Girls just wanna make running fun

The ASICS Gold Coast Marathon holds a special place in the hearts of runners-turned-podcast extraordinaires Hayley Moody and Justine Lea.

Not only was it the place where their friendship was forged, as well as a collective love of running.

It was also the sliding doors moment which sparked the creation of The Women’s Collective –  a weekly podcast targeted at women “where every pace, every distance, and every runner is welcome.”

“We met at our local running group, probably a week before the Gold Coast Marathon,” remembers Hayley, from their home-based podcast studio in Foster on the NSW Central Coast.

“We had both entered and were like, “Oh hey, what are you training for?” Then we realised we didn’t even really know how we were getting there or where we were staying.

“So we said, “Let’s just do a road trip together,” even though we didn’t know each other.

Justine laughs: “Lucky that worked out because we could have been completely crazy.”

“It was so much fun,” recalls Hayley. “It was the start of our friendship and the start of really loving running.

“I hadn’t done a running race in so long and I think it reignited my flame to love racing and training for something and accomplishing.”

The trip to the Gold Coast also marked the birth of a podcast that has since become a vehicle for the pair to use their running stories, experiences and even failures to help other women regardless of their running level or expertise.

“We had no idea what we’re doing and we wanted to learn and we wanted to educate other women on the best way, I suppose, to go into racing,” said Hayley.

“I actually listen to a lot of podcasts and I found that there wasn’t a female only running podcast that catered for women like us that were just having fun but also want to learn, want to do personal bests, want to eat right and train right and you know, not get injured and not spew in a bag.

“We also really wanted to cultivate community. I’d only just moved to Foster, I was struggling to find community and I didn’t find it until I found our running group.

“There are so many regional communities out there that don’t have a running group or don’t have someone to bounce ideas off or to ask about training.

Justine adds: “Plus I think its super intimidating for women … a lot of the time if women don’t know everything about something, they won’t be willing to try it.

“The average runner is people like us, so we wanted to kind of break down that barrier. If we don’t mind asking questions and trying things then we can break it down for people and make it seem achievable and relatable, hopefully we can encourage women to run.”

And so the podcast was born – starting initially recorded out of a community library in Forster, advancing to a home studio in Hayley’s study where they would “shut the door and hide from the kids” before getting more serious with a studio in the backyard of Hayley’s mother’s house.

The impact of the running community has been significant, with the pair inspiring and educating women all over Australia having recently reached over 50,000 downloads.

The profile and calibre of their guests has also grown over time, with the likes of Grace Tame and Jana Pittman agreeing to join them for interviews.

As far as evidence of their impact on the community goes, a recent encounter with the father of a 16-year-old girl who had been listening to the podcast spokes volumes.

“This big dad came and gave me this massive hug and said “thank you so much for what you girls do for my daughter.” And then I was tearing up,” remembers Justine.

Hayley adds: “That is my favourite story because I think we probably look at who our target audience is and they are probably middle-aged mums like us just trying to get through.

“But the fact that young girls are listening as well, that to me says we’re helping encourage the next generation of women and young girls that want to believe in themselves and their dreams, no matter how big they are.”

And so will they be back to run this year’s ASICS Gold Coast Marathon? You bet.

“What I love about the Gold Coast is I feel like it’s quintessentially the Aussie culture like you are diving right into the middle of what it’s like to just get amongst a great Australian event for people coming from overseas,” says Justine.

“Also for us, it’s just fun. I think with Marathon running, people can get really intense and they can kind of get in their own head.

“But when you get to the Gold Coast, there’s DJs, there’s dancing, people have smiles on their faces – that’s what it has that I think other races would aspire to.”