Having won the North Pole Marathon (female) in April 2015, Heather is now counting down the days to her next big event, the World Marathon Challenge in January 2016 which will entail running 7 marathons, on 7 continents, in 7 days!
Coming from the beach side suburb of Coogee, on the east coast of Australia, Heather is looking forward to swapping the sand of the beach with the glacial ice of Antarctica… and then all the airports, planes, pavements and fantastic scenery of the six other continents! She’s also looking forward to sharing this epic experience with fourteen other adventurous souls.
Heather is a 50 year old mother of two, who has been running since 2012,… and in that time has seen her run in seven marathons, three ultra marathons (50km and 100km) and three trail marathons, all the while clocking up loads of kilometres in training. Her favourite race to date was the 2015 North Pole Marathon – where she not only won the female division but came 8th overall in -41C, beating twenty seven men and nine women to the finish line..
There is a major reason why Heather runs, in 2007 Heather was diagnosed with Stage One Ovarian Cancer, and after urgent life saving surgery, and receiving cutting edge treatment, Heather now understands the need for on-going research and its impact on people facing the BIG C.
In 2009 Heather became a qualified Surf Life Saver, started running in 2012, and trekked to Everest Base Camp in Nepal in the middle of winter in 2013. In her spare time, when not out running, Heather is hard at work writing her children’s novel based on her own adventures in the remote outback of Australia.
Heather regularly gives of her time to speak to schools, community and business groups about surviving cancer and being resilient in the face of adversity, and loves to challenge and encourage people to make the most of life, to get fit and most of all, to never give up.
Heather hopes that by running the World Marathon Challenge she’ll tick another dream off her ‘Second chance at Life’ list, and that she’ll encourage others to get out there and have an adventure.
In November 2015 Heather was invited to be an Ambassador for CanToo, and now hopes to raise much needed funds for research into all types of cancer through the Can Too foundation.
She plans to cross the finish line of the WMC in Sydney wearing her Surf Life Saving cap, her Can Too singlet, and with a very big smile across her face…
Heather loves being a running mum and part of the RMA community!
You can follow Heather’s journey on the link below.
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