Holly Wright and the team have been promoting Wagga’s Mother’s Day Classic event at the Marketplace. Photos: Supplied.
Mother’s Day is approaching fast and the team behind Wagga’s Mother’s Day Classic 5 km run is keen to lock in your support for the important fundraising event.
Holly Wright and Phillipa Aldridge are getting the final elements in place and expect a big turnout at the Riverside precinct this Sunday.
“It’s been a huge job; we’ve got over 130 people registered and we anticipate a few more runners in the last few days,” Holly said.
“The course is all set out for the full 5 ks and we’re going to have a range of extra things like a wonderful Welcome to Country, a wonderful warm-up and plenty more.”
The Mother’s Day Classic is an annual event that has been held since 1998 and raises funds to ”stop breast and ovarian cancers in their tracks”.
Some $44 million has been raised over the years for the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the cause was expanded this year to include the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.
It is staged at around 80 locations across the country, and Wagga Wagga City Council has backed this year’s run.
“It’s a 5 k run [or walk] from the Riverside Precinct up to the highway at Hammond Avenue along the levee bank,” explained Phillipa.
“It’s a fully accessible route up and back again, with a drink stop along the way, and we’ve got live entertainment along the route as well.
“We have the Murrumbidgee Magic Choir booked in along with the Wagga City Rugby Male Choir and the Wagga Pipe Band.
“And from Sydney we’ve got a group coming called The Ukumamas. They get dressed up in ’50s clothes and they are donating their time to perform on the course.”
Runners are encouraged to dress up and wear pink on the day.
As well as the Mother’s Day Classic run/walk, the team is promising a carnival atmosphere with activities for the kids.
“We want it to be a really fun, celebratory way to start Mother’s Day,” Phillipa said.
“Obviously, it’s a great chance to get on the front foot with your health, but it’s also something really enjoyable for people to participate in and come down in their pink outfits and costumes.”
While more volunteers are needed to help support the runners on the course, Phillipa said the community had been “wonderful”.
“We’ve had really positive support from the community and people have been amazing in terms of some of the prizes that have been donated, and the groups who are fundraising have reached hundreds and thousands of dollars,” she said.
The Wagga Marketplace, whose parent company ISPT is a national sponsor of the Mother’s Day Classic, has also been supporting the local event.
“The Wagga Marketplace has been phenomenal and we’ve had a display there and we’ve had a table and been signing people up,” Phillipa said.
“We’ll be down there again on Saturday the 11th of May for early bib collection and for late rego, so people can come down and see us before the day.”
You can sign up for Wagga’s Mother’s Day Classic 5 km run through the official website and keep up to date with plans for the local event through Facebook.
“We want the event to be big, but ultimately, it’s about that fundraising and we want to get a significant amount of money to go towards breast and ovarian cancer to really see an impact there,” Phillipa said.
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