WHEN the sun comes up on Sunday morning, spare a thought for Bathurst woman Elise Hull.
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The 25-year-old, who works at Charles Sturt University, will be setting off for a 30-kilometre run in Alice Springs in temperatures that could reach into the late 20s.
It is bound to test her mettle, but the prize for completing her mission is the ultimate for any runner.
It will effectively book her a ticket on the plane to New York for the New York Marathon in early November as one of the members of the 2013 Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP), which has former elite distance runner Robert de Castella as director.
Elise is the first Bathurst local to be selected to take part in the IMP, which aims to promote healthy and happy lifestyles in indigenous communities.
The six-man, six-woman IMP squad was selected after the call for applicants went out at the start of the year, resulting in more than 100 indigenous people from various communities and walks of life attending a try-out in Sydney.
Under the guidance of Mr de Castella, members of the squad are spending seven months training for their date with destiny in New York.
At the same time they have competed in a series of warm-up events and training camps which allow them to complete a Certificate IV in Health and Leisure.
Elise told the Western Advocate she’s confident she can make the grade in Alice Springs, having completed the recent Dubbo Half Marathon in two hours and 17 minutes.
“I’m ready,” she said.
“We will be running on the roads around Alice, but we start at 5am because of the heat factor.
“It’s bound to be a bit warmer than Bathurst is at this time of year.”
Elise said she hopes to do the 30km trial in about three hours.
“I’m so proud just to have come this far,” she said. “It’s given me a huge boost in self confidence and inspired my family as well.
“I did Sunday’s Edgell Jog in just under 45 minutes and I told them all they would be running with me in it next year.”
As for the hectic training schedule, Elise said you have good and bad days.
“Some runs are crappy and others are great. Those good days make up for all the bad ones,” she said. “The trouble is I’ve never run 42km before. I used to think only insane people run marathons, but when you get into it, it’s not that bizarre.
“I’m pretty pumped about this weekend, though. I am nervous, but it’s a good kind of nervous.
“I know I am going to have to dig deep for the last 10km, but I think the adrenalin will kick in thinking of the big prize that is New York when it’s all over.”
