Sally Drayton is living proof that you can turn around your health.
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The East Maitland ultra runner told me she could barely run eight years ago.
But with hard work, determination, perseverance and a strong will, the 36-year-old became a runner.
Not just a runner, an ultra marathon runner.
Now, along with husband Daniel and friend Rob Langham, she has started her own ultra marathon event right here in the Hunter region and is gearing up for its second running.
I love hearing stories of people like Sally, who have gone from never running to not going a day without it.
I find it inspiring for many around them.
Sally told me last week she and Daniel both lost 30 kilograms from adopting a healthier lifestyle.
But she admitted it was not an easy task. That is what is inspiring about stories like Sally’s – it did not come easy but she still managed to get there.
“At first I couldn’t even run around the block,” Sally said.
“I always envied people who could run and made it look easy. I went and did the City2Surf with my sister and just walked it.
“Then I started to run and it was just so hard. I was going to give up and my husband said he’d help me and he started running too.
“We both lost around 30kg.”
They haven’t looked back. They developed a love for running that extended to their wedding day, on which they tied the knot mid-run during the Winery Running Festival four years ago.
Three years ago Sally took on her first ultra marathon. It was a looped course in Centennial Park in Sydney.
The experience inspired the inaugural Water Works Ultra Marathon, held near Maitland this year.
It was held to great success and Sally is planning a bigger and better event in 2017.
There will be a 50km or 100km option and both courses use a 3.6km loop. Sally felt both aspects made the event accessible to new runners.
“It’s a 3.6km loop, so it’s not as daunting as if you’ve got to do a 10km loop if you’re in a team,” she said.
“The reason I created it was because I love ultra running and I wanted to bring that to Maitland and Newcastle, I just wanted to do something different to what we’ve got already. There are a lot of half marathon events but nothing like this.”
Runners in teams must balance out the total distance between them but essentially can do as little or as much of the run as they choose. They can also do the 3.6km loops in a relay.
There is an aid station so runners do not have to carry all of their gear as they usually do in ultra events. And Sally said there was a party feel to the event.
Last year the organisers capped the field to 100 runners but in 2017 they will extend to 250 entries.
The Hunter region has become known as “the region of runners” and Sally wants to develop this event for the local running community.
The event is on March 19. It can be run solo or in a team.
Entries and info at waterworksultramarathon.com
Renee Valentine is a personal trainer, writer and mother of three. Email her at r.valentine@fairfaxmedia.com.au