Connecting the Dots...with a Bush Turkey (Clive Gross)

It's the 10th episode of "Connecting the Dots," and Adam celebrates hitting a significant podcast milestone! This week, he shares highlights including his father’s 75th birthday and a visit to the iconic Golden Horse restaurant. Dive into an engaging conversation with Clive, a control systems engineer and extraordinary runner, discussing the intersections of engineering, running, the Bush Turkey Track Club and family life. Discover how personalized passions drive professional and personal success.

www.bushturkey.club

Transcript

Adam: 0:00

There it is, week 10. 10! I've done this little project that I started. 10! I've got 10. I like that. They say that 90 percent of the podcasts in the world never make it past 10 episodes, so I've made it to this one. And it's just a little project for me to connect with people. Another great week, full of my, filling my dot with lots of great things. My dad turned 75, family together, Golden Horse restaurant, the restaurant, everyone's got that family, grew up, Chinese restaurant, we went back to ours, that was a great night. Took some of the team to lunch during the week, so that was great to spend some time out of the office bonding with them. Had a snake at home, again, I'm collecting snake, no I don't collect them, I call a guy and relocates it, so that's pretty cool. I'm a frequent flyer with the team. Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers. This week, and I started this project to connect with people that I want to learn more about. And this week is exactly that. I met this guy through the running community and while our origin stories of running have some overlap and similarity, he went on to be a phenomenal runner and this week I get to spend some time and connect with him and ask him questions about that. Let's go meet this bush turkey. This is Clive. He is an engineer, a bush turkey, a father, probably also a husband then. Let's ask him some questions about what he does. Tell me you're an engineer. Let's start there.

Clive: 1:19

Okay. Yeah, so I'm a Control systems engineer, I guess is the Easiest way to put it. I work in building management systems and electronic security systems. Okay. At the moment I'm working at the Queens Wharf Casino. Excellent. So my job is to basically integrate all of the various control systems across the property into a, one big Uber system that supervises over the top. Yep. It's pretty exciting. There's only really a handful of those types of systems in the country, it's been really cool to work on some quite cutting edge tech and pioneering a lot of new ideas and concepts when it comes to system integration.

Adam: 1:50

Yeah, wow!

Clive: 1:51

I've worked on quite a few health care projects commercial, real estate and CBD.

Adam: 1:55

Yeah. Yeah, awesome. And you're a father to some kids? Yes. How many you got?

Clive: 2:00

I've got two children. I've got an eight year old son, Hector, and a six year old daughter, Amity.

Adam: 2:06

Excellent. What's the best way to describe your wife's hobby?

Clive: 2:09

I'm sure she has a more Technical word for it, but I just call it sewing.

Adam: 2:12

I see lots of Star Wars. There must

Clive: 2:15

be a Star Wars fan somewhere. We're big Star Wars fans in here. Except for Rikki actually.

Adam: 2:19

She just makes

Clive: 2:20

the Star Wars clothing. She's doing it purely out of love. Excellent.

Adam: 2:24

Now, we actually met running in our running communities. And I'd love to ask you about, cause you weren't always a runner.

Clive: 2:30

No.

Adam: 2:30

In fact, I think in, in, in some regards, we have some overlap in our stories. We weren't runners. And we were quite opposite to runners. We were quite, stationary people that, except jolly people, a trip to the fridge was our exercise. So you got into running how many years ago? Yeah.

Clive: 2:47

So 2019, I think it was probably when I started consistently running.

Adam: 2:51

Okay.

Clive: 2:51

And was

Adam: 2:52

your motivation about the weight loss journey, was that what started running, or was it a different?

Clive: 2:57

I reckon by 2018 I was much more conscious of my weight. I certainly didn't run to lose weight. It did occur to me Hector's a few years old at this point. It occurred to me that we would play for 20 minutes and I was feeling gassed and I thought I don't want to look back in 10 years from now and think I've wasted all this quality time with my kids Because I was a fat lazy loser So I decided I've got to start looking after myself a bit better. I was also like pretty good at running back in school and sort of naturally reasonably successful at it and always really enjoyed it too. I'd see other people out and about running on the waterfront after we moved here and having active lifestyles and I always looked at people running along and felt kind of envious about that and thought I could be doing that too. Why aren't I out there on the water running and making that part of my lifestyle? It's a bit contagious, isn't it? Yes, absolutely. And in this area is really good for it too, I think so.

