How This Gym Bro Hybrid Athlete Will Run A Sub 3 Hour Marathon

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What does it take to transform from a gym bro to a sub-3-hour marathoner?

The Five-Second Rule

Five seconds. That’s all it takes. Not to pick up food off the floor (though, sure, do that too), but to transform yourself from a solid marathoner into the kind of runner people whisper about at finish lines. Sub-three hours. It’s not just a goal; it’s a gravitational pull. And Brenton? He’s right there. But here’s the catch: those five seconds? They’re heavier than they look.

The Mental Marathon

Running is easy until it isn’t. The line between “I’ve got this” and “Oh no, I don’t” is thin, especially when you’re in the so-called “teens” of your pace. Brenton described it perfectly: 4:30 per kilometer feels breezy; 4:20 is manageable. But the 4:10 range? That’s when the doubts creep in, whispering their favorite mantra: “Why are we doing this again?”

This isn’t about the legs, though. It’s about the brain. The brain that overanalyzes every gel you took, every kilometer split, every bad decision you’ve made in your life—including trying the caffeinated gel for the first time in a race (rookie mistake, Brenton). The brain loves to make drama where none exists.

Consistency Is King (and Boring)

Here’s the unsexy truth: the secret to running faster isn’t a magic shoe or some rare genetic gift. It’s showing up. Again. And again. Brenton nailed it when he said, “I’m not a great runner, but I’m getting better.” That’s the game. Tiny, incremental gains that stack until one day, a three-hour marathon feels less like a pipe dream and more like destiny.

But let’s be honest, consistency is boring. It doesn’t post well on Instagram. It doesn’t get applause at family dinners. Yet, it’s the rocket fuel behind every breakthrough. In running, as in life, escape velocity isn’t glamorous—it’s just momentum, sustained long enough to break through the drag.

That Hybrid Life

Then there’s Brenton’s wildcard: he’s not just a runner. He’s a strength-training, motorcycle-riding, ex-gym-bro hybrid athlete. That’s not the norm for marathoners, who often have physiques that can hide behind a lamppost. But maybe that’s part of his edge.

The muscles that carried him through his gym days now carry him through the pavement grind. It’s a reminder that our past selves—whether they were gym bros, couch potatoes, or occasional joggers—don’t vanish when we evolve. They’re still there, helping us, even when we trade the barbell for a bib number.

The Finish Line: It’s Just Math (But Not Really)

Five seconds per kilometer. That’s the gap between 3:05 and 2:59. Easy to say, hard to execute. But here’s the thing: the difference isn’t just in the legs or the lungs. It’s in the willingness to keep showing up, to embrace discomfort, and to trust that the journey is worth it.

So, Brenton, keep chasing. Because those five seconds? They’re already yours—you just haven’t crossed the line yet. And when you do, it’ll feel exactly like it should: inevitable.

[00:00:00] Brenton: Yeah. Five or six seconds faster per K, which doesn’t sound like much, but in my head, it’s like, God, you know, 4. 30, that’s easy now, 4. 20, 20 easy, as soon as I’m getting in the T, it’s tough. And that’s just a mental thing.

[00:00:14] Daren: We’re starting something pretty cool today, following the journey of what runners call the Holy Grail.

[00:00:19] Daren: A sub three hour marathon. It’s more than just chasing a time though. It’s about the journey. Learning to coach yourself and seeing it all the way through.

[00:00:28] Daren (2): Hey buddy, how you doing? Good to see you. Good to meet you, Peter. Yeah, you’re strong runner, dude.

[00:00:35] Daren: Ah, I love about that. So this is Brenton Chot. He’s a city base runner of three years.

[00:00:41] Daren: That’s also big into a strength training and motorcycle racing. Yeah, it’s a thing. It’s pretty dope. He ran the London Marathon in 3 0 5, which is pretty damn impressive. But we all know what he’s got on his mind and that’s getting under that magic three hour mark 259. And for regular people who run, that’s all of us.

[00:00:59] Daren: That’s like the difference between being average to being amazing. And we’ll be talking about that and more while going for an easy long run because this is Conversation Zone 2. Let’s get into it.

