Uni classes are done for the day and before I leave the classroom, I pull my friend to one side and get out my phone. Opening a new app I’ve downloaded, all you can hear in the ensuing silence is “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Go!”
My friend: What are you doing?!
Me: You won’t believe it but…
For the past few days, this has been a typical conversation in my daily life. Every morning and afternoon as I walk to uni and back, I pull out my fitness app to track how many kilometres I walk every day. On rainy days or just those days where I feel like I haven’t met my quota (usually 3kms), I’ll head down to the gym and do some walking on the treadmill. Is it hard work? Yes! Is it exciting? Yes! Would I do it again? HELL YES!
I guess you’re now all wondering what I’m talking about. Actually you’re probably asking the same question I get asked every day: “What are you doing?” Let me clear it up for you!
This March, I have been taking part in Cancer Council NSW’s March Charge. The March Charge is a personal fitness challenge where you walk or run a certain number of kilometres to raise funds for cancer research. My personal fitness goal is walking 50km and now that I’m almost at the halfway mark, I am happy to report that I’ve already done 52km (yay!). I can’t wait to see what I’m able to do by the end of the month!
At the end of the day, I’m doing this for all those people who are struggling with cancer and those who have lost someone to cancer (including me). The statistics continue to shock and yet it is getting tougher for organisations such as the Cancer Council to get enough funding for world-leading research into a cure for cancer.
Think about it: Brain cancer kills more Australian children than any other disease. It kills more people under forty than any other cancer. Yet less than 5% of government cancer funding goes towards brain cancer. If I can make a difference to these statistics with what little I can raise, then I’ll be proud. At the end of the day it’s a win-win situation: money is going towards cancer research AND I get to exercise! Who could say no to that temptation?!
See you all next month (as a healthier version of me – although I doubt I’ll be cutting back on the spaghetti bolognese!) xxx
*Originally published on BLLC*
Simos Standpoints 