By
Shane Fairlie
ONE day in September, for some members of the Army, is about 42
km of hard hills.
The
ADF Marathon Championships were held recently as part of the Sydney
Marathon and 10km Bridge Run, with about 30 members tackling one
of the toughest marathon courses in the country.
Newly
crowned ADF marathon champion, Army PTI Cpl Wayne Heath, said
it was a great day and a tough event but even harder backing up
for work the following day.
“We
all pulled up pretty sore, so it was tough taking a lesson the
next day and most of the class tried to take advantage of this,”
he said.
Cpl
Heath was a key motivator and trainer behind a team of soldiers
from the School of Military Engineers (SME), celebrating the centenary
of Army engineers.
The
race was run on the second anniversary of the Sydney Olympics
and finished beside the stadium, complete with burning cauldron.
Battling
sunny yet smoggy conditions, caused by local back burning, Cpl
Heath said he was inspired by the bronze Anzac digger statue at
the 25km mark and found his own experiment with sports psychology
helpful.
“I
told the team to visualise finishing the course, coming through
the finishing line, adjacent to the Olympic Stadium, with the
cauldron lit, in front of a few thousand people and feeling the
achievement of completing a classic endurance race,” he said.
Fellow
SME PTI, Sgt Gavin Wickham, said it was an exciting challenge,
excellent for the espirit de corps of the soldiers and a bonus
for the Army.
“It’s
all about camaraderie, it improves our endurance and helps the
soldiers work more efficiently – all our bosses have supported
us 100 per cent and are finding that their soldiers who competed
are working better, their morale is up–it can only be good
for the Army,” he said.
With
the bridge closed off completely for only the 10th time in its
70-year history, two other ADF teams, managed by Maj Darryl Chrisp
of the ADF Running and Athletics Association, also competed.
