A dare ignited Concord Hospital lab technician Mieke’s passion and pushed her limits across the world.
 

It was a dare from her daughter that led Concord Hospital lab technician Mieke Masselos to start running. Little did she know the sport would become a passion that would lead her to races at Petra in Jordan, on the Great Wall of China and, most recently, in Antarctica. 

“The problem is I'm very competitive,” she said.

“My daughter rang me about six years ago, and she dared me to go and do a five-kilometre fun run with her. I said, ‘Nice, I can't even run 100 metres.’ But, I said then let me think about it.”

Mieke, 70, went to the Concord staff gym to speak with one of the personal trainers to see if she could get herself fit and fast enough to beat her daughter.

“I said to the PT, ‘Look, I can't let her win. Can you make it happen in eight weeks, without being resuscitated?’ She said, ‘Yeah, doable.’ So, I rang my daughter up and I said, ‘You’re on!’”

That race didn’t go to plan - Mieke sustained a soft tissue injury – but she would not be stopped and soon she had run the City to Surf and been talked into trying a half-marathon.

Since then, she has run many half-marathons, a marathon, multi-day events and one 150-kilometre event.

This year she decided on her latest challenge – a half-marathon in Antarctica.

“I thought, well, you know, at my age, let's go and pick some interesting places to go and run a half-marathon,” Mieke said.

“So, I've been to the Great Wall of China. I've been to Petra in Jordan, and I thought, well, let's take something out there. Let's go to the South Pole instead. So I did.” 

Mieke finished mid-field in the 21 March half-marathon, which was run in icy minus-seven-degree conditions on King George Island, off Antarctica’s northern coast. 

Again, she didn’t come away from the race unscathed.

“About 80 per cent of the runners fell, me included,” she said.

“So, I had a nice bruise to go with the medal, which looks really good, too. I'm telling my specialist all the time. I'm trying to test my bone density by falling over here.”

Mieke is also now determined to spread the word about the health benefits of running, even for those who may think they’re too old.

“You're never too old – just live on the wild side,” she said.

“Go out and do something, you know, and it doesn't cost much except for a pair of shoes. It's amazing what kind of health benefits it gives … and it's some time for yourself. Time for reflection.”

And what’s next for the intrepid runner?

“Well, the next adventure is hoping to be a four-day event in the Sahara desert,” Mieke said. "So, that might be next year ... I mean, I’ve got nothing to lose.”