Meet your Australians - 2025 ACT Senior Australians of the Year Marilyn Ralston and Peter Ralston OAM. ACM is proud to be media partner for the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards.
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00:00Achilles Running Club is a club for people with a disability who get together with volunteers
00:08to enjoy the health benefits of walking and running.
00:12We started the club in 2013, our impact has meant we've met hundreds of people and guided
00:24numerous people with disability, they've had vision impairment or mental or physical impairments.
00:32We have an amazing group of volunteers from all walks of life in Canberra, young and old.
00:40It's not a competitive running or walking club, we match guides with the athlete's capability
00:47or the goals that they set themselves.
00:51Over the years since we've started, there's been numerous highlights of trips away, city
00:59to surf, Run Melbourne, Orange Festival every year, thousands of park runs, so those are
01:11achievements that we are proud of.
01:14It's giving our athletes an opportunity to move more confidently in their community,
01:22to engage in the community, to answer questions that people may pose, particularly if people
01:29don't recognise the cane.
01:31Well there's 5 million people with disability in Australia and there's 50,000 in Canberra
01:39so there are a number of opportunities there for a change of culture and an awareness by
01:47everyone of what we can do for 5 million people with a disability.
01:53What inspired me was actually being able to work and encourage people with a disability
02:01to join mainstream running and walking groups.
02:06The enjoyment that I see on the faces of our people when they finish a run.
02:13One lady said to me at the conclusion, she said that was amazing, I just felt like a
02:19bird and it was very, very special.