Townsville radio host Arika Appleby is one of 12 people nationwide selected for the Indigenous Marathon Project

Townsville radio host Arika Appleby hopes to inspire young people across North Queensland, after being selected for the Indigenous Marathon Project 2025.

Arika Appleby will take on the Indigenous Marathon Project to inspire other North Queenslanders.

Townsville radio host Arika Appleby is hoping to inspire young people across North Queensland, after being selected for the Indigenous Marathon Project 2025.

The project aims to bridge the health and wellbeing gap for Indigenous Australians, training a select few and helping them work their way to a 42km marathon in New York.

Ms Appleby, a Gudjala, Juru and Gugu Budhun woman, said she applied for IMP to show her community they can do anything they set their mind to.

“This was very uncomfortable for me and just foreign, but I want to show them that we have the potential to do these hard things even when we feel like we can’t,” she said.

“I want to inspire and show our community that when an opportunity presents itself, sometimes we just have to go out and grab it.”

Townsville’s Arika Appleby is one of 12 First Nations people selected for the Indigenous Marathon Project.

Ms Appleby is a radio host and instructor at PCYC, and said inspiring young people and those around her is her biggest motivator.

“You get a lot out of the program, and the whole reason they put you through this process is so you can come back to your community and generate change,” she said.

As part of the program, Ms Appleby will complete training across Australia, including in Canberra, Alice Springs and the Sunshine Coast, with each session getting progressively longer.

She said she couldn’t recommend the program enough.

“I’d encourage anybody to give this a go.”

Originally published as Townsville radio host Arika Appleby is one of 12 people nationwide selected for the Indigenous Marathon Project