21,100 metres lay before me – about 26,000 steps. Two hours built from a year of choices and a commitment to showing up, day after day. The distance felt overwhelming at first, until the starting horn sounded and I realised something simple: no one runs a half marathon all at once. You do it one step at a time, and then another, until the whole journey quietly unfolds beneath you.
Course Marker: 1 km
Arriving in Brisbane felt the same. A new country, a new university, and a year stretching ahead of me. It would have been easy to focus on the scale of change or the environmental cost of travelling halfway across the world. Instead, I focused on what I could control: walking where possible, using Brisbane’s buses and CityCat ferries, and carrying a reusable bottle and coffee cup. I began to understand sustainability not as perfection, but as consistency in everyday choices. These small actions aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 and UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, shaping how I moved through a new city and a new life.
Course Marker: 8 km
By this point, the race had found its rhythm, and so had I. What once felt intentional now felt instinctive. In the West End, my home away from home, I supported local businesses and became more mindful about what I consumed, aligning with UN Sustainable Development Goal 12. Living abroad taught me to carry less, waste less, and value simplicity more deeply than before. Brisbane was no longer just a place of study; it had become a lesson in how to live more lightly within it, without feeling like I was missing anything.
Course Marker: 16 km
Fatigue began to set in, but so did clarity. Sustainability, like running, demands discipline when motivation fades. A marine science trip to Stradbroke Island showed me the delicate balance between resilience and fragility in coastal ecosystems, shaped constantly by both natural forces and human presence. Seeing that coastline made my choices feel more real and more urgent. I became more intentional: staying on marked paths, avoiding disturbance to wildlife, using reusable containers, and choosing low-impact transport. Even small habits – refusing single-use plastics, reducing waste, and leaving places as I found them – became part of how I move through the world.
Course Marker: 21.1 km
Eventually, I crossed the finish line. The medal around my neck marked the end of the race, but not the end of the journey. The habits built in Brisbane will travel home with me, shaping how I move through the world long after I leave it. Sustainable travel, I have learnt, is not one perfect decision but many imperfect ones made consistently and with care, even when no one is watching or keeping score.
If 21.1 kilometres taught me anything, it is that sustainability is not a finish line – it is a commitment to keep moving forward, one step at a time, with many more still to take ahead.
