Who am I? My name is Nicole. I am a lawyer, mum, ultra runner and the first Australian female to win a backyard ultra across the world. The backyard ultra is a race format made up of 6.7kms every hour on the hour until only one person is left standing. You must start the lap on the hour, or you are disqualified. If you do not make it back from the lap to start on the hour, you are disqualified. This goes on until only one person is left standing, however long that takes. I was the first Australian female to be the last one standing. Where and when will the 24hr run take place? The 24 hour run will start at 7:30am, Friday, 1 September 2024 on the foreshore side of Sandgate Swimming Pool. It will end with Sandgate Parkrun which starts at 7:00am, Saturday, 2 September 2024. It would be great to see as many people as possible come and say hi and offer support and run the last half hour at Sandgate Parkrun with me and the Run with Rob community. What does supporting Small Steps for Hannah and Run with Rob mean to me? I think we can all agree we were heartbroken at hearing Hannah’s story. It is completely unthinkable that a person is capable of this type of tragedy. Violence and abuse comes in many forms, and is rife in homes, workplaces and even community groups. I myself have been a victim of coercive control, however, I was fortunate enough to not have children with this person and make the brave decision to leave. I have also been the target of abuse in my career and in the running community. All of this led me to the Run with Rob run group which is a safe haven for female runners and runners in general. The community Rob has created is very special and what is more special, is that it is a charity run group and currently its main charity is Small Steps 4 Hannah. What do I hope to achieve with this run? I am hoping this run will shine a light on violence and abuse in all of its forms. I want people, and particularly women, to know that they have a voice, that they are allowed to call out distasteful behaviour, that they need not be silenced and that they have a whole community behind them ready and waiting to catch them and protect them. I want the community to get behind this cause and assist with much needed funds for Small Steps 4 Hannah to educate, advocate and support the community to HALT violence and abuse in all its forms. It is something that is not spoken about enough, however abuse is rife in all areas of our lives. I have received it on many levels as a partner, as an employee and as a female runner and when different forms of abuse keep happening to you, you decide you are no longer going to stay quiet and I feel like I am a woman in a position who has a platform and the strength to use my voice and it would be wrong of me not to utilise it to raise awareness and funds for something so important. I have a voice and I will use it as loud as I possibly can for those who can’t. Abuse on any level will not be tolerated and I will continue to call it out and speak loudly. What draws me to long distance running? I lost my son in 2010 to Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome and I discovered running after that. I started asking myself the question that if the one thing that is truly meant to break a person didn’t break me, then what will? So I set about finding out how far I can run before I break, physically and mentally. There is a beauty in long distance running. Once you get your body to a point where it is physically capable of enduring, then all that is left is your mind. I am drawn to ultra running for this purpose. Being the master of your own mind is a beautiful gift and I will keep pushing my limits until I find out my true breaking point. Are the community free to run with me, or is it an individual event? While this is an individual run, my crew and I would love your support. We are asking for support in the following ways: Businesses to donate $1 to SS4H to match every kilometre I cover in 24 hours One off donations to SS4H Runners to purchase a time slot to run a lap of the foreshore with me (either 5km, 6.5km or 11.5km laps) by way of a donation of their choice to SS4H Businesses to donate prizes for throughout the event Everyone and anyone to come along at any time and show your support, cheer, crew. If businesses or individuals are interested in supporting, they can contact me via my Instagram (@nicolejukes) or by email at [email redacted] or Robert Hopkinson at [email redacted] or simply make a one off donation here.
Artículos relacionados
