I grew up a touch football player — five days a week, getting myself to comps because sport was where I could release my energy. I left home at 16. I finished school while managing family, caring for others, and figuring out who I was — at an age my own daughter is now. I think about how the hell I did it.

I was a child who had been involved in the system. My mum had her struggles with mental health and that became the beginning of my story. It made me who I am. I remember watching the way hospital staff treated patients — I could see who had learnt from a textbook and who had lived experience. I wanted to be the one who understood.

I was introduced to hockey at 21 by a good friend and housemate. Oh my — where had this sport been my whole life.

I met my husband while I was in Melbourne when my dad was terminally ill. We fell pregnant quickly and married within 14 months — a real whirlwind. My dad passed. We moved to WA. Two kids. I worked 20+ years in club and pub and hospitality management. I played hockey up to five months pregnant with my first.

WA wasn't working out — patterns I had lived through my whole marriage became harder to manage on the other side of Australia. We moved back east, back to Caba. I was home.

He joined the army and was posted to Brisbane. I joined the gym, trained every day, joined the netball team. The kids wanted to play hockey — I was convinced to play too. That started a hockey journey that took me all over Australia: four state championships, three national tournaments, multiple divisions each week. Absolutely loving it.

I joined F45 after falling sick training for a boxing match. Chronic urticaria — hives everywhere, mouth, lungs, all caused by stress. Two years of medication, hospital trips, injections. Years of abuse catching up with my body.

I kept playing hockey. I won an F45 challenge and used that prize money to complete my Certificate IV in Personal Training and my Nutrition and Weight Management diploma. I worked at F45 for four years.

After a devastating accident I found Hyrox — nobody here had heard of it yet. I said: I am going to do it. I am going to prove this accident will not hold me back.

Five Hyrox events completed. More booked. Paladins. Darkness to Daylight. Triathlons. Division 2 baseball. A marathon — why not. All while actively going through one of the hardest seasons of my life.

It made me stronger. More determined. You can rebuild a life from the ground up and still train for Hyrox. You can be the mum you always wanted to be. I am proof of both.

Strength + Endurance + Mental Resilience.

This is not a generic plan. It is a system built by someone who trained through the hardest period of her life — and got better. It works because it was tested under real pressure, not ideal conditions.

The part most coaches skip is the mental side. Showing up when you don't want to. Doing the session when life is heavy. Building evidence of your own capability one session at a time. That is the whole game.