Deadly runners meet in Cairns

The IMF Northern Region Run Leaders Forum brought 33 Run Leaders, including 12 Indigenous Marathon Project Graduates, from the NT, FNQ and the Torres Strait together for a four day workshop in Cairns last week.

Attendees participated in upskilling sessions to strengthen their roles and influence as IMF RAW Run Leaders (including First Aid and CPR and Level 1 Run Coaching sessions, and injury prevention) and made lasting connections.

To finish the workshop more than 70 IMF runners and walkers participated in the Cairns Marathon Festival, from the 2km event right up to the Marathon.

IMF graduate Elsie Seriat said it was a great opportunity for everyone to get together, including five of them from the TI Deadly Runners group.

She said their five – herself, Harold Matthew, Neville Johnston, Karen Keane, Josephine Sagigi and Melissa Pilot –joined runners from Darwin, Cairns, Alice Springs, Townsville, Yarrabah and Pormpuraaw at the event.

“We flew in on Thursday and we went straight into what the program was going to be for the next couple of days,” she said.

“We were split up into two groups, some people did the first aid and CPR course, and the others did level one in run leaders course.

“For the Cairns Marathon there were roughly about 70 runners, we had people lining up for the different distances – five kilometres, 10 kilometres, the halfmarathon and we had a few people doing the full marathon as well.

“We had the third highest numbers in any running group teams, which was pretty good.

“We were all proud to be up there.”

She said some of the graduates even had podium finishes.

“One graduate from the Indigenous Marathon Project, his name is TJ Cora, from Cairns, had a podium finish first for the five kilometres, running it in something like 19 minutes.

“Then we had Nadine Hunt, one of the first runners to pave the way for us women in the Indigenous Marathon Project and a graduate from 2011, who had a podium finish third in the 10 kilometres.

“It was really good to see these guys coming through and having podium finishes.”