Darren & Karen Entwistle are the founders of Running for Life.
Following some significant life-style changes in 2010, Darren successfully completed the 2011 Perth City-to-Surf Half Marathon, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, 2017 and 2018 42.2km Marathon and the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Perth Marathon. Karen has completed the 4km and 12km events
Along the way Running for Life raises money for Ovarian Cancer Australia in memory of Karen’s Mum, Maureen Trappel, who lost her fight with Ovarian Cancer in June 2011.
We will keep running as long as we can!
The longer version
I’m not really sure where this story begins, but I keep returning to a photo from Christmas Day 2009 which scrolls past on my screensaver. Two things stand out in this picture for me. Firstly it is how large I am, unhealthily large, my shirt straining to contain me. The second is my Mother-in-law (Maureen), having been diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer a few months earlier, recovering from the extensive surgery and going through Chemotherapy; she had lost all her hair and was enjoying Christmas Day with her family.
Over time this picture played on my mind and finally on the 6 October 2010 I sent an email to my wife Karen which said that I was tired of being overweight and wanted to get skinnier and fitter and that I was enrolling in a local Boot Camp training program for 5 weeks. The next part of the email was…
I have a goal (maybe a little far-fetched) but I would like to do the City-to-Surf next year (end of August 2011). It is a 12 km event, and they say you can do it with 12 weeks of training, however I think I will need a little longer . So along with being a whole lot healthier and fitter, I have a goal…we’ll see if I make it or not….
After completing the first five weeks of BootCamp I had gained some initial fitness and then commenced a 24 week training program from RunKeeper.com which promised that I would be able to be able to go from 0 to 21.1km (half marathon). I didn’t think I could get close.
For the next 24 weeks I went to BootCamp at 6am on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays and I ran on Tuesdays, Thursdays and on the weekend. I was training 6 days a week!
On the 26 April 2011 I completed day 162 of the RunKeeper training with a 21.1km run in 2 hours and 6 minutes. I had lost about 14kg along the way, run over 500km, burnt more than 49,000 calories on top of going to BootCamp 3 mornings a week. It was during this time that I realised that I was able to complete the 12 km and set my sights on completing the half marathon (21.1km).
After I had been running for about 10 weeks my fitness was improving and as I ran my thoughts drifted to reasons to run. I didn’t want to run a half marathon for my own glory.
I wanted my sweat to mean something.
My Mother-in-law has been fighting Ovarian Cancer since September 2009 and as I was running that day she was back in hospital for treatment.
I ran the half marathon for Maureen, to encourage her, to practically show my love. There is not a lot that I can do to help her fight this disease, but I could run.
At 10:20am on the 4th June 2011, Maureen sadly passed away after a long battle with Ovarian Cancer. She will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. Maureens family invites you to remember her by contributing to Ovarian Cancer Australia. You may also like to jot a few memories down on the tribute page.
On 28 August 2011 I completed my first half marathon race in 1 hour 51 minutes.
I ran for Maureen.
I ran because we have family and friends who cannot.
I ran to raise over $5000 for Ovarian Cancer Australia who is the country’s leading organisation for ovarian cancer awareness and support.
In 2012 the Running for Life team upped the stakes!
That year I trained to run the Perth City to Surf Marathon (42.2km). I trained from 5 December 2011 for the race which was on the 26 August 2012.
Since then I have continued to run each year.
- 2012 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 4h 02m 54s
- 2013 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 4h 12m 06s
- 2014 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 4h 23m 08s
- 2015 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 4h 07m 32s
- 2016 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 3h 35m 06s
- 2017 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 3h 49m 11s
- 2018 Perth City to Surf Marathon – 3h 32m 29s
- 2016 Perth Marathon – 3h 42m 12s
- 2017 Perth Marathon – 3h 52m 05s
- 2018 Perth Marathon – 3h 45m 15s
Will you stand beside me as I run by sponsoring the team? Every little bit helps to support the great work of Ovarian Cancer Australia and to remember Maureen.
There is a passage from the Bible which continues to provide meaning and inspiration for me as I run. It was written by John; he was a follower of Jesus and later wrote down what happened. In chapter 10 he records Jesus speaking and quotes him as saying “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” I really like the way the team over at Jesus Racing (V8 SuperCar Ute racing team) interpret this “Jesus came to give Life and Life to the Full”. As a follower of Jesus, I run to live life to the Full! It also means that I can run to support those whose health does not let them.