Saturday, October 1, 2011

Last run of the year - 7 sleeps to go!!

Next weekend holds the final event for Running The Marathon of Autism for 2011. On Sunday 9th of October Maryke will be running the 42km Melbourne Marathon for Felicity on the very same day Felicity will be celebrating her 11th birthday. We reckon that's a great omen for it being a wonderful day and wish Maryke all the best for each and every step her legs take! Run Maryke Run!



Please help us continue to support Felicity through her Son-Rise Program by sponsoring Maryke in the HUGE final event of the year. All Donation details can be found by clicking HERE

We'll be sure to let you know how the day goes. Both Maryke's marathon run and Felicity's birthday celebrations ;D

Monday, September 19, 2011

20 sleeps to go!


With only 20 sleeps and more importantly 20 training days left, I have realised I am under-prepared for the marathon. But I am going to line up anyway and give it my best on the day. Having just been to the Autism Treatment Center of America and learning about Autism to help my son Jack overcome his Aspergers, I now, in turn understand so much more about Felicity and the reason I run for her to support her and her family on their journey together. There is so much synergy. It has renewed my faith and hope for a better, brighter, more wonderful future for us all!

The training has been mostly consistent but the runs not long enough for this to be a pleasant day for me on 9/10/11. It's another amazing date and Felicity's birthday! How can I not start!? So, pray for me, send me strong vibes on the day and more importantly if you can DONATE!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Maryke's Melbourne Marathon Countdown!


This year the Melbourne Marathon that our gorgeous friend Maryke will be taking on AGAIN for Felicity falls on Felicity's birthday - Good omen?? We think so!!
On Sunday October 9th Felicity will be celebrating her 11th birthday while fearless Maryke will be taking on the 42KM race through Melbourne's streets!!


Maryke would love all the support she can get in the form of sponsorship donations for Felicity's Son-Rose Program. Click HERE for all the donation options and details.

Only 27 sleeps away - the count down is on! Run Maryke Run!!

Monday, August 15, 2011

City 2 Surf Results!!

What a day! no amount of rain was going to stop our awesome team on Sunday!!
Sarah, Paityn and Amy took on the 14kms with a smile on their face and were thrilled to finally be crossing the start line when the gun went off at 9:05am. In amongst the record crowd of 85,000 entrants the girls had a fun and challenging day out they enjoyed and report they will be back next year to do it all again!


Results:
AMY - 1:32
SARAH - 1:49
PAITYN - 2:17


"Most importantly we want to say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who was behind us for this run. So many of you gorgeous people who donated, sent well wishes, spread the word about why we were running and pushed us along the way - you all ROCK!!!!!
We managed to get our fundraising tally to $3708 for Felicity's Son-Rise Program so a HUGE *high 5* to all of you, THANK YOU!!!
" - Amy

note: Greame had to step out of the run due to family commitments

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Motivation!

Be it motivation to get going in the morning, motivation to bounce around in the playroom with Felicity or motivation to keep running those few last steps to the finish line for our runners....



Just 3 sleeps left till the City 2 Surf for our four runners Amy, Sarah, Paityn and Greame - Go Team Go!!

For the ways to help motivate and support these awesome runners with a donation please click HERE or to donate with your credit card or paypal account simply click on the yellow Donate button below and follow the easy instructions.







We aim to raise $5000 and so far are at $3583. It would be so cool to run on Sunday knowing we hit our target!!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Just 1 month to go... City 2 Surf!

Today is the 14th of July which means in exactly one months time our four City 2 Surf runners will be taking on the 14km race!!


Greame, Paityn, Sarah and Amy are on the serious end of the count down and would love you sponsorship to push them along. Check out the Running The Marathon Of Autism website HERE for all the details on how you can sponsor all of our runners which them goes directly to support Felicity's full time Son-Rise Program.


Oh and thanks again to Billy Mac Clothing for our cool race day shirts!!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

"Community Autism"

Every Thursday my email inbox receives a weekly 'newsletter', actually it's more of a personal letter, from Graham Long who is the Pastor of The Wayside Chapel in Kings Cross. In this letter to The Wayside's "Inner Circle", as Graham puts it, are personal stories and updates on everything Wayside & Graham are up to and it is an email I receive regularly that I look forward to. Anyway in this weeks letter Graham said the following:

".... here I am typing on this beautiful laptop that was a gift of the Kings Cross Rotary; on the next table is a man absorbed with his phone; he's clearly not talking to anyone but he has headphones on and must be playing some kind of game. On the other side is a woman who is reading a document on her iPad. Near her is a couple having breakfast, each of them on the phone to someone; a good number of people walking past have earphones on, they look like they know where they are going although they are quite disengaged from their surroundings; at the fountain there are a couple of people taking photos of themselves; right next to one of these is a man whom I know by sight, engaged in an intense discussion with someone who appears to be not present; a woman walked past just now who I've never known to be psychotic but she's having a fight this morning, it's a full blown argument with someone who appears to be invisible (I once saw this lady's bare bone through an ulcer in her arm); poor sausage, I'm sad to see that she is not really with us today. Traffic is at a standstill because of roadworks in Macleay St and horns are blaring non stop. Philosophically, cars are more like waiting rooms than they are a means of transport these days. I can't see a single car with more than one person in it. If I didn't know better I'd think that I'm looking at a kind of community autism."

