She's a 3X Ironman, and Over 300 Marathons/Ultras
Cheryl Symons (48, from Melbourne Australia)
I don’t think of
myself as an athlete or even being athletic.
When I was younger I avoided playing most sports however that is also when
my athletic ambitions started. In
Australia we had a television show on a Saturday afternoon - Wide World of
Sports which ran small segments on sporting events all around the world, and I
remember watching the Hawaii Ironman and being absolutely in awe. So after spending my 20’s working and
partying and my early 30’s still working long hours and coming out of a
relationship, I decided it was time to do something for myself and to build
some personal confidence. I initially
decided that that something was running, but in the back of my mind the thought
of being an ironman was there.
With no real running
background, other than a few laps of an icon Melbourne landmark – ‘The Tan’ I
bought a book containing a few marathon plans and followed it religiously and
15 months later ran my first marathon.
Dehydrated and exhausted at the end I declared to my parents patiently
waiting for me at the finish that I would never do that again. Fast forward to November 2018 (14 years
later) and I have just completed my 300th marathon/ultra and hope I
will still be running strong for many more years. I have also finished 3 ironmans and ironman
is actually what led me to Ultras.
As I said, I don’t
consider myself to be an athlete.
I
honestly believe and regularly say to other runners and non-runners, that if I
can do it anyone can. I’m not fast, I’m
not skinny, I’m not physically strong – but what I do have in spades in
determination and a never give up attitude.
One of my favourite sayings is Death Before DNF (Did Not Finish). I ran the final 13 miles of a 50km trail run
with broken ribs a few years ago and never once did it cross my mind to
quit. But, everyone is different and I
understand why for others stopping is the right course of action.
I enjoy exploring my
physical and mental limits through running and will often be seen smiling away
to myself whilst on the road, trail or track for no particular reason other
than the pure joy of being out there. In
the last three years I have discovered fixed time races and love them. I’ve done quite a few 24 hours events and
stepped up to the 48 hour this year and have a strong desire to graduate to the
6 day plus events next year.
It’s a rare occasion
to see me with headphones in – I enjoy the quiet time, thinking or simply
choosing not to think or chatting to old friends and making new ones. My motto the last few years is simply that
life is short and you need to live it whilst you can. If you want to do something give it a go
don’t have regrets. It doesn’t matter if
you come first, last or somewhere in-between enjoy the experience and remember
to smile for the cameras.
-Cheryl-
Statistics
219 Marathons
3 Ironman Triathlons
81 Ultra-marathons (23 are 100
miles or greater)
Fastest marathon : 3:52:25
24 hour PR : 118.37 miles
48 hour PR : 195 miles
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