OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS WHERE THE Magic HAPPENS

WELL VERSED IN TRACK AND ROAD WHEELCHAIR RACING, QUEENSLAND ELITE ATHLETE AND 2020 GOLD COAST WOMAN OF THE YEAR FINALIST NATASHA PRICE TOGETHER WITH HER COACH ADAM SHEPPARD WILL LINE UP AT THIS YEAR’S NOOSA ULTRA-TRAIL TO TACKLE THE TERRAIN HARD AND FAST. IT’S BELIEVED TO BE A WORLD-FIRST FOR ADAPTIVE ATHLETES – A MODIFIED VERSION OF THE 15KM TRAIL THROUGH THE TEWANTIN NATIONAL PARK, AND KATE DZIENIS GOT THE LOWDOWN ON HOW BOTH COACH AND ATHLETE WILL APPROACH THE RACE.

WORDS: KATE DZIENIS IMAGES: KATJA ANTON

Imagine waking up one morning at the age of 28 and suddenly not being able to see the room you’re in. Your heart would be racing in fright, your brain moving a million miles an hour.

I simply could not fathom what would be going on in my head.

And it’s something the majority of us would never even contemplate happening to our bodies, but it did happen – to UK-born Natasha Price in late 2008.

In 2008, Natasha was left legally blind almost overnight, and paralysed within a month after a rare neurological disease made itself known to her, affecting her for the rest of her life – so rare, in fact, there is no name for it.

Three years later, another relapse left her completely paralysed from the neck down for several months, but since 2012 the now 42-year-old has been stable despite a decade of being bed-bound.

A sudden decision one day whilst in bed though was the kickstart she needed to make positive changes, ultimately leading her to become a wheelchair athlete.

“I was watching the Gold Coast Marathon on television, and said to my family that I was going to do it one day, I was going to do a marathon,” she reveals.

“Everyone looked at me funny, but 12 months later in 2018 I did my first 42km and the rest is history…”

Natasha has since made incredible waves as an elite para athlete, training for a number of track events as well as road races, even recently finding podium position success at the Australian Institute of Sport including an Australian National Championships bronze medal in the 200m, an ACT State Championship silver medal in the 200m, and breaking a Queensland state record.

But Natasha’s now keen to take her wheels off road, and with the help of organisers at Noosa Ultra-Trail, she and her coach Adam Sheppard will be the first to take on a modified 10km course on March 25 (2023) through the beautiful Hinterland region.

With a looped course in Tewantin Forest Reserve, the terrain is 63% trail and soft surface, and 37% paved – something both Natasha and Adam are very much looking forward to.

Natasha crossed paths with Adam shortly after that first marathon, and the two hit it off as coach and athlete immediately. Unlike Natasha, Adam was born with spina bifida, confined to a wheelchair all his life and as recently as September 2022 decided to have both his legs amputated to stop the issues that continuously wrecked him for poor health.

“Over the last 15-20 years I’ve had problems with things like pressure wounds and circulation, and the decision to amputate was the best thing I could have ever done for the sake of my health,” he explains.

“I’m back into proper training, I’m not constantly taking medications for infections, my mobility has improved…life is pretty peachy right now, I couldn’t be happier.”

Earlier this year, both Natasha and Adam were approached by Noosa Ultra-Trail race director Nick Stewart who wanted their help in spotlighting the potential accessibility of trails to people of all abilities.

And there was no hesitation from either athlete.

“I didn’t hesitate,” Natasha says.

“I’m always looking for ways to challenge myself physically and mentally, so this ticks that box big time…and the fact we get to race in such a beautiful part of the world? Who could say no to that?

“Adam and I are the sort of people to say yes to anything, and then sort out the logistics later on. Sometimes it works, sometimes it works against it…but what’s life if you can’t grab it by the horns and make the most of it. Both of us have looked death in the eye at one time or another, and it makes you have a new appreciation for life.”

Because of that, Natasha and Adam take things the way they’re supposed to be taken – with grit and determination. And in saying that, in early February the two of them headed out for a recce of the course to test their capabilities and take a look up close at what they were in for.

Adam says it was great to see a proper trail running course and have a decent look at the terrain, whilst Natasha admits it wasn’t something she would normally have considered before.

“…mainly because the assumption is that trail running is never going to be acceptable to wheelchairs, but having a look at this course for Noosa Ultra-Trail, I strongly believe we will be okay,” she reveals.

“In terms of modifications to our wheelchairs, there are things we could probably do to make our lives easier, but whether or not we do them is the question (laughing). We could put thicker tyres on with tread, and there’s an attachment called a free wheel (a lightweight, durable third wheel that instantly turns a wheelchair into an all-terrain chair) that could be put on the footplates of the chair, that lifts the wheels off the ground, however it comes with its own set of issues so whether or not we do that remains to be seen.”

With a variety of terrain on the cards for the two athletes, Adam describes how terrain can impact wheelchair users, in particular when he’s guiding Natasha.

