Since we founded Rocky Trail Entertainment we have met so many incredible cyclists and athletes. We are so proud that our Rocky Trail community has become this pool of inspiring people who all share our passion for riding and racing and exploring.
We’d like to share their stories in this blog series – #rockytrailracer in focus – starting with Margaret Beardsley, OAM who has been racing our Shimano MTB GP Series together with her friend Jon King as well as the Diamonds in the Dirt Women’s event for several years.
For twice world age duathlon champion Margaret, there was never any chance of throwing in the towel after a cancer diagnosis in 2018 at the age of 60, instead she used the towel to wipe the sweat off her face… She says she enjoyed exercising throughout those challenging months and found strength in being among fellow Rocky Trail racers at events to endure her breast cancer treatment.
“Your comeback will be greater than your setback.”
Margaret Beardsley, OAM, Killarney Vale NSW
During her breast cancer treatment in 2018 Margaret regularly participated in Rocky Trail events and says that the physical activity helped her incredibly to stay mentally strong during the challenging cancer treatment. She had discussed her sports activities with her doctors who encouraged her to stay active during the treatment.
During her breast cancer treatment, Margaret rode 60km to celebrate her 60th birthday!
Margaret raced at our recent Diamonds in the Dirt Women’s Event and held an emotional and inspiring speech to encourage her fellow riders to spread the word that by staying active and immersing yourself in a strong community of like-minded people you can tackle such a difficult time. She said,
“Before my breast cancer diagnosis, I had just trained to my max for a bike race and was as fit as I had ever been – racing alongside those 30 years my junior. For me, life revolves around being active and fit.
During my cancer treatment, daily exercise – even if it was just a 15 min walk – kept me in good spirits. Being able to swim, ride and run allowed me to feel somewhat normal and hopeful that I could regain my fitness after treatment had finished. […] Current research shows that exercise is actually an important part of cancer treatment. […]
I always exercised in the morning before I went to treatment as I often felt tired after… as much with the process of the treatment as the actual treatment itself. There were days when I felt my body was telling me to take the day off and rest, and I did.
Chemo is feared by many, but I knew that my body was strong and I could work through the side effects. I wanted to end my treatment as fit as possible.”
Margaret’s story is featured in a publication called “The Central Coast Breast Cancer Compendium”, which was brought to life by local Breast and General Surgeon Dr Mary Ling and was endorsed by Liesl Tesch, MP Member for Gosford.
May we encourage you to help spread the word about this amazing initiative and Margaret’s story – we hope that it will inspire you or someone you know.
If you would like to get in touch with Margaret, she said she’d be more than happy to share her journey with fellow racers and the Rocky Trail community – please contact me, Juliane Wisata, Marketing Director at Rocky Trail Entertainment via email to juliane@rockytrailentertainment.com or via phone at 0416 737 972. I’d love to help and put you in touch.
See you out on those rocky (or smooth) trails & THANK YOU Margaret for sharing your story! xxx
Juliane Wisata
Photos: OuterImage.com.au and Rocky Trail
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