As winter draws to a close, a regional Victorian specialist teacher is narrowing in on her goal to run 100km to help end preventable blindness. or signup to continue reading Georgie Green is one of more than 5600 people who have laced up for Fred's Big Run, a virtual event led by the Fred Hollows Foundation to help deliver eye care to those who need it. Participants are still calling on sponsors as they run, swim or roll to reach a target distance over the month of August.
Ms Green, 45, was inspired by a visually-impaired student of hers to join the cause. "Looking at my student's battle and how hard it is, I just thought, this is really important," she told AAP. "Nine out of 10 people who are blind don't need to be.
" Ms Green said she'd fallen out of practice since being a keen middle-distance and steeplechase runner in her university days and was recovering from plantar fasciitis, a painful inflammation in the heel. "My first run - and I had to stop every 200 or 300 metres - was only 1.7km, and my longest run was about 6.
4km," she said. "I'm really happy that I'm starting to get fit again." So far she has raised over $1000, contributing to the more than $950,000 raised nationwide.
"Next year, I'd like to do this again and smash the whole 150km and maybe set myself a really big fundraising goal," Ms Green said. The Fred Hollows Foundation trains local doctors to deliver eye care services in 25 countries and has restored sight to more than three million people worldwide. It f.