My blood has been turning orange. The more I run, the more
orange it gets. Don’t worry, this is not some kind of new-age jaundice; it’s
the result of a long running affiliation with an organisation called Cantoo.
For the last few years I’ve had a bad case of “fun run
fever”. I’ve done countless events in Melbourne and Sydney including mini
triathlons, 14km runs, 10km runs and even a half marathon (21.5km). It’s been
quite a learning curve; my vocabulary has expanded to include phrases like
‘negative splitting’, ‘dynamic stretching’, ‘foot strike’ and ‘cadence’. I’ve
learned how to deal with shin splints and other running related injuries. I
even have an entire arsenal of mental tricks to motivate myself up a hill. (My
favourite is the chant “hills are great, loosing weight! Hills are fun, Smaller
bum”)
How did this running addiction start you may wonder? It all
began when I signed up for a program with Cantoo.
Cantoo is the main fundraising arm of Cure Cancer Australia.
As suggested by their slogan, “fun, fitness and fundraising!”, Cantoo provides
professional training in either RUNNING or SWIMMING and in return participants
fundraise for Cure Cancer Australia. Since its inception in 2005 cantoo has
raised over $9.5M dollars and sponsored 71 researchers. Soon they’ll be
cracking the $10M mark!
The researchers sponsored by Cantoo are real Australians - I
know because I’ve MET some of them. A month ago I had the pleasure of touring the
Walter+ Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) Institute affiliated
with the Royal Melbourne Hospital and The University of Melbourne. The
researchers I met were incredibly grateful for the opportunity given to them by
Cure Cancer Australia. They are all such talented people doing wonderful things
for the advancement of cancer research. 
Just recently one of the Melbourne researchers, Dr Megan
Bywater and her researcher team have announced a fundamental blood cancer
breakthrough – this is great news for Australians with leukaemia and lymphoma.
Click here for more info on Megan’s breakthrough.
This year marks the 4th year I have done the
Cantoo program. I am currently the team captain of a group of 20 people who
have signed up to do a half marathon in October. This group is a mix of guys
and girls ages 25-50 and I couldn’t be prouder of them all. They get to listen
to me clap and cheer encouragement like a demented cheerleader as they drag
themselves to Saturday morning training rail hail or shine.
I’d be super grateful if anyone will sponsor me.This is the link to my fundraising page:
http://cantoogreatoceanroad2013.gofundraise.com.au/page/vguy
Please get in touch
if anyone is interested in doing a program with Cantoo. It’s such a great way
to meet people, get fit and be part of a good cause. You won’t regret going orange!
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