[00:01:13] Daren (2): What do you think the issue was? I, I think, and We’re running lights,

[00:01:19] Brenton: flicking them off. I did something that you, they say not to do.

[00:01:23] Brenton: Try something you won’t race at. You’re such an idiot. I’ve been taking these, the precision gels. I actually love the precision gels. Not too sickening, you can suck them back easy. But I tried it. Caffeine. Version of that gel. The start line. And Yeah, it went horrible. Jittery. Nauseous. But probably Man, I reckon the first 10.

[00:01:50] Brenton: At least 10k. At least 10k.

[00:01:52] Daren (2): At least 10k.

[00:01:53] Brenton: Were you, was there any toilet issues? No toilet issues. Vomiting? No, but it was like, even when we were just on the limit, it wasn’t, it wasn’t horrific. But, it felt horrific at the time. Like it wasn’t, I didn’t throw up or anything. People had it a lot worse. And I still ran, Okay, it was my, it was a PB, so it wasn’t, it was my first half marathon race.

[00:02:14] Brenton: I still climbed the PB. But, it did a little disappointing, but it could have been better. But, it could have been better. So, oh, it’s gonna be better. Well, it’s gonna be that a hundred percent.

[00:02:24] Daren (2): I Think what’s cool about that is I think you trying something on a b race because you’re training for a marathon Yes, the Velma marathon.

[00:02:32] Daren (2): I’ll talk about that in a second, but I really think Random coach advice that you didn’t ask for. I think that trying something new on a B race, C race, training session is good. If it fails, you go, now I know. 100%. So, it could have been Melbourne, I thought. That would have been disastrous. You would have

[00:02:48] Brenton: been

[00:02:48] Daren (2): like, oh

[00:02:48] Brenton: fuck!

[00:02:49] Brenton: And, and I was actually thinking that, that, thank God I didn’t try this in, in Melbourne for the first time. Yeah. Because even when I was running, I was thinking, Jesus, imagine if this happened in Melbourne. Well, that training down the, uh, I know it happens to a lot of people. Yeah. But.

[00:03:02] Daren (2): Exactly. Added, you also learn, you know, two learning lessons, you learn how to run, let’s get this light, learn how to run with discomfort.

[00:03:12] Daren (2): Yes. So, if it happens again on a race, an important race, you’ll be like, okay, I’ve been here before. You won’t freak out because you know that you can throttle the line, you can throttle the line up. Of, uh, not throwing up. And, uh, going through the toilet for the number two. Uh, and that’s, that’s impressive, man.

[00:03:34] Daren (2): So, respect on that, man. Respect on that. I think, that’s huge. And I know that you are a Three hour, very low three hour marathon runner, which we’re getting into. Yeah. And I have a feeling having access to gold time. It is. So you’ve got Melbourne marathon. We’re here in Sydney, Australia right now. Melbourne marathon is secretly the marathon of where the elites run.

[00:03:57] Daren (2): Like Sydney Marathon is happening in two weeks. At the time of this recording, it might be later than when you, when you watch this. That marathon’s not fast. Melbourne Marathon is fast. And he knows because I have a feeling, I could be assuming, you’re trying to run sub three hours, right? Yeah. Because he ran 305 in London.

[00:04:13] Daren (2): One second. So I checked out of Strava. I do research on everyone that I interview. This young man ran the steadiest effing K’s, miles I’ve ever seen, dude. Like it was 420, which is about seven minutes per mile for you Americans. Like, exact, 42k, 26 miles. Like, dude, impressive, man. Like, not so many people can pull that off.

[00:04:39] Daren (2): Steady cadence the whole way. Steady heart rate, like.

[00:04:43] Brenton: Yeah, sub 3’s the goal. It’s uh, I think it’s about 5 or 6 seconds faster per k. Which doesn’t sound like much, but in my head it’s like, as you know how it is when you’re getting, slowly getting fitter. Like, oh yeah, 430, that’s easy now. Uh huh. 420, I can do 420 easy.

[00:05:00] Brenton: As soon as I’m getting in the teens, it’s like, Okay, that’s uh, You know, that’s, it’s tough. And

[00:05:06] Daren (2): that’s just a mental thing. I think, I think you’re doing great, man. You got good form. Like, you stay consistent, dude. And like, honestly, consistency is, It’s a huge pillar in this whole 1 percent better running journey I’m on.

