Beijing Olympian and two-time Commonwealth Games hockey gold medalist Kate Hollywood will step up to the 42.195km Gold Coast Airport Marathon at this year’s event. Kate completed the ASICS Half Marathon last year in a time of 1:50:05 and was so inspired by last year’s marathon finishers that she decided she would tackle the full marathon this weekend. We got the chance to chat to Kate about her goals for the race, the difference between training for hockey and marathons and much more.

Why have you decided to enter the full 42.195km Gold Coast Airport Marathon?

I ran the ASICS Half Marathon last year and stayed around to watch the finish of the Marathon. I was so inspired by the people who were competing in it, right there and then I decided I wanted to do it. The emotion on their faces as they crossed the line from the elite athletes to the everyday runners was truly touching.

What is your goal for this year’s race? A certain time? Or to just finish?  

I would like to run it in under four hour as I’ve heard the average is 4:10mins (want to be better than average). But also just want to complete the race and cross that finish line.

Q. When things start to get tough on the course how will you motivate yourself to keep going?

I think by the other people who are running. Knowing that everyone else is there (most likely in a world of hurt) will inspire me to keep going.

You ran the ASICS Half Marathon last year. How was that experience for you and were you happy with your run?

It was an unbelievable experience. I had never been in an event like that and loved every minute of the experience. I was happy with my time (can’t remember what it was) but only trained for about four weeks for it. So once again was just happy to finish.

Are there many differences and similarities between hockey training and training for a running event?

I guess there are. We do a lot of running in hockey, but it is more short and sharp and I guess most of the time bent over! I guess the amount of K’s we do over and over week in and week out is something my body is used too.

 You live in Sydney – where is your favourite place to run?

I love running anywhere where there is water, a sunrise or sunset. I live in Cronulla so I love running low tide on the beach or along the esplanade.

What’s next for you after you smash the Gold Coast Airport Marathon?

I am competing in some other runs throughout the year (as an Ambassador for Autism Spectrum Australia) and hopefully some more Triathlons towards the end of the year when the Tri season starts back again. As well as anything else that I can be involved in.