Mickey Campbell's Race Across America for Cerebral Palsy

As a sports dietitian I love a good challenge, but when I talk to people like Mickey Campbell, the challenge of getting him to the finish line healthy, performing well with less angst is probably more exciting and fun (to me) than the contemplation of actually following in his footsteps.

I have worked with a lot of endurance athletes doing crazy things, but riding for 500km a day, for 10 days with only 3 hours sleep a night is big by any standards. Every endurance athlete I have met has amazing discipline, wonderful enthusiasm and a kind heart. Mickey is no different, but the thing I admire about athletes like Mickey, is not just the fact that he is training and doing ultra events, but the fact that he continues to do this as well as being a family man and managing a good career.

Mickey will be the 2nd Australian to finish the Race Across America, and only 200 individuals have finished the gruelling race - compared to about 2000 that have summited Everest.

He is raising money for Cerebral Palsy, so if you're in Sydney on the 3rd of June, come along to his charity event in Penshurst. If you are not in Sydney, or can't make it - support Micky on this fabulous journey by donating here.

NYC Marathon for Cure Cancer

My good friend, Shannon Meiklejohn and I are running the NYC marathon for Cure Cancer in November. We have started a blog on our website about all things running, and related to our fundraising activities.

If you would like to donate to our fundraising efforts, you can do so here. Any amount helps, and all donations over $2 are tax deductible.

We are also running a brilliant workshop for those people in health and fitness that are working for themselves (or working for someone else). I am so excited about our speakers, Amanda Gore, Adam Fraser, Darren Hill, Mel Kettle and Heather Smith. We are running two events, one in Brisbane and one in Sydney and I can guarantee there will never be a better event for you if you are in, or want to be in private practice.

Finally, we have lined up some fabulous speakers, coaches, consultants and experiences for our online charity auction that will begin on June 10th. I am overwhelmed by the generosity of those who have donated their time and services. So far we have lined up speech coaches, humor coaches, social media experts, publishing experts, sales and marketing coaches and business coaches.

Here is our first post that explains why we are supporting Cure Cancer.

Cancer affects almost everyone in someway. They could be directly affected or know of a loved one who is diagnosed.  Cancer is such a big unknown – we don’t know all the causes and we definitely don’t have all the cures. We know that for some cancers, there are risk factors, but then you always hear of those people who just get it, without any clear reason. 

No-one will argue the fact that we need more research into cancer. Not just into finding the magic cure, but also in prevention, management and coping strategies for the patients, family members and carers. One trouble is that getting grants for research is not the easiest thing in the world to do, and for many Cancer researchers early in their career, being competitive for these grants is quite difficult. People go into cancer research with passion to make a difference in the world, but when there is no money to drive this passion unfortunately they are not able to go further. Young scientists finish their honours of PhD research, only to find there is no funding for them to continue their chosen career.  It is a bit of a catch 22, the researcher can’t get funding because they need more research success, but they can’t get research success without funding. 

This is why Cure Cancer is so awesome! It funds early-career researchers who are doing cancer research. This helps them get their research success so they can continue working with passion and drive to beat the big C. 

This is why we are raising money for Cure Cancer. We aren’t great runners – Shannon went for her first run in five years in November, which has now been followed with a knee arthroscopy, and Tara the former swimmer runs like a baby elephant coupled by joint problems related to Ehler Danlos Syndrome. Making the 42km, and raising $42,200 is a huge challenge for us and we appreciate your support. 

Love, Shannon & Tara

Book Trailer - The Never Ending Persuit of Perfection

I love the work that has been done on our book trailer for The Good Enough Diet.

The Good Enough Diet should have probably been titled The Good Enough "Diet". TGED is not a diet as such, but more a non-dieting approach to weight loss. We show people that they don't need to 'diet' to maintain their weight and promote a positive self image and healthy relationship with their bodies and food.

Those who have worked with me know I am passionate about people (particularly women) giving themselves some self-love and treating themselves like they treat others. In the book I have included a couple of chapters about self-acceptance, controversially titled 'It's ok to be fat'.