Natasha Shire of Karratha, was part of the squad of 11 Indigenous runners who, against all the odds, took part and completed the 2017 New York marathon last weekend.
Prior to her departure to conquer the New York marathon Natasha confessed that before joining the Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP), some six months ago, shed’ never taken part in any endurance sport. Initially, she also doubted her capability to undertake such a grueling challenge.
“I’d heard about the Indigenous Marathon Project a few years ago. And it was always something I always wanted to do. Obviously I thought I’d never be able to run a marathon but here we are, with six months training and I’m now ready to take on the New York City Marathon.
The single mum of three young daughters says she hit rock bottom a couple of years ago when her marriage broke down but now she feels she is doing something to inspire her girls and show them how strong women can be when they have self-belief and a purpose.
It was the difficulty to cope with her marriage breakdown that really led her to seek support from the Indigenous Marathon Project.
“There was probably a year where I was quite depressed and drinking too much and trying to raise three little girls by myself so it was a bit of a struggle and I got to a point where my kids would say to me: “you are going out again to dinner mummy?” That would be me going out. Going on a night out on the town. Taking a step back, and realizing that that’s not how I want my children to grow up like, that is when I applied to IMP to give me a focus and something to work toward,” Natasha Shire Says.
Through her achievement at the New York marathon, Natasha wants to inspire kids at the school where she works as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education officer to follow in her footsteps, to persevere and never lose hope. The same message goes to her daughters as well as to the wider community.
“Just have a dream and anything is possible. I thought this would never come true and it has. So, dream big and work hard.”
