Elite athletes join in the fun of the run

What do elite athletes do for fun?

Exercise of course, or in the case of Tanyn Lyndon and Allison Bryant they participate in the Southern Cross University 10km Run which is part of the Gold Coast Airport Marathon weekend.

Tanyn and Allison will be part of Team SCU which will include 203 staff, students and friends who will participate in the full range of races held over the weekend of July 5 and 6.

Tanyn, who finished sixth in Australia’s elite surf lifesaving championships last summer, combines full-time training with full-time study at the University’s Gold Coast campus. He is in his first year of a Bachelor of Nursing.

“I’m going in the run for a bit of fun, it’s the first time I’ve ever actually been in a fun run, so it should be good. I’m not sure how I will go, but once you are in a race and the blood is pumping, I’ll probably try to stay with the frontrunners as long as possible,” the 22-year-old said.

“I’m in the middle of building my fitness base for next summer so I swim every morning, train in the surf every afternoon and have gym sessions in between. It’s tough to fit in studying and training but I think I have got the balance right.”

Tanyn will be part of the Northcliffe Surf Lifesaving Club’s team that will contest the World Surf Lifesaving Club Championships in Montpellier, France, this year.

Allison, who is an Under-23 Australian representative in flatwater kayaking, plans to just have a bit of fun on the 10km run. She is studying for a Bachelor of Education (Primary).

“I’m also trying to build my base for the upcoming season so this fits in with that,” the 21-year-old said.

Allison's main goal is to make the Australian team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In the meantime, she represented Australia last year in Under-23s before a shoulder injury ruled her out of contention this year. She is still eligible for Under-23s next year.

Both Tanyn and Allison are part of Southern Cross University’s Elite Athlete Program. Triathlete Brian Fuller, who is also part of the program, will run in the half-marathon race as well.

Team SCU manager, Dave Graham, said the University community continues to support the Gold Coast Marathon weekend.

“This will be the biggest team that we have entered,” he said.

The most participants will be in the SCU 10km Run on the Saturday with 116 runners. 50 runners will line up in the half marathon on the Sunday, while 17 dedicated athletes will take on the marathon distance of 42km. A further 20 runners will participate in the 5.6km and Junior Dash.

Photo: Tanyn Lyndon.