Over 24 hours last weekend at Lennox Head, 300 runners from near and far helped raise thousands of dollars to fight DIPG, a cancer which has taken the lives of many young Australians.
The OX100 event honours local girl Frankie Fitzgerald, who lost her life to the disease four years ago.
Her family and others who have been tragically affected by DIPG were amongst the runners who joined the event, 98 of whom ran 100 km solo over 24 hours, with others competing the distance in teams, running laps on the road behind Lake Ainsworth and also from the Lennox surf club up to Frankie’s memorial tree.
The CEO of RUNDIPG is Jo Bennett, who spoke to the Echo together with Professor Matt Dun, who started the event and also lost his daughter to Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), which affects the brain.
Ms Bennett said there was still fundraising money coming in, with the total currently standing at an extraordinary $240,000.
‘Many of the people here are local Lennox residents. Plus, we’ve got runners travelling from Sydney, New Zealand, Melbourne, everywhere!’
Impressive humans
Lennox local and regular OX100 participant Edwina Flower told The Echo she’d run 75 km over the weekend. ‘There was a really good turnout this year, and just like all previous years, a really electric feeling on the course.
‘Great vibes! Yeah, so many impressive humans just putting it all out there.’
Ms Flower said this was her third year in the event. ‘ I didn’t personally know Frankie, but I feel like Lennox is an incredible community to be part of. The legacy that she’s left is just incredible, the way it’s brought all these people together, whether they knew her or not.
‘And the rainbow that appeared over Frankie’s tree for the community run at 5pm last night was incredible.’
Some of the 300 participants ran right through Saturday night, under lights, to complete their 100km. This year there was a formal laps counter board to record each runner’s achievement.
DIPG/DMG
Professor Matt Dun said, ‘It’s a really important event to raise awareness of the disease that we focus on, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, otherwise known as DMG, which takes more young Australians than any other cancer and has no effective treatment.
‘One of the beautiful young children that was diagnosed here in Lennox Head, Frankie Fitzgerald, passed away a number of years ago, and her community got behind this event. Obviously, it’s a very fit and outdoor-loving community who helped put this together, and we’ve supported the event since the start.’
Professor Dun says that as a medical expert, as well as being personally affected, he and the other families have found a bond between the science, the medicine, and as parents.
The RUNDIPG charity organises other fundraising running events held as far afield as Newcastle, Frankston in Victora, and Western Australia, coming up next.
‘That one’s called Run for Ahlia. If anyone’s from over there, please go and jump on board.’
Jo Bennett said every year at Lennox Head is bigger and better, with more numbers expected in 2027. ‘So as soon as registrations open, get in early if you want to participate. It’s a great fundraising event.
‘We raise funds for obviously DIPG/DMG, and brain cancer research. That’s really important because we’re not government funded.’
Photos by David Lowe:
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