Our hero this week is Alistair, who took on the mighty challenge of  the Brisbane Half Marathon for Parkinson’s. Alistair is inspired by his Dad who has Parkinson’s and Grandfather who had Parkinson’s.

Starting off with a small fundraising goal of $1,000, Alistair soon realised he’d need to adjust his fundraising target as his friends and family donated generously and left kind messages of support. In the end, Alistair raised $6,560 for Parkinson’s research with their help and ran the half marathon in just over 2 hours. Congratulations Alistair!

We spoke with Alistair to find out more about what motivated him to fundraise for Shake It Up.

What drives your commitment to a cure for Parkinson’s? 

My Dad has Parkinson’s, My grandfather (Dad’s father) had Parkinson’s and I wanted to do something that benefit research into Parkinson’s – not just for myself and my sons or my sister and her boys but for every family affected by Parkinson’s disease.

What did you do to shake things up and fundraise? 

I was lucky in a sense that because so many people know Dad or can relate to having a parent in a similar position that I was able to fundraise through Facebook, LinkedIn and through word of mouth.  I may have been a little annoying with talking about it too much or posting too much about it – but it was pushing the cause.

Greatest reward?

The amount of money raised.  I thought raising $1,000 would be a good amount but am just completely humbled being able to raise over $6,500.  The contributions from family, friends, work colleagues and even random strangers who stopped me on a training run to donate is mind-blowing.

What advice do you have to others looking to make a difference?

For me it was doing something that would make me push my boundaries and require some personal sacrifice (training 4 days per week).  But it’s finding an event that you are passionate about doing and just going for it – if you are invested it – people will recognise that.

You can make a difference by fundraising.

Find out more today or contact our Fundraising and Events Manager, Isobel to get started.