Jacqui Bell: Pushing the limits

SHANNON KING | Digital Marketing & Communications Officer

Jacqui Bell never intended to be a runner, let alone an ultra-marathon runner. But life sometimes throws you a curveball that makes you reassess everything...

Imagine running a marathon in the blazing heat or extreme cold across some of the most rugged landscapes on earth, carrying on your back everything you need for the week except for water and shelter. You collapse, aching and utterly exhausted, into your tent at night, only to wake the next morning to do it all over again.

In 2018, at 23 years of age, Jacqui Bell became the youngest female to conquer the four Deserts ultra-marathon series, a multi-stage endurance footrace covering 1,000 kilometres of beautiful, but harsh, desert terrain in Chile, Mongolia, Namibia, and Antarctica.

The following year, she made history again, becoming the youngest person in the world to complete ultra-marathons on all seven continents.

Jacqui didn’t grow up running. She was a Tennis player with aspirations of going pro, but admits to having a terrible temper on the court.

“If something didn’t go my way I’d shout, swear, throw my racquet,” she said.

“One day Dad had enough. He packed the balls in the car and drove off.”

After a while, Jacqui realised he wasn’t coming back, so she had to run home. She discovered that she quite enjoyed running.

At age 19, Jacqui competed in her first 50km race and to her surprise, placed third. This led to her entering several events over the years for fun and as a personal challenge.

But the story of how Jacqui came to compete in ultra-marathons really started with a run of sports-related injuries and health issues in her early 20s which affected her mentally and triggered self-destructive behaviours such as binge eating. She describes looking back on her behaviours as ‘confronting’. “I was suffering in silence,” she said. “And I didn’t know how to ask for help.”

In an attempt to ‘get clean and reset’, she travelled to Bali to become a yoga teacher, but a violent mugging resulting in a fall from a scooter left her in hospital for 10 days with significant injuries. Jacqui returned home to Brisbane, and it was while she was sitting on the couch, eating chocolate and scrolling through social media that she realised she was falling back into old habits.

“I was watching other people living their lives, rather than living my own,” she said.

Determined to make a big change in her life, Jacqui decided to sign up for the Big Red Run—a 250km race across the Simpson Desert. But while she was preparing for the event and researching ultramarathons, she stumbled across the 4 Desert Grand Slam and decided to make this her new goal. She smashed it.

When asked about the most difficult part of competing in ultra-marathons, Jacqui said it was all about mindset.

“It’s always going to be a really, really long day out there, no matter what,” she said.

“If you’re feeling positive and good within yourself and how you’re running, then the day will finish quicker, and you’ll feel good about it. But if you’re struggling mentally on the day, everything seems tenfold harder.”

Jacqui said now that she’s done so many of these endurance events, she’s becoming better at knowing when she is struggling mentally.

“I try to crush the negative words that are coming to mind and just focus on staying positive, moving forward and getting it done.”

While racing, Jacqui passes the time by listening to music or podcasts. Sometimes she might have company. In Mongolia she raced alongside a 50-year-old woman named Karen. Despite their age difference, they ‘just clicked’ and by chance were running the same pace for most of the race. While running 50 kilometres each day, every day, they had what Jacqui described as some ‘real and raw’ conversations. She admits one of the best things about racing is the connections she forms with the people she encounters.

When she isn’t training or competing, Jacqui seeks to inspire others with her story of resilience and determination. She is also a mental health ambassador for the White Cloud Foundation, an organisation that is passionate about and for which she has raised more than $25,000.

Her final message? “Question the limits you place on yourself and on others around you,” she says. “And keep on learning. Stay curious.”