WE HAVE unearthed another charitable Canberra entrant in the Sydney City to Surf foot race. Rebecca Rudd, of Bungendore, will hit the pavements in support of god-daughter Olivia Lambert, of Ngunnawal, who was featured on 60 Minutes on Sunday and on local radio on Monday. Four-year-old Olivia, who has a rare and aggressive form of childhood cancer, neuroblastoma, has endured many months of debilitating chemotherapy at Sydney Children's Hospital. Rudd says Olivia, fighting against very big odds, is a source of inspiration. Rudd trains for the 14km run five days a week and has a fund-raising target of $3000. All funds raised will go directly to the Olivia Lambert Appeal, managed by the children's hospital. Rudd has known Olivia's mother, Kirsty, for more than 10 years: the pair met through the teaching profession. ''I would do anything for Olivia and her family. She is the most precious little girl and deserves people out there to fight alongside her,'' she says. ''Fourteen kilometres doesn't seem so far when you compare it against what Olivia is up against.'' The public can make donations at Rudd's page on the City to Surf website.
Sale goes begging
BIKE enthusiast Ken Begg has been avidly watching SBS's nightly Tour de France coverage, with particular interest in the well-performing Team Columbia. On the team though not competing in the tour are high-profile Australian cyclists Oenone Wood, of Canberra, and Michael Rogers. But looking for team merchandise posed a slight hurdle. ''I was keen to purchase one of their jerseys. However, when I went online, Australia did not exist,'' he says. ''A visit to the website reveals no Australia in the shipping list for purchases... Aruba, Armenia, Afghanistan, but no Australia. A curious omission for a team which boasts [it] comes from 14 different nations.'' Curious and curiouser.
Marathon effort
MORE sporty types doing sporty things. More than 300 competitors have entered Saturday's Bush Capital Bush Marathon Festival, which begins at Canberra High School. The festival offers a smorgasbord of running events over different distances, and bushwalking events that showcase much of Canberra Nature Park's best terrain. The marathon and 60km ultra-marathon follow management trails in Mt Ainslie, MtMajura, Goorooyarroo and Mulligans Flat nature reserves, while the shorter distances are confined to the Ainslie-Majura reserve. Among the 60km ultra-run entrants is 31-year-old Canadian Jesse Bergman who emailed race director John Harding with a few concerns: ''Should I worry about snakes/scorpions/spiders? We pretty much have no poisonous animals like these in Ontario, Canada, so I'm never concerned ... and I have lots of safety skills, but with regard to bears, which obviously is irrelevant for koalas! So, should I for example have a bell for wildlife? Is there a trick for avoiding deadly bites? What do I do if there is a snake in my path?'' The entrant has been reassured he will not have to worry too much about creepy-crawlies in midwinter and can enjoy watching kangaroos along the way without fear of attack. All he needs to do now is look out for those drop bears.
Alarming answer
IN RESPONSE to yesterday's item on the weird and wonderful things children say, Evelyn Bean, of Ainslie, wrote in, ''My four-year-old great-granddaughter, Amelia, was asked what she would like her Grandpa and Grandma to bring her back from their Canada trip. ''An alarm clock,'' she replied. Whatever for? asked Grandma? ''So I can wake up in time to go to school.'' Oh, to be a little 'un again.