Ally, aged 43, had been feeling a little exhausted lately. She was so caught up with work and the kids and running a home, that she had put herself on the back burner. Soon she was getting almost no exercise at all. Along the way, she picked up smoking as a means to relieve the stress when the pressure got too much to handle. She had gone to the doctor just to calm the niggling at the back of her mind. “Ally, your test results show an alarming increase in cholesterol levels. Unless you take immediate measures and make some serious changes to your lifestyle, you may have long-lasting health consequences”. The next 10 minutes were the longest she had known. Every word of the doctor echoed in her head. As she walked out of the clinic she thought hard about the choices she had to make if she wanted to live a fuller, healthy life.
The statistics are not in favour of women. Cardiovascular diseases and stroke cause the death of 1 in 3 women, and approximately 1 Australian woman dying every hour of every day. Women have a higher lifetime risk of stroke than men, and fewer women than men, survive their first heart attack. Physical inactivity and poor food choices have a significant impact on a woman’s health by contributing to overweight and obesity. Currently, 27.6% of women 35-44 years of age are overweight, and another 30.7% are obese [ABS. 2014/15 Australian Health Survey].
Most of us have become busy clanking away at our computers barely walking even a few kilometres through the day. Getting more physical activity has become imperative to living longer, healthier lives. The thought of exercising can be quite daunting, and if that exercise was to run a marathon (42.2 miles) it could sound borderline crazy but that’s why, this October, a new kind of marathon needs to be run. My Marathon is a marathon, with a difference. Participants can sign up and keep track of the miles they accumulate. Every activity will count through the month of October. You may choose to complete your marathon over a day or over a month. So sign up and join in the fight against heart disease.
We, at Maria Selleck Properties, care about the Australian heart and are getting involved with My Marathon. We have pledged our support to the fundraiser because we want to raise money and make a difference. Talking to Maria, you understand why this cause is so close to her heart. Family is everything to Maria. She saw her father suffer because of heart disease and it’s something she wishes no other family to experience. So, as a team, we want to give back to the community and rally behind a charity that really stood out.
Tell your family and friends you’re participating in My Marathon and ask them to support you. The more people that know about My Marathon 2018, the greater the impact, so please also spread the word by sharing our page with your friends and family. Their donation will go towards life-saving research and the fight against heart disease.