[00:05:20] Daren (2): And anytime I see that, like, I’m always like, damn. Like I get, I get like excited about consistency, even though it’s super boring, but so many people can’t do it like in the race and training and life. So when I see it, I’m like, Oh yeah, you’re part of my tribe, dude. I like that mindset. I was checking out your Instagram, and uh, Dude, you are still pretty jacked.

[00:05:46] Daren (2): Uh, but you were like, straight cut, man. How do you maintain all that muscle, the muscle mass

[00:05:54] Brenton: while running so much? I don’t know, like I just, I go to the gym I go to weights three days a week.

[00:06:00] Daren: Yeah.

[00:06:01] Brenton: Um, but I think, so even now I don’t really consider myself a runner. I’ve only been running, I’m one of the, uh, one of the guys, the blow ins that got into running over lockdown.

[00:06:15] Brenton: The second lockdown, it’s been like, I think three years of running. So, but yeah, before that I just did weights. I was one of the, I won’t say losers in the gym. Gym bro! You’re a gym bro. I was a gym bro, yeah. In a positive way. A nice one, yeah. A nice one. So, yeah, I, uh, I think, I don’t know, I’ve got no signs behind this as well, but I think when you’ve got like runners, like yourself, they shouldn’t have been running.

[00:06:45] Brenton: What were you like? Like, a long time? Yeah. Did you run back in college? I feel like you would have, your body would be just, naturally, you know, aerobically fit. Like your baseline now probably would have dropped down, with my head anyway. Too much more because you’re, You’ve ridden your whole life, and that’s the new norm.

[00:07:04] Daren: Yeah.

[00:07:05] Brenton: And I feel like, for me, I was the opposite. Not so much cardio, but, weights. Yeah. So now my baseline of, I guess, muscle, um, is probably a, maybe, a bit higher, but, I don’t know, maybe genetics as well. I think.

[00:07:22] Daren (2): Definitely genetics. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can’t, I can’t carry that muscle mass. Not

[00:07:25] Brenton: trying

[00:07:26] Daren (2): to. So,

[00:07:27] Brenton: you know.

[00:07:28] Brenton: And I always had little, even when I was a kid, I had little muscles, I even got it from my. My, my parents, but.

[00:07:35] Daren (2): Okay, nice. Like, if you look at Elliot Kachogian, like, even Jakob Engelbrekson, like the hardcore endurance guys, they have, like, no chest. Which is good, because if you have a chest, that chest is not, those muscles are not propelling you forward.

[00:07:50] Daren (2): You have to carry them, too. So me having a chest like I’m good for the 400 maybe 800. Uh, I’m happy where I am. I’m the best distance we’re not going to be for my genetics, but Jim, I mean, there’s so many people don’t do gym, man. So you kind of, uh, you just explain why you stay at the gym. It’s because you started at the gym.

[00:08:12] Daren (2): Yeah. That makes sense. Whereas yeah, a lot of runners, man, I’m always yelling at them about strength training and people are shut up. You don’t want to hear it. Got no time for that. So respect.

[00:08:22] Daren: Future Darren here, and I won’t do that thing. You know the thing where people go, Hey, you should subscribe, rate, share, give a thumbs up, rah, rah, rah, rah.

[00:08:29] Daren: Now, while I’d love for you to do that anyways, please go ahead and do it, the next steps will be for you to transform your running life with our free 1 percent better runner, 30 day free trial. Base training habits, plan and newsletter. Unlike other running plans and newsletters, we do not do motivational quick fixes and hacks.

[00:08:45] Daren: Instead, we focus on long term success that lasts from 30 days to 30 years and more. It’s not just a training plan, but a mental shift. Think of it as your personal running therapist. Sign up for free at either DLakeCreates. com forward slash news, web search, 1 percent better run a newsletter. Or get the link in the show notes or video description below.

[00:09:06] Daren: All value, no fluff. Cancel anytime. Let’s get back into it.

