38 / Mernda

Melbourne Marathons Festivals: x2 (10km)

Jessica kept waiting to sign up to a running event, “when I’m fitter, when I’m feeling better, there was always an excuse.” One day something changed within her, she had a moment of “do it now, just show up and do it”.

She ran her first 10km at the Melbourne Marathon Festival in 2017.

“When I first did it, I thought ‘this is not my scene, I shouldn’t be doing this, this is for legit runners’. So many people cheered me on, congratulated me, high fived me, I really felt part of the family.”

“The moment I entered the MCG, I cannot describe to people. Just the cheer, I don’t know if they were cheering for me, but it definitely felt like it. I know there was a hundred other people crossing that line with me but I really did feel like all those cheers were for me.”

Jessica sends a message to those reluctant runners: “I know it looks intimidating, but everyone is out there doing it for themselves. It’s you vs you. If you want to do it, now is the time. Don’t keep waiting, you’ll enjoy it, trust me”.