A woman originally from the island has achieved first place in Australia’s oldest running marathon.

Christine Wright, a Tasmanian resident who grew up in Douglas, is the fourth woman to have ever won the Professional Cross Country Club of Tasmania (PCCCT) marathon, which has been going for 45 years.

She took part in the handicapped system.

Ages ranged from 16 to late 70s.

The 60-year-old said: ’I couldn’t believe it when I saw the finish line and broke the tape just 50 seconds before the second place finisher.

’I realised I’d fulfilled what was really just a fantasy to actually win this event.’

This year was Christine’s 10th club marathon, which she is thrilled to have won.

’I hit the lead at about 12km but kept thinking it was only a matter of time before the young, fast boys caught me,’ she said. ’The last kilometre is quite hilly so I had to dig deep for that last bit of energy.’

Christine shared that she has not always been a runner.

challenge

’I was 45 when I decided to take up the challenge of running a 10km road race, an annual event in our local area,’ she said. ’I crawled out of bed on cold, dark mornings to do my training. On the day I surprised myself in the time I ran, which was much quicker than anticipated.

’By then I had begun to enjoy the early morning training regime and wanted to continue with my newfound sport so I joined a running club, the PCCCT, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Deciding she was more suited to longer distances, she ran her first marathon in 2006 and last year she celebrated her 60th birthday by taking part in the Australian Masters Games, winning a silver medal in the half marathon.

The marathon winner often pays the island a visit with her husband, David, who is from Castletown. The pair had moved to Australia 40 years ago.

She added: ’What a great training ground the island is. We love to run through the Baldwin valley and up into the hills. Running is a great sport for anyone to get involved in and age is no barrier. Just take things gradually. It does the world of good for the body and the soul.’