Katie Woolf - Running for Rod

When Katie Woolf’s dad passed away 10 years ago, she channelled her heartbreak into raising awareness of the disease that took his life.

But not even Rod Woolf would have known how much impact an annual fun run on Father’s Day would have on generations of Territorians.

This year Run with Dad celebrates its 10th anniversary, and is expected to attract over 1000 people when it is held at East Point Reserve in just two weeks’ time.

“I think Rod would be sitting up there feeling pretty humbled and chuffed to see how many people turn up for a run to honour their own dads, and at the same time raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer,” Katie tells Her Territory.

"We have dads, granddads, and even great-grandads come along with their families. It is pretty special.”

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Growing up in Mount Isa as the youngest of three - and with two older brothers Ben and Kristian - Katie learnt pretty early in life that sport was always going to play a big part in her life.

“My mum was the Director of Nursing at the local hospital and had a really full-on job, so it meant my dad had to have a more hands on approach raising us than what a lot of my friends had.

“It probably meant I was raised more like one of the boys... even though Mum wanted me to be a ballerina. She had me in dance classes and doing girlie stuff and by the time I was about 10, I wanted to retire from dancing so I could play the sports my brothers were playing.

Katie and her brothers Ben and Kristian with mum Lesley and dad Rod

“Sport was such a huge part of our lives because my Dad had been a really great sportsman. He was a swimmer, boxer and football player but growing up in Mount Isa in those days the opportunities were pretty limited. He wanted his children and other kids in Mount Isa to have the opportunities he didn't have. Not just in sport but life more generally.”

As the local swimming coach, Rod took Katie to training most mornings and afternoons, which would eventually lead to Katie coaching swimming herself from the age of 13.

“The whole family taught ‘learn to swim’ every Saturday and Sunday. You'd be hard pressed to find a kid from Mount Isa who didn't learn to swim with a member of the Woolf family in the 90's.

“That sport instilled a lot of great qualities in us kids .. if you train hard you'll see the results, you learn to win and lose and you learn a lot about being resilient.

“We were raised to really believe we could do anything in sport if we trained hard. That self-belief flowed through to our whole lives and careers. We always believed we were capable of whatever challenge was in front of us.”

That belief has inarguably been the driving force that has seen Katie’s older brothers reach elite level of sport. Both coach in the NRL, with Ben the Assistant Coach for the St George Illawarra Dragons, whlile Kristian is the Assistant Coach of the Dolphins (and set to take over from Wayne Bennett in 2025).

It has also instilled in Katie a level of grit and determination that she says has guided her through both her career as Mix 104.9 FM’s popular morning talkback host, and over the years in competitive sport.

And it is a lesson that Katie and her husband Patrick Bellot have also passed on to their children Bronte, 12 and Lewis, 10.

“My Dad told me after I had Bronte he thought I’d be able to run marathons … and I remember telling him there was no way I'd ever want to run that far.

“I did my first one this year, and I was seriously struggling through the last 10km with cramps. I had a moment with about 2km to go when I'd messaged my husband while I was running to say my legs would not stop cramping.

“Pat sent Bronte to find me on the course, she could see I was in serious pain, so she held my hand and said 'you can do it Mum, this is what you've trained for' she then just ran beside me. With 1km to go, my son joined us and ran on the other side of me and said 'you can do it Mum, you’re nearly there'.

“In that moment, I thought to myself, all those lessons about being resilient and doing your best, no matter what the circumstances that Dad had taught me and I've tried to pass on to my kids... they have listened. It was a pretty nice moment for me as a parent, you support your kids and you often wonder if they notice but then when I needed it, they were there.”

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Rod passed away in Darwin in March 2013 with his wife Lesley and children by his side.

He was aged just 66 years old and had only been diagnosed with prostate cancer 10 months earlier.

"Dad had been sick for a few weeks, and we all thought he had pneumonia ... but he just couldn't seem to get better.

”Unfortunately when he was diagnosed, the cancer had already metastasized to his bones.

"He was always such a fit, strong man who had pretty regular health checks. Unfortunately he didn’t really have any symptoms.”

Six months later Katie would hold first Run with Dad, raising $20,000 in funds for Prostate Cancer research in its inaugural year. To date $200,000 has been raised for the charity, and the run has since expanded into Toowoomba.

Katie and Bronte battling it out on a run. Both kids have inherited mum’s love of sport and are involved in athletics, footy, soccer and swimming

“I guess to begin with, the run really started because I was heartbroken and it was a way to be focussed and channel that pain.

"As time has progressed you realise the main driver is actually the love and respect I have for my Dad and the fact you want other Dad's and blokes to feel that appreciation on Father's Day.

“Dad has been a big force in the sense that when things get hard, when there is a hurdle or something becomes really hard to manage or organise, you remember the reason you started the run.”

When Run With Dad comes around again on Sunday September 3, Katie says she will hold her dad close as she runs the 8km circuit.

“I miss my dad and I think of him a lot when I run.

“In the early days after he died, I used to run and listen to music and have a bit of a cry thinking about him and how I missed him.

" Now I think of him if I'm in a bit of a rut or wondering what he'd be thinking about politics or current events or if I kind of feel like I need his advice. Running does centre me, it gives me a chance to breathe and just gather my thoughts.

“My Dad's legacy has been passed on through sport. On my Dad's grave in Mount Isa, it reads 'The greatest gift a man can give is his time and belief in others'.

“That is something Dad gave not only his family, but all the kids he coached.”

Prostate cancer takes more than 3 000 Aussie men every year and is the most common cancer in men.

To register for Run With Dad go to Run With Dad : Home

Katie Woolf - Running for Rod

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