What is an Australian football legend doing running the Titan Desert in Arabia?? “It’s a question I was asking myself yesterday during the 70-kilometer stage,” he says. Max Gawn, a man who has been all stars seven times in that sport that mixes rugby with soccer and that In 2021 he was elected the best player in the League. A star in his country who would go unnoticed in the Titan Desert platoon if it weren’t for his physical dimensions He is 2.08 and his bike sticks out in the parking lot where all the participants “sleep” next to the starting line. Max excels in all areas. In the dining room, at the exit, anywhere he appears with his imposing plant and his “Vikings” extra beard.
Gawn is 32 years old, he will turn 33 in December, and he renewed his contract with Melbourne last summer, but he did not want to wait to retire to sign up for the desert adventure. «I love adventure, I love cycling and we don’t have too many opportunities because we are always competing. But when I have an opportunity for something like that I say: “Why not?”,” he explains.
And that’s why it hasn’t led him to run four stages through the Saudi Arabian desert, 340 kilometers between sand and camels. It is not easy for a runner of his size to cross the dunes. «It’s the first time I get into the mud. I usually do more road cycling. It’s safer on the road, but I had never tried to ride in sand,” he admits. This leads him to spend seven hours more on the bike than Luis León Sánchez, the leader of the race, but he is a happy man.
Although he is an elite athlete, his body is not used to this type of exercise. «I probably have the worst legs I have ever had. Whether I ride a bike or not, in the end I have been a professional for a decade and I have always had the legs of a professional athlete. The mentality helps me keep rolling, without a doubt», he warns.
Max Gawn did not hesitate when it came to changing, even for a few days, an aggressive contact sport like American football for cycling. And he enjoys every moment he lives on the Titan. «“The landscapes,” he says when asked what he likes the most. of the race. «Although they narrowly beat the food. I’m eating better than in some fancy restaurant. So the landscapes and the food. “Although very tight,” he adds.
On his Instagram profile he excitedly displays the photos of the career he learned about thanks to his friend Koen de Kortwho also participates and who raced for many years in the World Tour. «He is a very big guy and very popular and well-known in Australia. Your holidays between seasons coincide with the Titan of Saudi Arabia and would like to have a little more information,” Koen wrote in an email to the organization a few months ago.
And now he is delighted to have signed up for this adventure, although he does not believe that the Titan is recommended for everyone. But he already knows what he wants to do next year at this point. «I would tell you that you can sign me up for next year,” he tells a member of the organization.
