Erin continues to out-Smart her rivals on the track

This was none more apparent at the recent National Masters Athletics Championships in Melbourne, where the 36-year-old claimed five different medals.

Going off this dominance, one would think Smart had been competing in athletics for most of her life, but it's quite the contrary, with her only starting up with the Nowra Athletics Club in 2016.

"After having my second baby, I wanted to role model being active and belonging to a sporting club with my family, it also helped that the club ran right past my house" Smart said.

"Personally, I love being part of the club and showing my kids that being physically active is fun, social and rewarding.

"You don't have to be fast you just have to keep going even when you feel like you can't"

"Running is a metaphor in our house for being resilient and persisting."

Growing up in the Shoalhaven, Smart played netball and did some ballroom dancing.

But becoming asthmatic at age nine meant sport wasn't a focus, as running was particularly difficult.

But that all changed in 2016 when Smart first started running with Nowra Athletics Club and at the end of 2017 she started training with Mel Mustapic.

Smart took part in her first track competition at the NSW Country Championships in 2018, where she quickly made a name for herself with a silver medal in all four of the 100m, 200m, 400m and 800m running events.

She backed this up with silver in both the 400m and 800m at the state titles.

Then this year, Smart stepped it up a notch, starting with three gold (100m, 400m and 800m) and one silver medal (200m) at the NSW Country Championships in Newcastle.

This was followed by the state masters, in which she claimed two gold (200m and 400m) and two silver (100m and 800m) medals.

These results spring boarded her into the aforementioned national titles in Melbourne, where she returned with gold medals in the 120+ years 4x100m relay and 170+ 4x400m and silvers in the 100m, 200m and 400m.

On top of medals, Smart has added numerous records to her name, breaking the Nowra Athletics Club's times in the 60m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 400m, 600m and 800m.

"My most satisfying result was at NSW state masters this year in the 400m," Smart said.

"This was the first time I had broken the 60 second mark and I surprised myself with a time of 58.63."

As much as Smart, who trains at least three times a week, likes competing in all the running events, she does have her favourite.

"I enjoy the 100m and 200m races because it's nice to feel fast and get to the line quickly," she said.

"But the 400m is the beast I want to conquer the most.

"It is the ultimate run for me - you need the trifecta of speed, endurance and mental strength."

While Smart's training and natural ability have helped her achieve these strong results, she will be the first to point out the contributions of both her coach Mel Mustapic and husband Dennis.

"Mel [Mustapic] took someone who was old, unfit and completely inexperienced on a track and gave me an extraordinary experience to grow, learn and laugh," Smart said.

"She even gave me a pair of spikes for my first race and frequently stifled her humour whenever I was confused by track jargon.

"The diversity and capacity of her coaching is second to none and the culture of the squad she has created is inspiring.

"My physiotherapist husband Dennis, has carefully kept injuries at bay as my legs adjusted to life at the track - he has also cooked about a 1000 meals so I could train.

"I can say without a doubt that without the encouragement and expertise of these two people I would not be running at all."

Despite all her track success in 2019, Smart wants to continue to be the best runner she can be.

"I want to run as fast as I possibly can - who knows where that will take me - maybe Toronto in 2020," she said.

"I want to encourage as many people as I can, young or old that running is fun and rewarding - however you do it."

"I would love to see if the NSW relay teams could break the 100m and 400m state records this year and individually I'll just "trust the process" as Mel says.

"I am also looking forward to accessing the tartan surface in our local area and continuing to enjoy weekly runs with the club."

More recently, the accolades kept coming for Smart, was was last weekend presented with the Frank McCaffrey Award - a prize to commemorate the founder of the Nowra Athletics Club and reward Smart for her outstanding performances while also being actively involved in supporting the club.