And after coming full circle, the beloved Aussie runner was beaming with pride\ufeff.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>Gus' damning NRL claim as 'please explain' awaits<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Special': Legend dazzled by young Demon's arrival\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Jockey, 34, dead after horror country race fall\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n After all, the 33-year-old had just taken a crucial step in her shift from the track to the road, having raced her first half-marathon.<\/p>\n Gregson\ufeff, who's a strong chance of making her marathon debut on the Gold Coast on July 2, was one of three Aussies competing in Sunday's Gifu half-marathon.<\/p>\n Izzi Batt-Doyle finished fifth in one hour, 10 minutes and 16 seconds, Rose Davies seventh in 1:10:53 and Gregson eighth in 1:11:57.\ufeff<\/p>\n The Queenslander admits there's a lot of work to be done as she chases marathon selection for the Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n But the reality is she's already come an extraordinarily long way since crashing in a water pit in Tokyo, having fought back from her Achilles rupture and given birth to her first child.<\/p>\n "I was just sitting there in my chair, waiting \ufeffto board and thinking, 'Where now? This is so low, just the lowest I've felt'. I just didn't see the steps forward," Gregson told Wide World of Sports after the Gifu half-marathon.<\/p>\n "I knew what I probably had to do: surgery, then rehab, then we'll focus on one thing after the next. I knew I wanted to start a family, so that was something that I was planning on doing in the near future.<\/p>\n "But still, when I really strip it back and I think back to sitting in that airport, it was the lowest I've been. I had had a few days for it to sink in. I think even when I ruptured it and I was still in the pits, it hadn't sunk in yet. Even when I was still in the village and people were coming and giving me their condolences and saying, 'I hope you're OK', I was still at the Olympics village and still comprehending it.<\/p>\n "By the time I'd gotten to the airport three nights later I was probably at my lowest point and thinking, 'There is a good chance that's the last race I ever do. I may start a family and never really look back at running ever again'.<\/p>\n "And so to now be sitting\ufeff in my hotel room (in Japan) … I've run my first half-marathon but I've also put in months and months of so much great training, I've done a few track races that have shown so many positive signs … It's just a really, really fulfilling feeling."<\/p>\n Gregson and her husband, Olympic 1500-metre finalist Ryan Gregson, welcomed Archer into the world last June.<\/p>\n The three-time Olympian has \ufeffsince contested a mix of races ranging from 1500 metres to the half-marathon, on the track, on the road and in cross-country.\ufeff<\/p>\n "\ufeffI found it hard to get nervous, get that nervous energy going," Gregson said as she reflected on the Gifu half-marathon.<\/p>\n "And the things that were playing on my mind were, 'Have I fuelled enough? Will I struggle at the 15-kilometre mark? Should I take some gels? How much water should I have when I'm out there?'"<\/p>\n Gregson also noted the tedious mind battle she fought in the half-marathon \u2014 a challenge worlds apart from the pace and chaos of the 3000-metre steeplechase\ufeff.<\/p>\n "I probably sit here and think what I've done is so much better than what it looks like on paper," Gregson said.<\/p>\n "But I'm aware of what it's taken to get here.<\/p>\n "And the fact I have my mum and my baby here with me is just so special.<\/p>\n "The first thing I said post-Olympics, when I ruptured my Achilles, was that I was going to sit down with my husband and make a plan, and I would come back and most likely be on the roads.<\/p>\n "And obviously I haven't made it yet, but I've made some great steps towards running a good marathon.<\/p>\n "The last 20 months have been such a crazy experience. I wish I could write it all down, every memory of every step of the way. I'm really proud of myself."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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