Hatchy’s marathon for a cause

Our three-time Club Champion will be running a marathon in January

Three-time Club Champion Anne Hatchard has both eyes firmly fixed on winning a fourth AFLW flag this year, but the midfielder won’t be putting her feet up when it comes to the off-season.

In fact, Hatchard will be ramping up her running training once the AFLW season is complete as she heads to the US in January to run the Louisiana Marathon while raising money for child and youth mental health, which is a cause close to both her and the Club’s heart.

The All-Australian is an Ambassador for the Adelaide Crows Foundation’s Open Parachute program which develops child and youth resilience to overcome the challenges life throws at them.

Hatchard is aiming to raise $42,000 – $1000 for every kilometre of the marathon – to give more South Australian children access to Open Parachute. Every $30 raised will provide an opportunity for another child to take part in the program.

In coming months Hatchard will be visiting schools across SA as part of Open Parachute and sharing her own personal experiences with overcoming challenges and building resilience.

“From around the age of 14 I struggled with depression and anxiety and there were many days through my teenage years with extremely low self-esteem and confidence,” Hatchard said.

“During these times sport (basketball) was a massive outlet for me and I’m not sure what I would have done without it.

“I started playing football at 16 and was lucky enough to be drafted by the Adelaide Football Club in the inaugural year of the AFLW competition. My first two years I lacked confidence and wasn’t at the level physically, in and out of the team, and was terrified that I’d be delisted.

“I was determined not to let that happen, so I got my eating habits on track and started running, even though at the time I hated it.

“But the more I did it and better I got, the more confidence and self-belief I built, and in pre-season of Season 3 I was a completely different person physically and mentally and became a better player, teammate and person.

“Now I’m really passionate about helping others with their journey and being a role model to young girls and boys, and Open Parachute is a perfect vehicle for helping to deliver those messages and provide support to young people at a time when they may need it most.”

Hatchard has run two half-marathons before, and routinely clocks 9-10km per game on weekends, but admits tackling 42km will be her biggest challenge yet.

“The running training will ramp up post-season,” she said.

“Running a marathon is a lot different to running 10km in a game where a lot of it is explosive efforts and there’s rest in between with rotations and quarter breaks.

“But I’m really looking forward to the challenge and raising as much money as we can.”