Chris Duggan

2 years ago: couch, no direction. This month: finished Marathon des Sables. Proof that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Next goal → Ironman 2027. Starting a 6-month experiment: High Volume capped at 75% MHR (inspired by @Alan_Couzens). Dream big -Then get to work

I’m a cyber geek stepping into endurance sport. Trying to split sports science from bro science 😉 So I leaned on what I know: data, systems, analysis. Goal: → reduce mistakes → optimise time, energy, effort Nb: It’s not a replacement for a real world coach

Post-MDS rebuild has started. Lots of shorter, easy sessions this week: 🚴 8h50 🏃 3h07 🚶 8h03 🏊 1h34 🎾 1h26 ~23 hours total. Just stacking volume again. Next step: start extending the longer efforts and build from here.

@WorkTrainMJ @Alan_Couzens Thank you. When I finished my couch to 10K in early 2024, I naively thought lots of high intensity was how to progress🤦‍♂️ Then luckily I found Alan, and others like @Hybridathlete and @runliftrunlift and switched to easy volume + lots of walking… and everything finally clicked.

@TLP_R3D @Alan_Couzens Two years from couch to MDS is serious discipline. That 75% aerobic base is exactly how you build an Ironman without burnout. Respect.

2 years ago: couch, no direction. This month: finished Marathon des Sables. Proof that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Next goal → Ironman 2027. Starting a 6-month experiment: High Volume capped at 75% MHR (inspired by @Alan_Couzens). Dream big -Then get to work

Completed the Marathon des Sables Legendary last week 270km across the Sahara. A huge thank you to @Alan_Couzens, your training principles shaped my training plan and helped me achieve a lifelong goal.

I’m taking on the Marathon des Sables (~270km across the Sahara) to raise money for @HelpforHeroes. Ex-military, I’ve seen the cost of service. Not everyone comes back the same. This one matters. 👉 justgiving.com/page/chris-dug…

@Alan_Couzens As always awesome content @Alan_Couzens. Do you think the current interest in AlphaHRV is helpful for training with more precision in targeted zones, or just giving athletes another metric to obsess over?

Seems like a good time to bump this one... 😊

@stevemagness @Alan_Couzens Nice post👍 Is this the study that said something like - every extra 1000 mins of zone 1 knocked 7 mins off the marathon time.

What matters in training for marathoners New analysis of 100k+ runners Faster runners: -Accumulated 3x the volume of slower runners -Had proportionally more easy running than higher intensities. As my HS coach told me years ago, step 1 is figuring out how to run more.

@HankFrank What camera are you using to film with Hank?

My half marathon PR is 1:15:27 (5:45/mi). My coach penciled in my goal half marathon pace at 5:38-5:42/mi entering this block. This morning's session: 8x1K @ GHMP w/ 80s rest, avg 3:21 (5:24/mi) 4x200 above 5K effort w/ 70s rest, avg 35s (4:45/mi) That's 15+ sec/mi faster than the plan. And it felt smooth and controlled. I don't expect to hold 5:24/mi for 13.1 next weekend, but I think 5:35/mi is very much on the table.

@Alan_Couzens I really enjoy your posts, Alan — what you share has genuinely made a huge difference to my training. Thank you.

With that said, I'm going to be spending more time on the #MADcrew forum and less here. It's becoming readily apparent that this place simply isn't good for your long-term physical or mental health... forum.madcrew.app/t/social-media…

Last week our CISO asked me to present on “zero trust architecture.” I don’t know what that means. I make $340,000 a year. I haven’t touched a firewall since Obama’s first term. But I have a CISSP. I passed by memorizing acronyms. I still don’t know what half of them stand for. I opened my presentation with “assume breach.” Everyone nodded gravely. I said “defense in depth” three times. The board was captivated. Then a junior analyst raised her hand. She asked how we’d implement microsegmentation. I felt a cold sweat. I said, “Great question. Let’s take that offline.” She persisted. I said we should “leverage AI-driven solutions.” She asked which ones. I said, “The cloud-native ones.” She looked confused. I told her confusion was natural. I said, “Security is a journey, not a destination.” The CEO started clapping. I don’t know why. But others joined in. The analyst stopped asking questions. I ended with “security is everyone’s responsibility.” This meant it was no one’s responsibility. Especially not mine. We got breached two weeks later. I blamed the analyst for “creating a culture of doubt.” She got put on a PIP. I got promoted to VP. Resilience isn’t about preventing failure. It’s about surviving it. Preferably while others don’t.

@UltraRunner26 MDS Jordan -120km

Saw a couple posts this past week of people hitting some awesome distance records for themselves. What is your longest run you have done this year?

