The SMH Half Marathon began in Sydney this year with a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing.
More than 10,000 runners assembled down College Street on May 19, 2013, waiting for their half marathon challenge to commence.
The starter’s pistol went off, and the serious runners were sent on their way.
We were thrilled to be able to attend the race this year, to meet with the runners who had taken the opportunity to support cancer research during their half marathon campaigns. Among the cancer fundraisers we had the privilege of meeting was super-fundraiser Martin Watters, who led the highest fundraiser board for weeks in the lead-up to the sporting event.
Martin generously raised more than $11,000 for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, in support of his girlfriend, Sophie, who is currently being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Martin told us, “During [Sophie’s treatment] we’ve witnessed the incredible people, equipment and research that hospitals like Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred rely upon. That’s why we chose the ACRF with all funds going to cancer research – specifically high-end equipment and infrastructure development.”
For many of our runners, this day was more about the reasons for which they were running, rather than the time they were trying to beat.
When discussing the race and his goals at the finish line Martin said that for him, this run wasn’t about beating a time but enjoying atmosphere around him. He said it was a chance to really focus on his main reason for running: Sophie.
Another ACRF SMH Half Marathon runner, Julie Bishop, told us “I ran the Half Marathon this year for the ACRF, in honour of my father, who died of cancer when I was only 19. He introduced me to the joys of running as a teenager.”
At the end of the day, our fundraisers where able to raise over $20,000 for cancer research!
We’d like to thank all of our runners who helped to fundraise this amount. Every dollar will go towards funding the state-of the art technologies and equipment which help to speed up cancer discoveries.
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