Adam: 3:49

And that's probably where our overlapping stories. Because some of the running you've gone on to do is pretty damn impressive.

Clive: 3:57

You, what's your favorite distance? I think it's probably now the half marathon. Just because I've had so much success with it. Every time, every build I do, I seem to make a pretty big leap in my half marathon time relative to my other distances. It's a gritty event. It's not quite the same sort of pain that you experience in the marathon. It's a different kind of pain and discomfort, but it's still something you really sort of need to bury yourself deep for to get the most out of yourself and I'm probably just more I seem to have adapted better to performing in a half marathon,

Adam: 4:30

I think the average time in the world for a half marathon is a bit over two hours. What's your half

Clive: 4:35

time? My half time is so 69 minutes. 69 minutes. Yeah. So I embarked on a project last year, similar to your project, actually. The project 69, I called it. Yes. I think

Adam: 4:45

I might've got some inspiration from the naming of that. Yeah. Although 20

Clive: 4:48

and 20 I think it rolls off the tongue a bit better. Yeah. 69 is a mouthful. Yeah. Pardon the pun.

Adam: 4:54

And you've got a cracker of a 5K time. What's the best you've done 5K

Clive: 4:59

in? 1527.

Adam: 5:01

Now that's moving. Given that I think the average time for people in the world to do five kilometers is over 30 minutes. So that's less than half of that. What type of pace is that?

Clive: 5:09

So that's sort of, I think it's three or five pace, but that's still that's nearly three minutes off the fastest 5K runners in the world. So those guys are. I've still got a K to go when those guys are running through the finish line.

Adam: 5:20

Yep.

Clive: 5:20

Yeah, so it's funny how we It's

Adam: 5:21

hard to fathom though, because I've still got three more Ks to go.

Clive: 5:25

Yeah. But, I look at people like that, that are way faster than me and think, Oh my God, they're, they're untouchable. How do they run that fast? And, I know there's people that are a few minutes slower than me. They're looking at me thinking, how do I run that fast? Yeah, absolutely. And there's people, they probably don't realize there's people looking at them. You're a few minutes slower than them and early on in their journey that just need to keep working on it before they're as fast and yeah, I think that's one of the cool things about running, there's always room to move up. Absolutely.

Adam: 5:48

Yeah. And I think envy fuels us if if looked at it the right way. And you're part of, we met through the Moreton Bay Road Runners, which is a, a lovely running community here with over 200 members. Yes. But you're also got your own little running group, running community. Yes. Tell us about that.

Clive: 6:03

Yeah, the Bush Turkey Track Club. I've been an active member of that since 2021. We, I guess we kicked off. It started off as a bunch of, actually, I'm sorry. It started off as a messenger chat group, actually. Some of the faster runners in the Sandgate area and sort of Morton based around. We're part of this chat group where we arrange to, organize runs and things like that together. My friend Anthony Middleton, he came up with this idea of running some competitive middle distance events around our local area. Came up with the Bush Turkey Classic Series. So we did that in 2021 over the summer. So it was a three rounds, middle distance series of races. And it was a lot of fun. Thanks I think at the same time there was sort of a desire in our group to kind of formalize what we were because it seemed to be something and it's, it's different to say the Moreton Bay Roadrunners. It's its own thing. And that being said, the Moreton Bay Roadrunners I think is a great group and serves a very important purpose in our community. And about both you and Ricky have taken some

Adam: 7:02

turns over the years being on the committee. And yes. Both been

Clive: 7:06

on the

Adam: 7:06

committee and I'm involved in club. Yeah. Always got your hand up volunteering for the different events going on around.

Clive: 7:11

Yeah. I couldn't be happier and more grateful for all the volunteers and hard working committee members that put in at the Moreton Bay Road Runners. Yeah, it's a really good community but yes, and I've probably taken some inspiration from how well they've done and thought about how we can build what we've got, which is a, different, we're catering to a different need and how we can, make this grow it into something that's meaningful for its members and perhaps the wider community too.

