Birthday Bree’s marathon effort

‘It was really social and fun,’ said Bree. ‘I had different people running with me the whole time, so it went by really quickly and didn’t feel like hard work.’

Bree, who grew up in Southern California, ran her first half marathon when she was seventeen, and has been running long-distance ever since.

When she was twenty-one, she moved to New Zealand and took up trail running. Her longest run was the Heaphy Track, which stretches 82 km from Golden Bay to the West Coast.

In 2012, Bree moved to Tasmania to work as a wildlife ranger on Macquarie Island. While she was there, she met her now husband Jeremy, and they later moved to Sandford, where their daughter Isla was born.

Bree did her training runs on the Tangara Trail, accompanied by Jen, a retired sheep trials dog. ‘The training was the hard bit,’ she said. ‘It was very consistent and a bit lonely. But by the time I came to run the marathon, the distance was almost easy.’

On the big day, the weather was crisp and clear, and there were dolphins off the Tranmere coast. The marathon (42.2 km) took three hours and 50 minutes, and with the help of friends and family, Bree raised $1625.

‘Clarence Climate Action is a great grassroots community organisation,’ she said. ‘It shows people how they can do small things to reduce the impacts of climate change. Education is a big step in the right direction.’

Last year, for her 40th birthday, Bree ran a marathon to raise money for touchscreens in Lauderdale Primary School classrooms. And she has plenty of ideas for future fundraising.

‘We’ve all got skills, we can all do something.,’ she said. ‘I’m good at running. So if I can use my strengths to help community organisations, I’m going to give it a go.’

Bree Hunter has been chosen by Clarence Climate Action as this month’s Climate Champion.

Eastern Shore Sun, October 2022, page 11