Running event close to the heart

Mark and Fanta at last year’s Run to the Roof event

Senior Constable Mark Penfold, a bomb dog handler of the Explosive Ordnance Response Team and his Police Dog Fanta will be taking to the stairs for the annual ‘Race to the Roof’ on Friday, October 31 at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Senior Constable Penfold and PD Fanta ran the event last year raising vital funds for cardiovascular disease research, a cause Senior Constable Penfold is all too familiar with as a survivor of open heart surgery.

Senior Constable Penfold said the 13 floors and 288 steps aren’t as tough as they sound.

“I’m not worried about the run. It’s all over in about four minutes and if I can’t make, Fanta will drag me up.”

This year almost 200 participants have registered for the popular event which starts in the RBWH foyer and finished on the hospital’s helipad.

PD Fanta is a popular participant, getting lots of pats. He even wears his own running shirt to fit in.

“It’s a fun event, you have doctors in costumes, people running carrying stretchers, guys in wetsuits. I’m nowhere near close to being the strangest with a dog,” Senior Constable Penfold said.

The race aims to promote the importance of enjoying healthy lifestyles.

Support cardiology research at Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospital by making a donation to RBWH Foundation at www.rbwhfoundation.com.au or 07 3646 7588.

The event kicks off at 7.15am for 7.30am race at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital main entrance on Butterfield Street, Herston.