42.2km is no easy feat. The commitment and decision isn't one to take lightly but it makes race day a celebration like no other. Amongst the chaos of her post graduate degree, Isabel Osborne thought "yeah, I can do this". For Issy, the full marathon will be an accumulation of months of effort and sacrifices. The inevitable pain cave? She's here for it.

Tell us who you are, who you run with, and where it all started.

I am Isabel, I run with Femmi and Ate Miles. I've run on and off my whole life, but I was inspired to start actually training and running consistently a few years ago when I wanted to run a half marathon with my dad. This will be my first full! I'm nervous but excited. I think feeling nervous means I'm about to do something fun and exciting, and take it to the next level.

Why do you run?

All my life, people have talked about a state of being totally mindful and meditative, and for a lot of people that tends to come from deep breathwork and yoga. That's just not it for me. I never really even found that feeling until I ran.

Is mindfulness the best thing about running for you?

Actually it's the consistency. I schedule and make time for it. It takes up a lot of physical time but it makes me feel like I have more [of it] to give to other things. Running is something that gives back what I put into it.

Worst part?

The laundry. Constant laundry. I almost had to rock up to shoot today with a wet sports bra. Imagine a wet sports bra on race day. Brutal.

Do you have a goal for your first full marathon?

I want to try and be as present as possible and enjoy the process of it. I know I'll spend a lot of it thinking about how far I've got to go and how long I've got left, but when it's over I want to actually remember it.

Totally. You've worked so hard and trained for three months to get there. How was your training block?

It's been good! It's been a hectic year of my life but having those runs and strength carved out every week has almost made me more able to manage it all. As I said before, it takes up a lot of time but it adds so much more to my life.

How do you find running in a big event compared to your regular runs?

The atmosphere is so different. Race day is special for a lot of reasons. I've got great support coming along this year and I'll be running with other people and crew in Melbourne. A part of why I love running in general is for the alone time in my head. So there'll be some of that, some time with friends, a lot of celebrating.

Let's go here. Let's get deep.

As a young person in my career and as a woman, lots of people will tell you that you can't do things. Running is a behavior that allows me to challenge that, or any of my own thoughts and self-limiting beliefs.

When you hit the pain cave, are you curious about it or do you just want to claw your way out of it as quickly as possible?

I'm curious, I sort of wonder what's there. Marathon day will be a different scale of that than I've ever experienced before but I'm welcoming it with open arms. It's part of the journey. I started this training block with a lot of friends and family members I was going to run the marathon with. But so much comes up. People's lives, injuries, unexpected business, people go away. Most of the people I was going to run it with aren't able to anymore. When I enter the pain cave, it's a privilege to be there and to have made it to the start line.

You’re wearing the Air Zoom Alphafly Next% 3s. Will they help you through?

Yes, they’re such a fun shoe to put on. I immediately feel light on my feet, like every stride has that extra bit of power behind it.

Speaking of power, are you taking in a race day mantra?

I work in mental health and we try to get people to pre-prepare statements they can tell themselves when they're struggling. because we know that when people are heightened in any way, it can be hard for us to think clearly and cognitively. Thinking about that and preparing something has been an important part of my training but it all comes down to: I've worked really hard for this.