Running a marathon is a huge undertaking at any age.
For Alastair Kinloch, who is 76, it was both a physical and emotional effort.
He pounded the pavement four times a week in preparation to take on the Berlin Marathon on 24 September.
The effort was inspired by his wife Diane, who passed away earlier this year from a rare cancera disease where abnormal cells split without control and spread to other nearby body tissue and/or organs of the gall bladdera hollow, muscular sac in the pelvis that stores urine and bile duct.
When she was diagnosed, Diane was told her cancer was incurable and inoperable. With earlier detection, the outcome may have been different.
Before she passed, Diane asked Alastair to do something to raise money for early detection of rare cancers.
Taking up the challenge, he decided to run a marathon and set a goal of raising $42,195 – that’s a dollar for every metre run.
Alastair works at AMP, so in addition to his own fundraising, the AMP Foundation has committed to matching donations – which are sitting at over $23,900 so far.
“It was hard going, but I was encouraged by the support I was given, particularly by the six other colleagues who ran with me. We call ourselves the Berlin Boyz,” he said.
“And the sponsors have been very generous too. There are so many people who I’ve never met who have made contributions.”
The funds allow Rare Cancers Australia to continue advocating for better access to diagnosisthe process of identifying a disease based on signs and symptoms, patient history and medical test results and treatment and meet the increasing demand to support people with rare cancers and their families.
It’s not too late to support Alastair’s fundraiser! To make a donation, visit: https://www.rarecancers.org.au/campaign/71/my-marathon-for-diane
To learn more about fundraising for rare cancers, visit Fundraise for RCA