Fundraising to honour Sarah Barlow, for Alzheimer's Tauranga

I'm planning on running a marathon in Antarctica in January 2020. This will be the seventh of the seven continents. I am running to raise funds for Alzheimer's Tauranga in honour of Sarah Barlow and her amazing group of friends. You can read more below:

In 2009, I ran my first marathon in Rotorua mainly as a 'bucket list' thing to tick off before I turned 41 the following month. Without any great desire to do another one, but not averse to the idea either, I said yes to the opportunity to join a great group of Tauranga women in 2010 and we ran the Motatapu marathon in the South Island. From there, I decided to 'have a go' at another one which I did in 2011 at the Rock n Roll Marathon in Phoenix Arizona.

In 2013, many of the Motatapu group decided to travel to South Africa the next year, to do the Big 5 Marathon which is run on a safari park. After considering the invite to join them, I said no due to the costs involved. But as things transpired, one of the group (Sarah Barlow) could not make the trip on her own due to the rapid advancement of early onset dementia.

What happened next is an amazing story of friendship. With Sarah's situation known to them, the travelling group decided to find a paid companion to accompany Sarah on what would be her last trip overseas with them. And yes, I was that caregiver. And so I travelled to South Africa for a ten day trip, primarily to take care of Sarah, and secondly, to run the marathon while Sarah's friends walked the half-marathon with her.

It was on this trip that I met some crazy marathoners from around the globe who told me of the Seven Continents Marathon Club and their plans to run marathons on all the continents. This got me thinking - here I was with three continents accidentally under my belt.. maybe I could have a go at this challenge too.

And so, with the idea firmly hatched, I travelled to Stockholm in Sweden and ran a marathon in 2016, Bagan in Myanmar in 2017 where I ran with my son Sam, and Rio in 2019 where I finished dripping in the crazy humidity and heat that is South America.

Which leaves me with one more continent to attend to - Antarctica. Fortunately (for me), a spot has come up for the January 2020 intake, and so I will travel there in late January for the event.

I am going to run in honour of Sarah - she is the reason I am doing this, and I will forever be grateful to her loyal friends (you know who you are) who were so committed to getting Sarah to Africa with them, and thus creating the opportunity for me to go too. I love your spirit and all that you do to reach your goals and inspire others along the way.

It seems fitting to fundraise for Alzheimer's Tauranga at this time, and so I would be grateful if you would please consider a donation in Sarah's honour. Please note too that both Sarah's family, and Alzheimer's Tauranga have endorsed this fundraiser. Thank you.