The Stand Tall for a Cure foundation has been established by TAS Old Boy Drew Schofield from Nundle who was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy when he was 12 – and the TAS team has got right on board.

Visiting his old school last month, Drew told an Assembly that when he was first diagnosed with the disease halfway through Year 7, he had no idea what that would mean.

“Until then, I had always thought I was a just bit slower at being able to walk, run and swim. After that I wasted a lot of time thinking about what was in store next, how I would change,” he said.

“I soon realised the best way to deal with it, was to ‘own’ it.”

Facing his condition head on, he continued to live an active life, until a broken sacrum, as a result of a fall, put him into a wheelchair last year.

“Being in a wheelchair would change me as a person, but it has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life.

“Everyday I get to experience a side of humanity that sometimes seems lost or forgotten.”

Still working full time in a Sydney real estate agency, Drew plans to raise the profile of MD through the work of his foundation.

This year more TAS runners than ever before will hit the pavement from Hyde Park to Bondi.

“The school’s philosophy is that service to community should be entwined with the adventure opportunities that appeal so much to our students,” Athletics MIC Jim Pennington said.

“As an Old Boy, Drew’s story is a particularly powerful one for our students, and it is a privilege to be able to help in this way.”