When Michael Tynan Memorial Challenge organisers went looking for participants in the 100km walk from Wollongong to St George, three-time Triathlon World Champion Craig Alexander was one of their first choices.
The super busy Alexander, now running a triathlete coaching business, was not available, however, his wife, Nerida, was.
A nurse in the emergency department at St George Hospital, she was more than happy to take her famous husband’s place in the challenge, especially since she would be helping raise money for the St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation.
‘’I am not the athlete that Craig is – there is only room in the family for one international athlete – but I’ve done lots of different races, lots of triathlons,’’ Nerida said. ‘’Since we had our three kids, however, I find my challenges in other ways.’’
A member of the St George Hospital team of Manoj Saxena, Sue, Baker, Julia MacLain, Irena Martincich, Krystle Cini, Melissa Henderson, Emad El-Omar, Michal Szczesnik, Andrew Chang and Kathryn Fohn, Nerida said she was looking forward to the challenge, especially the Royal National Park Coastal Walk portion of the event.
“The Coastal Walk is so beautiful; I’ve done it before but that was pre-children. It’s not a ridiculously tough walk, it’s just long (27km). Anybody with a reasonable level of fitness can do it.’’
The Coastal Walk is so beautiful
- Nerida Alexander
The Michael Tynan Memorial Challenge takes place over the October 22-23 weekend.
Visit michaeltynanchallenge.com.
training regimen
Nerida’s training regimen is a mix of pilates, high impact training, some weights at the gym and running.
“You can’t just walk for huge distances,’’ Nerida said. ‘’You need to throw some running in there just to change the way your body moves. It’s good for your feet, good for your hips, and good for your knees in particular to mix it up.’’
And what is good for your feet is what will get you to the finish line , Nerida said.
“The Tynan Challenge will cover all sorts of surfaces - hard roads, soft sand and the rocky and uneven terrain of the Coastal Walk. That means it’s important to make sure you have good shoes, the right shoes,’’ Nerida said.
“You need to wear slightly bigger shoes because your feet do swell which I’ve learned from previous events.’’
Nutrition plan
“I prefer to eat dried fruit and nut snacks and swear by dried bananas for energy.”