A marathon effort

I’ve never run a marathon, and I’m fairly certain I never will. But my oldest daughter has become our family’s marathon champion. Last weekend, she completed her fifth marathon, returning to run the Melbourne Marathon. Through dedication, consistency, and a carefully planned training program, she has steadily improved, bringing her personal best down to an impressive 3 hours and 40 minutes. It’s a remarkable achievement, and one she can be proud of.

This marathon, however, proved a little tougher than expected. Everything went well until around the 30 km mark, when hip soreness began to cause problems. With another 12 kilometres to go, she had little choice but to slow down and manage the discomfort as best she could. It couldn’t have been easy to keep moving while dealing with that pain, but she refused to give up. Despite the setback, she kept going and still finished in under four hours. I think that says as much about her determination and resilience as any personal-best time could. As her dad, I couldn’t be prouder. Completing five marathons is an extraordinary achievement, but pushing through when things got difficult makes this one particularly special.