While most of the country was watching the Rugby World Cup Final live last Sunday morning, our small team of CPNZ athletes was running in the 2023 Barfoot & Thompson Auckland Marathon to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, the urgent need for research, and our charity, and of course, to raise funds for research!
Grace, Jack (age 13), and Daniel lined up in blustery and cool conditions on their respective courses: the 11-km Traverse for father and son team Jack and Daniel, and the full 42.2-km marathon-distance pain-fest for Grace. What a trooper! Starting in Devonport at 6 am (which meant a very early start to get some breakfast in and get to the start line in time!), Grace covered the course in a quicker time than she expected, pushing through the pain barrier to come home in 5 h 17 minutes in her first ever marathon. Incredible.
Meanwhile, with a much more leisurely start time of 8:50 am, Jack and Daniel set off down the busway from Smale’s Farm in a large and tight pack. It was great to see our trustee Alex Peterson and his wife Shelley at the start of the 11-km! When Daniel had to stop to re-tie a shoelace after about 2 km, Jack’s response was “I’m not waiting!”. He pushed himself hard, wanting to do the best he could for all those with Parkinson’s, including family, and wasn’t seen again until Dad was over the finish line, 6 minutes behind Jack’s impressive time of 52 min.
There were lots of comments on our branded singlets and our catch phrase “Running for the Cure”, so we might have some new recruits and a larger team next year! And of course, there are plenty of other events between now and next year’s Auckland Marathon. If you’re planning to take part in any sort of endurance event or challenge over the next 12 months and would like to support Cure Parkinson’s NZ while doing so, please get in touch (info@cureparkinsonsnz.org.nz)! We’d love to add you to our team!
Massive thanks to Grace and Jack for raising both funds for (almost $1600 to date, and counting!!!) and awareness of our cause! Thank you to all who donated to Grace and Jack… their pages will remain open for a few more days if you’d still like to.
https://aucklandmarathon2023.grassrootz.com/cure-parkinson-s-nz/here-for-a-cure
https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/help-grace-fundraise-for-parkinsons-research
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