Athlete:

Dion Finocchiaro

DION FINOCCHIARO

Utlra distance Runner

What does your standard training week involve?
Sundays are my favorite training day, which varies from road to trail.

Where is your favourite place to train?
You can't beat getting out and properly off-road. I'm lucky to live right in the middle of the Lake District – famous for its fell-running history,
and I love nothing more than getting up on the ridges and into the mountain air with incredible views in every direction. No matter the weather,
it's always beautiful.

What is your favourite 2XU garment? When do you use it and why?
Transition bag- I use this bag every day to and from work to carry all of my training gear. Best 2XU product. It has literally changed my life

What is your favourite training accessory?
GPS watch with HR monitor

What has been the toughest experience in your career and what did you learn from it?
Melbourne Marathon- I recently was 500m to the finish line and a 2:23 marathon until I collapsed from overheating. I pushed my body to its limits and finished after being in medical care for 90 mins.

What’s the most common training mistake you see on the circuit? Any suggestions on how to avoid it?
I’d say it would be not listening to your body and trying to do too much training too soon into a program/ comeback from injury

What motivates you to train and race harder?
Competition is a good motivator but for me, it’s really just always wanting to improve on every result. So I’d say I’m very self-driven.

Describe your diet/meal plan leading up to a big race:
I try to keep it pretty simple. Eat clean and load up on low GI carbs a few days before each event. Good nutrition doesn’t happen during race week. It happens throughout your whole training regime.

How do you balance your training and racing life with life outside the sport?
I am very busy with full time work so I make use of my time with quality sessions over quantity. I try to catch up with friends where we can train together for optimum time efficiency.

What type of nutritional supplement do you find most helpful (either for training or competition)?
I regularly take magnesium, electrolytes, tissue rejuvenator as well as capsules and protein powder.

Best and worst thing about being a professional athlete:
The worst thing is the time that’s put in and also injuries. The best thing is health, happiness, fitness, experiences, travel, role model and definitely great friends.

In five years time, I'll be:
Representing Australia in the Commonwealth Games marathon team and 100km World championship team. Also indulge in some more Ironman triathlons.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Australian record holder for 6 hour running (85.037km)
• Australian 100km qualifier
• Ironman finisher