Category: Series 2

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!

Bianca 33, is the General Manager of the Murray River Holiday park. Having lived and worked in various places across Australia Bianca loves the lifestyle and community that Echuca Moama offers.

Long walks around river tracks with Gyps, a fantastic choice of gyms and two acres of caravan park to oversee, helps Bianca enjoy an active lifestyle. Bianca has been regularly running for around 12 months. She joined the Johnno’s Run team for Run Melbourne in April 2019 and began training for the 10km event. She had consciously avoided running up until then, but saw this an opportunity to challenge herself. To help her keep motivated she also joined parkrun which has opened a whole new community for her.

The current times of social isolation are challenging as Bianca would prefer to be running with others. She loves company, but wants to make the most of her time. Having heard that restrictions are in place until the end of May she has signed up for an online 8 week challenge as she doesn’t want to look back and think she wasted an opportunity.

Bianca is no stranger to self discipline. When she lived in Darwin she did two seasons of a Bikini Body Builders Challenge. Each season was for 16 weeks, and the focus was 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. Bianca recalls the advice that you can cheat, but it will show on the stage. The same could be said for running, it’s all about the effort.

Bianca was really proud that last year her efforts paid off. She, contrary to a handful of doubters, succeeded in running the full 10kms and not only raised funds for a great cause, the Opening Doors Project, she won a medal to add to her collection. She backed this up with a PB at Sweat vs Steam in October, then the following week another10kms PB at the Melbourne Marathon. For someone who loves a medal – 2019 was a great year!

Right now Bianca is missing parkrun and is worried about Johnno’s Run 2020, but today she is signing up to Strava which will help keep her connected with the running community. Bianca’s advice to first time runners is to give it a go, as you will surprise yourself on how much you will enjoy it. Bianca also recommends joining a running group or some type of running community which will without doubt, be a great source of encouragement.