By Alexandra Fairfield-Smith
Charlie Wake thought raising a few hundred dollars for cancer would be a win.
Instead, the Bond University student and Bull Sharks Colts rugby player raised more than $5,000 after dedicating his first Gold Coast Marathon to his father, who was diagnosed with cancer late last year.
"I was genuinely flabbergasted," Wake said.
"I was speechless. I set the donation page goal to $500, expecting maybe $100, $200, or $300. Within 15 minutes, it was at $450, and within an hour, it had hit $1,000.”
The overwhelming response quickly showed Wake just how many people have been touched by cancer.
"It became pretty clear that every single person has a connection to cancer, whether that's their family, their friends or even family friends," he said.
After his father's diagnosis, Wake said turning his bucket list goal of completing a marathon into a fundraiser was an easy decision.
"My dad’s whole philosophy while he was fighting his cancer was the idea that he wouldn’t let the cancer kill him. He would kill the cancer," Wake said.
"He really went above and beyond and, as he likes to say, “grab life by the balls and attack it, rather than sitting back and letting life come at you.”
Balancing the marathon training with his commitments to Bond's Colts rugby program wasn't always easy.
"I was training quite hard in March, but I found it became a bit too hard with rugby because I wanted to be fresh on game days,” he said.
"I probably didn't take the run too seriously until about a month ago."
Despite that, Wake comfortably worked his way through the first 30 kilometres, fuelled by the atmosphere and adrenaline.
He had to dig a little deeper in the final stretch.
"The last seven or eight kilometres became really, really hard," he said.
"It was never really an option to stop, though, because of the money I'd raised and the cause I was doing it for. When it got tough, I definitely used that as fuel to keep going."
Wake crossed the finish line in 3.30.41 before immediately reaching for his phone.
"The first thing I did was FaceTime my dad," he said.
"He had the whole livestream up on his phone from Melbourne. He was really proud of me. He actually cried. It was pretty emotional."
Wake hopes his experience encourages others to back themselves if they're thinking about fundraising for a cause close to their heart.
"Just go ahead and do it if it's on your mind," he said.
"I was really nervous to put it out there, but so quickly I realised how much support you actually have around you from your friends and family, and even extending beyond that."