[00:09:12] Daren (2): All right. Now we are on Pyrmont Bay. This is my favorite part of the run. It’s just flat and nice and warm water. No wind today. Perfect temperature. So how did you get into running? You said lockdown, right? Lockdown.

[00:09:32] Brenton: Start with lockdown. So I feel like before when I was a gym bro, I call it a meathead, myself a meathead.

[00:09:39] Brenton: I, uh, I was gym six, five days a week, just weights, not much cardio. And then I sort of came to the realization, it’s like, what am I doing? Like, what’s the point of pumping weights and not doing anything? Just walk around like a, just a blurt.

[00:09:58] Daren (2): I

[00:09:59] Brenton: don’t know. I get it when you’re, when you’re, when you’re a kid.

[00:10:02] Brenton: Yeah, you know, you think it’s cool. And then when they shut the gyms down, I started to, uh, I was reading, it’s actually my dad got it once and it’s probably the good recommend, that’s the only good recommendation it’s gonna be for a book, The Goggins. Uh huh. Yeah,

[00:10:16] Daren (2): yeah.

[00:10:16] Brenton: You hungry? Yeah. Is that

[00:10:17] Daren (2): the first one?

[00:10:17] Daren (2): Yeah. So. I need to read that, that’s on my to read list. I

[00:10:22] Brenton: used to be, he’s got two out now, so. Yeah,

[00:10:25] Daren (2): like seeing all the podcasts.

[00:10:26] Brenton: Yeah. And all this

[00:10:27] Daren (2): motivational stuff.

[00:10:28] Brenton: So, I’m kind of like, ah, I’ll see if The podcast probably gives you all of it, but it’s pretty Especially Well, you know, you’ve seen all You ought to have heard his whole story, but Anyway, so that’s sort of They shut all the gyms down.

[00:10:41] Brenton: That was the same time that I read that. Actually, look And then, I sort of just got into running from there. Started very Started like the normal Rookie runner. Mm-hmm . Going out five, six Ks, pretty much one 70 Heartbeat Easy. Mm-hmm . Um, .

[00:10:59] Daren (2): I spent Crazy zone. Yeah.

[00:11:01] Brenton: Terrible

[00:11:02] Daren (2): Wish. I haven’t ever, so while if you wanna check my on, but I

[00:11:05] Brenton: just running

[00:11:05] Daren (2): it.

[00:11:06] Brenton: Yeah. So I was doing that and then I started something big, uh, big YouTube botcher. Yeah. That’s it. You probably know. I started across Nick Bear’s quad channel. Hit a lot of running. Who was it? Nick Bear.

[00:11:20] Daren (2): Nick Bear. Oh yeah, that guy. That’s perfect for you. Yeah, yeah. Hundred percent. Hybrid, yeah. Hybrid athlete.

[00:11:25] Brenton: Yeah. Yeah. This guy’s, he’s jacked and he’s, and he’s fit. And I want to be like that. So then. What a side note on that.

[00:11:31] Daren (2): Sorry to interrupt. That dude is fast. Like yeah, he’s like anaerobic speed. He’s very impressive for such a big dude. Um, He runs a 450 mile. I think closer that maybe faster to I think 239 marathon.

[00:11:44] Daren (2): Yeah, that’s like Like he’s actually you look at his VDOT score, which I have an episode on But if you look at his VDOT score, he’s actually He’s reaching his full potential aerobically From the marathon all the way down to his mile. I don’t do that. So my mile is 450, 455. I cannot run a 230 down marathon.

[00:12:07] Daren (2): And, for him, he’s really trained up his whole system and gotten all the parts running. Like, that’s like really impressive. Like, for such a big dude, too. For a regular person, that would be impressive. For a big dude, that’s impressive. Even more stuff. Anyway, keep going. You’re watching him?

[00:12:24] Brenton: Yeah, and then this one I, um, I don’t know.

[00:12:27] Brenton: I, uh, I think he was doing one of his marathon uh, blocks or I don’t know what you call them, like training, training series, episodes all on the marathon so I kind of just followed along with one of his plans and then, and I think once you, with running once you sort of start seeing like improvements.

