Carina Ng will have her eyes on more than the finish line when she takes part in the 42.2 kilometre Rhino Ramble Marathon on Sunday.
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The OPSM optometrist also has a fundraising total in her sights, as she runs to support charitable eyecare organisation Onesight.
“One in seven people all around the world lack access to eye care and as an optometrist it’s something that’s close to my heart,” Ms Ng said.
“It’s about creating opportunity for people so breaking the cycle of poverty: helping a mother or father stay employed, helping children stay in school so that they can continue their education and creating opportunities for them in the future, so it makes a significant difference to the quality of lives.”
Ms Ng has previously volunteered for Onesight in remote Indigenous communities like Mornington Island, where she provided eye tests and glasses, as well as disease diagnoses and references to specialists.
Now she’s taking her support of the organisation to a new level. Sunday’s will not be Ms Ng’s first marathon – she celebrated her birthday last year at the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival.
She’s been slowly building up to this race for the last 12 weeks, training multiple mornings before work with the Vixens and Kits social group, and running up to 60kms in recent weeks.
“Having people to do it with has made a big difference,” Ms Ng said.
“Training in the cold weather has been really hard … but it’s raising funds for a great cause so those sacrifices are small compared to what we can bring to other people.”
Ms Ng will head to Vanuatu next month to volunteer with Onesight, while her husband Kelvin Chan and friend Henry D’Oliviero will shave their heads for the cause on Saturday.
