Sport
26 January, 2023
Maria dives into 23rd Pier to Pub challenge
Make that 23 editions of the Lorne Pier To Pub ticked off for Maria Lacey. Competing in the Female Legends category in the 2023 event on Saturday, January 14, Lacey finished 31st in the class, with a time of 41 minutes and 54.2 seconds. It was...
Make that 23 editions of the Lorne Pier To Pub ticked off for Maria Lacey.
Competing in the Female Legends category in the 2023 event on Saturday, January 14, Lacey finished 31st in the class, with a time of 41 minutes and 54.2 seconds.
It was a swim Lacey said she was thrilled with.
“It was a beautiful swim. It was a bit slower than I thought I would have done it, but it was really enjoyable,” she said.
“All that matters to me is finishing the race. I usually do a bit of training, but I don’t swim much outside of summer. I haven’t trained as much this year as the [Maryborough] pool hasn’t been open, but I’ve been doing a few swims at Talbot and Dunolly. I’ve also gone to St Georges Lake, and a few swims over in Tasmania. If there’s water, I always like to get in.”
This year, the usual Maryborough cohort that competes in the Pier To Pub was a bit smaller, as a wedding fell on the same date as the event, but Lacey said it was a bit of a throwback to when she started participating in the event.
Of course, Lacey still missed the camaraderie that competing with others from the town brings.
“It felt a bit like when I started it. Members of my family have been doing it over the same time, but there’s only been one that’s been keeping up — he did his 24th this year, and we said it was sort of like old times before others from town came into it. No doubt it was a bit different though,” she said.
Lacey plans to compete in the Pier To Pub as long as she possibly can, noting that the organisers of the event have now opened up a new class for 80 year olds to compete in.
However, that’s still a while off for Lacey.
“The organisers have another category now, and I’m looking a few years into the future — they now have an 80+ category. This was my first time competing in the 70+ age group,” she said.
“I think a lot of my opponents over the years have dropped off, there’s not as many doing it as they used to, and the group gets a bit smaller as the years go on. The 60+ year old group goes out at the same time."