Author: Suzanna Barry

Georgie 41, is a physio and knows from personal and professional experience that running has a multitude of benefits.

Running proved to be a great activity during the COVID-19 restrictions and although Georgie thinks she may have run a little too much during this time, it was a great way to stay active and enjoy some social contact with close friends.  She also shared that one of her running companions, an active labrador, needed his food intake increased during this time!

Georgie’s original motivation for running was for fitness following having her family. At the time Georgie was 32 and her youngest, Toby, was 10 months.  Someone told her about a running group organised by Laurie Edmonstone.  She laughs as she recalls turning up one Wednesday night in a cosy tracksuit. She quickly realised that she was going to need to invest in running tights to avoid over-heating. Although she could only manage about ¼ of the workout at first, she was encouraged to keep coming along and her fitness quickly increased.

Running and Georgie agreed, and she now has many achievements to be proud of. The most recent was running a marathon before she turned 40.  Her friend Bec Gray shared a training plan with her and after around 4 months of training she and husband Sam headed to the Gold Coast for the marathon.  Georgie was thrilled that the 5am Saturday morning long runs of up to 34kms, along with 3 or 4 other weekly runs paid off.  She completed the 42 kms in an impressive 3 hours, 52 minutes.  Crowds of spectators lined the streets and for almost the whole distance there were people cheering. The weekend was made extra special as Bec and Steve Gray also made a surprise trip to be there with them.

Georgie has also completed 2 Half Ironman’s, consisting of a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride followed by a half marathon of 21.1 kms.  After Georgie’s first Half Ironman Sam decided he wasn’t content to sit on the sidelines, and he has been inspired as well.  Georgie also was proud to be part of an Echuca team Half Ironman event at Cairns where they came second.

Running has become a family affair. In 2018 Georgie, her mum Fiona Field who was 68 at the time and daughter Lucy all participated in the 5km Carman’s Fun Run. Lucy proudly cartwheeled across the finish line. The family of 5 are also members of the Echuca Moama Tri Club and enjoy training as a family on Wednesday nights during Tri season.

Georgie works part-time at Echuca Regional Health.  She’s a busy mum of three and now finds it fairly difficult to juggle training for events with family commitments.  Instead she enjoys running with close friends twice weekly, getting up around 5.30am so she can run for an hour.  She also enjoys Laurie’s Saturday morning running group where there’s runners of all ages.  She finds this group inspiring and hopes that she will still be running in her 60’s.  In addition to these routines, in usual times Georgie will also swim and do a yoga class weekly.  I guess you wouldn’t expect anything less from a physio!

Congratulations on all you’ve achieved Georgie – your running achievements are something amazing! You are also an inspiration to women in our community.

Fi, 34, is an advocate of a healthy lifestyle and that’s why she loves to run. Fi and husband Ben both grew up in Echuca Moama and have the heart warming story of falling in love in their teens. Following their school days they spent a year campervanning and settled briefly in Cairns. They then moved to Melbourne for a couple of years and eleven years ago they returned to Moama. They built a home, got married and now have two boys Archie 4 and Donovan 1.

Fi loves many things about running – it’s free, you can do it just about anywhere and all you need is a pair of shoes and a body that is up to it. A busy mum, Fi is well used to running on the fly. If Donny takes a nap and Ben is home, she will often duck out for a quick run. Although a favourite distance is 5kms she happily takes the opportunity for a quick 2 or 3 km’s just to get the endorphins going. She and Ben will push each other to make time for running, knowing that its good for them both.

Before Donny was born Fi’s interest in running was ignited. She ran10kms in 2018 at Run Melbourne when she was in the early stages of her pregnancy. After the birth she found running tough and it took months of walking until she felt comfortable to jog. Eventually running became a routine and a great way to get in 30 minutes of good exercise and her heart rate up.

Fi and Ben are often on the road for Ben’s musical performances. Fi will pack her runners in case there’s an opportunity for a quick jog. That’s what she loves about running – it’s so convenient. When they’re home Fi and Ben will sometimes drop the boys off for a play at their grandparents and they will go for a run together, dropping the pace and chatting all the way.

Fi also enjoys the parkrun community, loves seeing the locals and saying a g’day (in between breaths) to everyone running the course. She also likes to volunteer when she can.

During the months of social isolation Fi has been glad of running. With gyms closed and restrictions on visiting, it’s served two purposes, exercise and a social outing with a friend. This social contact has been important as Fi was due to return to work after maternity leave, but this is now on hold.

Fi also works from home as a social media freelancer for hospitality businesses and a not for profit organisation, and is a writer /editor for the The Splendid Word. This local business undertakes writing projects for a diverse range of organisations and spreads good news stories in our community.

