Sons of the West participant, Jonathon Manallack is joining Team Bulldog in this year’s Melbourne Marathon.
Raising funds for the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, Jono is walking to achieve his own fitness goals and give back to the club that helped him along his physical health journey.
Losing an impressive 40 kilograms since his arrival at Sons of the West in 2014, Jono has remained an integral part of the program through acting as a leader for new participants.
Committing to the 10-kilometre walk, Jono has made it his aim to complete the event in under 2 hours.
“I am honoured to be a part of this amazing race to help a great cause and I’d really appreciate support in this endeavour”, he said.
“In preparation for this race, I pledge that I'll walk 300 kilometres between now and October 15, 2017 so that I can achieve my goal of completing this event in under 2 hours”.
The impressive commitment from Jono stems from his initial motivations to join Sons of the West back in 2014 when he aimed to get his physical and nutritional health on track.
“I needed to do something about my physical health as I had been sick for a number of years,” Manallack said when asked about joining Sons of the West.
“I heard that the club was running this Sons of the West program so I thought I’d come along,” he said.
With his main objective to lose weight, Jono worked closely with Sons of the West dieticians and club legend, Tony Liberatore to monitor his food intake.
Liberatore told Bulldogs TV about the steps he took to assist Jono in his impressive weight loss.
“I met Jonathon at the start of the program and we corresponded by email after he had come to me and asked how he could lose some weight” he said.
“We worked together on creating a program for him, specifically a food diary,” Liberatore said.
Jono thanked the Sons of the West program for helping him reach a level of health that has allowed him to attempt the 10 kilometre walk.
“I feel that its time that I gave back to the program that over the past four years, has helped save my life and got me to the point where I can now attempt to walk this distance,” he said.
“That's why I will be walking on October 15th 2017 to help fund this program into the future”.
To help Jono reach his fundraising goal for the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, please visit https://melbournemarathon2017.gofundraise.com.au/page/JonathanManallack
To run alongside Jono and Team Bulldog in the Melbourne Marathon, please follow the below steps.
Step 1 – Register here and choose from one of these events
- 3km Walk, 5.7km Run, 10km Run, 21.1km Half Marathon, 42.195 Marathon
- Complete registration
◦Select “Another Charity not listed here” in the “Who will you be fundraising for?” section
◦Enter “Western Bulldogs Community Foundation” in the “Which charity will you be fundraising for?” section
◦Select “Team Bulldog” in the “Select a Team” drop down list
Step 2 –Set up your online fundraising page here.
- Select “Start Fundraising”
- Find “Western Bulldogs Community Foundation” in the “Select a Charity” section
- Complete the GoFundraise registration
- Fundraise as an individual or as a team
To be eligible for the Team Bulldog Racer Kit and Rewards you must be registered on the GoFundraise site and selected “Western Bulldogs Community Foundation” as your chosen charity.
Step 3 – Personalise your Melbourne Marathon fundraising page
Step 4 – Keep an eye on your inbox for updates from the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation
For more information or questions contact foundation@westernbulldogs.com.au. If you wish to donate, click here.
Melbourne Marathon
Date: Sunday 15 October 2017
Event times: Times vary, visit Melbourne Marathon for more information
Location: Batman Avenue to the MCG
Events: 3km Walk, 5.7km Run, 10km Run, 21.1km Half Marathon, 42.195 Marathon
