Meet the R4R Runners

Pets edition

This week we’re taking a break from the regular ‘Meet the R4R Runners’ Rag to kick off a new edition. Running for Resilience welcomes everyone and all fitness levels… and perhaps most importantly, we welcome Dogs too!

The first cab off the rank is my dog, Mate. I’m not quite sure what breed he is but he was meant to be half kelpie / half lab… Whatever his make-up, he’s a good dog. So without further ado, let’s meet Mate!'

What is your name? 

Mate, but people call me Matey. Sometimes my owner calls me ‘Oi’ in a really deep voice.

Where are you from?

I was born in Cootamundra but I’ve been in Canberra my whole life.

What's your favourite thing about Canberra? (apart from R4R obviously)

Canberra has heaps of Dog Parks and big patches of green grass to run around on.

How did you hear about R4R and when did you first attend?

My owner wouldn’t shut-up about it! I first attended at one of the first Friday mornings.

What's your favourite thing about R4R?

All the property on the foreshore that I get to add to my portfolio and all the extra pats I get.

Is there anything you'd like to see R4R do? 

R4R Branded dog collars would be awesome!

Have you ever run a marathon before? If so, how'd you go? 

Technically, according to dog kilometres, 42km divided by 7 equals 6km and that means I’m running a marathon every time I do R4R. I think I do pretty well.

Are you planning on taking part in any races or events soon?

Nothing big, I enjoy my casual R4R runs too much.

Which three people (alive or dead) would you like to run 6km with?

Good question! I’d love to meet the Dog on the Tuckerbox, he seems like such a hard worker and I’d love to know what food he was protecting! The second dog I’d like to meet is Tim’s Crow, arguably the greatest racing greyhound in history. Finally, I’d like to meet the Queen’s dogs, just to see how fancy their life is.

What does resilience mean to you?

That regardless of what you’re going through, always look for a reason to wag your tail.

When you look back on the hardest moment/s in your life, is there anything you wish you could have told yourself? 

When I was 6 months old, I got my head caught in the fence sniffing around my backyard. These bigger dogs must have thought I was breaking in and they attacked me! My owner was able to break it up before I got my chance to dish some medicine back to these dogs, but not before I fractured my skull and lost an eye. I also once ate a couple of mushrooms in the backyard and wound up in a coma for 4 days.

Both times were pretty painful and scary but if you get on with things the best you can, there’ll always be something to look forward to… even if your depth perception is out!

So if I could tell myself anything, I’d probably say “Who’s a good boy?!”… that always seems to cheer me up.

We've stopped the count on Benny A vs. Jonesy... So, who do you think takes out the R4R gift this year (both male and female)?

Jonesy is coming back from shoulder surgery and has a real fire in his belly!

Thanks, Mate. Good dog.