Friends run first marathon for their dads

Roachelle Ingerson and Jax Winslow have been friends since meeting at the starting line of a half marathon at Rabbit Island eight years ago.

So, when their dads recently died within four months of each other, they decided to do something special to honour their memories.

“We’re running our first marathon in Queenstown this November to fundraise for the Nelson Tasman Hospice,” says Roachelle.

Jax says both their dads were shown so much care, love and support by hospice staff that fundraising for them made perfect sense.

“There is a funding shortfall for Nelson Tasman Hospice of $2.5 million each year to provide specialised palliative care. We want to give back by doing this.”

Roachelle’s dad Denis died in Nelson Tasman Hospice after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer last September.

“It’s his first anniversary this week,” says Rochelle. “I told him just before he died that I’d run a marathon for him and, in November, I will.”

Jax was a carer for her dad, Hal, in his later years and hospice provided much-needed respite care.

“It gave me a welcome break. They provide such a valuable service.”

Her dad died in January, which brought the friends even closer.

“It’s hard when you lose a parent and knowing Roachelle had been through it just months before meant we could support each other.”

Roachelle says they’ve started to ramp up their training sessions despite all the recent wet weekends.

“We have been out in all weathers, wind, rain and even snow, but you have to suck it up as you don’t know what the conditions will be like on the actual day.”

Jax reveals the key to their training success so far has been Christmas cake.

“It’s perfect, as it’s moist and easy to eat while you are running, and the dried fruit gives us a real boost – there’s no brandy in it though.”

At Level 2, the marathon can’t go ahead and, as it’s only 10 weeks away, the pair are worried.

“We’ve been training so hard. If we don’t go down to Level 1 it will be tough for us,” says Roachelle.

She says if that happens, they may just do something locally instead.

“Maybe a big run to Rabbit Island and back or something like that.”

As the race is an internationally-recognised event, many Australian participants have been selling their entry tickets as it’s unlikely they will be able to travel.

“It would be awful if alert levels meant it was scrapped for us, too,” says Roachelle.

The friends are keen to gain support from locals, so if you’d like to help, visit their givealittle page.