New York in sight for Noongar woman Bree Yarran as she juggles law degree and marathon training

Not so long ago, Bree Yarran had no idea how long a marathon was.

In just over a week, the 24-year-old Noongar woman will find out the hard way when she runs 42.195km around New York City’s five boroughs.

The UWA law student is tackling the New York Marathon, her first journey over the gruelling distance, on November 6.

“I had no idea how long it was until people I knew starting running marathons and then I started watching a few of Robert de Castella’s videos of his runs. I bet I feel every part of it,” Yarran said.

Yarran has visited New York twice, in 2013 and 2018, but had not entertained the idea of running the city’s famous road race until she put her hand up to be a part of de Castella’s Indigenous Marathon Project. She has been to all of the tourist spots but now she will take the tourist route few experience, from Staten Island over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and The Bronx, with the finish in Central Park.

“It will be really interesting to see all five boroughs,” she said. “When I have been there in the past, I never thought about going into those other parts.”

She’ll have support on course, with mum Sherri flying to New York to support her daughter on her marathon debut.

“She is going to be in Brooklyn at about mile seven, then she is going to go over to Manhattan and be at mile 17. And then she is going to the grandstand to watch me pass the finish line. But that first time seeing her will be really exciting,” she said.

Yarran has been in full marathon training for six months, peaking at 55km a week, her longest run 30km in Alice Springs, pictured.

“I had a hip injury going in. I felt surprisingly comfortable, but it was quite emotional knowing that if I finished I had my ticket to New York,” she said. “I definitely want to go under five hours, but for me it’s about pacing myself at the start and getting my breathing right and then give it my all.”

She’s done it tough in the second year of a Juris Doctor of Law. “Heading into this 25km run in Perth, I had all my assignments due, which was tough. Some days I’d run on the treadmill for an hour just so I could watch a lecture,” she said.

“So it was double-tasking, waking up extra early to go for a run so I could study. Assignments are mentally exhausting but adding the 55km plus a week it all adds up.”

A proud Noongar woman, Yarran will be running with plaited indigenous symbols around her wrist or in her hair.

“The marathon is synonymous with struggle, endurance, and achievement, so to go from no running to running the biggest marathon in the world, in the biggest city in the world, in just six months, is almost beyond comprehensive. This amazing group of young First Nations men and women will do this next month, and when they cross the finish line in Central Park,” Indigenous Marathon Foundation founder de Castella said.

The IMF uses the marathon to spark and amplify the strength, resilience, and purpose that runs deep throughout Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. The marathon is the final step in the six-month IMP program consisting of a personal commitment to health and nutrition, participation in a Cert IV in Indigenous Leadership and Health Promotion and, and training in running coaching, media, First Aid and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health First Aid.

Applications for the 2023 Indigenous Marathon Project Squad open in mid-December.

Go to ww.imf.org.au .