“Great opportunity to introduce a bit of light to my family and community” – Kellie Rowston starts a new yearly tradition.
As a proud sponsor of the Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane, Health & Wellbeing QLD is shining a light on Queenslanders giving the event a go for the very first time, with our First-Time Love campaign.
This week, we speak with Kellie Rowston who is rallying her family and community to begin a brand new annual tradition that she hopes will keep her family and friends happy and healthy for years to come and raise awareness for a cause close to their heart.
What made you decide to give the Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane a go?
Well, everyone is always saying how bright and happy these kinds of events are, so I thought it was a great opportunity to introduce a bit of that light to my family and community.
So, I put the call out to everyone and we’ve actually amassed a pretty significant crowd. All up there will be sixty-seven of us across a couple different events. My partner and daughter will be walking the 4.5km, but I’ve challenged my sister to run the 10km with me.
We’ll all be running on the day to raise awareness for retinoblastoma. We’re hoping this year will be the first in a year tradition for our family and our community.
What type of preparation have you been doing?
I’ve actually been doubling up a little bit because my partner and daughter are participating in a separate event. I’ve been walking with them every day. We’re trying to build our daughter up to the 5km mark, but some days she’ll bring her scooter along for the walk too.
For the more intense preparation, my sister and I have been meeting every Sunday to run 5km to a cafe and have some brekky, then when we’re ready, we run back for a full 10km run on the day.
Has participating in the event shifted your mindset in relation to fitness?
Oh yes, absolutely for the better! Taking that little bit of extra effort makes such a difference. Walking just a little bit every day, walking to a cafe instead of driving. There’s so many small ways to improve your health that you can miss easily when it might not be your focus.
Have you formed new habits as a result of your training that you might keep?
Yes, absolutely! I’m definitely going to be more vigilant about those small opportunities for exercise. We’ll keep walking as a family and my sister and I will keep up our weekend running-cafe dates.
What would you say to other people who have never taken part in the Sunday Mail Bridge to Brisbane or an organised run of any kind?
Give it a go! The exercise is a lot more fun than you’d think and it’s really not as hard as you’d think.
Still haven’t gotten your ticket to The Sunday Mail Transurban Bridge to Brisbane yet!? Well, this is your sign! And if you want the little ones to join, did you know that every ticket for participants under 15 years of age including a $5 donation to a nominated school charity? How good is that!? Purchase your ticket here!