The cancellation of the Ross Marathon has not deterred Hobart nurse Nicole Miles

How many laps of a backyard in Lutana does it take to complete a marathon? Nurse Nicole Miles is about to find out.

IT may not have the picturesque scenery of the Midlands, but Hobart nurse Nicole Miles’ backyard will be the scene of a marathon to remember.

Next Sunday the Royal Hobart Hospital registered nurse will run hundreds of laps of the backyard of her Lutana home to raise funds for charity.

“I was meant to do the Ross Marathon which was cancelled due to social distancing restrictions, so I decided to put my entry fee towards Foodbank Tasmania given supermarket shelves are empty and a lot of people are struggling at the moment,” Mrs Miles said.

“I’m doing it at home in isolation after seeing a guy do it in Brisbane as well as guy doing it in France. I thought it would be a cool thing to do.”

Nicole Miles, of Lutana, is planning to complete a marathon in her backyard to raise money for Foodbank. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Mrs Miles said she would approach her home running challenge like the real thing, aiming to complete the marathon in the best time possible.

Mrs Miles‘ husband Christian and dog Florence will be her support team on the day.

“It’s 840 laps, as each lap is 50 metres … it’s pretty flat with a little bit of deck and mostly grass,” she said.

“I think I’m just going to go for it. I’ve done a marathon in about three-and-a-half hours before but I think this will take a bit longer. I’ll probably have some drink breaks.”

Foodbank supplies food to over 200 Tasmanian welfare agencies.

To donate to Mrs Miles’ fundraiser for Foodbank, visit her MyCause page Nicole Miles for Foodbank Tasmania.

The Ross Running Festival is also staging a virtual run via social-fitness network Strava, with medals to be mailed out to participants and trophies for the top three runners in each event.

Organisers hope to stage the festival later this year.