When Krishna Stanton felt like giving in on her way to a world record at the London Marathon this month, she thought about her absent friends.
Twenty years earlier, Stanton was competing in the Commonwealth Games marathon in Manchester.
She won silver that day, and was flanked on the podium by fellow Australians Kerryn McCann and Jackie Gallagher, completing a remarkable and rare 1-2-3 finish — something not achieved before or since.
"I get a bit emotional when I talk about 2002, because I'm the only one still here," Stanton says.
Gold medal winner McCann, who also won gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, died of cancer in 2008 and bronze medal winner Gallagher took her own life in 2014.
"Every time I run and it gets really hard, I always think of people who've been through tougher things than what a marathon is, you know. There's an endpoint."
In London, Stanton smashed the world record for her age group, 55-59, by running a time of 2:48:06. There were times during the race she doubted she could even finish, let alone better the previous mark by a whopping two minutes.
"I think there is a photo [at the finish line] that expresses exactly how I felt it was a sense of relief, a sense of achievement.
"And, yeah, I was really proud that I had kept on going, because there were stages in that race that were really, really hard. And I had to really dig deep."
During the race, she couldn't help but think about that other marathon in England 20 years prior, or all her supporters back in Australia tracking her race as it unfolded.
"I just thought, you know, I've got to do this for them.
"There's no way I can pull out or stop, because I don't want to come back or have to explain. I didn't want people saying, 'Oh, it's okay. We understand. We love you anyway.'
"I was thinking of what it would be like to finish and how proud I would be."
'Blunt and honest' Moneghetti coached Stanton remotely
One of those people back home was Australian marathon legend Steve Moneghetti, Stanton's coach.
The pair have known each other for decades, with Moneghetti agreeing to take up a coaching role, albeit remotely, during COVID.
When she first asked him to be her coach, he thought she was joking.
"I said, 'wow'," Moneghetti says.
"And I just sort of thought about it and though, 'no, that'd be fantastic'."
The pair hatched an 18-month plan to conquer London, which Stanton executed to perfection.
"It's been a match made in heaven, she's been an absolute delight to coach," Moneghetti says.
He says the strength of their friendship has been an advantage.
"It was a strange relationship, you know.
"I had to be kind of Mr Nice Guy occasionally, just to make sure she was positive and keep her encouraged, but then I also had to be hard, because I realised that she needed to be really dedicated to achieve the result that she needed.
"So I was wearing a few hats, and hopefully, well, I think we're still friends after it all."
Stanton says Moneghetti was sometimes "blunt and honest" as she trained in Brisbane and he monitored from Ballarat.
"And I really admire that. And I think that we've worked really well together from afar," she says.
"It's been a real mentor type arrangement as well. You know, not so much a life coach, but sometimes you just need someone outside your bubble to, you know, help you think the right way."
Moneghetti describes Stanton's performance in London as "really, really incredible running".
"The ability that Krish has to run at that pace, having trained and pushed her body over so many years, it's difficult to be able to get your body to respond at that young age of 55, we'll be honest about that, as you age, it's more difficult to run fast.
"And the fact that she's been able to sustain that over such a long period of time, you know, we're talking 20 years since she was at the top of the tree of marathon running around the world and around the Commonwealth.
"And that's why it's a world record. No one's ever done it before."
'I saw her in a lot of pain'
Stanton feels lucky to be still running marathons at an elite level, two decades on from her Commonwealth success.
"I'm not sure where those 20 years go," she said.
"I know, I look a lot older, but I don't necessarily feel 20 years older.
"And maybe I might not have said that at 40 kilometres, in London.
"But I just think, yeah, it was special, I think a lot has happened and changed and for my body to still be able to cope with running training and running that time — I'm really lucky.
"And I'm really grateful."
Stanton thinks a lot about 2002 gold medallist McCann, who she knew since they were 12 years old.
McCann was diagnosed with breast cancer while pregnant with her third child, in 2007. Baby Cooper was induced six weeks early, and McCann began chemotherapy.
But the cancer spread to her liver and she died in December, 2008.
"I saw her in a lot of pain and her family go through a lot of pain," Stanton says.
"So it's the fact that I can still run for those that can't is one of the things that makes me reflect back on that day and think that it was such a special time."
In Manchester McCann was by then a veteran of 19 marathons and Stanton admits she was just "winging it" in her second race.
"And when I crossed that line at the Commonwealth Games, there's a photo of her hugging me and I still remember the words: 'I'm so much happier for you than me.'"
'Sense of peace'
When asked why she keeps going after so many years, Stanton says "it makes me the best version of me".
"I think that it gives me a sense of peace, you know, and I just think that I'm really lucky to have this gift that I can run," she says.
"And I assure you I'm not very good at many other things.
"So I treasure at this age and stage that my body is still enabling me to do some miles and set some goals and, you know … go for it."
