If you would have told me six months ago that I would run a half marathon, I would have said you were out of your mind.
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You see, I'm not built to be a runner. I'm just shy of being 5ft tall, I naturally don't have long-distance endurance and I was never good at cross country growing up.
I also have a hole in my heart and pulmonary stenosis, a type of low risk congenital heart disease that affects the valve that carries blood from the heart to the lungs.
When I say I'm not built for running, I actually mean it.
But in December last year, I decided to sign up for a half marathon.
And on Sunday, March 3 I ran the 21.1 kilometres with hundreds of other runners as part of the Port Macquarie RunFest 2024.
What possessed me to run a half marathon you might ask? Well, it was a couple of things.
My running journey started when I registered for Parkrun in June last year. I have now almost completed 30 Parkruns and enjoy starting most weekends with about 300 other keen runners and walkers in Port Macquarie.
However, running five kilometres each Saturday morning wasn't enough apparently and I wanted to push myself and work towards a goal. That goal ended up being completing my first half marathon.
I also read a book last year by Emma Carey called The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. The book details Emma's skydiving accident that left her a paraplegic at 20-years-old.
In the book, Emma talks about how she wanted to get up and go for a run to explore the town in Switzerland where she was staying before going skydiving, but she decided not to go for the run. She thought she would have time to do it the next day, not knowing that her accident would make that impossible for her.
Emma's story and her journey since the accident is truly inspiring, but what struck a chord with me was her overall message and mantra of, "if you can, you must".
Meaning that if you're able to do something, you should do it because you're not always guaranteed extra time or another chance to accomplish it.
While running my first half marathon was a massive effort and one I'm not too keen on repeating just yet, I knew that I could do it if I put my mind to it, so I did.
A lot of sweat and blisters went into training for the run and I managed to complete it within my goal time.
Because if you can, you must.
Ruby Pascoe
Senior Journalist
