NICOLE Ingram held down a top three position in the women's division for much of the Beach to Brother marathon.
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The 28-year-old from Coopernook was contesting the 42.2km event for the first time. It started at Town Beach in Port Macquarie and wound its way to North Brother Mountain, with runners traversing the beach and then mountain trails.
"I was hoping for a top three finish, but I really had no idea how I'd go,'' Ingram said.
"But really, I just wanted to enjoy it the best I could.''
Ingram started to close in on the leading two runners, eventually moving into second place. However, the last 2km saw runners have to climb steep bush steps to get to the finish line on North Brother.
"I thought I'd be able to run up the steps but there was no way,'' Ingram admitted.
However, she still managed to overhaul the leader, Lou Clifton, about a kilometre from the finish line and hold on to take the honours. Ingram clocked 4.23.30 for the 42.2km to be 11th overall and the first woman home. Clifton claimed second in 4.24.56.
"In the end it came down to the last kilometre, that's pretty amazing,'' Ingram noted.
Ingram is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.
This was just her second 'official' marathon, having completed her first two years ago. Despite a gruelling course, she said it was an experience to savour.
"The coastline was just so beautiful,'' she enthused.
"And the volunteers were there encouraging us.''
However, she conceded it was tough going, especially on the sand.
"The tide was just up so it was pretty slushy. I tried to run in the footprints of the other runners to save some energy and that seemed to work.''
Ingram was running 60 to 70km a week in preparation for the event, generally in three hour stints.
"I wanted to get time in my legs, no so much the distance,'' she explained.
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The run was postponed from October to November due to the lockdown, meaning Ingram was able to extend her training.
"I was probably over-prepared,'' she said.
Other than a bit of tightness in her calves from running in the soft sand, Ingram recovered remarkably well. Now she's looking at her next marathon and hopes to start at South West Rocks next March.
Running is a family sport with her brother, sisters, mum and dad all involved, although Ingram's husband prefers mountain bikes and rock climbing.
The Ingrams moved to the Coopernook area earlier this year from Sydney.
"We wanted to get out of the rat race, off the grid and onto a small property with some animals,'' Ingram explained.
"We love it.''
Ingram's looking forward to contesting running festivals held in the Mid North Coast area. She'll also have a crack at parkrun and might even do a triathlon.
