On the run: Jacinta O’Neill takes a break from training on Geelong’s waterfront.
By Cherie Donnellan
TORQUAY medical student Jacinta O’Neill considers running 100km nothing compared to the cancer treatment her sister has endured.
“She was diagnosed six months ago with breast cancer,” Ms O’Neill said.
“Watching her go through that and the way she’s tackled it was inspiring.”
Ms O’Neill will compete in a Surf Coast Century trail run at Anglesea this month to raise awareness and money for The McGrath Foundation.
After closing in on her initial $2000 target three weeks before the run, Ms O’Neill has raised it to $3333.33.
“My sister was 33 when she was diagnosed,” she explained.
Despite spending only two months training for the run, Ms O’Neill said she was determined to complete the challenge.
“I ran 50km a couple of weeks ago as a training run. It was very hard.
“There are days that I don’t really feel like getting up and running but I think about how my sister is taking all those medications and she doesn’t want to do it but she does.
“She’s very strong, so I want to do this for her.”
Ms O’Neill said that her sister was shocked to discover she had breast cancer “at such a young age”.
Ms O’Neill hoped running the century event would make younger women aware they should be regularly checked for breast cancer.
“Young women don’t often get checked because they think they’re too young to worry about it but if my sister hadn’t been checked there’s no way she’d still be here, so I’m glad she did.”
Surf Coast Century is on September 22.
Ms O’Neill is accepting donations through gofundraise.com.au.
