Christie ‘Granny’ Beetz travels thousands of kilometres for runners high at Cadbury Marathon
After visiting Tasmania from sunny California, Christie ‘Granny’ Beetz put the Cadbury Marathon on her running bucket list. She took the long journey to take part in this year’s race. Marathon winners’ details.
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Chasing the runner’s high, Christie Beetz travelled thousands of kilometres from California to Hobart to compete in the Cadbury Marathon on Sunday.
The 65-year-old affectionately known as “Granny” has now completed half marathons in four continents, previously running the distance in 47 states in the US in the last decade.
“I didn’t start running long distances until I was 55,” she said.
“I love the high, the runner’s high.”
After travelling to Tasmania for a holiday, Mrs Beetz returned for the second time with seven other family members to run in the event.
“We just love it here, it’s gorgeous,” she said.
“It was hilly but every half marathon is all so different. I’d say it was nice because of the road conditions, there weren’t pot holes in the road and it was cool out there.”
Mrs Beetz ran 21.1km in 3:17:40 while her husband competed in the 5km race.
“I always beat him,” she said.
Starting and finishing at the Cadbury factory at Claremont, Wayne Spies was the first person to finish the gruelling 42.2km.
The Brisbane athlete and now two-time Cadbury Marathon winner ran the race in 2:31:46.
“It’s my second time running in the Cadbury Marathon and second win here, so I absolutely enjoyed it,” Mr Spies said.
“It’s not easy preparing for a marathon, especially since you’ve got Christmas and New Year, but I’ve been plugging away over the last few months.
“You can’t find many marathons this year and I’ve been lucky. The weather is magic. People say it’s warm; this is God’s country as far as I’m concerned.
Spies said he will be coming back next year to retain his title.
Nikki Curry was the first woman over the marathon line, clocking a time of 2:55:45.
Launceston’s Milly Clark was the first woman to finish the half marathon, running a “comfy” 21.1km in 1:22:15.
“I felt really comfy. It was really good conditions to run which helped,” she said.
“I love this event. How can you not, you get chocolate at the end.”
Melbourne’s Michael Marantelli was the first person to finish the half marathon in 1:10:59.
Almost 2000 runners participated in the 41st Cadbury Marathon, the highest participant numbers in years.
“Last year we’re around 1600 competitors and this year we’ve seen the numbers come back in droves since Covid,” race director Blake Steele said.
“We’ve got a fantastic number of interstate and international competitors here. Almost 600 are from interstate and it’s fantastic to see Tasmania mixing it with some of the best in the country.”
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Originally published as Christie ‘Granny’ Beetz travels thousands of kilometres for runners high at Cadbury Marathon
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