As Suzie Pilling braced for her 60th birthday earlier this year, she decided to mark the milestone with a challenge: run a half marathon in every Australian state and territory.
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The Geelong resident will be among joggers hitting the Majura Parkway early on Sunday morning for the Lifeline Canberra Fun Run.
Runners will tackle five or 10-kilometre courses or a half marathon, while raising money for the organisation's telephone crisis support service.
When Ms Pilling crosses the line the celebration will be extra sweet. Canberra will mark her final half marathon as part of the 2015 birthday challenge.
"I was 60 two weeks ago so I thought, in my 60th year, I've got to do something that makes it a little bit different," she said.
"I work as a nurse and a midwife and I see so many people who are sick and I thought, the best thing I can do for myself is to keep fit, active and healthy."
Ms Pilling began running within the past decade and said the sport also helped clear her mind.
"When I went into nursing I kind of needed something for stress relief," she said.
"It really does clear your mind."
But squeezing seven half marathons into one calendar year, plus a few extra including a half marathon in Hong Kong, was a juggling act.
A mid-year assignment in China with her husband forced Ms Pilling to complete four half marathons over consecutive weekends in August.
"It's been a lot of travelling this year," she said.
"I think it just keeps you focused, gives you something to look forward to, and obviously the travel involved - places like Brisbane, Perth, Alice Springs, Adelaide - you just get to see lots of places," she said.
This weekend isn't Ms Pilling's first Canberra visit.
She participated in the Australian Running Festival in the capital a few years ago and has visited the city at least three times.
"I love Canberra, I think it's a great place," she said.
"[Sunday's] forecast isn't great [but] running in the rain is quite pleasant as long as it's not bucketing down."
Australian Olympic sprinter Melissa Breen and ACT Greens minister Shane Rattenbury will also be among the runners on Sunday.
For more information, visit www.act.lifeline.org.au.
