Sam Gardener Tiling

09/04/2023

My first Dead Cow Gully backyard ultra. 7am until midnight, 17 yards, 113.9km. Loved every minute, everything was going well except laps 8-12 with cramping but got under control once the sun went down. DCG proved a tough beast swinging from 30 degrees to low teens after dark. Had some great support in the pit crew .okegardener & Hugo. Until next time

13/03/2023

We’re proud to officially announce the arrival of our latest Technical Sales Rep for Queensland, Sam Gardener!

Some of you may recognise Sam from his extensive tiling career, where his award-winning projects are lauded for their beautiful attention to detail. An inspirational tiler and true artist of his craft with years of experience under his belt, Sam knows the ins and outs of the trade like the back of his hand. We are thrilled to have him on board to provide the best tiling solutions to our industry.

When Sam’s not on the job site, he’s spending time with his wife and son, or training for his next ultra marathon. A passionate athlete, Sam brings perseverance, dedication, and willingness to go the extra mile in everything he sets his mind to.

Join us in welcoming Sam to the LATICRETE family! We can’t wait to see what he will accomplish in his new role 🎉

20/02/2023

I made the jump up to a 100km ultra a couple of weekends back at the Geoff's run. Training and motivation went really well going in and was sort of optimistic about finishing but absolutely sh****ng myself coming into it. The race started at 6 pm, and I had 12 hours to complete. From the get-go, I felt really comfortable. Pace was a little quick, but I didn't think I was burning much energy holding it. Had some great chats with other runners, which made me think my game plan of doing 3x3hour block and then just survive the last hour was totally wrong. But I continued to go off feel and it worked well. Nutrition held up well only needing quick toilet stop twice. At about 50km, I knew there was a blister coming, and any exposed rock i stood on nearly broke me with the pain. Up until 60km, I was sitting in second, and then I went into into the lead, which kept me very motivated to keep the pressure on. At 93km I finally let myself think I was going to finish and thought I need to know what it would be like lift the pace so i did my two quickest km's before telling myself to calm down and get to the finish. All in all, after I had finished, I was completely broken, so sore, and the blisters were so bad. But on such a big high for what had panned out. Finishing first in my first 100km ultra in under 10 hours was just a dream come true and excited for the gains from it. There is such amazing support at the event from especially from who crewed for me and had all the gear to make it as comfortable as possible. And also ran the last 23km or so with me at the end. Also the members of and partners who were such great support. And I always have so much thanks to .okegardener for supporting my madness. And always reflect on the joy given to me from getting me to have a usable body to run with. I bloody love you all.

12/01/2023

A really great month for me in December after competing in my second GC50. The race was amazing with standard big highs and then big lows and wanting to pull out. It rained the first 30 mins of the race which made it nice and cool but also having to change running style to stay comfortable without slipping. Ran in the 4hr finish group and was some great young guys in it that we fed off each other for motivation. We all finished pretty close to each other which made for one of the most enjoyable finishes when we were able to congratulate and reflect on the race and huge hugs which just made it all worth it being able to share. The time was just outside the sub 4hr I was aiming for but a 25min PB none the less. Straight after I set a goal of doing the rapha500 in one go. I was lucky enough to be with when he achieved this two years ago and always said I would be back to attempt it. I packed an esky with 9 ham sandwiches, 4x500ml V's 12 gels and about 8litres of electrolytes. My legs felt so heavy the day before that I thought I was no chance. But once starting and being around all the amazing triathletes from I was floating on a cloud. It was one of the most enjoyably days I have ever had on the bike. Ofcourse there was cramping and suffering and moments of doubt but once I was about 140km into it, I knew it was getting done. And just to see what it would feel like I did a small run off the bike which felt pretty good. After the run I was just on the biggest high and sitting alone smiling from ear to ear. Big changes also and exciting things to come. I have gotten so much confidence in what I can do from this month and maybe will keep asking questions of myself and looking for more ways to feel really uncomfortable.

12/09/2022

Was a great morning out competing in my 3rd attempt at a half distance ironman at mooloolabah, Sunny Coast 70.3. I was hoping to be stronger in swim for where my training was at but manage to keep a low heart rate so didn't waste alot of energy. And in theory was only 3mins behind where I had hoped. The bike started great. The legs responded straight away and felt like they want to go. There was next to no wind, maybe a slight cross wind that could be felt on the on the return back up the highway. The amount of people on the bike course was huge and it didn't take long for a group to get quite clustered and with some not very good riders, was dangerous a few times which resulted in losing my solid nutrition. Got through most of my gels and bottle of tailwind which kept me fresh. The support on the run leg was huge. The atmosphere was so good and kept me motivated to finish as strong as I could. With we set a goal of sub 4hrs30mins and new it would be a good battle to achieve this. With luck of the weather and working hard on my running over the last 12 months it all came together for for the big dance. I will keep building for bigger and better things but took so much confidence out of this race. Can't thank my family enough for the support I receive from .okegardener and once again my good friend who is a great influence on me. So great to see all the and athletes and supporters. It is hard not to get excited and find another gear with all the support.
This was a 42min PB since the last time I attempted this course two years ago. Pic taken by

