Sophie Smith Sets Her Sights On $1 Million Mark

By Belinda Findlay on February 6, 2013 in News

For those of you who’ve been hiding under the doona or living in denial on the couch, you may not have heard of the amazing Sophie Smith and her equally inspiring husband, Ash. We’ve written about them in The Beast on a number of occasions, usually at this time of year.

Sophie an Ash are Eastern Suburbs locals, from Randwick, and they’re the parents of five beautiful sons: Henry, Jasper, Evan, Owen and Harvey. Tragically, their first-born triplets – Henry, Jasper and Evan – lost their brave struggle for life in 2007 after their extremely premature arrival at 24 weeks.

“After our little boys died Ash and I talked about them all the time. We were determined they’d never be forgotten and that something good would come from their lives,” recalls Sophie.

Never a truer word was spoken. After their tragic passing Sophie set up the Henry, Jasper and Evan Smith Trust Fund, which raises funds to buy life-saving equipment for critically ill and extremely premature babies at the Royal Hospital for Women.

The main source of fundraising for the Henry, Jasper and Evan Smith Trust Fund is Sophie’s annual Running for Premature Babies team in the SMH Half Marathon.

This year is the seventh that Sophie has organised a team to run the half marathon. If you choose to make a difference to the lives of tiny babies and do your bit by joining Sophie’s team, you’ll be one of a 400-strong team – her biggest yet – to complete the 21.1km course past some of Sydney’s greatest views and landmarks. And, all things going to plan, you’ll help raise the $250,000 needed to bring Sophie’s total fundraising efforts over the last seven years to an outstanding $1million!

So dust off your running shoes, grab a friend or two and register today to help Sophie reach her amazing goal. This year’s Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon is on Sunday 19 May, so there is still plenty of time to get yourself ready.

You don’t have to be fit, you don’t have to be a good runner, you don’t even have to know Sophie or anyone else who’s been affected by prematurity or pre- or post-natal loss. You just need to love meeting people, making friends, having fun, and, whether you like it or not, getting extremely fit.

For more information about Sophie Smith’s story and Running for Premature Babies, jump online and check out www.runningforprematurebabies.com.