‘HARDCORE’ BY NAME, HARDCORE BY NATURE
WITH a middle name like ‘Hardcore’ Kiwi kickboxing coach Richie Steward was always going to have something to prove when he took the track at the Gold Coast Marathon on the weekend.
So when his friend, elite female runner Lydia O’Donnell, pulled out of the main event and opted only to do the 10km after she fell ill with appendicitis less than a month ago, Hardcore was not going to back down.
“We run a mental health running group,” he said.
“She was like, ‘Come do the marathon with me’.
“I prepared for it and it’s beautiful. I love it in Australia.”
Hardcore said he couldn’t be happier with his first ever marathon time of 4hr 2min 34sec.