Four days - 120 kilometres. The Marathon des Sables Jordan was unlike anything I’ve ever faced, and I’m now officially an expert in all forms of sand: hard sand, soft sand, deep sand, sand dunes, and sand that saps the life from your body and breaks your sole. Day 1 was a baptism of fire. Standing on the start line, feet already sinking slightly, AC/DC’s Highway to Hell blasted out. It felt more like a warning than a soundtrack. I covered just under 30 km uphill, in relentless soft sand, with heat that hit like a hammer. Day 2 was 60 km and brutal. The kind of brutal that strips you down to the simplest version of yourself, one foot in front of the other, repeat, until the sun finally gives up before you do. We set off early, over 550 runners in a cloud of dust, but by 10 km the runners were scattered over miles as the heat ramped up, and the sand and incline made every step heavy. By the time I hit 22 km, it was blazing midday, no shade in that wadi, and I had to take cover in a cave with two others. By checkpoint 3, around 32 km, I was overheated and feeling extremely ill, but there was no choice but to keep going. By nightfall, around 40-50 km, the desert was pitch black and deadly silent. Most runners were miles ahead, and it was just me, my thoughts, and the sand under my feet. Every step took everything I had - the tank was empty. At 52.5 km, knowing there were still 7.5 km to go, I was broken, lightheaded, barely making sense of what was around me. But something clicked in the last 500 meters — I ran in, head held high, sprinting those final steps. By Day 4, the finish line in Wadi Rum felt surreal and perfect — a quiet victory after being broken open and rebuilt. 217th overall, within the time limit. In that heat, that’s a finish I’ll take proudly. Limits are negotiable. Heat is humbling. And sometimes, the hardest terrain isn’t made of sand at all. #MDSJordan #Ultrarunning #MindOverMatter #WadiRum #MarathonDesSables

In just hours, I’ll stand on the start line of Marathon des Sables Jordan — the little sister of the legendary 250 km Sahara race known as “the toughest footrace on Earth.” It started as a dream on Boxing Day 2023, I wanted to get into running, rebuild, get fit again, and one day run the MDS. Now, just getting to the start line is a dream come true. Over four days and 120 km, I’ll cross the Wadi Rum desert — sleeping under the stars, carrying my world on my back: food, sleeping kit, and medical supplies. Every step will be a fight against heat, sand, and my limits of endurance. As a famous man once said, “Only when you are broken open do you discover what you’re really made of.” – Dean Karnazes (ultrarunner) Pain is temporary - Regret is forever. See you on the other side.

🚀 From Data Overload to Decision Power Most cyber threat intelligence (CTI) teams don’t fail because they lack data — they fail because they lack direction. The Intent Model reframes threat intelligence as a leadership instrument, not a reporting engine. It helps security leaders align intelligence outputs with organisational objectives — turning noise into narrative and insight into influence. If your intelligence can’t influence a decision, it’s trivia. 👉 Read more about how to transform Cyber Maturity with The Intent Model, available now on Amazon: 🔗 amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FT54T6VC #IntentModel #CyberLeadership #ThreatIntelligence #CyberSecurity #Leadership

🚨 Suspicious Domain Alert 🚨 Spotted: sso-forbes[.]com — posing as a Forbes SSO login? 👀 📍 Hosted on 62.60.179[.]228 🌍 ISP: Laser Company Ltd (Iran)🇮🇷 🧪 Still showing 0/90 detections on VirusTotal — completely clean. Suspect early-stage phishing infrastructure?🕵️‍♂️

🚨 Suspicious domains with an Italian banking AML focus 🇮🇹 Key infra: 🔥 ing-certifica-app[.]com → 199.247.9.4 (The Constant Company) — VT: 0/95 🔥antiriciclaggio-mediobanca[.]com → 45.77.177.125 (The Constant Company) — VT: 0/95 (host tied to past PupyC2) Pivot via urlscan hash: d45bb94ea66467122e30191c79a70b5a9e1f701a8ed1ee86c562e3b9746b306e. Provides previous Italian banking themed Phishing Domains: normativa-questionario-ing[.]com (5/95) ing-antiriciclaggio-completa[.]com (7/95) questionario-antiriciclaggio-ing[.]com (5/95) normativa-antiriciclaggio-ing[.]com (2/95). 🇮🇹Watch for AML-themed lures.🇮🇹

Also second domain edge-update-r[.]live

🚨 Fresh Malware Alert: Fake Microsoft Edge Updater dropping payloads TODAY! 🔍 Detected via DNS monitoring: windowsedgeupdater[.]com — a sneaky imposter. ⚠️ Scans clean on VirusTotal (0/95) — classic evasion move. 🌐 Host: 91.224.92.75 (UAB Host Baltic) — linked to prior malware & abuse. 💾 Dropping evidence (First Seen Oct 10, 2025): • Qifaugqh.exe — SHA256 5cf49f717dcc43a1bbcc66aacb1d96f72b70c794b31c271f1d14dd4e7bd1dd94 (seen 10:07 UTC) • clip.dll — SHA256 8b9087ae7fb20d77bafc10a5cd279962a0cc42aaf5ed781ba3f2f87c2c17e87a (seen 10:08 UTC)