VIRGINIA Moloney returned from a training run to news of her Commonwealth Games selection.
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The Garvoc-raised marathon runner was discussing the potential make up of the national team during a Falls Creek camp on Wednesday morning unaware Athletics Australia had announced the squad.
“We got back in the house, sat down for breaky and my phone was going wild,” Moloney said.
“It’s just so exciting. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in a Commonwealth Games at home.
“I keep getting goosebumps. I think about it and just get goosebumps and start smiling.”
Moloney was one of three female marathon runners picked to represent Australia at the Gold Coast competition.
She will compete alongside Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Jess Trengove and Lisa Weightman.
The marathon is scheduled for April 15 – the final day of the Games.
“We’ll enjoy the closing ceremony if we can muster up the energy, which I am sure we will,” Moloney said.
Moloney, who carries the nickname the Garvoc Express, is one of 11 siblings and believes her strong family support will help ease any nerves.
Her parents, dairy farmers Pat and Margaret, have already booked their flights to the Gold Coast.
“It was a magical phone call to be able to make," she said of telling them of her Australian selection.
“They’re over the moon. They said the were proud of the achievement, of course they’re proud of all us kids.”
Moloney said making her debut on home soil was an added bonus.
“You’ve got all your services at your hands so those people you trust 100 per cent week in, week out with your training, with your treatment, are still right here,” she said.
Moloney has enjoyed a meteoric rise after taking up the sport seriously in 2013.
She won the Melbourne Marathon in 2016 and completed the Gold Coast marathon in 2.29.14 – well under the Commonwealth Games’ qualifying time of 2.45 – last year.
- Moloney will pen a diary ‘Road to the Games’ in The Standard