[00:12:48] Brenton: Heart rate’s lower, you’re running the same pace, you can run far off, further, you can run quicker. I like

[00:12:54] Daren (2): far, I like far. Yeah,

[00:12:57] Brenton: you can run quicker. Yeah, run quicker, you kind of get addicted to the, the improvements and I think that’s where I’ve sort of, sort of been at.

[00:13:07] Daren (2): So, one percent better runner thing.

[00:13:08] Daren (2): Yep. We hear all about consistent gains once, one step at a time. Unintended. Incremental consistent gains. Yep. So, what’s one thing, and this is kind of a trick question. Okay. What’s one thing that like, you didn’t even have to try to do, that you don’t have to do, with like, effort? Mental, physical effort?

[00:13:28] Daren (2): That like, Moves the needle for you in anything obviously running Right. See a new example. Does that make sense?

[00:13:35] Brenton: No, I think well for me If I understood the question, right, it’s just I think a lot of people struggle with being consistent being motivated but for me i’ve always because i’ve always i’ve always been a fitness since I was like No, maybe 12 no, probably not maybe 13 14 a day to take me to the gym, so I think You being inconsistent and doing something pretty much every day, that’s what’s, you know, helped me.

[00:14:05] Brenton: Especially with the running, like I’ve noticed my running, I’m not a great runner by any stretch, but I’m getting, getting better and I think it’s just, yeah, that’s one thing, you know, one percent better every day. If I try to do that, I’m one percent better every month even, like, your times and everything’s going to go up, so yeah, that’s probably.

[00:14:26] Brenton: Something that, that I’ve, uh, You know, I don’t have to push too hard, I’m just, It’s just, you know, kind of, Like, Every day you get up and you’ve got to do something. Yeah. Most days. Yeah. Most days. Most days. Most

[00:14:42] Daren (2): things, most of the time, there’s a hundred percent, there’s something that covers the days you need to take off, or life, or whatever.

[00:14:49] Daren (2): Uh, I like that, because, because, the consistency, it’s actually like, you know, how much energy does it take to get out of Earth’s orbit? To get to the moon, get to Mars, whatever you want to go to. Like, so much energy, you need like a rocket ship, all those rockets filled with dump. Yeah. Like, just to get out of orbit, so I think it’s called escape velocity in physics terms, all the energy, even a plane, all the energy to get off.

[00:15:17] Daren (2): And then once you get off, you’re glad because there’s no more air, air resistance. And you just kind of like floating. Yeah. I mean, you can keep floating in space forever. Yeah. But, uh, I’d say the same thing about once you get things rolling, you don’t have to think about it. It was autopilot, especially when it comes hundred percent.

[00:15:34] Daren (2): I love it. Thank you very much for today’s run. Thank you. All the best with your development marathon. And, uh,

[00:15:44] Brenton: your brotherly. Cheers. Thank you.

[00:15:46] Daren: Time, time, time. I’m obsessed with it as it’s the one thing we can’t make more of. But ironically, we as humans, we made the whole concept of time. Thanks for giving us your time by listening, watching, or reading this.

[00:15:57] Daren: We love helping runners get 1 percent better each day, one step at a time and can only reach more runners by people like you sharing us out to runners like you. So as I might’ve mentioned early in the episode, if you haven’t already, you can get a free step by step 30 day base training and habits guide to getting 1 percent better in running and life each day by signing up for our email newsletter.

[00:16:18] Daren: Unlike other running videos and podcasts, we are not about the quick hack and fluffy motivational quotes. Instead, the 1 percent Better Runner focuses on how small daily habits ripple into broader life success, helping runners perform better on and off the road or the trail or track, wherever you want to be doing your workouts.

[00:16:35] Daren: All in five minutes per week. This episode and all this content is produced in Sydney, Australia. And I’d like to acknowledge the Gadigal of the Eora nation who are the traditional indigenous custodians of this land. Much, much, much respects. If you want to contact us about anything, email talk at DLAGcreates.[00:16:52] Daren: com. We’re also on the socials, mainly Instagram and Strava right now. Just search one better run or DLAG runs. Small steps now, lifelong impact later. Peace.

How This Gym Bro Hybrid Athlete Will Run A Sub 3 Hour Marathon | Brenton