The Team

Tim & Sarah's story.

How did you first hear about the Blackwood Marathon and when did you get involved?

Sarah first discovered the Marathon through her sister and ran her first leg at 14 in 1985, going on to take the run leg for the next decade. Tim’s connection came a little later - his younger brother competed first, but it wasn’t until 1994 that Sarah convinced him to join a team, taking on the paddle leg at 23.

 

From there, the event became a shared passion. Sarah stepped up to the Iron Woman in 1995 and has competed almost every year since, only pausing for life milestones like marriage and babies. Tim joined her that same year as an Iron Man and stayed in the solo ranks until 2019, before moving back into teams.

 

Tim’s favourite legs of the Marathon are the paddle and cycle, while Sarah loves the run and horse.

 

What are your most memorable moments?

• 1994 – the turning point: After watching the Iron Lady presentations, Sarah turned to Tim and said, “All I have to do is finish to get a medal.” Six months later, Tim realised she was serious. He didn’t want to be left behind, so he had to learn to ride a horse, while Sarah had to learn to swim (50 metres at a time!).

• 1998 - The sprint finish: In Tim’s second year as an Iron Man, he was stronger on the bike and found himself in a sprint finish against Kim Ranson, who was chasing his fifth win in a row. Tim pushed hard and thought he had it, but later discovered the gravel track sprint was 250m and he could only hold max speed for 200m. Kim crossed the line one second ahead, marking the closest finish in the event’s history.

• 2001 – juggling the family: Sarah and Tim’s eldest was seven months old by marathon day. Sarah gave him a big top-up feed before starting, hoping he’d last until the break. Usually calm and chilled, the adrenaline running through Sarah had him literally bouncing out of the pram — much to the challenge of her mother-in-law, who was kindly babysitting.

 

What makes the Blackwood Marathon special?
The people and community. The same familiar faces return year after year – organisers, competitors and supporters. We have made many lifelong friends at this event over the years.

 

How has it become a family tradition?
After growing up watching us compete in the Marathon, our three kids – Bill, Dan and Emma have all now competed in the event. First they did various legs in school teams, then in 2018, Dan at 16 and Emma at 14, did their first Iron person. In 2019 all five of us did the Iron person event in the same year. Sarah coordinated everyone’s horses, gear and support crew logistics, and the day ended with both Tim and Sarah winning their Iron categories, while Emma and Dan both came second.

 

Both of our parents have been huge supporters of us over the years too – from managing gear, providing transport, wrangling horses, looking after children and providing the lunchtime picnic for us and all the support crew.

 

How has the event shaped your lives?
The marathon gave us motivation to train, stay fit and carve out time for ourselves. When the kids were babies Sarah trained running with a pram and riding laps around the paddock listening in at the baby monitor each lap, and even competed 22 weeks pregnant in 2003, winning the Iron Woman in the 25th anniversary year.

 

Between us, we’ve completed 48 Iron events – Sarah winning 23 of her 25, and Tim winning 20 of his 23. We have always trained our own horses and had some memorable partnerships over the years with only one vet out in all those events.

 

Looking to the future?
We would love to see the Blackwood Marathon continue for future generations. It’s a WA icon that connects city and country in a way few events can. The camaraderie, the traditions and the journey from one town to another through beautiful farmland are what make it so unique and special, Being organised by the local communities gives it such a hospitable vibe and it is great knowing the funds raised go directly back into those communities.

 

Advice to newcomers?

Sign up even if you think you will never be ready and enjoy the training – it’s a brilliant reason to commit some time to yourself.

 

And yes, we’ll be there for the 50th!

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