A marathon of change
11 years on from a history-making run
Posted on 23.03.2022
In 2011, Bianca Graham and Nadine Hunt ran the New York City Marathon with the Indigenous Marathon Project. They share the enduring legacy of their history-making run with Lauren McIntosh.
New York. It is one of the biggest cities in the world, a place where dreams are made. It’s also home to the renowned New York City Marathon, one of the world’s most famous long distance races.
Eleven years ago, on Sunday the 6th of November 2011, it is where the serendipitous dream Bianca Graham and Nadine Hunt had—of becoming the first Indigenous Australian women to cross the New York Marathon finish line—became reality.
Bianca and Nadine crossed the finish line together in 3 hours, 40 minutes and 44 seconds to make history. They finished a joint third out of eleven Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) squad members.
“We started off together but there was no plan, it just happened,” says Bianca of their joint crossing.
“It wasn’t until the very end [when] we could see the flags and were like we’ve done it. And we grabbed each other’s hand and just ran across the finish line.”
In reflecting on their run, Nadine says “I remember running past so many of the IMP boys and checking they’re okay, but we’d keep going.
“When we finished, we were laughing and crying and crying.”
Ahead of the marathon there had been a lot of excitement around the event, as Bianca and Nadine, along with Bridgette Williams and Sam Shepherd, were set to be the first Indigenous Australian women to run the NYC Marathon. The involvement of the four women came about from their participation in the IMP.
Founded in 2010, IMP—now a part of the broader health promotion charity the Indigenous Marathon Foundation (IMF)—supports and trains a select squad of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to run the New York City Marathon in just 6 months.
Bianca and Nadine had heard the stories of the inaugural IMP runners—all males from remote communities in central Australia— however as IMP was still in its infancy, each had their own hesitancy about signing up.
I always thought marathons [were] in the Olympics and that’s it, I didn’t know anyone could do it. And certainly not people from Weipa. (Bianca, a Torres Strait Islander woman)
Fast forward to the present day and IMP has had more than 40 female graduates.
“It’s really cool, seeing all of the women… I reckon it’s taken me a good 10 years to realise how big of a deal it was”, says Nadine.
Today both Bianca and Nadine are still heavily involved with IMP, seeking to give back to the community the same way Rob de Castella—the IMF founder—has been doing “tirelessly for 12 years”.
“We don’t actually realise the influence”, says Nadine. “We have runners who have built their confidence so much they will never go back to a domestic violence relationship.
“There’s such a bigger picture. It’s about providing a really positive space for mob to come together and be healthy and be active. To challenge themselves.
“Because you have no idea what is going on behind the scenes and how you can influence someone by just being there and supporting them.
“You don’t have to run a marathon, you just have to show up.”
Source
Siren Sport
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