Interview with Maya Borthwick

Our runner Maya has had a fantastic year with some awesome pbs including 55mins in the City to Surf! Thanks for sharing your journey with us:

1. At what age did you start running / racing? 

My first proper race was the Blackmores half marathon in 2008. I enjoyed the race but didn't really catch the running bug. I didn't race again until 2010 when a friend of mine joined the Can Too training program for the Blackmores Marathon and convinced me to give it a go. We trained twice a week with Can Too including a weekly long run and a track session. This was the first time that I had done any proper training and I was hooked from there on in! I joined a running group in 2010 following the marathon and enjoyed a few years running until 2012, when I found out I was pregnant with twins. In 2014 I found Rejoov after carefully vetting the running groups in the area and decided that it was the one for me. 


2. What are some of your favourite running experiences & what are your pbs this year (c2s, half marathon)?

I've had lots of great running experiences. The marathon in 2010 was pretty special. There's no event quite like the marathon in terms of the time invested and commitment that it takes and the feeling of achievement afterwards. This year has also been a good one for me and I've achieved some goals time-wise in my racing that I never thought possible. I was very excited about my PB in the City to Surf of 55.31 and also my PB in the Melbourne half marathon of 86.42. I qualified for a preferred entry in the Melbourne and it was a surreal and pretty intimidating experience to be lining up with Olympians like Eloise Wellings and Lisa Weightman. I've never been so nervous in my life. 


3. What's your favourite home cooked meal? 

My favourite home cooked meal is anything that I haven't cooked, so in my house that would usually be takeaway or spaghetti bolognaise. I love food but not the whole process involved in cooking, especially at the end of a long day. I'm a pretty healthy eater and love Japanese food but my number one weakness is chocolate, followed closely by number two which is hot chips. I love running because it means I can indulge in my vices pretty freely. 

4. What do you enjoy about the Rejoov running group & online program? 

I've always found that I needed the motivation of meeting people and training with people to be my best. I've trained with running groups before but not ones as friendly and inclusive as Rejoov. I've had many days this year where I felt that I would rather not train and I'm always so happy after coming and catching up with everyone. The level of camaraderie in the group is second to none and everyone celebrates the successes and also supports you when things aren’t going 100%. I've had a few injuries this year and the level of support from people in the group has been amazing. 

5. What events are you training for?  

Nothing! Not in the immediate future anyway. But I have my sights set on the Canberra marathon in April next year and am looking to do some fun runs over the summer period. 

6. Can you share a health or training tip?

The lesson that I've learned ( or am still learning) the hard way this year, is to listen to your body and to adjust your training accordingly.   I'm a very driven, goal orientated person and when you give me a program or a training goal I go after it 1000%. The down side to this is that I have sometimes ignored warning signs that things were about to go wrong and ended up injured.  I'm hoping that I can pay more heed to this next year and have an injury free year. I've also learned a lot about mind set and racing this year, including some strategies to help turn off that little voice that screams "STOP" when things are getting hard.