Inspiring stories at the Mother’s Day Classic
For more than a decade, the Mother’s Day Classic fun run and walk has provided communities with a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day and raise funds for breast cancer research.
And last Sunday, May 13, was no different, with more than 440 people turning up to the Bulgarra Oval to either run or walk.
Gathered around a truck before the race, MC, Margaret Bertling, spoke about the inspirational men and women out there who have and still do, deal with cancer.
Standing on the truck with Margaret, were the eight-committee members behind the Mother’s Day Classic.
“One in nine women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime,” Margaret said.
“So there’s one, two, three,” she counted the committee members.
When getting to herself, “Nine… oh,” she stopped.
“Oh wait, Narelle, she has survived breast cancer, so we’re all good,” she pointed to the committee members and herself.
“Not too sure about you guys out there though,” she and the crowd laughed.
Narelle Naulls, breast cancer survivor and Mother’s Day Classic committee member, took to the microphone and told the crowd about her journey and why the Mother’s Day Classic is so important.
“The shock and the horror is so unexplainable,” she said.
“But I learnt early on, that as a coping mechanism, I would take the mickey out of myself whenever possible.
“Some things I said were, ‘I don’t know where to finish my foundation’, ‘I got a free Brazilian wax minus the pain’ and ‘even though I lost all my hair, I still had to shave my legs’.”
You could hear the emotion and the pain of Narelle’s journey when she spoke, especially about her kids.
“My son is my little hero – when he was five, he had to be his little sister’s carer,” she said.
“But through it all, I have discovered what a wonderful community Karratha is and that is evident today.”
A minute silence was then held for those who haven’t survived the battle of breast cancer.
Before the crowd enjoyed a warm-up held by Jenna Ferreira and Shari Tindall from the Karratha Entertainment Centre, Margaret finished off the heart-felt speeches.
“When someone gets cancer, we all go through the journey with them,” she said.
“That is what today is all about, we are going on a journey with those who are suffering cancer.”
Another lady was proving that breast cancer is no match for her was Janette Yeatman.
This time last year, Janette was going through her second round of chemo and was bald as could be.
“I wanted to prove a point that if I could run the eight kms last year, then I could beat this,” she said.
“And now, I have my hair back, and I am in my two-year waiting period to see if it stays away or comes back.”
With her were her husband Mike, her son Jed and three friends, Jenny Treib and Ross and John Marks.
“These people helped me through every step of the way and last year they walked in the Mother’s Day Classic, so here we are again,” she said.
“I’m not running the eight kms this year, I’m walking, in honour of everyone who walked with me through my journey.”
To Jenny Treib, Janette is her inspiration.
“She got me out of my comfort zone, she is just inspiring.”
During the day, Izzy the Lizard was there helping with stretches before the race, the kids were able to enjoy themselves on the bouncy castles and there were also demonstrations on what to look out for in breast and testicular cancer.
After the race, participants enjoyed a free sausage sizzle put on by the Karratha Apex and SR Cakes donated more than 400 pink cupcakes, waking up early that morning to add the finishing touches.
Tags: breast cancer research, Echo, Health, Karratha, mothers day, News, Pilbara, pilbaranews, sport
