MEET YOUR 2019 MEDAL WARRIOR

We are proud to announce Juan Darwin as the WARRIOR to feature on the 2019 medal

This year the 2019 Father's Day WARRIOR Run honours Juan Darwin, Indigenous Marathon Project (IMP) Graduate number 3. Juan is from the remote location of Maningrida in East Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Juan has three children, and expecting a fourth this year!

Juan became one of the first ever Indigenous Australians to complete the New York City Marathon when selected as one of the four Indigenous runners selected by Rob de Castella to take on the epic challenge to run a marathon. Joseph Davies, Caleb Hart and Charlie Maher were the three other runners who crossed the finish line and created history by being the first graduates of the Indigenous Marathon Project. 

In the remote community of Maningrida, the area is only accessible by permit and not accessible by road during the wet season. At least 10 different languages are spoken in the area. Shortly after being selected in the Project, Juan temporarily moved to Darwin to focus on his marathon training and used his son, Tyson as inspiration while training. Juan finished the marathon in a time of 4 hours 50 minutes. Juan is a natural born leader and an integral part of building IMP's presence in Maningrida encouraging two other runners to apply and achieve selection in the program.

Juan currently works with Sport and Recreation in Maningrida and will shortly be starting the Maningrida Deadly Running Group, because he is committed to making his community healthy and safe, using running.

Juan Darwin - Indigenous Marathon Project Graduate #3