Just before her 29th birthday, and after a good few years of saving and planning, Rachael decided to take a career break and left Dublin to travel and see the world.
After eight months of backpacking in Russia, Japan, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, she moved to Melbourne in March 2019.
With a plan to live and work in Australia for only six months it quickly became obvious that six months was not going to be enough! Although already ticking off her Oz Bucket list the Grampians, Phillip Island, Wilsons Prom, Great Ocean Road, Harbour Bridge Climb, Perth and Rottnest Island there’s still lots more for her to see and do.
Some of her favourite things about living in Oz include the friendly people with an accent she loves, how absolutely everyone and everything has a nickname, amazing wildlife, delicious brunch food and coffee, and the healthy outdoor lifestyle.
She lived in St Kilda from March to Nov 2019 and worked at Monash University as a Development Coordinator for the “Change It. For Good.“ campaign, the largest public fundraising initiative in the uni’s history.
It was through Monash that Rachael first began running – when she joined the Run Melbourne ‘Team Monash’, to raise money for the Asylum Seeker Scholarship fund. She was inspired by Monash’s commitment to deliver on a campaign goal, ‘Education For All’, one of the most generous scholarship programs in Australia.
She had tried training for a 5 km before but lost motivation and let life get in the way. But this time it felt different. She had the support of coworkers also training for the first time and Rachael knew she was running for an incredible cause.
She used a Couch to 5K app to train from April-July 2019 and raised $610 from family and friends. With every donation came a surge of motivation to keep going.
Rachael felt an incredible sense of accomplishment running 5k without stopping for the first time, and is determined to keep it up.
She joined ParkRun in Albert Melbourne and completed the Sole Motive Sandy Point 5K in September. She also did the Jingle all the Way 5K around the Washington Monument while visiting her family in Washington D.C. this Christmas.
Rachael never thought she would be a “runner” but has come to understand why people love running so much.
“It’s a great way to clear your head, it’s free, and you can do it anywhere in the world – perfect for someone who travels quite a lot!”
