What do you do when you finally achieve a dream 12 years in the making and that dream is running the New York marathon?
In the case of Serena Ryan, a young south west Sydney businesswoman, you shed tears of joy, that’s what you do.
As the photo of her taken moments after crossing the finish line in the Big Apple shows, the mother of two burst into tears as her achievement started to sink in.
“Yes, I was overcome with emotion when completing the marathon,’’ Ms Ryan says.
“For me it was such an emotional moment that was 12 years in the making.
“I never realised I could accomplish something like this.
“So many times since 2003 it has been easy to potentially give up on the dream,’’ Ms Ryan said.
What made completing the marathon even more special was the fact that just 12 months earlier Ms Ryan hadn’t run for two years due to back to back pregnancies.
“The most overwhelming part of running the marathon was the fact it was something I did for me and no one else could have achieved it for me except me,’’ Ms Ryan says.
“And the fact that I started my business to be able to finally realise the dream was quite frankly incredible.’’
A few years earlier Ms Ryan had realised that there was no way she could prepare for a marathon while commuting to and from the city in a regular job.
So she made the big call, established her own south west business at home and was then able to find time to devote to marathon training.
Her DIY digital marketing, education and training company serenadotryan was quickly successful so she opened an office at Oran Park after just six months.
In October, the South West Voice featured her story as Ms Ryan prepared to fly to New York to realise her dream.
She completed the marathon in a personal time of 6 hours, 12 minutes and 45 seconds.
“I can say it was an exhilarating and incredible experience,’’ she tells the Voice.
“All runners were taken in 900 buses to the start on Staten Island at 6am in the morning.
“Thankfully I was given a tip of taking a piece of cardboard with me to sit on for the four hour wait.
“The race didn’t start until 11am so I found myself in an interesting position of sleeping in the park on Staten Island – surrounded by several thousand others doing the same,’’ Ms Ryan said.
“Once the run started I was entertained by everything from the Cure Cover Bands, Gospel Singers and Japanese Drummers and managed to run through the five boroughs of New York and over five bridges too.
“It truly is the best way to see New York.
“What I found most overwhelming was the community spirit as more than one million spectators came out to support all 50,000 runners.’’
Ms Ryan did not know it but more success was waiting for her back in south west Sydney.
Less than four weeks after the marathon, on November 28, serena dot ryan was named 2015 Business of the Year at the Linking Ladies [networking group for female entrepreneurs] inaugural awards presentation night.
“And staggeringly, my clients were finalists in seven of the eight categories,’’ Ms Ryan says.
Not surprisingly, her business is thriving: “I’m already heavily booked into the new year,’’ she says.
But like most locals, Serena Ryan won’t let success make her forget her links to the region.
“I feel honoured to be able to work within south west Sydney. To be close to home and supporting local businesses to achieve their goals is awesome,’’ she says.
On the other hand, a booming business doesn’t mean that her marathon days are over; far from it.
“Tomorrow I start training for my next marathon,’’ Ms Ryan says.
“This one will be local, the Gold Coast on July 3 next year.
“It will keep me fit and ready for my next international Marathon, Tokyo in 2017.
“I highly recommend everyone runs marathons.
“You learn so much about yourself and what you are capable of,’’ Ms Ryan says.
• If you would like to contact Serena Ryan, please phone 0437 016 395 or email her on hello@serenadotryan.com.au
