Lee Corey

My Story

Hi, my name is Lee. I grew up participating in Little Athletics. This is where my love for speed began. I was a sprinter and jumper throughout my teenage/school years. I was apart of State development squads and was fortunate to do an Athletics Exchange in year 12 to Los Angeles, United States of America to compete in College events. 

Due to my speed and fitness I was selected to be part of the Talent-ID Squad for Football (Soccer) with the South Australian Institute of Sport. Sadly, this great experience is where I experienced my first devastating injury, rupturing my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) at the age of sixteen. 

Where one door closes another one opens, and I started officiating Football through a scholarship to get more women involved with the growing game. Twelves years; many scholarships with the Australian Sports Commission, National Competitions, officiating on the Women’s National Soccer League (WNSL), the inaugural National Youth League (NYL), W-League, State Premier Leagues for men and women all over Australia, International friendlies and a U19 Boys International Competition - Dallas Cup (appointed to the Grand Final - Costa Rica U19 vs Liverpool FC). I was very fortunate enough to have such a great career surrounded by many great people.

After retiring from being a match official, it was time to focus on my career. I had been a sports physiotherapist for local leagues,  national competitions and leagues but it was through my masters that opened more opportunities with elite sports. A month in Papua New Guinea with their sporting teams for the Pacific Games was just a start. I also was able to volunteer my time as a Physiotherapist for the Commonwealth Games, Gold Coast, for Track and Field. 

The love for longer distance running came when I moved to Darwin. I was completing rehabilitation for my second ACL reconstruction (same knee). No longer needing to pass fitness tests, I needed a new challenge. In 2018, I decided to train for my first half marathon. I found this challenging trying to change the mind set to go for long runs. I stuck to my coach's plan and exceeded all expectations and ran 2:03:04 - not bad for a sprinter. That is how the distance running bug started. I’ve since run 5 marathons and many half marathons in the last 6 years. 

The best thing I love about recreational running is the community. It is the community, the friends, the support that makes the journey so much enjoyable but also gives the satisfaction. Nothing beats pushing a mate to finish Parkrun or running to support someone on their longest run. And this is also what I love about coaching. Helping people to beat themselves - our competition is ourselves - be the best that we can be.