IT’S not often you come across a secretary who plays cricket and runs marathons, but that’s exactly what Mitch Graham does.
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The secretary of the Hastings River District Cricket Association and also a player for the Wauchope RSL club, the 24-year-old will contest the half marathon at the Port Macquarie Running Festival next month.
The event will be Graham’s eighth half-marathon, and has a distance of 21.1 kilometres.
“Ever since I ran in a charity event for Oxfam in Sydney I’ve been hooked on the sport,” Graham said.
“Running alongside friends and striving to better my personal best of 1 hour and 44 minutes, which I achieved at last year’s running festival, is a big motivator.”
He also draws inspiration from racing alongside such long distance champions as Steve Moneghetti, who he says pushes him to be better.
“I plan to do the full marathon at the Gold Coast and even though it might seem like a busy life it’s not hard to find the time for it,” he said.
“I get home from work, I chuck on the shoes and go for a run. Then I head to cricket training and do my secretary work of a night. It’s not hard when you’re passionate about it.”
On his expectations for the running festival, Graham says he doesn’t expect to finish with a podium position and expects to save his best for the Gold Coast marathon.
“I’ll probably finish the running festival somewhere around the middle of the pack,” he said.
“I’ll save my big performance for the Gold Coast and try and go as full and hard as I can then.”
The Port Macquarie Running Festival will be on Sunday, March 10, with the first event starting at 7am.
