In 2017 I am running for a cure for the Dainere Anthoney Rainbow Brain Tumour Research Fund and Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation. I am taking part in the four City Run Series events in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. Why am I doing this and why am I raising money for this cause? Read on to understand my story.
Every year I would see on the news the highlights from City2Surf and every year I would say to myself I want to do that next year. Each year another year would roll around and I would say it again as I was in no position to be able to take on such a challenge due to poor fitness.
A couple of years ago there was a health advertisement on TV promoting weight loss. As a father of 2 small children the father in this advertisement saying “The more you gain the more you have to lose” struck a chord. Obviously the ad was not just talking about weight. I knew for my family and myself, I had to something about my weight and fitness for my health.
In June 2015 I started regularly attending Gungahlin parkrun, a weekly, 5km run around Yerrabi pond. When I started attending parkrun I was overweight, unfit and struggled to get around the 5km course. 12 months later of consistently attending parkrun my fitness improved, my weight started to come down and my parkrun times improved. I knew it was time for a challenge.
I heard that Jarrett Anthoney the brother of Dainere Anthoney who had passed away of a brain tumour years beforehand was running City2Surf as a way to raise money for the foundation created in memory of Dainere to go towards brain tumour research. Dainere and Jarrett had always wanted to run City2Surf together but never got the opportunity. This was his way of honouring his sister in his own special way.
I saw this as an opportunity to challenge myself but also raise money alongside Jarrett for the foundation. I was nervous about asking Jarrett if I could run on his team because I understood and respected how special this event was to him. I was honoured when Jarrett accepted me to be part of his team and raise money for this cause.
So in 2016 I was signed up to run my very first 14km event! Anyone who knows City2Surf has heard of heartbreak hill and understand this course is not a walk in the park nor a run around Yerrabi!
I have skydived raising money for charities in the past which has its own challenges but I knew running City2Surf was going to be a whole new challenge, physically and mentally. Having never run further than 10km which I only did 4 months prior to City2Surf 2016 for the first time I knew it was going to be tough. Through encouragement from my running buddy I made it across the finish line in just over 1 hour 35 minutes. I did it! I achieved something I thought I would never be able to achieve. It was hard but it was worth it. As Dainere would say you have to go through a storm to get to a rainbow and that rainbow was Bondi Beach!
In 2017 I have upped the challenge for myself by taking on all 4 of the City Run Series events and of course returning to City2Surf with the plan to smash my 2016 time by 10 minutes! To do this though I need encouragement to get out there and train on those cold mornings and to put in the effort on the day. You can provide that encouragement by supporting my fundraising efforts. Donate $1 for each kilometer I will run for one of the events $14 or all 4 $56. Each business that donates at least $56 will get a thank you shout out on our Facebook page as acknowledgement of the donation.
I have already completed the City2South in Brisbane on Sunday 4th June where I had set myself a challenge of completing it in 1 hour 20 minutes. This would mean beating my 14km PB by over 5 minutes. I am pleased to report I did reach my target by 24 seconds and smashed my 14km personal best!
I have chosen to support the Dainere Anthony Rainbow Brain Tumour Research Fund because I believe in Dainere’s vision in finding a cure for this horrendous disease. Dainere said ‘My little voice could only make a small difference, but together many voices could create change’. I am pleased to add my voice to this cause. Please go here to donate: https://city2surf2017.everydayhero.com/au/mark-scarborough
Pushing to the finish line to achieve my goal and smash my 14km personal best at City2South Brisbane
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