John Polson finished second at the recent Challenge Melbourne race, but this talented Aussie Pro has a few other professional commitments including but not limited to R&D work for his sponsor Scody.
Slowtwitch: Thanks for the chat.
John Polson: Herbert it’s great to talk to you.
ST: I think you were thrilled with your race at Challenge Melbourne. Now that you had a bit more time to digest it, what are your thoughts about the result in general?
John: I am thrilled! To come 2nd to Tim Berkel in front of that crowd at the inaugural Challenge Melbourne was pretty special. I could be as critical as I normally am of myself and say that I missed an opportunity, but I still have a smile on my face and I keep reminiscing about how cool the finish line feeling was. That is a pretty good indication that I am thrilled about my Challenge Melbourne experience.
ST: Fettell had managed to really pull away. You and Berkel started the run together and was there a concern that this one may have gotten away?
John: Clayton’s performance on the bike was unbelievable. Tim and I rode together for the whole 90 kilometers and we were actually riding really well. I haven’t looked at my power file yet, but I imagine it was somewhere between ridiculous and labor! The bike was three loops and after each lap the gap to Clayton kept getting larger and larger. Taking into consideration how much effort we were putting in chasing Clayton, I genuinely felt he would have to pay for it at some stage and that we were always in with a chance but you never know - Clayton is a quality athlete.
ST: Considering all the effort you two put in in chasing him, was there not also a good chance that you end up paying for that?
John: Yeah of course, there is always that risk I guess with racing. However I do have quite a bit of confidence in my run at the moment. It’s one thing that has been an improvement with the help of my coach Tim Reed, and this is probably due to having more bike strength.
ST: How far away were Fox and Skipworth?
John: In the end Michael Fox was pretty close, a little less than a minute I think. Tim and I were racing for the win, and our focus was firstly on catching on Clayton, and then ripping each other apart. I started to cramp with about 2km to go, Tim put in a surge, ripped me apart in the process, and I just had to find a way to the line without letting Foxy catch me.
ST: Were you aware where he was, or was it just little voices in your head?
John: Yeah, absolutely. Foxy was uncomfortably close, especially towards the end. The last few hundred meters I just wanted to roll over and die, and he definitely made me work for it. I am stoked for him and his result over the weekend as well. We have both been knocking on the door for a year or two, and I think we are now both beginning to show some of our promise.
ST: As you raced Berkel for the Challenge Melbourne title, did you at any point regret that you had made the new Scody kit available to him before this race?
John: Haha, now that you raise it, maybe I should have given him a defective race suit by mistake! No, not at all. Tim was instrumental in the development process of the Optimise AIR Tri Suit. We really wanted to push the boundaries of drag minimization with the suit and as our leading non-drafting athlete at Scody, Tim was the athlete that we wanted in the suit as soon as possible. Having seen all the media post race of our 1 – 2 finish, we couldn’t have hoped for a better launch of this exciting new suit.
ST: For those who don’t know, what exactly do you do for Scody?
John: I am part of the Scody Research and Design team, a group responsible for the innovation and development of garments across triathlon, cycling, running, swimming, and netball. My primary role is as their Sports Scientist, conducting research and testing in areas such as aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, thermoregulation and so forth. At the start of 2013, SCODY Managing Director, Bernard Schreiber came to me with a goal to invest significant money and resources into garment innovation. My role, Scody Research and Design, and products such as the new suit we wore on the weekend are the result. It is a very exciting job.
ST: How many hours a week in the office away from training does that mean for you?
John: I work between 20 – 25 hours per week in the office. However, like many of the Slowtwitch readers could attest to, because I am so passionate about my job I find I am thinking about it all the time and will work in my free time.
ST: Also please describe the brand Scody for us. How old is it and how many folks work for it?
John: Scody was started in 1997 in a Burleigh Head’s garage. There is something about starting up in garages and successful clothing companies in Australia! Now, Scody employs 25 people across design, sales, marketing and production, has setup in New Zealand, and is now looking at expanding it’s presence through North America and Europe. The goal we work towards is to be a world-class garment manufacturer and I’d say we are on our way.
ST: Are you also still working as a physiotherapist?
