USQ statistics lecturer Taryn Axelsen got the numbers right on Sunday to become the inaugural Greater Springfield Marathon women’s champion.
The Ipswich Girls Grammar School old girl produced an amazing effort of 3 hours and 27 minutes over 42.2km in what was the first major marathon event ever held in the City of Ipswich.
Ms Axelsen, 38, said she was excited to be crowned the first female champion of her home event.
“I live in Springfield Lakes and it was great to run on local roads and come out on top of this really well-organised debut event,” the mother of two said.
Ms Axelsen lectures at USQ’s Springfield campus, beside the marathon course, and is often seen before and after work and during lunch breaks running local streets.
“There were plenty of hills during the marathon and it certainly made the run very tough. But six laps at the top and six laps at the bottom made it great for the runners to break it up and for spectators to offer so much support to everyone.”
Things did not go exactly to plan for Ms Axelsen on Sunday – an upset stomach and two unexpected toilet stops about two-thirds of the way through the marathon almost derailed her efforts.
“I had a couple of bad patches but managed to pull through. I just focussed on one lap at a time, try and get some nutrition in and run strong,” she said.
“I was extremely grateful for all the cheering from family and friends on course. They definitely helped me power through at the end.”
Ms Axelsen was sixth overall. Another Ipswich running legend, Rosewood school teacher Clay Dawson smashed the entire field to win in a staggering time of 2 hours and 35 minutes.
More than 1000 people competed across seven events, which kicked off on Springfield Central Boulevard at 6.30am. Ipswich City Council Division 2 Cr Paul Tully was at the start line bright and early to see participants off in the McGrath Greater Springfield Marathon Festival, which was organised by the Run 2 Give Foundation and its directors Tony and Maria Becis. Local Division 9 Cr Sheila Ireland took part in the 7km event and thoroughly enjoyed her walk.
But work takes precedence now as she prepares to deliver two papers on mathematics education at the Mathematical Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) conference in NZ in early July. Ms Axelsen has been a stats lecturer for 15 years at USQ.
“It’s all about the numbers – both at work and either swimming, riding or running. I love my job, I love the teaching aspect and helping students understand what can be very tricky subject matter,” she said.
“It is not always easy juggling work, family, sporting commitments and everything else. But it is all about getting the balance right and having a good time doing it. I truly believe it has to be fun.”
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