What an amazing day Sunday September 21, 2008 was for all Can Tooers and their fan club as they triumphantly ran down Macquarie St or around Circular Quay and finished at the Opera House to the roaring cheers of Can Tooers and supporters already home ahead of them.
Can Too Run program September 2008 was a stunning success with nearly 400 runners from 5 different locations in Sydney: runners of all ages, all shapes and all sizes completing 10, 14 or 20 weeks of running to achieve their goal of completing 9k, a half-marathon or the awe inspiring marathon.
It was a joy to be part of our tenth program!!! The thrill of coaching and directing Can Too has not diminished with time. Sharing in the peaks and flows, the highs and the hurdles, of a Can Too training program is a totally emotional experience.
I was on such a high on Sunday as I stood on the hill at the recovery village looking at out at a sea of fluoro orange and our supporters. Everyone was so excited, so proud or just plain joyous!!!
It is hard to explain how I feel as I read the many, many emails that have been sent to me and to our teammates about what Can Too September 2008 has meant to each and everyone of our amazing team. Even the skeptics have had a turnaround!!! Even the toughest nut had a tear in their eye as they watched Can Tooers supporting one of our stumbling marathoners home.
It is watching the mental barriers come down as people progress through the program that I love. Our people open themselves to the idea of change and then reap the rewards that come with it!!!
How can I thank all of our Can Tooers and all the supporters who will enable us to reach our goal of $600,000 for this program alone, bringing our total to $2.2 million. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanks must also go to the Macquarie Group Foundation which underwrites our coaching costs enabling all money raised to go to funding research.
Now Can Too is going to Melbourne!!!
Can you believe it? Yes we will be launching in Melbourne on October 12 with lots of Can Tooers coming down to Melbourne to run with us. All welcome!
Can Too Swim starts November 5 and we are really excited that we have added new locations. Training will be held in the South, North West, North and East of Sydney so spread the word.
Come join in our party on December 2, 2008 to celebrate raising $2.5, 000,000!!!! Details sent soon. Yes by the end of 2008 we will have trained 1500 people, raised $2.5, 000,000 and funded 33 researchers.
This year we have instigated our Centurion Program. Centurions are people who have been participants in the program and now want to get involved in a different manner. Thanks goes to our first run Centurion Thomas Girgensohn who sponsored our West program and to Simon Buckingham who will be our first swim centurion. If you are interested in finding out more about this exciting and meaningful way to be involved with our continued growth contact Annie or Lyn.
Annie Crawford
Mark Beale: Can Too Legend
Dr Mark Beale (who has delivered 29,000 babies in his esteemed career) has raised an incredible $30,000 dollars for Can Too with his 9k run this year. Mark has participated in 3 Can Too programs – the first in the 2006 half-marathon, the second in the 2007 half-marathon and again this year, 2008. We cannot thank him enough for his outstanding support and inspiration. Until this year Mark had been our oldest Can Tooer, now usurped by 68-year-old Margaret Anne Hayes who has also run in the 9k and half-marathon. Mark’s daughter Cressida entered our Hall of Fame in 2007 after running in the half-marathon and marathon programs.