recovery he he goes to Court d'Alene. Uh so and it's it's a big moment for him. I want to play that one for you as well. I'm sure you've seen it.

Speaker 8 43:21

God McDonald, government like Alberta, you're an Ironman, God McDonald.

Scott 43:29

That's for Peter and Adam. Lyle. I had them with me the whole day. I was thinking of Peter and Adam and Lyle and Gary and everybody that was with me on the crabs, even like you and Doug and all the things everybody did. Molly and Jen and everybody. I had them in my heart all day. Oh my god.

Larry 43:54

So he was carrying you with him all through his recovery. Um what when you were Watch that. What what does that kind of mean to you and and how do you feel that connection goes back and forth?

Huddo 44:07

I feel like I mean, I say it was never in doubt, just knowing who he was. There was obviously times where he could have easily given up and not gone back and just kind of almost blame the crash and said, Look, that's that's it, I'm done. The fact that he actually got to the point where he could go and do it again is absolutely amazing. For us to kind of play a small part in in that is um yeah, very like, you know, humbling, rewarding, whatever you want to call it, where like yeah, just can't really explain kind of what it means. Um when he actually crashed, I found a bracelet and it was just on the side of the road, it was broken and the clip was off. And for some reason I picked it up. It's about a hundred metres from where he actually ended up. And um I was like, I don't know why. I just picked it up and it said um said relentless in like the little squares. It was RA, I spelled out relentless.

Larry 45:05

Like a tailored friendship bracelet. Yeah, like that.

Huddo 45:09

And I was like, this is this is definitely Scotty's. Like it was just it was weird. I went over and I put it on Lyle. I said, here you go, like take this. I'm pretty sure that's Scotty's. And um kind of just that's his attitude, like he's relentless. So once he sets his mind on it and he knew he was going back, like he worked his backside off to get to that point, and kind of once he knew he was going back, then um there was no way that I wasn't going back myself as well. And Foxy managed to come over too. So just to have all yeah, to have both of them there for 2018 was absolutely unbelievable. But to see Scotty race again and to actually finish is just yeah, one of the highlights of my Ultraman life.

Larry 45:55

Yeah, yeah. So in in 2018, just to bring this full circle for the people that are just getting the story, uh, he did come back to Hawaii. He did complete. Uh, you went and competed with him and and Adam Fox, the other voice in that clip. And I'm gonna play you one more clip. Uh, this is kind of the the reunion of you guys back in Hawaii.

Scott 46:16

And in a little over a week, I'm gonna be here again for the race. And if this island and Pele will just allow me safe passage, that'll be pretty cool.

Speaker 9 46:39

And I'll ride once on the road between Will Chaves and Ocean Man Australia. I'll get on my body once. So it wasn't getting bought. And wouldn't have done it any other time. There's no one I can miss it.

Speaker 1 47:11

For many of us, it was a life-changing moment, and I've come back to see him complete it, and I just want to be there at that finish line. I'll see him on day three and finish and give him a big hug.

Larry 47:27

So so what was it like to to finally get that reunion and and have him finish and and you finished uh on the same day?

Racing For Cause And A Double Iron Solo

Huddo 47:36

No, an absolute highlight. So um we'd obviously talked about it for a while and he did everything that he could to get back there. Um just to be able to like tow the start line with him and just see him actually get to the start line was phenomenal. Um, to be able to kind of manage to finish in front of him a couple of times. I got to see him cross the finish line on day two, which if you remember, was the they changed the course with the volcano.

Speaker 8 48:07

Right.

Huddo 48:08

And um the eruption and the course changing it was absolutely brutal day. Like I'm normally around about a nine and a half hour day two, I think it is. And I was at 11 and a half hours, and like there were a number of people that DNF'd on day two just with the brutality of the course. Um, to see Scotty at times was struggling to make it, but to actually cross that line on day two was absolutely yeah, just one of the most emotional times of my life, I think. That was absolutely awesome.

Larry 48:40

Yeah. And and with memories like that, I can see why you've stuck around this this event around the 515 world, is because it it would change your life. Even if um you didn't have the experience of the 515 the way most people experience that changes their lives. This for you, sharing this near-death experience of a fellow athlete is gonna have changed your life just all on its own.