7:34

I love seeing the uniforms are great. And obviously We've taken the inspiration from the colouring of a bush turkey. Yes. But I love that not only do the shirts on the back of them say Gobble Gobble but when you pass each other you will gobble gobble to each other. We do, yes. It's just, it's just so fun to watch the way you guys all interact. Yeah, that's something I've really loved is just seeing everyone get something out of the group and, and everyone sort of does better when they train together and, and get the most out of each other. We all look after each other. We're all very invested in one another's success in our race goals and whatever it is we're working towards. And it's just been a really cool thing to be a part of. How many turkeys is there now? On paper we've got 50. But there's probably 20 to 30 that are reasonably active. 20 that are pretty active, and then there's another probably dozen that are, come and go and, have other things happening in their life and we probably don't see so much of, and then there's a few others that yeah, we don't really see too much these days, but, they're still always welcome. And how's your running going? My running's going well, so I've had a few setbacks in the last 12 months, so I had my second stress fracture at the end of last year. That was a consequence of not listening to my body, getting a bit eager not listening to my own instructions actually, and just pushing myself a bit too hard after successfully completing project 69. Yeah, I just kept pushing and, and racing and, the probably the, the recovery time I needed to give myself though, I sort of had committed to giving myself leading up to The half marathon, I didn't take and I just saw the next race and the next race and kind of at that point thought I was bulletproof. And back running now? Back running now, yeah, good. So my second injury I've got, which I've had since it kind of started at Gold Coast Marathon last year. Although it wasn't anywhere near as bad as what it is now, it's Osteitis Pubis. Okay. Which is it's an injury around the pubic symphysis or the pubic bone where the bone itself gets inflamed as well as the, the connective tissue surrounding it. So like the rectus abdominis and the adductors. And it's, yeah, it's a very, very difficult, frustrating injury to have because every time you think you've gotten on top of it, you've given it sufficient time to settle. It seems to flare up again for, for very little reason. So really this year for me has been about trying to be more resilient and Get on top of these injuries and yeah, just, yeah, resilience is what it's about for me at the moment yeah. And broadly in life, what gives you energy? What gives you life energy? Family, obviously. I have a lot of fun with my family and they're very important to me. Running and my running community, probably the biggest thing in my life at the moment. And yeah, I'm a bit of a nerd, so I like to hack away at software and Build apps and things like that. Yeah, awesome. So yeah, they're probably the main things. Excellent. I think with when it comes to training like I've got a I've got a habit of you know Getting so obsessive with it that it, you know becomes probably a bit too much. Did your training involve vast spreadsheets? Lots of spreadsheets. Yeah, there's a there's a saying by Rod Dixon. I just want to drink beer and train like an animal That's kind of how I feel. Yep. It's well drink beer and train like an animal and And Spend quality time with my family on top of that just to make sure we're touching all the important parts of life. Yeah. So moving forward, the future and, things like the Bush Turkey Club, I think you, you're evolving there. It's, there's a bit of movement going on there. Tell us about that. Yeah, absolutely. So I guess in the early days we were kind of, just a, a bunch of people with a few, a few of us in particular leading the way and making club level decisions. And we've grown to a point now where it's, it's kind of bigger than a couple of people making calls on behalf of the club and its members. So we made the decision last Christmas to, to form a committee and we decided, one of the first things we should do as a committee is decide, give our club some definition, come up with a vision. values and purpose. So we spent a few months as a committee developing these sorts of things and, and use that as our, as the basis of our governance. And now we meet monthly and talk all things from training performance to planning events and, and everything in between. And we're well on our way to, becoming a, an incorporated sports club at some point in the future. So that's been really exciting to be a part of that. And I've never been part of something like that before. And I think it's really. Good to see the benefits of that to our members as well, so yeah. I think you guys were already, formed as a, running group of mates before I sort of came into the running community here at Sandgate. But it's, it's certainly from those early days. watching you, before you had uniforms, get uniforms, numbers grow, it's structure and organization. It's certainly from an external point of view, been wonderful to watch. So I wish you all the best moving forward there. Thank you very much for your time today. Yeah, thank you. Thoroughly appreciate it. And does a bush turkey actually gobble gobble? They don't gobble gobble. They don't gobble gobble. We do.