‘IT’S A LIFE-CHANGING PROGRAM. IT’S TOUGH, BUT NOTHING WORTH HAVING IN LIFE COMES EASILY.’ New York City Marathon, 2018. The start-line crowd was overwhelming. Indigenous Australian runner Rachael Howard’s anxiety was in overdrive. The 28-year-old longed her for family back in Maitland, New South Wales. Stomach in knots, she shed a few tears. Then, it was time to move.
Rachael’s coach ran with her for the first couple of kilometres, helping her navigate the 50,000-plus throng of runners. Eventually, she got some breathing space. Her coach left her side, and she pounded through the city’s five boroughs – Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan – without him. But she wasn’t alone.
“I remember getting to about 30km and I was really hurting,” Rachael says. “I took my phone…