A lot had happened in Lucy Kauter's life between her first and second Dubbo Stampede.
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For one, the first time around she didn't have children.
On Sunday, after winning the Rhino Ramble marathon, two of the first to say congratulations were her daughters.
They were also quick to their mum by the hands and drag her off, blissfully unaware of the feat just achieved around the Taronga Western Plains Zoo course.
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Family was a big part of of Kauter's decision to travel from home at Inverell to Dubbo, as she also got to take her daughters to the zoo the day before the event.
Then, at race time, Kauter got the job done after a real duel with Gabrielle Meredith for much of the event.
Kauter won in a time of three hours, 26 minutes and 27 seconds while Meredith was close behind with a time of 3:28:29.
"That was amazing. I wasn't expecting it," Kauter said.
"The other girl was in front for a little bit but I managed to overtake her. We took it in turns for a while."
Sunday's event was roughly the fifth marathon Kauter has run and the satisfaction of completing such a challenge is what makes her love the gruelling 42.2km races.
"The mental challenge and being able to prove to yourself you can do it and you're capable of hard things," she said of what she likes most.
The Rhino Ramble was also a welcome return to marathons for Kauter after injury ruined her hopes of competing in the Gold Coast Marathon in July.
Kauter was pleased with how her body felt throughout the 42.2km event, but she admitted there was the regular struggle around the 35km mark.
And while it had been roughly six years between her first and second times competing at the Stampede, attempt number three may not be that far away.
"It's a great course and well organised. I might be back next year," she said.
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