Running for Molly

This is Molly. She was a wife and mother to two boys. She was a dedicated waitress at the café where she’d worked for 28 years, beloved by her colleagues and the regular diners. She was such a special figure in her community that kids she’d watched grow up over the years would stop by the café to say goodbye before heading off to university or overseas. She was a runner, having completed six Surfers Challenge races in her hometown of East London, South Africa. She was training for her seventh when she was brutally attacked and killed after returning home from a run and finding intruders in her house.

I’m Claire, an Australian who married a South African from East London. I knew Molly from frequenting the café where she worked every time we visited South Africa since 2006. Molly knew my husband’s family well. She knew us, even though we only saw her every year or two. She saw our two kids grow up, too. I last saw Molly in January when we said goodbye at the end of our latest trip. We hugged and she asked when we’d be back. ‘A couple of years,’ I said. ‘See you then,’ she said. Apparently, it was not to be.

I, too, am a runner. I’d love to take on the Surfers Challenge one day. My current ambition is to run a half marathon in Sydney in May. I run for myself, for my own goals, and rarely let anyone know when I’m going to do a race. This time is different. This time I’m running for Molly and the race she never got to finish. The 21km distance is definitely going to be tough for me, having only ever run 14km so far. Please support me to run this race for her and raise some money for her devastated family who have lost their rock and a source of income. My attorney father-in-law has set up a trust account for this very purpose so any funds raised will go directly to Molly’s family. Please give whatever you can.