I am currently living on the North Shore in Auckland and work for Jungle Coffee so I'm fuelled on espresso. My Mum (Lynne) and my best friend’s Mum were both diagnosed with breast cancer in February of this year which was 100% my inspiration to run the Adidas Auckland Half Marathon for BCFNZ. Mum has now completed both Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy and has had nothing but positive results so far which is great although she still has a few more months on her Herceptin course. I am super proud of how brave she has been throughout her journey. Her positive outlook and determination has me convinced she will beat this!

I am by no means a proper runner but I did participate in my first ever Adidas Auckland Half Marathon last year and swore I wouldn't/couldn't do another but after seeing that I could run for a charity I thought I’d give it another go. Most importantly I needed a goal this year and knew this was the perfect way to achieve something special and get my fitness up to scratch. Time flew by and before I knew it I was pounding the pavement on race day with my friend Sophie (who was also running for BCFNZ). This year I really enjoyed the course but around the 17k mark I really started to struggle, that was until I saw my family on the side of the road cheering me on. After that I got back into the rhythm and concentrated on the finish line - those last few km's really wore me out but in the back of my mind I had to remind myself why I was putting myself through this.

My advice for fundraising - get vocal and tell everyone what you are up to! I was extremely lucky that when I told my friends, family and work mates they all spread the word for me as well. On that note I would love to thank everyone who helped me achieve my goal of $10,000 dollars, you are all amazing! I am still truly overwhelmed by everyone's support and contributions to my chosen charity. It just goes to show that 'every penny counts' and if you put your mind to it you can just about do anything. I can honestly say this is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever been involved in - something I won't forget in a hurry that's for sure! Lastly a special thank you to Faye and the team at the BCFNZ whose encouraging and informative emails, calls etc throughout the year were invaluable!