IT TOOK some convincing of Gold Coast's high performance staff, but Maddy Brancatisano ticked off a lifelong dream last off-season by completing her first marathon.
The energetic Suns midfielder comes from a family of runners and with the lengthy gap between seasons, thought she had the perfect window to train for Hobart's 42.2km event in January.
Training with her partner Ryan, the 26-year-old got stuck into the 10-week training program immediately after Gold Coast's 2025 campaign finished.
But only after she cleared it with the club.
"I have always wanted to do one," Brancatisano told AFL.com.au with a huge smile earlier in the week.
"I just wanted a different challenge. I had to get it ticked off by S&C … and they weren't sure, but I said I'd get a coach and do it properly.
"We're different to the men, we've got this whole off-season. I wasn't too worried about getting injured. I've never had (bone) stress issues, and you can just as easily hurt yourself walking down the stairs.
"The Suns definitely put some trust in me.
"Once you get going, it's pretty fun."
Brancatisano is no stranger to distance running. She has completed multiple half marathons, and her family organises an event at St Kilda every Christmas eve. Her grandmother has completed a staggering 38 marathons.
Running four times a week and including a couple of gym sessions under coach Ryan Hoffman, Brancatisano not only got to the start line, but more importantly the finish line in three hours and 50 minutes on race day.
"It was just the coolest thing ever," she said.
"Running with people makes it so much easier. I kept thinking I was going to hit the wall at 30k. I found it wasn't too bad.
"At the finish I thought, 'I want to do another one'."
With a new level of aerobic fitness behind her, and additional mental resilience that comes with completing multi-hour training runs, Brancatisano hit the ground running in 2026.
Aside from wanting to achieve the completion of a marathon, she wanted the extra running to help her in-game.
"I did have this base that was different to previous years so I could feel at training I was able to go for longer," she said.
"I tend to run defensively a fair bit to try and help get the ball back and help us defend, but I wanted to add the offensive side as well and get myself involved because I feel like once I get going, I can get my teammates into space and get them to use their strengths.
"I thought, 'How can I impact two-way running and also cover the ground with speed?'
"I'm a good metres-per-minute player … but you can work under pressure and under fatigue more often.
"I definitely think the marathon helped, especially mentally, knowing you've run 42k, you can do six 150s (150-metre sprints)."
An ankle injury late in the pre-season meant she missed Gold Coast's opening-round loss to the Western Bulldogs, but since then the former Tiger has been an integral part of a midfield group that has led the Suns' dramatic elevation.
Ahead of facing Richmond on Saturday, the vice-captain said there was no limit on what her team could achieve.
"We finished 18th last year and in the review we said we just wanted to win some games next year and get games into the young ones and start to gel," Brancatisano said.
"We've gone from hoping to win games to hoping to play finals to who knows what.
"Richmond went from 16th one year to winning a flag the next. It's cool how stories can be like that."
Whenever Gold Coast's season finishes this year, Brancatisano's teammates better watch out. She's currently trying to convince Meara Girvan to run a half marathon. Who's next?
