Connor's Run changes course amid COVID-19 social distancing restrictions
A major charity fun run which attracts more than 5000 people each year has found an exciting way to go ahead, despite lockdown. Comedian Dave Hughes is up for the challenge and is urging others to join in.
Inner South
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Social distancing measures won’t prevent supporters of the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation from doing their bit for children’s brain cancer research.
Instead of being held along Melbourne’s foreshore, this year’s Connor’s Run will take place in thousands of homes across the world.
Now in it’s eighth year, Connor’s Run is the world’s largest fundraising event for paediatric brain cancer.
The sellout event, organised by the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation in honour of 18-year-old Connor who died in 2013, has so far raised more than $4.6 million to help fight childhood brain cancer.
Foundation chief executive and Connor’s mother, Liz Dawes, said they’d had to think outside the box to allow this year’s event to go ahead.
Instead of the usual 18.8km route from Hampton Beach to Alexandra Gardens, people can invent their own way to take part — from their homes, backyards or swimming pools.
Using a new route-generator tool, participants can create their own journey from a traditional one-day run to a series of challenges throughout the month of September.
“We want to honour that 2020 is a year like no other,” Ms Dawes said.
“Connor’s Run has never been about winning or even running, even more so this year.
“We want our awesome participants to be creative — they can walk, rollerblade, bicycle, hike or swim.
Ms Dawes said the new format had a wider reach, with people from overseas already signed up to take part.
“If this is successful, we might look to continue doing it this way — or look at a hybrid between this and the traditional event,” she said.
Ambassador comedian Dave Hughes, who has been involved with the foundation for the past couple of years, said the cause was “close to me”.
“I’ve had friends personally affected in my home town of Warrnambool and I also have three young children myself and can only imagine how difficult brain cancer is for young families,” he said.
“It’s a privilege to be able to help raise awareness for such a cruel disease.”
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Hughes said he had challenged himself to run every day throughout September for Connor’s Run.
Ms Dawes said money raised from this year’s Connor’s Run would go towards the $1.25 million Robert Connor Dawes Clinical Trials Program, as well as a range of other projects.
Participants will be able to track their progress through the app, which will allow for estimated distances to be accurately recorded.
Registrations for the event are now open and anyone who registers before July 15 will get a Connor’s Run T-shirt.
An early bird discount applies to people who register by June 9.
For more information on Connor’s Run, to make a donation or support a participant, visit connorsrun.com