BUNDABERG born, Natasha Schofield, moved to Maryborough with her parents when she was only eighteen months old. She grew up in a fairly typical household in the 1980s with her older sister Rebecca.
Their parents owned a squash centre, and while Natasha wasn’t naturally inclined to the sport, squash became a significant part of her childhood. She even reached representative level, though she attributes that to her height and strength rather than skill. By age 21, she gave up the sport, finding it too tough on her body.
After high school, Natasha wasn’t sure about her career path and delayed attending university. Eventually, at 32, she earned a teaching degree but found balancing teaching with motherhood challenging. By the time her son Fraser was born, she knew she couldn’t do both well, so she prioritised parenting. Today, she has two children—Fraser, 11, and Alice, 9.
Natasha’s first job was in admin at Foley Truscott, a local financial firm. At 21, she embarked on a European working holiday with her now-husband, Steve. The pair spent five months in London, where Steve worked as a nurse, and Natasha took on temporary office jobs. After their travels, they settled in Hervey Bay, where Steve continued his nursing career. The couple have been together since high school.
Natasha did pursue teaching but found the reality very different. "You have to multitask, handle behaviour management, and be a special ed expert, which I couldn’t do well," she explains. Her dream job would be in learning support, working with smaller groups of children.
Currently, Natasha is enjoying her admin role at Keystone Architects. She likes being organised and having systems in place. The job also fits well with her family life and allows her to help others without the added stress of taking work home.
Coincidently, this is the same place where Architect Amy Snyders works, who was featured in the September 19 edition of the newspaper.
Natasha has been part of the Hervey Bay Triathlon Club for twenty-five years. and says, “I had watched my husband do a couple of triathlons with the club and thought that it might be something I could do too.”
“I also knew some of the people who were in the club which helped. I have now done countless triathlons and have ticked a lot of races off my bucket list”.
Among her accomplishments is finishing an Ironman Triathlon and a marathon.
For Natasha, triathlon training is more than physical exercise; it’s also a mental break. She describes it as “forced meditation,” where she can focus on her body and disconnect from distractions, which helps boost her self-esteem.
The worst experience of Natasha's life happened around March 2012. After months of intense training for the Ironman Melbourne Triathlon, she and her husband, Steve, were ready for the race. They had travelled to Melbourne, set up their bikes, and prepared for the big day. But that night, Steve collapsed due to an irregular heart rhythm, and they spent the night in the hospital. Natasha missed the race.
Over time, she gained perspective, realising that compared to the tragedies some face in endurance sports, their experience was a minor setback. Thankfully, Steve recovered.
One of her happiest moments was when Steve qualified for the World Championships in Hawaii in 2010. Although it wasn’t her achievement, Natasha was proud to support her husband and went along for the ride. It took a few years, but he finally reached his goal.
At the time of writing, Natasha was preparing for the Melbourne Marathon in October and was excited to tackle another race and enjoy the journey with friends. Despite the physical demands, she knows it will be a rewarding and fun experience.
By Kim Parnell
from What’s On Fraser Coast
