Elite trail runner and CurraNZ ambassador Michael Dunstan has had a huge 12 months. From winning the Buffalo Stampede 100km with a course record to being brutally humbled by the weather at UTMB, 2025 gave the Perth-born athlete soaring highs, tough lows and some powerful personal insights. In this piece, Michael reflects on the year that was and shares five big lessons he’s taking into 2026.
Looking back on a big year
“I’m laying here writing on the 29th of December on a warm Perth summer’s day, and I can honestly admit that reflecting back on 2025 makes me want to close my eyes, lie on my bed and let out a few deep exhales. It’s been an amazing journey, one I’m truly thankful for, and wow it’s come with some big adventures and even bigger lessons.”
At the start of the year, Michael set a clear early-season goal: race the Buffalo Stampede 100km as preparation for his first UTMB.
“Overall, it was a confidence-building first race of the year, finishing with a win and a course record. That said, there was still room to improve my fuelling strategy, as the final three hours were compromised by stomach issues. It was an opportunity to explore how hard I could push in a 100km mountain race, with the hope of taking that knowledge into UTMB and scaling it back for a 100-mile effort.”
More than the result, the build-up to Buffalo stands out as one of the brightest parts of his year.
“The build-up to this race was full of shared kilometres with friends and, honestly, remains one of the highlight periods of the year: epic places, summer in the mountains, plenty of laughs, and time spent with some absolute legends.”
All in for UTMB
UTMB was Michael’s second major goal and quickly became the focal point of his season.
“The build-up to UTMB was all-encompassing. A milestone training week of 225.7km with 13,200m of elevation at altitude marked the peak of the UTMB block, and surprisingly, I felt physically strong coming out of it.
“During this period, I was taking two CurraNZ a day and fuelling hard during runs, and I believe it played an important role in helping me manage the training load and stress.”
Despite feeling fitter than ever, something deeper was stirring.
“I arrived at UTMB feeling fitter than I ever had in my running journey. However, I can honestly say I was also feeling quite confused about what I was doing and why. It was an isolating time that served as a mirror; it showed me that perhaps all this running was just a big distraction from a lot of inner work that I needed to attend to in order to find greater wellbeing in my life.”
The contrast to the Buffalo build-up was stark.
“Looking back now, I realise there was far more stress involved than just the training: financial stress, long solo training weeks at altitude, not being able to speak French with locals, limited communication to friends back home due to timezones/fatigue, too mentally fatigued to work effectively remotely to ease financial strain. This period, however, probably delivered my most important lessons of the year.”
Race day brought its own brutal reality.
“I reframed and felt excited to go hard at UTMB, but the weather conditions proved well beyond my experience base. I was completely humbled by the conditions and didn’t own or wear gear that was adequate for keeping warm in the blizzard conditions up high. I suffered immensely in the cold and ultimately pulled out at 127km in Champex-Lac.”
Finding speed, joy and perspective back home
After UTMB, Michael’s training shifted gears.
“Since UTMB, I’ve been running a lot less, yet interestingly I feel as though I’ve become a more efficient and faster runner, and I’m having more fun than ever.”
Each summer he heads back to Western Australia to visit family and enjoy flat, fast running.
“Last year, I returned and ran a 10km time trial around Galup and was surprised by the speed and fitness I’d developed through steeper mountain running. I ran 32:22, but felt biomechanically limited. I couldn’t run smoothly at top-end speed on the flats and my heart rate data suggested I could have pushed harder.”
This year he’s been more intentional.
“This year, I’ve deliberately focused on flatter running over the past few months in the lead-up to another 10km time trial. I plan to run it this week (early January 2026), and I’m hoping to take 40–60 seconds off last year’s effort. That would be a great stepping stone towards my long-term goal of running a sub-30-minute 10km. I know I’m not close to that yet, just as I’m not close to matching the best in the world at UTMB — but with every bit of progress, I feel a little more hopeful and am very much enjoying the process of playing the long game.”
Five lessons from 2025
1. Remember why the journey matters
“The true meaning of our sport comes from enjoying and being present in the journey, and sharing it with the people you love. I once heard a beautiful quote: ‘A human’s wellbeing is strongly linked to the sense or feeling of moving forward in life (even if, in reality, you are not).’
I think getting out the door each day, experiencing nature, sharing it with friends, talking about favourite moments, making small improvements, and working through challenges makes us feel as though we are moving forward in life each and every day.
This year reminded me not to let a big goal (like UTMB, for me) distract me from the magic of everyday runs, and from how lucky we are to simply be out on the trails, moving and being. That’s where everyday freedom and joy live.”
2. Choose goals that keep you connected
“Building on that: prioritise goals that surround you with fellow athletes, friends, family and community in the places you love. Even when a goal goes perfectly to plan, the richest memories almost always come from shared experiences with loved ones.
3. Fitness isn’t everything - efficiency matters
“Fitness only gets you so far. Speed work and improving running efficiency and form are essential for making the most of your fitness base, and for becoming more efficient even at slower speeds.”
4. Stay open-minded and willing to grow
“Be open-minded to different ways of training, living, and seeing the world. Sometimes the only thing standing in our way is ourselves. Looking back over the past few years, I can see that people were trying to open my eyes to different approaches/perspectives that could have helped me become a better athlete and person, but sadly I wasn’t receptive at the time.”
5. Don’t sacrifice a whole life for one goal
“Even the most important goal you’ve ever had becomes meaningless if you sacrifice too many aspects of what makes life healthy and enjoyable. Ask yourself: What do I need to live a fulfilling, balanced life? Is one fleeting goal really worth giving all of that up? How long am I prepared to sacrifice these things for? What is my main intention or driver behind wanting to achieve this goal?
When I am completely honest with myself, I look back and see that the main driver of many of my past goals was the longing for acceptance and love from others. I can clearly see the times where I’ve cultivated very little self-love or compassion, I’ve sought love, acceptance or validation externally from big goals. As soon as it is achieved however, it passes instantly and I’m scratching my head at why I still feel empty.
For me personally moving forward, I want to cultivate more self-love and compassion outside of sport, and be able to engage in goals that are more intrinsically focused in 2026 and beyond.”
Redefining failure
One of the biggest mindset shifts for Michael has been around failure.
“Fear of failure is unnecessary. On the other side of what I once thought was ‘failure’, I’ve been met with kindness, love and support. I feel closer to my loved ones than ever. Choose what lights you up, surround yourself with good people, and go for it. If it doesn’t go to plan, notice how quickly time passes and how the world moves on. In the end, no one really cares that much - except us, ourselves.
There is so much to be learnt in these valuable experiences, don’t avoid them!”
He signs off with a wish for anyone chasing their own big goals this year.
“Wishing you all an amazing year and good health in 2026, shared with the ones you love most. I hope some of these words were of value to you, and I appreciate your time and energy immensely.
Kindest,
Mike Dunstan”