Dover Fun Run

The Dover Fun Run was born out of a long-standing desire to give back to the community, in thanks for the wonderful support for the Skinner family in their time of need.

Little Annabelle was just 17 months old when she was involved in a freak accident resulting in a horrific head injury. Annabelle and her family spent anxious weeks by her side in Hobart’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the Royal Hobart Hospital. With expert care and attention Annabelle made a full recovery and is now a happy and healthy 9-year-old.

At the time of her injury, Annabelle’s parents Gemma and John became very aware of the pressures that the Hobart PICU faced, and they began to toy with the idea of holding a community fun run to support the Paediatric Unit in Hobart. After four years, they were finally able to make it happen with the support of local community group, Far South Future, and many generous volunteers.

The first Dover Fun Run was held in 2019, and attracted 250 runners, raising $7072 for the PICU. Despite Covid challenges it is now a much-anticipated annual event attended by runners and families from across Tassie.

Annabelle’s Mum Gemma said they raised over $10,000 for Hobart’s Paediatric Unit in 2023 and hope to increase this further in 2024 with over $47,000 raised in just five years.

“Annabelle’s Dad John is a Tassal employee and at the time of Annabelle’s accident Tassal were incredibly supportive, from organising working bees at our place with fellow Tassal employees, to helping with fundraising.

“When John and I finally felt like we could muster the strength and be emotionally ready we started floating the concept of a fun run and Tassal has been beside us ever since. From this, the iconic Tassal Ten was born!

“We have continued to grow adding new runs and new sponsors which is fantastic. It is so important to give back to our community that rallied to support us and ultimately give more to the PICU, however we can’t achieve this if we don’t continue to get the support from our sponsors.

“It really is a big buzz on the day, it’s such a fun family event, not only for our locals but for the many families that travel down. What blows me away each year though is our amazing volunteers. It is so so nice to see all the Tassal employees get behind it and give us this incredible support, “Gemma said.