Huddo 49:09

Yeah, I think just for me, even like going to the world champs was uh something I didn't think I'd ever do. Finishing the first race where kind of you know it was not uneventful, but it was there was nothing like that involved, and that still like kind of if it hadn't already lit a fire in me, just absolutely lit a fire in me and just made me want to, it just made me want to be a better person. Um surrounded by people that want to help people, people that want to lift people, see people finish, see people succeed, and like I mean, that can be pretty rare in everyday life and general community. So the fact that everyone there wants everyone to do as well as they can, if like if that doesn't make you want to help or make you want to change your life, then kind of nothing's going to.

Larry 49:57

Yeah, yeah. And and that's kind of uh it goes back to one of the reasons why you race as well and and helping other people because you always do it with a cause in mind as well. Can you can you tell us about that?

Building UM Australia And New Zealand Plans

Huddo 50:11

Yeah, so I lost my mum almost 20 years ago now in 2006, February. Um probably kind of lost my way a little bit after that. Um had some pretty dark times and had good support around me. Obviously, like family and that, we're all very close. Um my brother, my sister, my dad, and like all my friends and whatnot. Um so I was never kind of never went too far one way, but I could have very easily. I've got that sort of personality where I was kind of going towards that. I could have gone one way or the other. So I started doing when I started doing the traffic and stuff and Iron Man and I kind of enjoyed it. It was awesome. I love the training side. I I don't even care that much about the racing, like I just love getting fitter and kind of exercising. Um, but what I found was like it was just easier to get out, and I felt like more committed to doing things when I was doing it for someone else. So the second I started fundraising, everything just became a little bit easier. Like someone donate $20 and I go, I'm doing this for Cancer Council for Bow Cancer Australia. Like, I'm not doing it for myself, I'm doing it for something bigger. And um, yeah, that like to turn around at the end of the day and raise, I think, over $10,000 three or four times is like that's the my that's just really rewarding to me, more than crossing the finish line myself or anything like that, but actually having an effect and like they say, like even the smallest ripple can start the wave. So yeah, just ten thousand dollars fundraising, hopefully it builds over time when we do something else soon. But yeah, it's sort of more the bigger pitches, the fundraising and things like that for me, as opposed to what I get out of it just myself.

Larry 52:06

And at one point, did you also do a solo double iron just for for a fundraiser? Was that just you doing your own thing, or did you go into an official double iron?

Huddo 52:18

Yeah, so that was just me doing my own thing. That was um on the anniversary of mum's passing. So February 10's always been a pretty tough day for me. Um, so I kind of wanted to make it a like a better day, uh, have a positive spin on it, sort of thing. It was never going to be a good day, but put something positive on it. Um, so I went out and yeah, organise a solo double iron distance for bowel cancer and managed to do that on the 10th of February 2017. So as it turns out, it's um it's funny because I get the memories come up every year, but I don't even it's it's still mum passing, like it that's still the day that it is. So I see the memories and that I go, oh, that's pretty cool. But yeah, if I was gonna do something like that again, I'll probably actually pick a pick a different day because it's it for what I was trying to do it for, it didn't actually really change it. It's still a um very tough day. It's it's nice to have the positive aspect of it, but it's yeah, still mum's kind of mum's passing, it's still her day.

unknown 53:24

Yeah, yeah.

Larry 53:26

Well, uh let's let's transition into this year's rate of UM Australia. I know that you guys work basically 11 and a half months a year planning this thing. I think Jeff allows you to have uh two weeks off uh somewhere in there as an official uh vacation so that he doesn't have to pay you vacation days. But uh what uh what have you guys been doing behind the scenes this year to prepare for the race that uh that people would be interested in hearing about?

Huddo 54:01

It's actually hilarious you say that because I usually stay up in Noosa for four or five days after the race. So I kind of come home on the Saturday or the Sunday, and I spend three or four days just downtime and chilling and kind of get my breath back from what's been going on for the last, especially the last week, but the lead up to it as well. Uh this year, Jeff, it was a great idea. We all said we'd all stay together and just chill. Uh obviously they announced New Zealand and at Ultraman Australia. So we literally spent the four days after the race just getting ready, trying to like finish off Australia, start with New Zealand because we're all there and we could all actually chat. So it wasn't until I got home I actually needed a holiday for my holiday. So that was a um, yeah, that was a very intense couple of days up there after the race. And it's just sort of been similar. Like Jeff will ring us if he needs something, if he feels like it's great of him that he asked for our kind of our opinion on things. He doesn't make he'll make decisions that he has to make, but he also really values our input, which is absolutely amazing. Um, so there's always we're always talking about something, there's there's always something to do, there's always something in the works that we're kind of planning on or chatting about, and um it'll kind of start to ramp up again now in the next kind of three or four months before the race.

