Indigenous footy legends lace up for New York marathonKeira JenkinsAAPSat, 4 October 2025 6:01AM
The sun is rising in Alice Springs and a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait runners are pushing through a gruelling 30-kilometre race.
Among them two retired athletes trying their hand at something different.
Johnathan Thurston and Lance “Buddy” Franklin may have excelled on their respective NRL and AFL fields, but now the pair face a whole new challenge – training for a marathon.
And their eyes aren’t set on just any marathon, but one of the world’s most renowned races – the New York City Marathon.
When Thurston was approached by the Indigenous Marathon Project founder Robert de Castella to be an ambassador and begin the process of training for the New York marathon, he wasn’t convinced.
Knowing he’d never run more than 10km, a far cry from the 42km needed to complete a marathon, he told de Castella he’d get back to him.
“The next day I went for a 15km run,” Thurston told AAP.
“I got to 10km, that was fine, then I got to 11 and a half and everything started breaking down.
“All these footy injuries that I had over the years started to come back and haunt me.”
In the end, Thurston finished those 15km but knew he’d have to do some serious training if he was going to take on the streets of New York in November.
Months later, Thurston said the training had been extremely hard but he had proved to himself he was ready for his first marathon in May, taking on the Mother’s Day Classic 10km in Canberra, followed by half-marathons on the Gold and Sunshine coasts.
His final challenge was a 30km selection run in Alice Springs, with Franklin and a squad of 10 other Indigenous runners, before taking on the world’s most famous footrace.
Franklin said being surrounded by the squad along the journey has been incredible.
“Hearing their stories and running beside them has been exceptional – seeing the change in each individual is truly inspiring,” he said.
Thurston said completing the 30km run in Alice Springs – on Arrente Country where Charlie Maher, the first Indigenous man to run the New York Marathon, hails from – was an emotional experience.
He’s looking forward to standing at the starting line with the Indigenous Marathon Project squad in November, saying each member is inspiring in their commitment.
Thurston is focused on crossing the finish line, hoping to make good time, but once he’s completed the 42km, he knows he’ll be proud of what he’s been able to achieve.
“Running a marathon is mentally and physically challenging. You know if you can get through that, the sky is the limit,” he said.
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