John: I worked so hard to finalize my Doctor of Physiotherapy studies that I make a concerted effort to keep my head in the profession. So I still conduct private research and treat a select amount of athletes. However, having worked full-time for a leading physiotherapy clinic on the Gold Coast and building what is a pretty strong reputation as a practitioner, I still found the hours and physical nature of the job were not conducive to good training and racing, and visa versa. My role at Scody satisfies me mentally, I constantly use my skills and knowledge in physiotherapy and sports science in my role, and above all, I feel like I have a lot to offer the business. My role also facilitates my goals in triathlon, and that is all that you can ask for from my perspective.
ST: What did Tim Berkel say to you when you crossed the line?
John: Tim was absolutely ecstatic for me, as I was for him. We get along really well and if there is ever a guy that you want to win, regardless if you are in the race or not, it is Tim Berkel.
ST: Any words from your Scody boss about you guys going one-two?
John: Bernard and Melinda Blackley, our National Sales Manager, came to Melbourne for the race and to be honest, it was pretty special for all of us. Scody had the naming rights for Challenge Melbourne, we were making a significant release in the AIR Tri Suit, and Tim and I came 1st and 2nd wearing the suit, and Rebecca Hosche came 3rd in the women’s [race]. You could not have scripted it any better.
ST: Maybe with first and second place in the men's race swapped out?
John: Of course, and trust me, I keep going over in my head the things I would have done differently. As cliché as it may sound though, maybe I have learnt more lessons from this experience than I would have if I had won.
ST: Last year you spent a few months in the USA. Will that come up again this year or are you now too rooted in Australia?
John: Yeah, last year I spent five months in the US with Boulder as my base. I will head back to Boulder again this year pretty determined to use this early season form as a stepping-stone. We have a really good setup in Boulder, and training partners are endless. I still work for Scody when in the US which is fantastic. We have a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline this year, much of which will be a continuation of the AIR project and the use of wind tunnels to fine-tune our developments.
ST: Who do you live with and hang out with when you are there?
John: So in Australia I live with triathlon’s weirdest yet most entertaining athlete, Callum Millward. I choose to live by myself in Boulder so I can escape what can be a bubble environment at times, but both Callum and I still spend a fair amount of time together there. We have very different personalities, but it kind of works because we are pretty relaxed when it comes to the sport, we give each other space, and I let him feel like he is the boss. We also have a really good group of Aussies, Kiwis, and the occasional token American that use Boulder as their summer base. I won’t try and reel off the names because we could be here a while.
ST: What is next for you in terms of racing? Will you race Berkel again in Geelong?
John: I won’t be on the start line for Geelong, so I will have to wait for a rematch with Berks. I am sure he has a lot of other athletes to focus on this weekend anyway. My decision not to race Geelong was a predetermined call between myself and my coach, Tim Reed. The deal was if I had a solid race at Challenge Melbourne, and with two other races already under my belt the last month, that I would rest, and then refocus for the Busselton 70.3 and then the US season.
ST: And the main season goal this year is?
John: Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Mont Tremblanc. I really love racing in deep, high quality fields like regional and world championships. It’s what we train for and it is where athletes like myself learn their craft, so to speak.
ST: I believe you are 27 years old. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
John: Herbert, that is a hard question. You will never get any outlandish predictions from me. Well, I at least won’t say it out loud. I will say this though. I am in this sport because I think I can do really well in it and if I am still in it in 5 years time it will mean I am achieving the things I believe are possible. I am nowhere near where I can be and where I need to be, but I am on the right track and have more focus and confidence than ever. Tim and I have a short and long-term strategy to make this happen and I look forward to giving it a red hot go this season! I also feel like I am in a really good position in my life. I have worked really hard to set myself up with a career outside of the sport so if I am not in this sport in 5 years time, it means that along the way I have made a conscious decision to place greater emphasis on my other career.
ST: Talk about your sponsors.
John: Aside from Scody, the list is pretty bare. The support I receive from Scody, both through flexibility of employment and support in product is significant and I place a huge value on it. In terms of searching for potential sponsors, I always see myself as offering both athletic performance as well as my experience in both Physiotherapy and Sports Science. For me, being able to offer this package provides the sponsor with a lot more value and a greater potential for longevity, which helps me justify their investment in my goal. It also means I place a lot of importance on finding the right fit.
ST: Anything else we ought to know?
John: I am single and ready to mingle, ladies! Oh dear... I am not sure what is more worrying, the fact I said that or that other people are going to read it.
You can follow John Polson on Twitter via @johnnypolson
