A record 10,000 runners have competed in this year’s Sydney Morning Herald Half-Marathon, dedicated to champion Kerryn McCann.
The 18th annual event has raised $170,000 for charity, with competitors urged to donate to Breast Cancer Network Australia (BCNA) in memory of McCann. The dual Commonwealth gold medallist, who won the half-marathon a record four times, lost her battle with breast cancer in December at the age of 41. Olympic champion and cancer survivor Raelene Boyle, a BCNA board member, started the 21.1km race through Sydney’s CBD on Sunday with McCann’s son Benton by her side. She said the event had been close to her friend’s heart, and it was fitting the trophy for the female winner now bore her name. “She particularly loved this race,” she said. “I think it’s the biggest one of them and it’s all in memory of Kerryn because they loved her so much.”
Boyle said dedicating the race to McCann helped raise the profile of the network, which supports women living with the disease.