Melanie Halliday: How Achilles Sydney supports people with disability run

When an athlete’s medical concerns impacted her running, it seemed like there was a long road ahead. Now, her passion is stronger than ever thanks to running group Achilles, which supports people with disability achieve life-changing goals.

It was a bright, sunny day at Disneyland in 2016 and Melanie Halliday was strapping in her Tinkerbell wings and tying her shoelaces as she assessed the track before her, preparing for a short run. Little did she know, this would be the start of a huge running journey for her.

Six years on, things have become quite different for the young athlete.

Ms Halliday suffers from a medical condition where her brain has problems swiftly reacting to avoid obstacles. While such a disability would set most people back, this hasn’t stopped her from participating in marathons.

Such an option is only possible because Ms Halliday reached out for help from a trainer at Achilles Sydney — a volunteer program dedicated to taking disabled people out for runs.

Before joining, Ms Halliday said she felt “really stuck” because she always felt like her body was only capable of running short distances.

Achilles Sydney welcomes all disabled people in their program.

“[I thought] I can only do this distance because that’s what my body will allow me to do,” Ms Halliday said. “And I was scared to kind of move into those larger distances.”

“It’s definitely jumping that mental hurdle of like actually yes, I can do this.”

Mel and her fellow athlete.

Cindy Skacel, one of the guides at Achilles Sydney, can attest to Ms Halliday’s growth and said she’s definitely evolved into a more self-assured runner.

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed with Mel, and with lots of people, is that her confidence has grown,” Ms Skacel said. “And her sense of independence has grown as well as her physical fitness.”

For Ms Halliday, joining Achilles offered her that sense of faith in herself. Despite having a disability, she’s discovered that wasn’t a good enough reason for her to stop running.

“I’ve definitely realised, since being with Achilles, that I can push my body further than I thought,” Ms Halliday said. “It’s not going to be the most comfortable experience, but I can do things that I didn’t think I could.”

“They give me the freedom to run and have given me back my confidence — that although my body may be broken, I can still accomplish some amazing things.”

Ms Halliday will be participating in the Sydney Harbour 10K on Sunday, along with 30 other disabled runners, where she will have two guides to help her navigate.

To anyone else who may be struggling with a similar disability, Ms Halliday had some words of advice.

“We’re often taught so much, especially in the medical model that you can’t do this, you can’t do that,” Ms Halliday said. “Whereas, we can actually do so much more than people give us credit for so it’s breaking down that barrier.”