Gritty and determined are two words that immediately come to mind when given the task of summing up the character of two-time national IronWoman Series champion Courtney Hancock. The 24-year-old proved why she’s currently one of Australia’s greatest endurance athletes after overcoming not only an incredibly talented field of rivals but the unpredictable nature of the surf to take her second crown in February.

Courtney suffered concussion halfway through Round 4 at Surfers Paradise after a freak wave dumped her into a sand bank. Her board hit her on the head and her campaign appeared to have come to an end. But Courtney proved she had the strength, courage and determination to come back. Eight days later she narrowed her chase on series leader Naomi Flood to eight points leading into the final round at Coolum. Flood was eliminated in the three race format at Coolum allowing Courtney to take not only the win but the overall series.

The Gold Coast local now has her sights set on completing her first half marathon at the 35th Gold Coast Airport Marathon. We had the pleasure to sit down with Courtney and get the lowdown on how her training is progressing, how she’ll combine her IronWoman training with her running and what her overall goal time is.

Q. Is this your debut half marathon?
A. Yes it is. It’s very exciting to be doing it on the Gold Coast.

Q. Why have you decided to run the ASICS Half Marathon?
A. I’ve always done the Coolangatta Gold which we have in October/November and I’ve wanted to incorporate the half marathon with the Coolangatta Gold training for some time. Last year I wasn’t able to because I had a few presentations I had to attend and I was quite busy in the off season but this year I want to do the plan I’ve always wanted to do.

Q. How will you incorporate your ASICS Half Marathon training with your IronWoman training?
I’m going to do my entire running training first and get ready for the half marathon. I’ll race and then I’ll start my swimming, board and ski paddling training after. So, I’ll have three months to pick those up but all my running fitness will be ready to go. I thought it would work out well because the Coolangatta Gold is just over 30 kilometres. It’s a bit different but I think it will change up my training as well. I think it will work out and hopefully I’ll go really well.

Q. How many times a week do you run or plan to run in the lead up?
A. At the moment I’m training for the Australian Titles so we do quite short and explosive running but I’m pretty much running everyday. This afternoon I’ve got an 8km run and then throughout the week we’ll do sprints on the sand. Although we’re doing sprints on the sand we still get up to about 4km. But when I’m training for the Half Marathon I’ll get up to about 50km a week.

Q. Have you always enjoyed running?
I’ve always loved running. I’ve always loved that feeling of being light on your feet. It’s really pleasant running around here on the Gold Coast too. We’ve got so many beautiful parks around Burleigh and Nobby Beach. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully you’ll get a good crowd.

Q. Goal time?
A. I’m not too sure yet. I’ll have to check that out. I’ll see how we go. I always did running at school but I’ve seemed to improve the older I’ve gotten. The Coolangatta Gold has an 8km run at the end and it’s pretty tough especially after a 16km ski leg, 5km board and 2.5km swim so I’ve always had that endurance base. I’m hoping to give it a good go.