She had just moved from Pakistan to Australia, and was taught the basics in a sports class at school.

The next day, she was so sore she couldn’t move. But that didn’t deter her. She went on to win the school cross country race. Now she’s planning to run a marathon.

As a female and a teenager living in Pakistan, Miss Arzoo didn’t feel safe leaving her house, so she barely ever did.

She couldn’t go to school, couldn’t work.

But that all changed when she moved to Canberra two years ago, at age 16, with her mum, older sister and younger brother.

“It wasn’t safe for females in Pakistan,” Miss Arzoo said.

“You have to wear scarves, cover your nose and lips and you have to wear something that is black and something really loose so they can’t see your body, otherwise they’re going to bully you. They’re going to do a lot of bad stuff to you.

“I always stayed inside the house. I never went outside, I hated going outside. When I came to Australia, everybody can do what they want. Here it’s really good. I can wear shorts, I can wear whatever I want.”

Miss Arzoo, who just finished year 12, now dreams of being a policewoman. Working towards that goal, she has joined a new initiative called the Refugee Marathon Project.

Project founder Cassie Cohen spent the past summer running down the east coast of Australia from Cooktown to Melbourne - a 4000km journey - meeting migrants and refugees and sharing their stories with others along the way.

That journey was to help people empathise with the plight of asylum seekers.

“We met some amazing people,” Ms Cohen said.

“Some were people who had only come here a few years ago, but they’d taken up running and used that as a way to get involved in their community.”

Ms Cohen met Simon, a Sydney man who moved to Australia from Syria two years ago. He was depressed and traumatised, but he took up running and it transformed his life.

“I thought, 'What if we could do that for more people?',” Ms Cohen said.

So the Refugee Marathon Project idea was born. The goal: to complete the Canberra Running Festival marathon in April 2019.

After one message posted to a Canberra running group on Facebook, 20 people stepped forward to help coach including a number of Canberra-based running identities.

So far 13 refugees, asylum seekers or forced migrants have signed up to the program.

“Running really bridges gaps between people, it really brings people together,” Ms Cohen said.

Zaki Haidari is one of the 13 who have signed up. Mr Haidari fled Afghanistan in 2012 when he was 17 years old. He arrived in Australia by boat and was detained on Christmas Island and then in Tasmania.

“I was on the way to Australia for about three to four months and it was a very terrifying journey,” Mr Haidari said.

“I don’t know how I made it, it was very scary and full of danger and it was a miracle that I survived.”

Mr Haidari was forced to flee his home country after his father was accused of helping international forces. The punishment? To kill the oldest son.

After months of travelling, the boat to Australia broke down and he was at sea for five days without food and with little water until he was rescued.

It was only because the detention centres at Manus Island and Nauru were full that he was transferred to Christmas Island.

He’s now living in Canberra on a temporary protection visa.

He’s never run a marathon, but is keen to give it a go.

“It’s really hard to find people who have common goals and common values so this project is really connecting me with people who have that,” Mr Haidari said.

“It will be very fun and it will be challenging.”

Find out more at refugeemarathonproject.com