From the Outback to the ‘G’

This year, I was asked to join daughters Gracie, Fiona and a friend, Susie Lyall, to compete as a team in The Coffee Club 10km run, an event run in conjunction with the Melbourne Marathon. When on the station outback, I loved watching AFL and often dreamed of somehow getting onto the ‘G’ — a feat difficult, if not impossible, for a girl who doesn’t play test cricket or AFL footy! Naturally, I grabbed at the chance, and Team Mums-on-the-Run was born!

To get me ready, Gracie wrote me a a very achievable 8 week training program commencing with walks, to run-walks, to 10km runs 2 weeks out, just so I knew what to expect from running that distance. I even added in some of my own cross-training — multiple sessions of fierce sweeping, cleaning up after the worst dust storm to hit NSW in 70 years!

Are we there yet?
Meggie & Fiona training outback-style

The dust storm coincided with a visit from the Miles’ — daughter Fiona, her husband Nick and their 4 kids. Like me, Fiona was in training and promptly discovered the grittiness of training outback-style. Lucky for her, she had a willing training partner in youngest daughter, Meggie!

11th October 2009 – THE BIG DAY! Well, we all completed the race; the top 3 run times from our team were taken, and WE WON our category! (Womens 10k Social Teams).

The win was great!! But for me, best of all was the elation I felt as I ran onto the ‘G’, feeling just as Leo Barry would have when he took that winning mark to win the premiership for my beloved Swannies; or Sir Donald Bradman, who scored his most Test runs here, including 9 centuries; the ‘G’ being his favourite ground.

Indeed, I felt like I was up there with the “greats”!