Pyrmont mum runs for kids

By William Brougham

A Pyrmont mother will be running in this year’s City2Surf race to raise funds for the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Christina Lilley was inspired to take part in the 14 kilometre competition following the birth of her daughters Penny and Emily.

“My identical six year-old twins were born seven weeks early and needed neonatal care, so the paediatric hospital is very close to my heart,” she said.

Her other reason for running is to be a role model for her own children as she spent many years overweight before losing 45 kilograms since their birth.

“It goes without saying that having babies changes your life.

“I lost a lot of weight after I had the babies so I needed to change my life for them,” she said.

Christina works along side the special events team at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and says the patients are never far from her mind.

“It is because of valuable competitions that our hospital is able to develop its research.

“It means we can improve the level of care for the children and the families of patients so it is crucial we try and contribute where ever we can,” she said.

The annual City2Surf race begins in Hyde Park and ends at Bondi Beach with a record 76,000 runners taking part last year.

This is Christina’s second time in the event and she is determined to beat the time of 93 minutes she set two years ago.

To achieve this she says she is training hard for the challenge which takes place on Sunday August 8.

“I was running weekly any way but having a target like City2Surf means that your training is a little more structured and disciplined.

“I went out yesterday and was out for 75 minutes,” she said.

Christina says she has had a lot of support from family, friends and colleagues.

“Everyone knows I have a real passion for this sort of thing so they’re certainly behind me in spirit.

“My friends and colleagues at work are sponsoring me to run so I’m getting there,” she said.

The Children’s Hospital at Westmead is the largest paediatric hospital in New South Wales and cares for 70,000 sick children each year.

Last year runners raised almost $64,000 for the hospital and all money will be spent on improving patient services, new equipment and research into childhood illnesses.