The London Marathon saw not one, but two incredible athletes break the 2-hour barrier for the very first time. It was an extraordinary achievement. But, to me, the greatest hero wasn’t these two amazing athletes. It was the last runner to cross the line.
Andrea Smith from North Carolina in the United States, who lives with MS, fought through 42.2 gruelling kilometres to reach the finish line. My hat goes off, and my heart goes out to her. Andrea is an inspiration to us all.
Because her effort speaks to something far bigger than a single race. It reflects the reality of living with MS, a lifelong, progressive and often unpredictable condition that demands resilience every single day.
There are more than 37,700 people living with MS in Australia, and at least 3m worldwide.
We have made significant progress. But we are still not where we need to be to prevent MS and ultimately find a cure. Not yet.
That is exactly why continued investment in research must be at the very top of the priority list.
That is what The May 50K is here to do.
It is thousands of Australians coming together to accelerate the research that will improve lives.
I will be thinking of Andrea as I run the Sydney Half Marathon this Sunday to kick off my own May 50K challenge.
I am running for Claire, my cousin with primary progressive MS, and Jo, my niece’s partner who lives with relapsing remitting MS, and for the entire MS community.
And, like many of you, I will be pushing myself to go further than I otherwise would, arthritic joints and all, because the cause demands it.
Join me.
Take it on in whatever way works for you. Set your goal, back yourself.
If taking part isn’t possible, you can back my run instead.
Your support will be front of mind when the legs are heavy and the kilometres start to bite.
But the cause will propel me on and – no matter how long it takes – I’m determined to finish and do my part to help fund our brilliant MS researchers here in Australia.