Dream Team Camaraderie And Legends

Larry 55:32

Yeah, of course, yeah. Well, um, with with the dream team being pretty tight and coming back year after year, um, can you share a couple of your favorite uh stories with the other volunteers? Who who are your tightest friends? Who are the ones that you now that you have this platform you want to tell a story about?

Huddo 55:53

Probably can't tell my four or five favorite stories. Um, there's have been some absolute ripper times that we've had up there. Um, yeah, I've like I've made lifelong friends with the with the dream team. I've got um obviously like Dale started it off, and then Mel and Jeff's come on board and just kind of taken it up to that next level. Um, I've had great experiences with all three of them over the years as well. Um Jason Clark is one of my closest friends now. I've been involved with him with up like 10 Ultramans, and just just knowing that I'm gonna get up there and see him for a week just lights up and lights me up, just gets me ready to go. Um Shay's been involved with all of them pretty much as well. She's crewed for me in each of my races and the solo, the double iron man. So she's one of my closest friends. Um, yeah, Jeff, Tim, Jill, Tiff, the list goes on this same Steve-O. I I timed my flight to Brisbane so that I can drive Steve King to Noosa when he commentated, and just uh like the 90 minutes in the car with him as a normal conversation. It's like he's commentating the race and things while he's just having a chat and just to be able to pick his brain and just listen to the stories that he has, like absolutely amazing human being. Um, and like I said earlier, everyone wants everyone to succeed. So, like we're people just don't know what goes on behind the scenes. We've we've had days where people would think, oh, that was a smooth day, everything went really well, and we're behind the scenes probably trying not to kill each other at one point, but then also working together to make sure because it's such a good team, that it just gets done.

Speaker 8 57:48

Yeah.

Huddo 57:49

So yeah, not not too many stories I can probably share, but there are there's definitely a lot of memories involved with each and every one of them.

Larry 57:58

Yeah, and and it seems like you're all like the best high school friends too, where you can all rib each other a little bit and have a good time. And you know, like when I came in and started doing the the the live stream, it was like right away, it's like you gotta you gotta give some uh because you're gonna take it. So you gotta like that's part of the case.

The HUDDO Award And Personal Loss

Huddo 58:19

Yeah. But then you try and give it, and then you've got six people giving it back to you. So you always end up on the receiving end more than you do on the giving end. I will tell one quick quick story. So last year, this kind of just probably shows the emotions of it. So last last year, we rocked up on day four, we had the banquet, we had the speeches. I was sitting outside, I got a text message saying your uncle's unwell. He's um he's probably got 48 hours left. And um so I was pretty down. I went in, I went inside and I sat with Jace behind a thing, and I told him, and he sort of said, Look, just stay here and um you can just hide, just hide. You don't have to do anything. And I don't reckon it was 10 minutes after that. Jeff was up on stage and he's talking uh such and such every uh okay. Well, there's only 10 of us that have been kind of around for most of it. Uh he's done this and he's done that. And I'm like, well, there's only three or four of us that have competed and done the volunteering. And then he said this, made another comment, and I was like, oh, that's me. Like, what the hell's going on? And then he named this award, the HUDO. And um I had to get up and I was a recipient of it. The first Huddo Award fair, like basically just a long Germany award for someone to spoke there. So I got up and I accepted it, and um I can't even remember if I spoke. I just and I sat back down and I was like, that was just an amazing honor to have an award named after me, which is being presented every year. And I sat with Jason, like looking at it and I'm crying, and he's like, he's got his arm around me crying, like, this is amazing. You've had an award that named after you. And while we're looking at the award, my phone stinged and my uncle passed away. So it was like just the the low to the absolute high to the absolute low within about the space of like half an hour, absolutely amazing. But it's kind of like that's almost what the day just brings out. Even without that happening, the stories and that that you hear, it's it's just the emotional side of it is just absolutely unbelievable. The highs and the lows.

Larry 1:00:39

Yeah, absolutely. And and for you, it I mean, you're surrounded by your best friend, so it was probably the best best timing for that situation.

