Ben Brockman 

Ben Brockman is an accredited exercise physiologist at Physiotas; endurance athlete; Level 2 Recreational Running Coach and Event Director for the Devonport parkrun. Pretty impressive bio! Ben is our newest Find Your Feet Ambassador and we needed to know more about this man! 

Hey Ben! I’ve seen you around the store at Find Your Feet but had no idea you had this incredible community involvement beyond your own running practice. Could you share with us a little bit about how you spend your time?

Hey! So, mostly my time is filled either being active or helping others be active! My weekdays are mostly filled working as an Exercise Physiologist at Physiotas. My role is basically using exercise as a tool to help people improve their health, manage chronic health conditions or recover from injury. I get the chance to work with some runners too, doing gait analysis and retraining, coaching and strength training, all to help people run happy and healthy.

Outside of work, I'm generally out running somewhere! Saturday's at parkrun (if I'm not volunteering!), then Sunday's are generally out exploring a trail somewhere with the gang.

Why are those pursuits important to you?

I'm really passionate about helping people improve their health through exercise. Whether that be through work or through parkrun. The benefits of exercise are so well known, but participation rates are still low. I love being able to help people remove some of the barriers preventing them from exercising.

 My involvement with parkrun has been such an eye opener for the importance of the social elements to exercise. We have a great running community here on the coast and the friendships I have made and seen others make through parkrun has been amazing.

Personally, in terms of running, it has always been a great relaxation tool, an opportunity to get away from all the other stressors of daily life.

Did you have any strong influencers or support networks to help you get to where you are now?

I've always been really lucky to have great support networks. Whether that be parents, family, friends, co-workers or employers.

My partner Kristin has been an amazing support with everything I do and I can honestly say I wouldn't have done many of the things I have without her!

I also have a great group of running friends who have had a huge impact on my running over the past few years. Mostly strangers a few years ago, we now spend hours together out on the trails as often as we can.

You are currently living in Tasmania, how do you decide where to run with so many epic trail options?!

It's almost impossible, isn't it! Our little group has a to do list that only ever seems to get longer! We have recently been ticking off some longer trails here in the NW in stages, working through both the Penguin Cradle Trail and the Tasmanian Trail. It's such a great way to see our beautiful state! My favourite local spots to try and get to regularly are the Dial Range behind Penguin and Mt Roland.

Do you find it beneficial to set goals for yourself? If so, what do you hope to have accomplished 12 months from now?

I'm not huge on setting goals for myself in a really structured way, more "things I would like to do" rather than "Goals". Having said that, I'm keen to have a good run at the Bruny Ultra later this year and in 12 months I would love to be in the position to do a 100k race and have an 'enjoyable' day. But most importantly I need to be still enjoying running.

In 12 months, I would love to see more parkrun events on the NW coast and around Tassie, giving more people the opportunity to be active.

What does it mean to you to ‘be wilder, play wilder and perform wilder?’

For me, 'be wilder' is about connecting to your surroundings and environment. I look at this as the 'why' we do what we do, whether that be training for an ultra or starting on a path to being more active.

I see 'play wilder' as the process of working towards where we want to be, the training plan and the adventure.

I see 'perform wilder' as the outcome of a strong connection to the why and the process, resulting in our desired result, the 100k finish line or the healthier lifestyle.

I would find this question tough to answer, but I’m curious, do you know what your personal ethos and idea of success is?

Yep, that’s a tough one! Success is really variable and dependant on the individual situation. In terms of running, I don't spend a lot of time on the podium so 'winning' isn't really a good marker of success. For me to judge a 'race' as successful, I generally look at if I have enjoyed it, and if I cross the line with a smile, I can count it as a success. Especially if I can run enjoyably in a challenging event, I'm happy. If I get to this point, it's a nice indicator that I've engaged in the process with a clear idea of why I'm doing it.

Clinically and with parkrun, if I can make a make a difference to someone's health and help them be more active, especially if that’s a lasting change, I've been successful.

Thanks so much Ben! Best wishes for all your future endeavours and look forward to sharing more of your journey within our growing community of adventure lovers!

You can find Ben’s services at Physiotas -  http://physiotas.com.au/services/exercise-physiology/ 

And follow Ben on Instagram - @b_brockman