Bernadette Wallace pushes through cancer to clock up 300th parkrun
Not even a startling cancer diagnosis just weeks before Christmas 2023 could prevent Rockhampton’s Bernadette Wallace from powering her way to a remarkable running milestone this weekend. Read her inspirational story.
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Rockhampton’s Bernadette Wallace will clock up her 300th parkrun on Saturday.
Remarkably, she did 46 of them while undergoing cancer treatment last year.
The Saturday morning 5km event has been a regular part of the 64-year-old’s weekly routine since she did her first in Brisbane in 2015.
She was among the enthusiastic band of participants who took part in Rockhampton’s inaugural event in March 2016, and has been a familiar sight on the circuit since returning to the city in 2017.
parkrun has become a global phenomenon, with 2500 staged around the world and more than 500 in centres across Australia.
Bernadette said when she first heard of the community-based event, she thought it an amazing idea.
As time went on, she came to fully appreciate that it provided much more than just a chance to pull on the joggers, especially during her year-long health battle.
It was in December 2023 when Bernadette went for her regular BreastScreen.
She was fit and well and had no inkling what the mammogram would show.
“I was diagnosed on December 19 with breast cancer. It was Stage 3,” she said.
“If I hadn’t had that BreastScreen I would never have known because I was not sick and had no symptoms at all.
“I was probably more annoyed than anything because I’d been active all of my life and relatively fit so I was left wondering how do you prevent this thing?
“It can happen to anyone and I think that’s what took the most time to come to terms with and accept.”
Bernadette had a lumpectomy in February to remove a 2.5cm lump from her breast but concerningly, the cancer had spread quite markedly into her lymph nodes, which had to be removed.
She had a second operation in April to remove more of the breast tissue before starting on a regime of chemotherapy and radiation, which took a physical toll.
But during that time, she continued to make her way to the starting line for the Rockhampton parkrun, which weaves through the botanic gardens and along Yeppen Lagoon.
Bernadette got into running after her second child was born. She completed her first half-marathon in 1991, six months after the arrival of her third child, and ran her first full marathon in 1993.
She continued to do runs of various distances, and it was something she was determined to keep doing even during her treatment.
“I got knocked around with the first round of chemo, it caused a lot of blistering, but I tried to run all that time,” she said.
“My partner actually signed me up to do a 10km in Yeppoon in July which I did but I was very, very slow.
“My oncologist was pretty impressed; even though I said it wouldn’t call it a run, I didn’t stop.”
Bernadette said being able to continue the physical activity she loved was really important to her recovery, as was the regular “catch-up and connection” she enjoyed each week with her friends.
“The beauty of parkrun is you don’t have to think about it - you just turn up and everything is done for you,” she said.
“Another aspect of it is the community aspect - being part of something that is bigger than yourself..
“I also think that there’s a lot of positives to come out of parkrun for a lot of people.”
Bernadette plans to mark her 300th with breakfast with family and friends.
She also is determined to get back to running 5km before completing a 10km sometime this year, possibly in the Rocky River Run.
Bernadette has completed her treatment but will remain on medication, under the care of an oncologist, for the next five years.
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