Hi there,

I’ll be running the New York City Marathon on 3 November 2024 (self-funded) in support of this incredible charity – The Indigenous Marathon Foundation (IMF). The IMF was founded by World Marathon Champion Rob de Castella AO MBE – or Deek as many of you know him.

The Foundation unearths Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Community Leaders from urban, regional and remote communities right across Australia and brings them together to form a tight-knit squad of future leaders.

This is a bloody tough program….

Squad members are pushed to their limits physically, mentally and spiritually. I am joining them on this journey.

I am not a marathoner. I have never run a marathon. Yes, I am nervous. Yes, I have my doubts. I'm not totally clear how I will balance this with my family of five, work and other commitments but I am certain that these challenges are nothing compared to those faced by the squad every day…. Getting to the start line is often the hardest part of this program.

In the space of 6 months, the squad and I will go from not doing any running, to completing a full 42.195km marathon. Not any marathon though. It is the largest marathon in the world, in the largest city in the world. which incidentally is my favourite city in the world. Many squad members have not left their community before.
The transformative impacts of this alone puts each squad member on a pedestal in their community and sets them on a path for success.

The finish line in New York however, is just the start line.

Since 2010 there have been 142 graduates of this program cross the finish line of the New York City marathon (https://www.imf.org.au/imp/).
Many of these graduates have gone on to start running groups in their own community with over 40 First Nations led running and walking groups currently in operation across Australia (https://www.imf.org.au/imf-raw/). It is incredible to see what happens when someone starts believing in themselves. This is the magic of the Indigenous Marathon Project and we refer to the impacts this project has across Australia as 'the ripple effect'.

It has been academically proven that $1 donated to the IMF creates $6 in social benefit. My goal is to reach $42,195. That is $1 for every metre I run during the marathon and if my maths is right, this equals $253,170 worth of ‘Ripple effect’.

I can only reach this goal with your support. I will be testing myself in a way I have never been tested before. And frankly, I am going to need you to dig deep. Please come with me by following my journey and let’s send our First Nations trail blazers to the moon and back.

Please donate to this amazing cause and let’s do this together.