ActewAGL retail general manager Ayesha Razzaq is running the Boston Marathon - and she's helping two Indigenous women to also finish the historic race.
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Ms Razzaq has teamed up with Canberra's go-to "running man" Robert de Castella and his Indigenous Marathon Foundation to compete alongside and mentor Northern Territory Indigenous women Emma Cameron and Loren Fejo in the world's oldest marathon on April 15.
The foundation supports all kinds of running and fitness projects for Indigenous people, from the grassroots Deadly Runners progam to the Indigenous Marathon Project, which trains Indigenous men and women to run the New York Marathon.
Ms Razzaq, 44, who has Pakistani heritage, ran her first marathon in 2014 when she ran the New York Marathon for her 40th birthday, raising $53,000 for the Indigenous Marathon Foundation in the process.
She said she wanted to empower women to achieve their goals, and is fundraising for Emma and Loren to make the trip and encouraging them every step of the way.
"I've been involved with the program since then and witnessed first-hand the transformation this program makes," she said.
"A lot of people have changed their mental and physical health and gone on to be role models for their community. Running is just so powerful."
The Boston Marathon will be her third marathon, with the mother-of-two also having completed the Tokyo Marathon in 2017.
"I only do them every couple of years because I'm not a natural runner and this is extremely difficult and challenging for me as well," she said.
Ms Razzaq hopes to raise $42,195, reflecting the marathon's distance of 42.195km. Donations can be made at boston.gofundraise.com.au.
"My hope is that the Boston Marathon experience provides both Emma and Loren a chance to build their confidence and prove to themselves that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to," she said.
Mr de Castella, a former world champion marathon runner, said the two women competing with Ms Razzaq were inspiring.
Emma Cameron competed in the 2013 Boston Marathon and had reached the 40-kilometre mark when the race was called off. Two bombs had exploded at the finish line, killing three people and injuring hundreds more.
"She never got to cross the finish line in Boston,'' Mr de Castella said.
"She's from a little community called Jabiru up in the Kakadu National Park [in the Northern Territory] and has been training all through the wet season because she really has this unmet need to finish what she started."
The other woman competing is Loren Fejo, from Darwin, who was in the Indigenous Marathon Project squad last year but couldn't reach fitness level in time for the New York Marathon.
"She's a single mother with three kids, two of whom are autistic," Mr de Castella said.
"She has also been battling the humidity and the summer in Darwin to get the mileage and the training while juggling her family and work commitments.
"Those two will be really supported and mentored by this amazing lady [Ms Razzaq]. Someone with Ayesha's background and profile and experience is able to really inspire our women, even beyond the running side of it."
Mr De Castella competed in two Boston Marathons, winning one in 1986 in two hours, seven minutes and 51 seconds - still an Australian record.
He said it was all about runners supporting each other when it came to tackling the feat.
"Coming into the marathon, your anxiety is very high. You're about to do something which is pretty scary and to have Ayesha there, who's been there and done it before, will be really valuable support for them," he said.
