Marnie Ponton will throw everything she has at the inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in Wales next week.
The Glenbrook runner is part of the seven-member Australian team, which includes former Blue Mountains resident Celia Sullohern, who was fifth in the 5000m and sixth in the 10,000m at this year’s Commonwealth Games.
Ponton was selected based on her second place at the national half marathon championships on the Sunshine Coast in August, where she ran 1:13:26; a PB of five minutes.
At the road running event in Cardiff, Wales, on October 7, she’d like to set another PB.
“I'm hoping to run a 72 or 71 [minute race]. A 72 I would be happy,” the 34-year-old said.
It’s all part of the grand plan to run a marathon in 2 hours 30 minutes.
“I’ve only a few years left so I’m throwing everything at it,” Ponton said.
She juggles a young family and work as a nurse practitioner at Nepean Hospital, with long hours training each week. Some of the biggest weeks, she would train 175km on the road.
She hasn’t run on trail in months, choosing not to contest this year’s Six Foot Track Marathon in March, after winning the women’s event in her debut entrance in 2017.
“I’ve got to see what I can do on the road while I can, and go back to the fun trail stuff later,” Ponton said.