Asea of pink flooded the footpath around the Blue Lake for the annual Mother’s Day Classic on Sunday morning.
The event raised funds for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Mother’s Day Classic ambassador and volunteer Megan Medhurst was thrilled with the support for the charity walk.
“The attendance was good, in the last week we always have a big scurry of people which is lovely, and we had a few more on the day registrations which was great to see,” she said.
“The most important thing was the weather that made everyone want to join us, it was perfect.”
Ms Medhurst said it was fantastic to see so many people come out to raise awareness and funds for a great cause and participant Karen Whitehead spoke about a personal experience.
“Her daughter passed away in Queensland, they had some issues with lockdown and COVID and not being there,” Ms Medhurst said.
“It was good to have her speak about how things are going because it is not a cookie-cutter scenario for everybody.
“Especially for her being in that lockdown scenario, it was really important to hear how people have coped and managed and what they need to be going forward for other people who have the same issues.
“Prevention was the main key out of her speech which is important, not missing those check-ups.
“Be aware of your body, do not put things off.”
Participants were encouraged along by support volunteers as they walked or ran their lap around the lake and made their way across the finish line.
“It gives them that little bit of a boost, like ‘I am here not just for the start and the end, I am here for something’, it is really nice,” Ms Medhurst said.
Ms Medhurst said the event was also a great way for people to make connections and emphasised the importance of continuing conversations about breast cancer.
“The community connection is good, I networked with a few of the ladies,” she said.
“Going forward hopefully we can achieve some more things for the area, more awareness, more broader spectrum for the ages too.
“It is not an ‘old persons’ disease anymore as it used to be, and one in seven get diagnosed or have some form of relation with breast cancer.
“It is important that we all talk about it and have those conversations lead on, not just this morning, but into the future, keep talking about it and keep it current.”
Ms Medhurst said the Mother’s Day Classic volunteers dedicated lots of hard work to organising the event.
“On the day it all comes together nicely which is really good, we had some fabulous donations, and the raffle went really well,” she said.
“We are always happy for more volunteers; it is always important to get different people even if you think you cannot contribute much you are probably contributing more than you think.
“Get in touch, we are always happy to have new people, new faces and bring new things to the team.”
