Good health is ultimately a matter of life and death, but few are so acutely aware of the link as Julie Griffin.
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Twenty-six years ago, Ms Griffin's mother was diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition and immediately received quadruple bypass surgery. The illness came as a shock to Ms Griffin's large family - her mother was fit and active, never smoked and rarely drank.
''Mum had none of the normal symptoms, all she had was little bit of nausea. She was very healthy and very active,'' Ms Griffin said.
Ms Griffin and her five siblings all immediately put themselves through health checks after the shock of their mother's surgery, and despite also leading fit and active lifestyles, four of the children returned results for very high cholesterol.
''It was a wake-up call for all of us,'' Ms Griffin said.
Ms Griffin's mother is still going strong at the age of 80, but now the entire family is engaged in constant monitoring of each other's health.
''It's pretty cool the way we're always checking up on each other,'' Ms Griffin said.
The family quest for fitness and health lead Ms Griffin to buying her own gymnasium, Curves Fitness in Weston Creek. Next weekend, the ACT Curves group will field 80 entrants in The Canberra Times Fun Run.
''We're all doing the [5km] walk, because the youngest is 14 and the oldest 73, so we chose the event everyone could enter in together,'' Ms Griffin said.
The event seeks to raise money for the Heart Foundation and this year has a target of $30,000. Close to a million dollars has been raised for the Heart Foundation by the fun run since the 1990s.
Late entries for The Canberra Times Fun Run, to be held tomorrow week, close tomorrow.
