Excitement is brewing as only a couple weeks ago the Australian team was announced for the upcoming 100km World Championships, which will be held this September in Croatia. And if you haven’t read who is on the team yet, it’s an incredibly strong line up of ultra runners; in no particular order, the team consists of Marita Eisler, Brendan Davies, Tash Fraser, Barry Keen, Emilie Tan, Francesco Cianco, Margie Hadley, Dion Finocchiaro, Barb Fieberg, Darryl Hill, Larissa Tichon, Gary Mullins, Corrina Black, and Andy Heyden.
Canadian native Emilie Tan is 33, living in Singapore, but calls Australia home. Confused? As a child born and raised in Montreal, Canada, Tan has an amazing background in speed skating, where she collected numerous medals and controlled the podium during her years as a rapid ice queen.
Tan says her eyes have been locked on getting into the World’s team for the past two years, saying it has been something on her goals list for quite some time, but she initially started in the sport as a teenager.
“I was short track speed skating since the age of 10, which is extremely popular in Canada, and I started running at the age of about 12 or 13 as a part of my training during summer,” she reveals.
“But then I realised I was actually pretty good at running, winning races and track meets, but all my friends were in speed skating so I stuck to that as my main sport – I even qualified three years in a row for the Junior World Championships, finishing 5th in 2003 and even medalling five times at the Canada Games.
“But I quit when I was 20, and emigrated to Australia in 2008; after coming here, I was just running for fitness but living an unhealthy lifestyle.
“However I picked up speed skating again, in Australia and for Australia, but then realised that what I was truly missing was the athlete lifestyle, and not necessarily for speed skating; I was pretty much over that sport, yet still craved the discipline as well the feeling of giving everything you have when performing.”
Tan decided then and there to train for her first marathon – the 2014 Melbourne Marathon, and after purchasing a running app, she went from running once or twice a week to about six times, with an aim of getting her marathon time under 3:45:00.
Counting her lucky stars, Tan recalls being very lucky at the time to not get caught with any injuries, and amazingly ran that first marathon in 3:25:11. Since then, she was hooked, and straight away following that initial race signed up for the Two Bays Trail Run in Mornington, all too happy she was pushing herself to go even further in distance.
The 56kms Two Bays saw her cross the finish in 5:16:03 – she was fourth female, behind the likes of AURA members Kirstin Bull, Natasha Fraser, and Kellie Emmerson.
“I didn’t have proper trail shoes at the time, I bought another online program to train, and I had no idea how to use a bladder,” she laughs.
“My friend helped me connect my hose, right at the starting line, and I had put my entire load of Tailwind into the bladder – lessons learnt, I’ll tell you that! But having finished fourth female, I felt like perhaps running was something I could be really good at.”
Following Two Bays in 2014, Tan continued signing up for ultra distances, and then moved temporarily to Singapore with her family. Currently, she trains in the humidity that is Asia, but came back to Australia to qualify for the World Championships 100k team at the most recent Gold Coast 100k, where she landed second female with a time of 8:33:17.
“When I got the email (due to being in Singapore) that I was on the team, I was sitting having a coffee and I just couldn’t believe it,” she says.
“My husband helped me get through the hard training and it was so surreal, sharing that moment with him, I’m so thoroughly excited and happy to be representing Australia in this way.
“Many people ask me why I chose to do so, why I chose to represent Australia after representing Canada when I was younger; for me, it’s never been a question. I started running in Australia, I connected more with its running community, and I really feel like Australia gave me a second chance to become an athlete again after my time with speed skating.
“It might sound cliché, or over the top, but it’s my rebirth, and it’s no question. I’m so proud to be able to wear the green and gold in September, and represent my adopted country.”
Pictured: Emilie Tan (left) racing in the 2018 Tarawera Ultra Marathon 102kms where she finished with a time of 11:32:40. Photograph – Supplied.