This paragraph stopped me in my tracks. I read it and then read it again. Graham's observations are oh so true for many of our communities. We all seem to disengage from our surroundings allot of the time. This is exactly what we are trying to help Felicity NOT to do. When we enter the playroom with Felicity we want to be 100% present. We try to create an environment of complete acceptance, energy, enthusiasm, love and want for anything Felicity gives us - wether a quick glance from the corner of her eye, a full blown Felicity style dance and song or even if it's an hour of, what seems like, Felicity is ignoring that we are right there!


Everyday things can catch up with us and put us into a bit of a 'detached routine' but if we took the time every morning and thought: “Be The Change That You Wish To See In The World” - (as said by Gandhi) just imagine the force of nature you could be! And who knows it might even rub off onto others around you... imagine that?!?

Thanks for the reminder Graham xx

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Race Day T-Shirts

We are thrilled to have some very snazzy t-shirts for our runners to wear on their race day/s this year!!


Designed, printed and so generously donated by Billy Mac Clothing these shirts match our website and blog PERFECTLY - aren't they awesome?!?


These will be worn by our runners to show all those who see them why they are taking each step of the race they are running - Thank you so so so much Billy Mac Clothing for helping us & Felicity!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Thanks Sammy!

On May 15th a good friend of Felicity's ran her very first 1/2 Marathon! Sammy, we are so very proud of you and forever grateful for the gift you are to Felicity for taking on this massive challenge!! WooHoo!!

We asked Sammy if she would maybe write a few lines about her run and these gorgeous words are what Sammy had to share:
“The thought of doing a half marathon was both exciting and incredibly scary. I am a personal trainer and dancer so was reasonably fit but to run a half was definitely a long stretch. I’m always up for a fun challenge and to be able to raise money for felicity was the driving force. I lived next door to her for almost a year and was lucky enough to be able to spend time with her. The strength and love from felicity’s family and her wonderful nature made me compelled in any way I could to give back. The training was tough and the closer I got the more anxious I got. A week to go I was so freaked out…I thought I wasn’t going to make the cut off times…then several days before I accepted that I was running for the right reasons, and however far I got would be an incredible achievement…and that attitude helped me run the half in 2:36! I have performed on stage and presented in front of thousands of people, and completed events before but running the half marathon was one of the most incredible experiences of my life! The thought of felicity laughing and skipping besides me, and calling out my name kept me going…I imagined her living the most incredible life possible and reaching all her hopes and dreams…that for me inspired me that I can do anything. I would recommend anyone to go out there and try…for the experience, and if not that, to help a little girl live the best life possible”

Thanks again & again Sammy - truly AWEsome!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Getting ready to race for 2011!

Another year, another bunch of races & keen runners for our Running The Marathon Of Autism campaign!


We congratulate Sammy on the Half Marathon she ran on May 15th. This was a HUGE effort for Sammy and what a gorgeous thing for her to do it in Felicity's name! We are yet to work out the final tally from the donations and sponsorships made to Sammy's race but believe it stands around the $700 mark - Thank you Sammy!


The next race we are counting down to is the Gold Coast Half Marathon on July 3rd. Maryke will be taking this race on and also using it as part of her training for when she runs the Melbourne full Marathon in October this year.




Between those two races is the Sydney City2Surf. With less than 10 weeks to go until the August 14th race we have (so far) 4 registered runners ready to take on the 14kms for Felicity! Sarah, Paityn, Greame and me (Amy) are squeezing in morning runs and training sessions to build up our fitness in the hope we don't all drop dead on race day!!

Bring it on!!

Sunday, May 1, 2011



It's been a year now throwing outside. I am outside from when I wake to when I sleep even when it rains. I have all kinds of things to throw and I find it hilarious when items land in wacky places. I try to hit particular targets or throw to a certain part of the garden. A couple of plants have not survived my fervour! I also throw a stack of coloured toys on the roof of my house and they make an incredible noise when they land. Nice! Then I want mum to climb the ladder to get them all back down again. My volunteers are staying fit as there are lots of toys to pick up and they get to throw them as well. It's fun!