PROJECT ZERO - RUN LIKE A GIRL AUSTRALIA
Community, Connectedness and Conversation; A story of the Wave Inspire Project Zero and Run Like A Girl Australia
The Wave Inspire Project Zero is a collaboration between Mizuno and the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF), with $20 per pair sold donated to the NBCF.
The Mizuno Wave Inspire Project Zero is more than just a running shoe. The shoe pays homage to the vital work of the NBCF in fighting breast cancer that affects so many Australians every day. Working tirelessly over the past thirty years, the NBCF continues drive world-class research and treatment that gets us closer to Project Zero; achieving zero deaths from breast cancer.
We are so lucky to have this funding, research and amazing health outcomes at our doorstep, but on a day-to-day basis we are often detached from this bigger picture. The smaller, yet equally important picture comes from the community, connectedness and conversations we can have on a daily basis, as a means of supporting with the realities of breast cancer.
When we recently spoke to Dani Bryan, Mel D'Souza and Ashlea Wainwright from Run Like A Girl Australia, the ability to support each other through difficult times by using avenues like running, is encouraging and inspiring.
Founded by Dani in 2017, Run Like A Girl Australia is a female identifying running group that coaches members through in-person and digital methods to help them achieve their physical goals. Within this individual programming is a community of different personalities with a similar interest in connecting and supporting each other with running and beyond.
Dani stretching in the Wave Inspire Project Zero
Dani's touchpoint to breast cancer came early in her adult life when her best friend was diagnosed at 22. The sudden impact of her friend's diagnosis reminded Dani of how fragile life could be, where a disease like breast cancer had the potential to impact people so close to home, irrespective of factors like age.
"In my early 20s I was feeling invincible. I had my health, but was focusing on getting fitter and doing fun things around work. It never occurred to me that I could get sick at that age. My friend's experience was a reality hit, " said Dani.
Beginning running, it was initially a difficult task. Yet within the journey to great fitness, an overwhelming sense of freedom came from putting one foot in front of the other.
This feeling was amazing, so Dani wanted to spread it wider. After receiving an employment redundancy, Dani went back to Uni and became an accredited running and strength and conditioning coach. Leading to the creation of Run Like A Girl Australia, Dani was not only able to offer a coaching service but equally create a community that encourages openness and collective support.
Recently discovering a lump of her own requiring a biopsy, Dani is proud of the community that makes her comfortable to speak of her own challenges that this time relate to breast cancer.
"Through sharing my own journey, others shared theirs, creating a safe space to open up deeper conversations. We create trusting relationships in various ways and one of them is through sharing something that is deeply personal or vulnerable."
Mel D'Souza coaches alongside Dani and also notices the support of a community at Run Like a Girl. in supporting others through difficult times.
"Spaces like Run Like A Girl allow conversations to be had with people that've had similar experiences, to which you can share and speak comfortably and freely. These spaces are just so needed and valuable," says Mel.
Mel's vulnerability in sharing her own experience with breast cancer is further helping these conversations in spaces like Run Like a Girl.
"I was living in London (October 2020) and in the midst of COVID-19 lockdowns, was my fittest and strongest self hitting PB's often. Around this time my partner notices a small lump, but it wasn't until March 2021 that I saw a doctor about it."
Mel was diagnosed with breast cancer a week later.
"When I got the news that I was diagnosed with breast cancer and started hearing things like mastectomy, chemo, radiation and fertility treatment, I felt like I'd been hit with a sledgehammer."
While treatment over the next six months was a significant battle, Mel was able to participate in an NHS trial that centred around supporting cancer patients with exercise an additional recovery tool.
"It was nice to be out and feel like I was doing something. Some days I'd feel okay and others not so much, but exercise allowed me to gain some control back and regain agency over my body. The cancer forced me into a menopause, so strength training and running helped me negative some of the side effects.
Soon after Mel's treatment came to a positive conclusion, her experience in the program became a motivating factor in becoming a qualified running coach and commencing personal training studies, with the long-term aim to be supporting cancer patients in a similar way that she did.
As Dani and Mel note the importance of connectedness and conversations, Ashlea Wainwright speaks to the reality of breast cancer as a cruel disease that requires our ongoing vigilance.
After initially being diagnosed in 2015, Ashlea's friend tragically passed away last year.
"Before my friend was diagnosed, breast cancer was very much on the periphery and not something we really spoke about. If I ever noticed pink ribbon items, I might buy them, but it still didn't trigger me to check regularly," says Ashlea.
Now holding a greater vigilance for her own health, Ashlea checks for lumps regularly and implores people to be more proactive, before reaching a stage of doubt.
In contrast to Dani and Mel, Ashlea's running experience is relatively younger. Joining Run Like a Girl in Late 2022 and building up to a continuous, Ashlea felt the endorphin-fueled energy that came from the satisfaction of completing a goal that just eight weeks prior, seemed daunting.
Ashlea running in the Wave Inspire Project Zero
"When I'm running, all the other worries in my life disappear. It's just me and the environment. After a run those endorphins hit and the feeling stays. I end up more positive and able to move past any negative thoughts that can bog me down."
Currently working through a few niggles, Ashlea has found some alignment to running through pottery as an activity that allows us to temporarily switch off from life pressures by completing a challenging task that brings upon satisfaction.
"With pottery, while I'm at the wheel it's just me and the clary. You become hyper fixated on your hands and what the clary is doing and how to turn it into the form that you're imagining. Generally I'll feel pretty good for the rest of the day, but it doesn't have quite the same impact as running."
So while pottery may not bring the same benefit as running, Ashlea emphasises that we shouldn't dismiss how important these activities are for our own stability in a world occupied with so many distractions that can obstruct our sense of calm.
Where Dani has created a community that promotes conversation with others amidst providing support her own journey, Mel's vulnerability and Ashlea's openness will inspire many in our collectives pursuit towards zero deaths from breast cancer.
While the NBCF and other amazing organisations will continue to fight the battle through exceptional research and world-leading outcomes, vehicles like running and our vigilance for everyday health will ensure more people will get checked sooner and the conversations had with those fighting the battle are meaningful and frequent.
The Mizuno Wave Inspire Project Zero implores us to connect, support and share, for a better future for all.
The fight continues.
Many thanks to Dani Bryan, Mel D'Souza, Ashlea Wainwright and the Run Like A Girl Australia team for their participation in the article and production of photography. To find more about Run Like A Girl Australia, please visit https://www.runlikeagirlaustralia.com.au/
For more information on the NBCF, please visit https://nbcf.org.au/
For more information on Mizuno and Project Zero, please visit https://mizuno.com.au/pages/project-zero