Canberra nurse and midwife Courtney Sandell used to hate running.
"My partner is an ultra-marathon runner and I thought it was just stupid. "Who does that? Running? Ugh?'," she said.
Courtney, 27, of Denman Prospect, reluctantly started running when the gyms closed during the COVID lockdown and she needed a release from the pressure of working at the time as an intensive care nurse. And she hasn't stopped.
Sunday marks her 1000th day of running, which she will spend completing the 10km event in the Mother's Day Classic around Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, while also fundraising for breast cancer research. There is also a 5km course, with the option to run or walk either.
The Mother's Day Classic raises money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation funding breast cancer research to create a future of zero deaths from the disease. Participants this year are also invited to walk or run in support of ovarian cancer research.
Breast cancer research is a cause close to Courtney's heart. Her mother Natalie Sandell was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, when she underwent chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.
In 2019 and 2020, Natalie received the news the cancer had spread to her brain, with expectations it probably would not go any further.
After a routine yearly check-up, Natalie was recently diagnosed with further metastatic breast cancer, with the disease spreading to other organs including the heart.
"It's not curable, there's no cure for metastatic breast cancer," Courtney said.
"Mum is now undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy."
Sunday's run in the Mother's Day Classic is "super, super special" to Courtney, who is a nurse and midwife at the Canberra Hospital and also works one day a week at the Cooleman Court Pharmacy, dispensing immunisations. She has been working at the pharmacy for 13 years, since it was an after-school job.
"They've supported me from the very beginning," she said.
Courtney is doing the Mother's Day Classic for her mum - but also her sister, her sister-in-law, any woman who could get breast cancer in the future.
"I'd really like to see a cure in my lifetime," she said.
"Unfortunately for mum, a cure may not come in her lifetime. It may be too late. But I want a cure. I don't want other people to go through what she has gone through."
Courtney also emphasised the importance of attending breast checks and "knowing that mammograms are actually free from 40 years old, not 50 which is what is advertised widely".
Courtney's interest in running was piqued when she saw someone in America on Instagram who had run every day for 19 years.
"I thought, 'Wow, I hate running'," she said, with a laugh. "But it was the beginning of the lockdowns and all the gyms were shut and I thought, 'Maybe I can do this for two or three weeks."
As the lockdowns dragged on, Courtney continued running.
"By the end of the ninth week, I realised I actually loved running," she said.
Courtney's mum Natalie has never let the breast cancer diagnosis stop her from enjoying life. On Sunday, she'll be paddling on the lake in the dragon boat for breast cancer survivors, Dragons Abreast, while Courtney is running in the Mother's Day Classic. They might even be able to wave to each other.
"She's amazing," Courtney said.
"She's been a single mum since I was 12 and my parents were divorced and she was the sole parent. She always supported us and encouraged us."
- Register here for the Mother's Day Classic,