“After our recce, we’ve learned that the ground will be filled with lots of gravel, thick grass, medium sized rocks, tree stumps and roots…they’re all things that can catch us up,” he says.

“It will be fun trying to make sure we don’t hit any of those things.

“But in all seriousness, as a lifelong wheelchair user, it becomes second nature to keep an eye out for things like that, but for me it will also be about verbalising it all to Natasha.”

With Adam as Natasha’s support, neither of them will require an external source to assist along the course, however with Natasha’s visual impairment Adam will indeed act as her eyes and keep out in front.

“If he’s really pissed off at me, he might just put an obstacle in my way,” she laughs.

“Generally Adam will go in front of me and I follow him, or we’re alongside each other and he is on the constant look out for things like tree roots, rocks, sand…anything that will trip the wheelchair up.

“I can see big things, but anything that’s small or obviously from a distance between my head and the floor I generally can’t spot it, so Adam will point those things out for me.”

Because Natasha is already an elite athlete, training in the lead up to Noosa Ultra-Trail will consist of her regular workouts, which include two hours in the gym on the daily plus another two hours on the track or out on the roads. But it’s not just about training – both Natasha and Adam need to ensure their wheelchair skills are up to par, meaning they have to be able to manoeuvre them in as many directions as possible.

“This comes as second nature for Adam because he’s always been a wheelchair user,” Natasha giggles.

“For me, because I came to disability later in life and spent so long in bed, there are so many skills I still need to learn. The ability to do the trail course is heavily based on chair skills and the ability to maybe lift the front wheels a bit or put myself in a balance situation.

“Fitness wise, neither of us are even remotely concerned; it’s just making sure – certainly for me, anyway – that I can navigate the terrain without hurting myself.”

As the two athletes get ready for an unbelievable challenge they will surely succeed in, their message to others is a simple one.

Just say ‘yes’.

“Look, we don’t want people hurting themselves but at the same time, outside your comfort zone is where the magic happens,” Adam points out.

“I know that’s a really well-worn statement, but there’s a lot of life to live – whether you’re a wheelchair user or not, or you have a different disability, you’ve still got a life to live. Forgetting your fears, putting them to one side, and just getting out there to say ‘yes’ to opportunities is where it all begins.”

“And you know what? If it doesn’t work out, you’ve generally learnt a lesson,” Natasha adds.

“At the end of the day, you don’t know what you’re capable of until you give it a red hot go and if it doesn’t work out, you’ll always have built up extra knowledge from that experience. You’ve given yourself the opportunity to adapt and overcome whatever it is you need to overcome in life…this is what we live by every single day.

“We have to.”

So how did this opportunity of modifying a trail course for wheelchair users come about?

Noosa Ultra-Trail race director Nick Stewart goes deep into the core of his idea with a humbling experience in 2018 that left him feeling he could do something more for the community of persons with a disability.

“I did the 62km Mad Trail in France that year and came around a bend where there was a conga-line of runners who’d suddenly stopped,” he retells.

“Eight guys were carrying, on 4-metre poles (2 on each corner), a wheelchair user up a 20 degree rocky slope. Suddenly the pain I had in my quads disappeared. It was quite an emotional experience.

“They wanted this person to be a part of the beauty and magic of the trails and the mountains; I felt if we could do something half as relevant, that would be an amazing experience for someone here in Australia, and also be inspirational for many other persons with a disability.”

After some intense research, Nick came across Natasha and Adam who were immediately receptive to the idea of something new.

“It was their incredible, positive outlook and humble nature that was so impressive –notwithstanding their athletic abilities and successes,” he says.

“We live in times now where society is changing quite rapidly, particularly in relation to addressing short comings in assisting minority groups. Things that able bodied athletes have taken for granted should be made accessible to as many people as possible – it’s only fair and right. Not everyone wants to go into our beautiful national parks and state forests, but if they do then we should find a way to make it all accessible so they can enjoy what most of us take for granted.”

Trail running by its very nature isn’t easy, and we all know it isn’t for everyone, but Nick has had an advantage in that the first portion of his course at Tewantin National Park is generally flat or undulating, so a modification to the 15km course, and turning into a 10km course for Natasha and Adam, was easy to do.

“This year is very much a pilot course; we have to see how Natasha and Adam navigate the nuances of the trails,” he explains.

“We have no doubt that their participation will spur others on – maybe even get trail running included in the 2032 Paralympics here in Queensland.

“Nothing is impossible, as they say, but you have to push the boundaries, and Natasha and Adam are the perfect role models to do this.

“I know it’s cliché, but if we can make a difference to just one person’s life who has a disability, then we will all have achieved our goal.”

Natasha and Adam both completed their 2023 Noosa Ultra-Trail race to the sound of cheers and applause as they crossed the finish line. Both secured fantastic times of 2:20:46, coming in 253 and 254 respectively out of 295 overall. Congratulations Natasha and Adam on an amazing world first achievement!