Former Olympian Tanya Harding is used to high pressure situations after competing for Australia in softball at four Olympic Games (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008). But these days, instead of being on the pitch, she’s behind the scenes working as Transurban’s Emergency Management Manager to ensure the business is prepared for any situation and motorists are always safe on Brisbane’s Linkt motorways and tunnels.
She’s also part of the team preparing the Gateway Bridge for this year’s Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane which will be held on Sunday 28 August, with 30,000 participants due to race over the iconic bridge.
As well as winning a medal at each Olympic Games she competed in, she still holds the record for the most consecutive scoreless innings in women’s softball at an Olympic games (33.1)
The four-time Olympic medallist knows better than anyone what it takes to overcome challenges to succeed at an elite level.
Tanya is running as part of Team Transurban in this year’s The Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane. As she continues her training for the event, she said she has some key tips for anyone facing some hurdles in their training.
1. Make your goal and training realistic.
2. Be prepared and have a weekly training schedule. If things go wrong, at best ensure you are doing something every day towards achieving your goal.
3. Make sure you set about time for recovery and good nutrition.
4. Set up a good support team that will keep you accountable.
5. Some days won’t be easy, but know this is where the biggest change will be occurring. So stick with it.
6. If you need new running shoes make sure you purchase them now and not the week before.
7. Remember on the day you won’t be alone, you’ll have thousands of people running with you to motivate you and keep you going.
8. Have fun
Tanya said she is looking forward to tackling that first 1km sprint up the Bridge to see the views of the City and Moreton Bay on the way down.
“Beating the bridge is a good feeling and is very rewarding,” Tanya said.
Every day, the Transurban team has their eyes on the road 24/7 to assist motorists in need to safely cross the Gateway Bridge.
Tanya went on to say the team respond to more than 100 incidents on the Gateway Motorway and Bridge every week.
“Our incident response team are there to help around the clock, whether it’s a broken down car, lost animal or debris, we’ve seen all kinds of weird and wonderful things cross the iconic Gateway Bridge but nothing compares to the 30,000 participants running in the Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane,” she said.
“As a mother of three, I’m proud to be running with Team Transurban to support our long-term charity partner Ronald McDonald House Charities South East Queensland by raising much needed funds for families in need.”