The Dubbo Stampede is drawing closer and what better way to get a little bit of motivation to sign up than by hearing about Mia Stewart.
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Mia is three years old. She was born with a condition known as Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency which means her left leg is three-quarters of the size of her right leg.
The little superstar is the reason Sharnie Moore has taken the plunge and decided for the first time she will enter a half marathon.
It’s not a feat to sneeze at.
Sharni will be running just over 20 kilometres, despite never having entered a race longer than 10 kilometres before.
But it’ll be Mia’s cheeky grin that will meet her at the finish line.
By running the half marathon, Sharnie is hoping to add just a little bit more to the Stewart family’s goal of raising $300,000.
The money will allow Mia to get surgery in America, improving her quality of life.
As Sharnie says: “A lot of people are saying ‘don’t do it’ but the thing is, what we’re doing is nothing in comparison to what Mia is going to go through. She’ll have to be in surgery for 12 hours, and when she gets out she’s going to have to learn to walk again.”
Is there a better reason to run?
Alongside Sharnie will be her family – albeit her son is going in the slightly shorter Dingo Dash – as well as a friend celebrating hitting the twelve-month mark of his weight-loss journey.
Sharnie says she could think of no better place to run 20 kilometres than at Taronga Western Plains Zoo with the amazing scenery pushing her on.
And what a year for Sharnie to decide to take the plunge.
This is also the year the Dubbo Stampede has become more inclusive. For the first time there will be the Wallaby Wheel – an event for those in wheelchairs.
Dubbo Stampede president Rod Campbell says he thinks it may be the first inland wheelchair race.
“You’ve got guys like Kurt Fearnley out there doing some really cool stuff, and without any limits so if we can sort of build that locally and give people an opportunity to join … a really exciting, positive event, it’s only a good thing.”
Ability Links Orana Far West team leader Cassie Gardner was cheering as soon as she heard about the wheelchair event. And so were we.
If you’ve always wanted to give the Dubbo Stampede a go, think about Sharnie and simply hit ‘enter’.