Graeme's First Marathon For A Cause

By First Marathon For A Cause

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page!

I am raising funds for Hummingbird House and your support means a lot to me. 

As you might know, my Dad passed away about 18 months ago. He always loved children and supported a children's hospice local to him. I'd like to continue his good work by supporting Queensland's only children's hospice. A fabulous cause that helps families in so many ways at what must be one of the most difficult times in any family's life.

On 13 July, I will be running my first ever full marathon - that's 42.2km or 26.2 miles. My primary aim is to finish - there certainly won't be any record setting!! I've been training for this since January of this year (although I did complete a half marathon last year, so I wasn't coming in completely cold!!) & am up to 35km which should see me fit enough to crawl to the end if I have to! 

It would really make those 3:45am alarms to wake me up for a run worthwhile if you are able to support Hummingbird House. I believe that together, we can make a difference. By donating, you are helping to provide specialised paediatric palliative care services to babies, children and young people with a life-limiting condition. Every contribution, no matter the size, brings us closer to achieving this goal.

If you are able to help, any donation of any size is gratefully accepted.

My Updates

I’m a marathon runner!

Sunday 13th Jul
Well today marks another step in my journey to challenge myself to be healthier. In July 2023, I weighed in at 110kg and was generally pretty unhappy so something had to change. 

I started writing down what I was eating and thinking about what I was eating. That started an initial weight loss so that I could exercise without doing myself too much damage. Initially, I walked but as my weight dropped I got back into running with a plan to do the Bridge to Brisbane in 2024. For those who don’t know, that’s a 10km run over a pretty steep motorway bridge. 

I got to 10km in training and one of my neighbours sowed the seed in my mind that I should go further rather than faster (thx Kevin!). So, this was in the April or May or 2024, a few months before the Bridge to Brisbane. I set myself a goal that if I could do 15km by the end of June, I’d enter the Sunshine Coast Half Marathon (21.1km) In August. Well, I hit my goal so I had to enter. I wasn’t great but I got around in a little over 2 hours. And I was able to complete the Bridge to Brisbane in September.

So what’s next? I discovered that the folks who run the Sunshine Coast Marathon Festival also run similar events in Cairns, Hobart and Brisbane. And, if you complete all of their marathons, you can get an extra medal! I’m shallow enough to go for that!

Today was the Cairns Marathon. Like my first Half, it wasn’t pretty but I got around in 4:25:51. The last 7 or so km’s were bloody hard but I made it. And, as an aside, I’m 36kg lighter than i was 2 years ago!

And best of all, with your help, I raised almost $2000 for Hummingbird House (Queensland’s only children’s hospice), a cause close to my heart as my late Dad supported a local hospice when he was alive. 

I do want to thank not only the people who sponsored me but also everyone who had encouraging words for me and helped me along the way with advice and treatment for the various injuries along the way! 

A special thank you to my beautiful wife, Nikki, who has been supportive of my efforts and got up at 3am today to support me today and not laugh at me too much as my stiff body hobbled back to the car! 

If anyone does still want to donate, it isn’t too late. You can make donations here:
https://fundraise.wmq.org.au/s/1026/1087/e

Thx again if you got to the end of this long post!

Arrived in Cairns

Wednesday 9th Jul

We are here!

We arrived in Cairns a few days ago and I’ve now completed my last training run before the big day on Sunday. It’s hot and sticky which isn’t unexpected for Cairns but it will be an extra challenge as my last few long runs near home were on cooler days. I’ll just have to take care with my pace!  


But I can’t wait to get going - when I visited the course on the weekend, I found myself getting really excited rather than nervous. Hopefully, that feeling is there on the day when I run with 4000 of my newest friends! It’s going to be fab! And I might even get to have an adult beverage to celebrate. 


For now though, I’ve got a few days off running to let everything settle down. Just a little light stretching to keep everything mobile. 


Fingers crossed that the next time I post, I am a marathon runner!

On my way to Cairns

Tuesday 24th Jun
I’ve been meaning to write a post for a week or so but it’s been crazy busy with things to do. Now I’m here in Yeppoon, on my second stop of the trip to Cairns, I’ve got a few minutes to write a few words. 

Last Sunday, I completed my last pre-race long run. I did 33.5km in just under 3.5 hours. I’m not setting the world on fire but it’s respectable and steady. I’ve discovered that Yeppoon has more hills than where I live in the Sunshine Coast which added to the challenge! Thankfully the course at Cairns is pretty flat so the biggest challenge will likely be weather if it is hot or humid. 

Today was my first run in the taper period where training eases down over the course of 3 weeks until the big day itself. Only an hour in the road today and just over 10km. 

Tomorrow we head further north for a few days in Airlie Beach where I can get some more training in. 

I’m looking forward to the big day. Some excitement, some nervousness! I know I’ve trained as much as I can for this but there is still the unknown. Did I do enough? Did I do too much? We will all know very soon. 

Bring it! 

Thank you to my Sponsors

$1,000

Stockland Halcyon

Wishing you all the best Graeme and such a beautiful cause you are supporting.

$253.20

Ted Krzyk

Great job Graeme!

$116.40

Alysha Miles

Great run! Wishing you all the best for the rest, Alysha, Alice, and the Corgi.

$106.12

Noreen Ditchburn

Resident halcyon Nirimba

$54.12

Beverley Mcintosh

Well done Graeme Thank you for you huge effort for an amazing cause Bev and Bill

$54.12

Tony And Catriona Steinborn

Best of luck Graeme!

$54.12

Noel Bates

Congratulations and good luck in your upcoming event

$51.74

Dave 40

Good luck in reducing that time.

$51.74

Chris And Lin Rees

Go Greame, so much admire your dedication, good luck, run at your own pace.

$51.74

Karla & Pete Halcyon #130

Good luck Graeme. Great cause.

$51.74

Kevin And Bryan

Great cause Graeme and best of luck for your first marathon!

$51.74

Ali And David Duckworth

We wish you all the very best Graeme and what a beautiful cause you are supporting.

$51.74

Vanessa Edge

$51.74

Lynne

I'm not sure if I could wake at 3:45 AM every day, even for the children. Very admirable. Your dad would be bragging on you. 😀

$51.74

Adrian Bleese

$51.74

Anonymous

You are an inspiration Graeme!

$50

Fleur

$50

Blair Pyle

$50

Heath Skerman

You got this G - go get that PB!

$33.15

George Tetis

$33.15

Nina And Mark

Hello and good luck love and hugs Nina and Mark xx

$33.15

Sandia Ren

Have a great race, Graeme!

$30

Lee Carroll

$30

Adam Birr

Hope it goes really well.

$27.81

Jo And Alan Uk

Amazing achievement xx

$22.58

Kellie Cooper

Well done, Graham. A huge effort and it's so impressive that you did not give up.

$22.58

Anonymous

$22.58

Denis Smyth 233

Good luck Graeme. I wouldn't even try to keep up with the pace you set in the gym. Good luck. A worthy cause.

$22.58

Robyn & Daryl Kidd

Good Luck Graeme. Your achievements so far speak for themselves. You've got this.🤛

$11.65

Geoff & Janelle Hogg