Don’t Let Lockdown Interrupt Your Goals

Physiosports patient Gayle Cowling has shown us that everyone is capable of achieving great things in their own special way, even in these crazy COVID-19 times! Gayle started running very late in life. She completed her first ultra-marathon when she was 39 years old. As she got closer to middle age, she set herself the goal of completing 50 of them by the time she turned 50.

With the current restrictions due to the  COVID-19 pandemic all ultra-marathon events have been cancelled throwing her schedule out the window. Gayle came up with the idea of running a half marathon (which measures 21.1 kilometres) twenty-one days in a row. The major challenge here was due to social restrictions Gayle was confined to the suburb where she lives. Traditionally being an ultra-trail runner, running on concrete meant a lot of wear and tear on her body due to the harder surfaces.

Our very own John Contreras has been instrumental in helping manage Gayle’s body throughout this time helping to keep her on the move. As Gayle says; ‘if anything was going to stop me, it was a physical injury rather than my mental capacity to do it.’ Now at age 50 the tally stands at 74… so the goal became to complete 100 Ultras by the time she turns 55.

If you’re thinking of running but don’t know where to begin, follow us on Facebook or Instagramwhere we are posting a weekly schedule by Ky, our running physio, on how to get from novice runner to 5km.

Find out more about Ky’s weekly Running Program by clicking here.