Huddo 1:00:50

Yeah, no, having having someone like that there, having Jace beside me at that time was probably critical. Um, I was a little bit of a mess earlier. I was sitting on the back steps. I think everyone thought I'd just been drinking too much. I was sitting out on the back steps crying as they all kind of came up the back of the awards ceremony. And I couldn't even explain it to anyone what was going on. So I kind of just left it and I don't I might have filtered around afterwards or whatever, but um yeah, to have Jace there and the other guys as well, but have their support there the whole time while I was going through that. Um, yeah, definitely needed them there at that time. And it was awesome that it kind of never a good time for it to happen, but if it was gonna happen, at least I was around people that cared.

unknown 1:01:32

Yeah.

Larry 1:01:33

Yeah, yeah. That's that's the ultra family for you. Yeah. Yeah. Well, uh, you know, looking ahead now to to to this year, um, there'll be new stories. Uh hopefully a little happier story for you. Uh you'll get to present the hudo to somebody this year. Um, so it's gonna be it's gonna be another great year. We are working together again, and we are gonna live stream again the full 36 hours of racing plots plots on the front end and the back end and uh and the awards. So it I'm looking forward to that. Uh we've worked out a couple of the bugs where I think uh for the people listening, the the live stream is gonna be a little bit better in that I'm just gonna put the Zoom link out to the crews so the crews will be able to just join in live and not have to like send a video to me that I then have to process and and put together. So um I I'm gonna streamline that and uh see what happens when things just go live.

Huddo 1:02:41

Oh, that's exciting. I'll make sure I'm definitely on there a little bit more for you this year than I was last year. Yeah, that's cool.

Larry 1:02:49

Yeah, and then of course, um with under the UM brand, we're also looking forward to the New Zealand race in December.

Huddo 1:02:57

Yeah, it's very exciting. So again, like I mean, people kind of have an idea of what to expect, but you never know what to expect. So it'll be based on the course and what we've seen, the videos that Jeff sent through and stuff, it's picturesque and just absolutely amazing part of the world. Don't know how much you're gonna be enjoying it while they're climbing up 10 or 15 kilometer, five to ten percent gradient hills. But yeah, if you're gonna do it, you're gonna pick the nicest places in the world to do it. And Australia, Nusay, you've got New Zealand, like you can't get much better than that.

Larry 1:03:32

Yeah. Well, uh, Huddo, thank you very much for coming and sharing some of your racing experiences and uh the behind the scenes of your volunteer work that you now do with the the UM Australia. Looking forward to see who is going to be able to pick up the HUDO Award this year. Do you get to vote on it? Have you been told?

Huddo 1:03:53

I do get to vote. Uh so we actually awarded so that was 2024, I won it. Uh 2025, Shay Hamilton got it.

Larry 1:04:03

Oh, this year, yes.

Huddo 1:04:04

So she's she's been awarded it this year, and um, we did get to vote. I wanted to do a 3-2-1 from everyone, like a Branley medal, the best and fairest football medal that we have in Australia. But um, yeah, we kind of just everyone put in, everyone kind of put in their opinion, put in reasons why, and yeah, pretty. It was, I mean, she was very well deserving. There are a couple of other people that are definitely up in the running for it, and hopefully that becomes the uh one that everyone guns for from now on, as opposed to any of the other awards. So hopefully that's the one that we all talk about going forward. I want to win it again.

Larry 1:04:43

There's no rule against that, right?

Huddo 1:04:46

No, there's no rule, but um just I'm gonna have to try very hard if I want to, I'm gonna have to up my game. As I said, I feel like I got mine because of longevity and just turning up every year, whereas Shay got hers for probably sorting out 350 problems that arose over the course of the three days, and other people are out there, you know, some people are turning around and going, All right, I've got to go and run 50k with someone because they don't have a crew member. Um, so yeah, you've got to do a fair bit to actually get it, hopefully.

Looking Ahead: Livestreams And New Races

unknown 1:05:19

Yeah.

Larry 1:05:20

Hey Hado, thanks a lot for for taking the time out and uh taking the time away to to come and chat with me and and to share your stories with with the listeners. And we'll be looking forward to all your hard work coming up in May and December.

Huddo 1:05:37

Thanks so much for having me, mate. It's an absolute pleasure and I love what you do. So just to be able to put our stories out and put everyone's stories out like you do and have the platform that you do, absolutely awesome. So very much appreciated.

Larry 1:05:49

Thank you.

Huddo 1:05:51

Thanks, mate.

Mary Jo 1:05:53

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