Here at KARI we know that we could not do the work that we do without our supporters. One of those supporters who has helped us on our journey to continue to make a difference is Hannah More.
On the 5th November 2017, Hannah ran the New York Marathon. In the lead up to the event, Hannah chose KARI as her charity of choice and raised a total of $2941.00 for the KARI Foundation.
We sat down with Hannah to talk about her journey from training and preparation to what it was like to run 42km in the Big Apple.
Q. What motivated you to take on the New York Marathon?
A. Running a marathon has always been something that I wanted to do, but I haven’t really run much in the last 15 years.
I actually decided to run the marathon when I was overseas in Hawaii in June last year. While I was there I learnt a bit about Hawaiian history and actually never met one ‘Hawaiian’. It made me think about our Aboriginal people and the fact that they make up are less than three per cent of the population of Australia.
Q.What training did you do in preparation?
A. Being a single mother of four and working full-time, finding time and funds for training was not easy, but I did it all by myself.
I searched marathon training programs online and found a 12 week program that looked nice and simple. I ran early in the mornings and I also practiced yoga at home, but that was about it. I kept it really simple – get up and run!
Q.Why did you choose KARI as your charity of choice to fundraise for?
A. Having fostered my own foster child Sio who is Fijian, and trying to maintain a connection with his family and culture, I know how important this is.
I read about fostering in NSW and the statistics of how many Indigenous kids there are in out of home care. I found KARI and wanted to do something to support the work they do to help keep these kids stay connected to their family and culture.
I knew I could raise money but wanted to do something extraordinary to get as much support as possible so I decided to run the marathon.
Q.What was the experience like overall?
A. I had an amazing experience over there, the people of New York City are incredible. The crowds, music and atmosphere really makes it such a fun event to be a part of. I wanted to stop and dance most of the way!
At around the 37km mark my feet were in a lot of pain but I had mentally prepared to use this as motivation, to think about the kids that I was running for; my kids and family at home and how lucky I was to have this opportunity.
Q.What was the highlight for you?
A. There were lots of highlights – seeing my friend on the sideline at around the 35km mark and running over the finish line and video calling my family. My mum, dad, son, sister, niece and brother were all on a family chat within seconds after I finished, it was incredibly emotional.
I was on a high from the time the race started and still am. When I got off the plane I saw my kids and they all ran to me, but my daughter saw the medal and said, “You won! Who came second and third?”.
But the biggest high was the amount of support that came from everyone. People were donating for weeks before and after the marathon – family and friends, neighbours and even people that I met a few days before the marathon heard why I was running and donated too.
I would definitely do it again and would love to share it with more people.
From everyone at KARI, we would like to thank Hannah for her support and congratulate her on such an outstanding achievement!
