I’m going to run the New York Marathon in November! I’m excited, it’s a big step up from the 21.1km I’ve been running over the past few years but hey, it’s New York and I’m proud to be running for a great charity with an important vision: to eliminate bowel cancer in Australia. It’s a vision close to my heart as my dad died from bowel cancer two years ago.
While I’m excited about stepping up to the challenge that a marathon presents, I’m under no illusion as to just how much I’m going to be taken outside my comfort zone. I’ll be reminding myself of the advice that triathlete Lauren Beam gave runners in the 2011 NYC Half Marathon just six months before she died of colon and liver cancer at the age of 34: “Live in the moment, don’t wish it away. The burn, the lactic acid, these are good things that mean you are alive and doing something you love. There are people out there who don’t have the ability to do what you all are doing. Embrace it, right-left-right-left, look around you, take a deep breath and remember who or what inspired you to get this far.”

I will be embracing this run. Apart from my quiet determination, I will be drawing on the strength, dignity and composure that my dad showed during his battle with cancer, I will be inspired by the courage and determination that my close friends continue to have in their ongoing fight with cancer, and I will be spurred on to finish the distance to raise much needed funds for The Jodi Lee Foundation and its work.
All said and done, it’s now up to you and me. I’m proud to be running the New York Marathon wearing the little black tutu. Please show your support and donate generously. Together we can make a difference.
Help me help The Jodi Lee Foundation continue its amazing work in Australia.