Photos | 200 take part in Walk 2 Work fundraiser for medical research

As the teams powered along the 8.6km route from Tynan Motors Kirrawee to Cronulla RSL Memorial Club on Tuesday this week, they were greeted by team mascots and lifeguards on stilts.

Sutherland Hospital was the halfway mark where the hard work of staff through the pandemic was also celebrated.

Morning tea was provided at Cronulla RSL before participants in the walk headed off to work.

Cronulla Sharks and St George Illawarra Dragons were among major sponsors of the annual event.

The Sharks team included a combination of Sharks at Kareela and football staff, as well as former club greats Luke Lewis, Jonathan Docking and Gavin Miller and chief executive Dino Mezzatesta.

The Dragons team included former stars James Graham, Jeremy Latimore and Jason Nightingale.

Optus was ready to greet those at the finish line with gift bags while The Property Co and Suburbanite handed out goodies inside Cronulla RSL.

La Cure had recovery covered with their compression recovery boots ready for the teams to try out on their tired legs.

Sandhurst Fine Foods and Austbrokers SPT Insurance also donated hampers that will be given out to the teams with most funds for medical research raised, best dressed on the day and biggest team registered.

Other businesses and organisations involved in the event included University of Wollongong, Sutherland Shire Council, Sutherland Shire Police, Carney Sports Marking, AFS Group, Modular Walls , Westpac, Ausbrokers SPT Insurance, Mitsubishi Australia, LDV Australia, Jamie Carroll, Kareela Grocer, Golden Carpets and Sammut Group.

The Michael Tynan Challenge is an annual event launched in 2016 to raise funds for medical research organisations, which now include University of Wollongong, St George & Sutherland Medical Research Foundation and Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).

Every dollar raised goes towards medical research to make a difference in the health and wellbeing of the local communities.

ANSTO is currently putting funds towards projects like research development in particle therapy for cancer, to better understand the relative contribution of age, immune function, microbiota and radiation in optimising outcomes of head and neck cancer treatment.

At the University of Wollongong, funds from the MTC go towards funding research scholarships in the fields of chemistry, molecular bioscience, atmospheric and life sciences, medicine and nursing.

The SSMRF put contributed funds towards developments such as the Microbiome Research Centre (MRC) which has been the most significant breakthrough for medical research in the St George and Sutherland area.

The Centre is led by our ambassador Professor Emad El-Omar and focuses on the microbiota in the gut, looking at how imbalances occur and how this can cause disease, which is a critical step in prevention.

As part of the Michael Tynan Challenge there are multiple events held throughout the year including the Drive Challenge, Race Day Luncheon and Costal Walk Challenge.

There is still time to donate to make your contribution to medical research, as every dollar counts. Visit the website below to donate, learn more and register to receive news and updates on all our future events.

Visit: https://www.michaeltynanchallenge.com.au/