Chris Jackson
AFTER a year free from cancer, Chris Jackson plans to eclipse his time for The Sunday Mail Suncorp Bridge to Brisbane.
All in the name of beating his brother, of course.
Healthy rivalry between close brothers Chris, 26, and Brendan, 25, spurred Chris, who had just finished chemotherapy, to take part in last year’s fun run.
It still rankles that Brendan finished well ahead.
“I’m usually a better long distance runner but I was struggling, especially towards the end,” Chris (pictured) said.
“He got me by five minutes and I want to smash him this year.”
Chris discovered he had testicular cancer early last year but after several months of treatment he was declared to be in recovery.
He has a check-up every six weeks because there is an increased chance the cancer will reappear within two years.
“Training for the race was something to keep me occupied, to get me off the couch” he said.
“I did it in 1hr 8min but I plan to get in the mid-50 minutes this year. I was told I would lose weight with the chemo so I ate a lot and ended up putting on weight.
“(The fun run) was a good way to get rid of that.”
This year Chris has been training by running around his hilly Shailer Park neighbourhood in Logan City.
He describes the steep Gateway Bridge as a nightmare and the memory of it is enough to keep training on track.