Tuckey Talks TNF100!

He’s come oh so close to closing the deal on three occasions at The North Face 100. This year could be Tuckey’s time to finally climb to the top of the podium, so we caught up with him to get his thoughts on the race.

What keeps bringing you back to the event?

I love the course and the big race atmosphere of the event. I also like testing myself against the best runners and this race always has great competition

You’ve come close to the win a few times now. What will you do differently in 2015 to try and get the edge?

Last year I had a great race and felt good all day so I don’t think I’ll be doing much differently. I’ll just be hoping my better training and more confidence from some good results will help out

Where do you think the race is won or lost?

The final leg from the hospital to the finish can make a big difference to the outcome. It’s easy to think you’re almost at the end but with a big downhill then a huge uphill a lot can still happen

What are your favourite and least favourite parts of the course?

Least favourite is probably Narrowneck because it comes so early in the race that you’re still trying to settle down and it’s hard to enjoy it. I didn’t used to like the section between Leura forest and Wentworth falls but I really enjoyed it last year. It’s surprisingly tough with constant stairs and direction changes but it’s great if you’re feeling good at that stage

How do you taper for the event?

I’ll stop doing any crazy long sessions about 3 weeks out but will still train fairly hard until about 10 days to go. I’ll just do a few easy runs in the few days before the race.

Who do you think are the ones to watch?

Any of the international guys could do really well particularly Francois D’Haene, he had a great year in 2014. I expect the usual local runners will be out in force again and I think half a dozen could be in he mix