The Indigenous Marathon Foundation

A health promotion charity using running to change lives and create inspirational Indigenous leaders. To fundraise visit http://footprints. gofundraise.com. au

The Indigenous Marathon Foundation is not a sporting program, but a healthy education initiative that provides funding to assist Indigenous communities to promote running, healthy lifestyles and to complement existing Indigenous community health initiatives.

The Project annually selects a group of young Indigenous men and women (aged between 18-30) to take part in the world famous New York City Marathon with just six months of training. This highlights the incredible natural talent that exists within this population, with the hope to one day unearth an Indigenous long-distance running champion to take on the African dominance.

The core running squad push their physical and mental boundaries to beyond what they ever thought they were capable of, and after crossing the finish line of the world’s biggest marathon, they know they can achieve anything.

These runners are trained to become healthy lifestyle leaders by completing a Certificate IV in Health and Leisure, with a focus on Indigenous Healthy Lifestyle. This qualification is used to promote community based health and exercise initiatives including the Deadly Fun Run Series.

Runners become role models within their communities and are leaders in the promotion of health and physical exercise in order to address the high instances of chronic disease such as diabetes, heart disease and renal failure.