Run for a cause
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| Happy to have made it to the finish line at beautiful Bondi Beach! |
Yay, I made it to the finish line in the City2surf yesterday!
It was such a great day…I really enjoyed walking alongside my sister again – brought back memories of our hours of fun getting lost in the Paris Marathon in April!
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| With my sister Rita – another medal to add to our collection 🙂 |
I also loved getting to hug some other old “Paris Marathon” friends before we started, who will always have a very special place in my heart:
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| Beautiful Carol (on the far right) – my other Team Pink member in the Paris Marathon 2012 |
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| Gorgeous Kyle from Inspired Adventures (organisers of my Paris Marathon adventure) |
Our official start time was 9am, but we arrived at Hyde Park around 8am, which gave us just enough time to join in with all the excitement around the start of the event. My awesome hubby could have stayed in bed, but instead he woke the kids up, got them on the train and met us near the start line to wish us well.
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| How blessed am I?! I love my awesome family 🙂 |
We didn’t pass the official starting line until about 9.20am. We were in the yellow group, but as you can imagine, there were so many people in front of us that it took around 20 minutes to get to the actual starting point.
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| Can you spot me in this official photo of the Yellow group? I’m somewhere right at the back of the pack 🙂 |
We eventually reached the finish line at Bondi exactly 3 hours later – I know it was a bit longer than the winner’s (Liam Adams) 41 minutes & 31 seconds, but we were happy with our time. We’re even thinking of getting a team together and doing it again next year.
As you might imagine, the lines for the buses back to the city were way too long, so we decided to catch a cab. Surprisingly, we got one fairly quickly, but while we were waiting, we got talking to another amazing City2Surf entrant who was also wanted a cab. He was an 87 year old Digger who walked with his son. They ended up riding in the cab with us.
We didn’t ask his name, but I assume he was the only 87 year old Digger who entered and successfully finished this year’s City2surf!! Like us, he finished it in 3 hours, but considering his age as well as the fact that he actually suffered a heart attack in March, I was inspired! He said nothing was going to stop him from going in his 42nd City2surf!! Amazing!! It was a fun cab ride with these two gentleman and listening to this wonderful Digger made me realise if he can do it, anyone can 🙂
Participating in the City2surf was another way for me to continue supporting my charity of choice, National Breast Cancer Foundation…thank you to those generous people who donated to my Everyday Hero Fundraising Page. (Please click over to this page if you didn’t get a chance to donate). Running for a cause (or in my case, walking) is truly empowering – I’ve done it twice now and it makes me feel so positive and that I’m “giving back” in some way. Being amongst such a huge crowd yesterday, I noticed just how many causes were represented, and I was so inspired.
Some people were in it for the fun of dressing up, making everyone smile, which is a good thing…
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| Spiderman! |
But there were others who were walking for an even greater cause – representing charities like Miracle Babies Foundation, BCNA, Mission Australia, Jeans for Genes, Oxfam, Room to Read and so many others. Truly heartwarming stuff.
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| Staff from awesome charity Room to Read cheering on their runners |
So anyway, I reckon if an 87 year old Digger can do the City2surf, more of us could consider doing it on behalf of one of the many wonderful Australian charities that rely on community support to continue their vital work.
Maybe you could consider joining me in the City2surf next year? You’ve got a whole year to prepare for it 🙂
Jennifer xo
