Targeted as a way to stay fit, relaxed and happy, Carter took part in the Dubbo Stampede in 2014 and has been “hooked” on long distance running ever since.

Carter will fly out for Japan on Wednesday before taking part in the prestigious Tokyo Marathon alongside tens of thousands of other athletes on February 25.

“I had never been a runner and I really only started five years ago. Now this will be my tenth marathon,” she said.

“I’m hooked on it and now I’m hooked on the international ones.”

Carter contested her first international marathon last year when she raced at Boston and it was there she found out about the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

The Abbott program consists of six iconic marathon races and when an athlete completes all of those they are awarded a ‘Star Six Finishers’ medal.

That medal is what Carter is now targeting, with Tokyo and hopefully New York later this year to be followed by Berlin, London and Chicago in the future.

And while Carter refers to herself as a “competitive” person and she has clear goals heading to Tokyo, there’s much more motivating her.

As a child growing up in China, Carter and her family fled from poverty during the cultural revolution and migrated to Australia.

Now a married Chinese medicine practitioner with a family in Dubbo, Carter promotes a healthy and happy lifestyle.

“It’s important to inspire other women and just because you’ve had children and they’ve grown up you don’t need to feel old,” she said.

“It’s time to restart and rediscover things. You’re not too old to be in good health.

“With Chinese medicine the best trick is to keep moving. People come in and ask if they should be laying down and resting more and I say ‘no, get up and move more’.”

Carter is hoping that attitude can help her reach new heights in Sunday’s gruelling race. In her debut event in Dubbo in 2014, Carter finished in a time of 4 hours and 17 minutes while at Boston last year she completed the race in 3 hours and 48 minutes.

“This year I’m hoping for a personal best,” she said.

“It’s a lot to ask but if I go and give it my best shot and enjoy myself and the atmosphere then even then a can give myself a shoulder pat afterwards.”

One of the big challenges at Tokyo will be the weather. The temperature is barely expected to get above 10 degrees on race day.

A maximum number of 35,500 participants can contest the marathon.