Fiona radiates health and vitality – and running is no doubt part of that good news story!

“What your mind believes your body achieves”.

Di Allman’s running journey started when she was 41, eleven years ago. Her initial goal was to get fitter for netball, and she’s ticked that off and so much more. She began with small goals. She chose the 5km loop around Scenic Drive Echuca as her running ground where she’d look ahead and say to herself “I’ll run to that tree”. She would then walk and catch her breath and go again. It didn’t take long before Di was running 5kms non-stop.

Di has proved that running is good for her. It helps her to keep positive and sets her up for the day. She’s happy to run solo and enjoys running with husband Tim. She also loves sprint training as it’s great for improving fitness. Di’s preference is to run in the morning and her base distance is 5kms – she rarely would run a distance less than this.

Di also likes to enter charity runs and has completed many 5, 8, 10, 14 and 15km events and 2 half marathons (21.1kms). One event close to her heart is the Mother’s Day Classic, raising money for breast cancer. This Mother’s Day she did this as a virtual event and ran 6kms with Tim.

Running isn’t Di’s only passion. She also loves horses and has two rescue horses Monty and Millie. She purchased both from Horse Shepherd Equine Sanctuary near Ballarat, where they had been rehabilitated and retrained after being rescued. She rides Monty and enjoys taking both for walks. There’s nothing quite like taking the horses for a walk to Three Black Sheep in Moama and having a coffee!

Di is the School Administration Manager at Moama Public School. She also contributes to the community as a committee member for Riding for the Disabled. This group supports people with disability to learn about horses and enjoy riding.

Unfortunately a broken ankle in 2018 resulted in Di having a 8 month running break. During this time she missed running and struggled to stay positive. When she laced up her shoes again it didn’t take her long and she was back running 5kms. She’s recently had a break from running due to an illness but is now back at it. It had been a few months but after only three runs she was running 5km. She’s been told it’s muscle memory and her body remembers. She also believes her mind knows her body can do it.

Di and Tim have planned holidays around parkrun locations. Over the last few years she’s enjoyed parkrun in nine locations. She’s looking forward to the return of parkrun and planning weekends away.

Di would never have believed it ten years ago if someone had said she’d be running half marathons in her 50’s. It’s an achievement she is rightly very proud of. She recommends you find a running buddy and give it a go.

Congratulations Di on being such a positive role model and for your encouragement and support of runners in our community.

Dr. Claire Goodman 42, affectionately known as Dr. Claire, is a busy person who gets things done. A country girl at heart, Claire grew up in Bairnsdale. She has fond memories of the time her family planted a paddock of gherkins when she was in Year 12, to help fund her way through uni. She headed off to uni in the 90’s to study medicine. Spending the summer picking gherkins made her appreciate the opportunity she was given!

As a rural GP obstetrician and a triathlete with two young kids Claire crams in around 4 ½ hours of exercise each week. She’s well supported by her husband Matt who values a healthy lifestyle. Pre COVID-19 another important part of her week was Thursday night Trivia.

Dr. Claire joined the Echuca Moama Tri Club in 2014. This took courage, but she soon realised she shouldn’t have been afraid, as the group is so supportive. She recalls her first Splash n Dash event when she left first and finished last. At the end of the season she proudly won the “most improved” award.

An exciting time in her life was her stint on “The Chase” in 2016. She auditioned when her son Ed was 5 weeks old, then dedicated several weeks to trivia study. She memorized lists upon lists, learning US Presidents and Sates, Star Wars plots, sound tracks and much more! Her prep paid off and she was the star of the team playing for $34,000 in the final Chase against the Beast. A brief moment of fame, but sadly no cash was won!

Dr. Claire has put a lot of effort into running over the past 5 years and ran her first marathon at 40, achieving a sub 4hr. She has many proud running related moments, but the one that tops them all was on All Saints Day at her daughter’s School Mass. A video screening caused a teary moment when 5 year old Audrey likened her mum to St Brigid, explaining that she helps people who are sick and raises money for people who need it by doing “big races”.

Running is a time when Claire plans her future runs, and let’s everything else go out of her head. Competitive by nature, so planning a PB or finishing ahead of a colleague is always a high priority. Dr. Claire has a vibrant personality and loves to stand out in a crowd. She takes pride in her running “costumes” whether it is distinctive long socks or bright head scarves.

Dr. Claire is continuing to train as if all events are still on while “locked down” so as to remain motivated…it’s going well so far and in her words is “keeping her sane…just!” Most importantly Dr. Claire feels fitter in her 40’s than ever before! Well done Dr. Claire – you’re an inspiration, great role model and keep us all smiling!