Southport MP Rob Molhoek takes on Gold Coast Marathon 2025

Nearly 18 months after a life-altering stroke, Southport MP Rob Molhoek is ready to cross the finish line in another milestone recovery effort.

Nearly 18 months after a life-altering stroke, Southport MP Rob Molhoek is ready to cross the finish line in another milestone recovery effort.

In what he called an overwhelming moment last year, Mr Molhoek walked across the finish line of the Gold Coast Airport 5km on marathon weekend, unassisted, just weeks after he was unable to even walk.

“I couldn’t have imagined that I would be where I am now,” he told the Bulletin.

“I remember one night just laying in bed thinking, ‘oh my God, I think I’d rather be dead,’ it was very confronting.”

Gold Coast Marathon Gold Coast Airport 5km. MP Rob Molhoek at the finish. 6 July 2024 Southport Picture: Richard Gosling

Regarded as one of the city’s hardest working and fitter MPs, he was rushed to the ED after suffering a massive stroke – shocking his family, friends, colleagues and the community.

The beloved MP spent four days in critical care and six weeks learning to walk again at Gold Coast University Hospital after the shock health turn in March last year.

“It was pretty overwhelming to be honest,” Mr Molhoek said.

“It was Karen Smith, who is one of the staff up at the Gold Coast University Hospital, who organises the team from the rehab unit to compete in the marathon. The funny thing was she asked me if I would join their team on day three when I was still in intensive care and I couldn’t walk at all, I couldn’t even get out of bed.”

Southport MP Rob Molhoek at the Gold Coast University Hospital recovering from a stroke.

It was the motivating force he needed to help get him moving again.

“I had everyone saying, ‘you’ll be right, you’ll walk again, we’ll teach you how to get out of bed – it’s just gonna take time,’ so it was a bit of a motivating force as much as it was something to aim towards,” he said.

Mr Molhoek thanks the confidence the hospital staff exuded in getting him up out of that wheelchair and crossing both a physical and psychological finish line.

“At the time I was dreading it because I still wasn’t walking all that well,” he said.

“I had a very different brace on my leg with a lot of flexibility in it, so when I walked, I described it to my sons as a one-man zombie apocalypse because I’m sort of plunging and bending.”

But 18 months on his legs are stronger, ready to raise more funds this year for the Gold Coast Hospital Foundation as he heads towards the finish line on July 5.

“At the time when I was in critical care I was thinking, ‘what’s this going to look like?’,” he said.

Southport MP Rob Molhoek ahead of the GC Marathon 2025. Picture: Ashleigh Jansen

“I thought I’d have to sell my house and buy a single level dwelling, get myself a full-time carer, I was worried how my wife was going to cope, and questioning what life was going to look like.”

Mr Molhoek said he was so incredibly thankful he could walk again, albeit his left hand “isn’t perfect”, but he can do “most things” and his cognitive skills remain completely intact.

“I was talking about it to my son recently who’s a doctor, and he said it was a pretty hard year there,” Mr Molhoek said.

“I had my appendix out and had a stroke, and then I had a double hernia operation six weeks before the election and then I had the election.”

Now back in government Mr Molhoek said the months following the state election had been “incredible”, ready to take on the next chapter.

Originally published as Southport MP Rob Molhoek takes on Gold Coast Marathon 2025