You must face a few hurdles during your training – rain, cold weather, wind. How do you train and stay motivated when all the elements are against you?

Can Too has the saying "WE TRAIN RAIN, HAIL OR SHINE". If you live by this motto it is easy to stay motivated. There is never a reason that you wouldn’t train, so it's simple. It's also easy for me because I train twice a week with friends and twice a week with Can Too - I do all my long runs with Can Too. It is so much easier running with support, with friends and with people cheering you in at the end of a run. You look forward to catching up with your running buddies. At Can Too I look forward to seeing the whole team and how they are progressing.

There is no way I would do the interval training/track work we do at Can Too on my own. The coaches encourage us to achieve goals and stretch ourselves to get fitter and therefore faster. We do sets, drills, stretching and conditioning work that I just wouldn’t do on my own – so it keeps me motivated.

In just 5 years, Can Too has helped many people cross the finish line of a marathon and raised over $5.5 million – that’s incredible Annie. Why do you think so many people taking up the fitness/charity challenge these days?

I think the reason so many people are taking up Can Too and the fitness/charity challenge is that they like the win/win feature of the program. They like the fact that they can get fit, have fun, make friends and have that sense of belonging yet at the same time do something for a greater cause. They are contributing to the fight against cancer and they feel good about that. Yet they are also achieving something for themselves that they never imagined they could achieve. Sadly there is no one in our community who isn’t touched by cancer. We all want to be part of finding that cure and Cure Cancer is doing that through funding young Australian Researchers.

People want to feel a sense of belonging in this busy world – Can Too gives that. They want to part of something bigger than themselves. People are genuinely good, they just need a vehicle for that expression. For many, Can Too has become that vehicle.

Obesity is becoming a really big issue and we know that by joining programs like Can Too we can stave off obesity or lose weight – what ever the need may be. We know that by exercising we too are playing our part in preventing cancer and other illness. It is only good that comes out the fitness/charity challenge.

GOODLUCK to Annie and all the ‘Can-Tooer’s who are running in the Blackmores Sydney Running Festival! To sign up for a Can Too Running or Swimming program, and to help find a cure for Cancer, visit cantoo.org.au