It was enough to make grown men cry.
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When Wade Mongta held the floor with quiet dignity on Friday at the Bodalla Memorial Hall, two of his former teachers had no idea they were about to lose their cool.
Moruya High School teacher Len Miles and former Bodalla Public School principal Max Wallace were singled out to receive special thanks at Mongta’s moving Return to Country ceremony.
Both barely kept it together when they were called up to accept thank you plaques.
Last year, Mongta, a Narooma High School HSC graduate, ran the New York Marathon as part of the Indigenous Marathon Project. He now has bigger races to finish – inspiring his community to win the race for better health.
Mr Wallace was “blown away by his eloquence”.
“I am impressed by his thoughtfulness and his polite way of thanking people. He is such a role model.”
That was music to the ears of the project’s founder, former world marathon champion and dual Commonwealth Games gold medalist Robert de Castella. He said Friday represented a record number at a Return to Country ceremony.
“I was thrilled to see the level and intensity of support Wade has from the family and the community,” he said.
“For a small community like this to have the number turn up was amazing. It shows me the high esteem he is held in and the opportunity he has to work with the community to inspire and make a bigger difference.
“In 2010, we were looking for Indigenous champion distance runners to take on the Africans. But when I traveled and saw the challenges it made me realise there was something more important than finding the next champion.
“That was using the marathon to instill that sense of pride, and drive a self-worth that inspires individuals and their families to step up and make a difference. The real race starts at the finish line; it is what they do afterwards. This is the most important thing I have ever done.”
Mongta’s mum Marion said many Indigenous young people admired Wade: “He needs some of them to follow him, cause a lot of them don’t finish high school.”
A champion sprinter herself as a child at Bodalla Public School, reaching the state championships, she is now inspired to exercise again by her son’s efforts.