Run for Inclusion: City2Surf 2026

So, to start, let’s just say this… I do NOT consider myself a runner.

However, two years ago I took up running for our very first #RunforInclusion and set out to tackle 10 Kms. This might as well have been a marathon for me considering I’d just had two children (one was still breastfeeding and not even one at the time). I also had never run more than a mile in my life!  

In any case, alongside 34 of my colleagues, friends and Koorana supporters I set out and did a Personal Best (PB) for the 10Km that year. When the Sydney Marathon opened registrations for the following year, I threw my hat in the ring for the ballot alongside several other colleagues who can I say, were far more desperate than me to run. But, as fate would have it, I was the ONLY Koorana team member to get in. So, I thought, I can do this. I will do this. I am going to do this. Done – registered!!!  

Eeek….. at this point I realised I probably should just double check with my cardiologist. Cart before the horse, as they say! 

So, I set out to do that thinking all would be well and was surprised when I got a very firm NO.  

In case you don’t know me, ‘NO’ is not a word I cope with well. Especially when I am the one being told NO. So, the conversation went something like this:

“But it’s for a good cause” – “NO” 

“But I promise to walk some” – “STILL NO” 

“But I am the only one who got in” – “That’s irrelevant… still NO.” 

“Will I die?” …. “NO, but…” 

“OK, thanks! I promise to be careful.” (Not a very impressed face)

As it turns out, the heart conditions I live with aren’t very compatible with running. I thought I was unfit, but it was a little more serious than that. Equipped with this knowledge and the caution from my doctor, I made a plan for myself and committed to the team – run, walk, or crawl if I have to – I am going to finish this marathon.  

Fast forward to race day 2025 where after months of training, recovering from a rough winter of day care illnesses, and having blown my knee, I turned up for my first marathon thinking – “Oh no, what have I done!!!” 

But, as I strode along, trying to just get through one more Km, I remembered the reason I was running and the children it would help. Just when I couldn’t push any further, I saw a group of Koorana colleagues on the sidelines cheering me on at 20 Kms… then they came back at 24 Kms… and 28 Kms… and suddenly, I knew I could get to the finish line. Every donation, every message of support, and the team there alongside the course helped get me through.  

Was it difficult? YES. But I did it. And I am so proud to have overcome my own health and done that for such an amazing cause.  

Now, we are back again, and I have set myself a tall order. I want to shave a full minute off my marathon pacing and complete this one in less than 1 hour 30 minutes. That would be a pace I’ve never been able to maintain at distance, but pushing myself is a big goal and this race deserves that. Afterall, we are raising funds to SHAPE THE FUTURE OF INCLUSION. That’s also a big goal. Every dollar we raise is going to help us to take a model that we see and evidence shows WORKS and develop that into a toolkit that can be scaled.

IMAGINE the children that is going to support! I can already think of the difference for parents who can’t find a childcare place now, the kids who are at school but feel different or less than because they are struggling in ways their peers aren’t and just think of the long-term outcomes for those children when we get that right! Also, can you imagine how much more confident and supported educators will feel? They have one of the most important jobs on this earth in my opinion. Knowing that by us pushing hard for this campaign, we can help them to feel they have the tools and resources to support all children to thrive, makes me so happy.  

This cause is so worthy, and I can’t wait to step out to run alongside so many of our supporters for it. Thank you for running alongside me and the rest of the Koorana team! 

If you want to hear more about my health struggles, I have shared these more recently in a podcast: Seeing the Unseen: Advocacy an… – Navigating Disability – Apple Podcasts 

I don’t consider myself disabled in any way, but I do have a range of medical conditions which impact my life. So often we don’t see this with others and forget that all of us have our own struggles. It’s a privilege to bring voice to that hidden story many of us have. For anyone else walking your own journey, please know the team at Koorana sees that and appreciates you stepping up for all the children despite that!