Races may have been few and far between during the COVID period but Merewether's Christie Dawes says she's "desperately trying to make up for lost time".
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The wheelchair athlete has locked in half-a-dozen events between now and the end of the year, starting with the Gold Coast Marathon this weekend.
She will use the Australian competition, her first since the Paralympics in Tokyo almost 12 months ago, as a warm-up for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham which get underway on July 28.
Dawes, 42, then takes part in four iconic races overseas to round out 2022 with Berlin, London, Chicago and New York all on the agenda.
"I'm desperately trying to make up for lost time," Dawes told the Newcastle Herald.
"I haven't done a marathon since Paralympics last year so I'm really fit, slim and back at my race weight but I'm just not race fit.
"So this [Gold Coast] is the beginning of me getting race fit ... I'm just hoping to settle in a pack, get the kilometres out and get them out comfortably without doing any injury."
She's aiming for a time between one hour, 44 minutes (1:44) and 1:48, but remains conscience of potential rain forecast across Saturday and Sunday.
Dawes' training partner, Wickham-based Luke Bailey, will try his hand at the longer marathon distance on the Gold Coast on the weekend having normally focused on sprint races.
"I've been training with Luke. He's nervous, but he's excited as well and can't wait to do it," she said.
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Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
