Within reach

flow Go with the

Endurance athlete and motivational speaker Samantha Gash shares her top tips on stretching and how to successfully master long-distance events

WORDS ERIN MILLER

During a year of saying “yes” to new experiences Samantha Gash found herself signing up to do a marathon.

Samantha had enjoyed cross country at school, but it was the first time she had pushed herself to complete an endurance event.

“One of my girlfriends asked me if I wanted to join her, so I signed up and did a training program that I found online,” Samantha says.

“I started to make a new community of friends that I would join on weekend runs. It’s not this romantic story of ‘this was really easy’ — it was actually really hard — but I remember getting to the finish and feeling like anything was possible. It was a massive turning point in my life.”

Since that initial marathon, Samantha, 37, has covered more than 35,000km and completed runs on every continent.

“In 2010 I was the first woman to do what is called the 4 Deserts Grand Slam, which was four 250km desert ultramarathons in Chile, China, Egypt and Antarctica,” she says.

Her commitment to endurance challenges has also seen her compete in two seasons of the television show Australian Survivor.

During her first appearance, in 2017, she met husband Mark Wales. After welcoming son Harry, the couple returned for their second crack at the title, in the 2022 series, which Mark won.

Not one to slow down, Samantha is eyeing off her next challenge, which will be later this year when she runs more than 1600km across Nepal in support of the men’s health campaign Movember.

Give it a try

If you’ve always thought you’re not a sporty person, fear not, running might be the perfect pursuit for you.

“I was actually quite an uncoordinated kid and I wasn’t very good at sports,” Samantha admits. “But I could kind of run, because it didn’t involve a ball!

“Running felt like more of a mental thing. Even if you don’t feel like you’re physically talented, if you can deal with a bit of discomfort and put one foot in front of the other then you can do it.”

Soak up nature

One of the main reasons Samantha loves trail running and endurance events is getting out in nature. “The restoration you get from green spaces and being on the trail is so important,” she says.

During the pandemic, Samantha and trainer Bec Wilcock established Her Trails, a holistic online training program for women looking to experience trail running.

“We also do in-person group runs around Australia,” she says.

“There is something so powerful and empowering about a group of women, of all different ages, running on the trails with their hydration vests, or hiking up the hills and bantering with each other.

“A lot of people get nervous joining a group run, but the idea is it’s meant to be fun and we keep that as a point of integrity for our runs.”

“I remember getting to the finish and feeling like anything was possible.”

— Samantha Gash

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Look at the whole picture

Samantha urges runners not to just focus on completing a run.

“Stretching is critical,” she says. “As you’re building up your running, whether you’re a beginner or an advanced runner, doing mobility training as a core component of your training program will keep your muscles strong and healthy. It will remove some of the tightness you create, too.”

Warm up and down

Before each run, Samantha does dynamic stretching — moves such as leg swings or glute activation exercises.

“Post-run it will be more static holds and longer stretches, and that is to get that nice, deep stretch, particularly into the areas that really need it,” she says.

Focus on the core

Running isn’t just about your legs, it involves your core, too.

“The body works as a chain; it’s not just (about) running with your legs — you’re actually running with the strength that you hold in your torso and core,” Samantha explains.

“If you’re really tight in your back, core and chest, it becomes hard to do the motion of running correctly. Mobility and stretch work is a way of being able to run more efficiently.”

Listen to your body

After Samantha and Mark competed on the 2022 series of Survivor, she eased back into life at home with hikes in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria.

“On Survivor I lost 12 per cent of my body weight and had significant muscle deterioration,” she says.

“So afterwards I just got back to really restorative exercise. It was summer so I went hiking and it was about family connection and slowness.”

Try these stretches

1Ankle circles Lift one foot off the ground and circle your ankle 20 times in each direction. For balance, put your hands on your hips as you complete the repetitions. Repeat on the other foot.

2Quadruped twists Get on to all fours on the ground and make sure you have a flat back. Lift your right arm and bend it, placing your fingertips at your ear. Then bring your right elbow down under your body and tuck it under your left arm, bending your left arm at the same time. Then stretch your bent right arm up into the air. Do 15 repetitions on each side.

3Scorpion stretch This move is to open up your hip flexors. Lie face down with your arms flat on the ground at shoulder height. Then kick your left foot up towards your glute and, as you twist your torso, rotate your leg so the left foot touches the ground on the right side of the body. Do 15 repetitions on each side.