This month, a group of fundraisers are taking part in ‘Run the Maine’, a point-to-point Half Marathon through Central Victoria’s beautiful countryside. This will be the first Half-Marathon for all the members of the team, who have dubbed themselves ‘Not Fast But Furious’!

They are all passionate about raising funds and awareness about Parkinson’s disease, in honour of their fathers and all those in the community living with PD. We spoke with Madeleine, Lauren and Maeve all about their fundraising journey.

Tell us all about your ‘Not Fast But Furious’ fundraising team! How did it come about?

Madeleine: We were discussing amongst some friends and family, both at home and work, and realised how many of us had been affected by Parkinson’ s disease. Myself and my sister Lauren, and my sister’s best friend Maeve, had our fathers diagnosed with Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease about 4 – 5 years ago. Lots of the team are health professionals and we see how much Parkinson’s affects our community. So we decided to try and do our little bit – we chose a half marathon because many of us are far from runners and we knew it would be a real challenge (hence the name Not Fast but Furious!)

How will you be training for Run the Maine? Have you completed this event before?

Madeleine: The best thing is, no one in the team has completed a half marathon before so we are very much in the dark. We have been very lucky that we have been given tips from friends and have lots of support surrounding us. We have been building our endurance for the last couple of months. A group of us after work have been doing a weekly run – that has kept us motivated!

Maeve: I am not a natural runner so I joined a gym and have been running on the treadmill for a couple of months to train! It was too cold to run outside! I have slowly been adding more kms each week, doing interval training, and just generally pushing myself more and more.

Lauren: I have been running three times a week and trying to build up my strength as well. I have loved running with friends and family when I can, and getting out in nature when I do exercise. I have been slowly building up the kilometres per week and trying my hardest not to get too injured!

What has been the highlight of the fundraising journey so far?

Madeleine: The huge community who are cheering us along. It’s been really lovely hearing how many people are supporting this cause. We even have a little group coming to cheer us on the day.

Lauren: The highlight so far is seeing all the people getting involved for such a worthy cause. Not only seeing the love people have for my dad, but for Parkinson’s research as a whole. I think it has helped me appreciate how lucky I am to be able to run when others are not able to. I also have a deep passion for physiology so personally love seeing what research can be done from the money we have raised for this worthy cause.

What drives your commitment to fundraising for Parkinson’s research?

Madeleine: First and foremost we want a cure, but we also want early detection. It wasn’t until our loved ones were diagnosed once the motor/physical symptoms were really apparent that we were confronted with the fact that there were so many non-motor symptoms that could potentially have been early indicators of Parkinson’s. When we did more research into it and we understood that even by the time physical symptoms are noticeable that so much had already happened neurologically, we just wished we could have picked it up sooner!

Download a free infographic about some of the signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Maeve: My dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s a number of years ago now and it had been a slow shift in our family to adapt to it. While my Dad is still relatively active, learning about the disease and seeing a shift in my Dad has been difficult, so any little bit of money and awareness that can go towards this issue is important! Shake it Up Australia does such fantastic work, and being apart of this initiative is so inspiring. I hope through this, that we can collectively help to further research and  knowledge on the disease.

Lauren: The biggest drive is a personal one to me, as my dad has now lived with Parkinson’s for 3 years. Trying to make the most of my time with him and seeing him still thrive whilst living with Parkinson’s inspires me everyday to want to keep raising money and awareness for him and all others living with the disease

Why did you choose to raise funds for Shake It Up?

Madeleine: We love all the amazing work Shake It Up does, the fact that all money goes 100% to research is so important. We love all the support they provide to their community and they have provided to us along our fundraising journey!

What is your advice for someone else wanting to make a difference for the Parkinson’s community?

Madeleine: Anything and everything helps! Even the smallest gesture could make such a difference, whether that be through financial means or even connections! Community is so powerful.

Lauren: I think it really important to do research on the presentation of Parkinson’s and the impact it has on those living with it and their families. With saying that, I think its important to keep an open mind, as everyone presents differently with Parkinson’s and there is still a strong quality of life for those who do live with Parkinson’s.

You can support ‘Not Fast But Furious’ in their fundraising journey here.