04/07/2022

After two cancelled GC Marathons in a row due to covid I finally got my chance at the iconic course on the weekend. This would be my fifth attempt at this distance or longer in 12 months. I was very optimistic because of my training leading in and my noosa half marathon a few weeks ago. I did my first marathon as the GC virtual same time last year coming off a stress fracture and was happy to finally get the distance in 4 and half hours but this year was to try and go for a big PB. The current PB was 3.46 set in December and the goal for Sunday was to do a 3.15. I felt really comfortable starting with the 3.20 pacer and after not long the hr started to drop and I started to think I could start making a move away from the group at about 13km. My confidence grew when I started seeing splits of 4.21 per km and and high 4.20's per km and though I could put myself into a chance of a 3.12 or there abouts. But the wheels started to fall off at the 32km mark as I came back past the finish line to do the return 10km north, two small hills completely wrecked my quads and I was hanging on to try and finish. I was moaning the rest of the race on the breath out. I was in so much pain to try and finish and not waste all my good work. It helped seeing my mate Noel who was able to capture a photo of the last time I felt good and the 42km mark which both photos show exactly what was happening. I just kept saying don't you f***ing walk, over and over until I genuinely thought I was going to finish with 1200m to go. It was an amazing battle and extremely happy with the result. I believe I can improve too which I am super excited about. Thanks to once again for being such a great support and help in my running journey. And for all the support and organising of the event for such a large group, I love being apart of it. And my wife .okegardener for being a huge support including the magnesium bath for my legs. is the best run course I have ever done by far and the atmosphere, running down the finish shoot was the best.

31/01/2022

29/11/2021

I had the time of my life on Sunday morning at the running my first ultra marathon. I couldn't be happier with the result and how much I didn't blow up at all. I set a high bench mark at 4hr30mins which would of smashed my previous marathon time too.

I started this year with a grade 4B stress fracture in early March, which occurred whilst competing in the Tweed Enduro half ironman distance and was on crutches for 4 weeks and a moon boot for another 4 weeks. Within 4 months of this injury I completed my first marathon in a time of 4hr30mins. I then did another two more marathons to make it three in just over three months, times being 4hr12mins and 4hrs08mins, this one at sunny coast marathon.

I thought it would be great way to finish a tough year with injury with something that sounded absolutely ridiculous. My time for the marathon distance was 3hr46mins and then finish the race quicker then I did my first marathon. Even to the point my quickest two km's of the race was the last two which were sub 5min pace.

Endurance training is so time consuming and the support of my wife Brooke would make it near impossible to do something I have completely fallen in love with.

A massive thank you to Noel which has been a great influence into the sport and particularly running which he has an abundance of knowledge to share. And to come down and run the last 18km of the race with me to keep me on track and support my ultimate goal.

19/09/2021

Great morning out, thanks for organising and Chelsea. Gave myself a few outs but didn't end up taking them. Probably explored Northshore a bit too much. I hydrated as best as I could yesterday and weighed before and after and lost 4.3kg. Would be easier with aid stations I assume. This is my second virtual marathon and enjoyed the battle.

05/07/2021

I completed my first marathon on Sunday. This was done virtually at a local 400m grass track as the event was cancelled due to covid restrictions, 105.5 laps. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to do it because I got off crutches 12 weeks ago from a bad stress fracture from the run leg of the Tweed enduro. The start didn't go to plan as my shoes were full of water from the wet track after lap two. My belly wasn't right so had two forced rest stops before 14km mark. The game plan was to run 6km and walk 1km and do this six times to avoid reinjuring the stress fracture. At 24km I had doubts of completing and contemplating taking the out and stopping. Gave myself to 27km to make the call and I got a bit more motivating to pass my longest previous run of 28km. And when I hit the 30km mark it was new and exciting territory for me. As much pain as the wet shoes were causing I tried to soak up everything that I was going through as I would never get the feeling of doing my first marathon again. I was coming to the last three laps and thinking my wife and little one were going to miss the finish and then they drove into the parking lot to capture and celebrate the last two laps. All pain went away and felt the biggest high of completing something that has scare me so much for so long. It was the best feeling and couldn't stop chuckling with pride for the rest of the day. The love for endurance sport is addictive and love the mental battles it gives me. and have given me such a great foundation to be able to tick these massive goals off my list of dreams.

18/06/2021

One more coat of hydroban love on the base, the to start connecting coping to coping lines and show off the shape of this elegant pool. It is a stunning white subtle blend supplied by for under the banner of . One of two pools for this team of experts that see the value in quality install and material choice from .