WHEN Mandy Preston ties her laces for NewRun on Sunday, she will be picturing her late daughter Tamika, striding far ahead down the road.
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"She would be running out in front of us all - she always wanted to win," she said.
Ms Preston will have her beloved daughter’s name emblazoned across her T-shirt in hot pink, as will the 37 other members of the In Loving Memory of Tamika Preston team, who will have come from as far away as Wollongong and Taree.
The team is honouring its daughter, sister and friend by doing something she loved most.
"She was a very sporty girl who competed at the state level in netball, swimming and cross country - she wanted to be the best at everything," Ms Preston said.
"She was a very outgoing, very caring girl who was always thinking of others and just so kind."
Ms Preston noticed her daughter’s eating habits changing when she was in year 11.
Tamika moved to Newcastle at the start of 2010 to study to become a PE teacher, but her family brought her back to Gloucester in June to seek professional help for her eating disorder.
Tamika stayed for up to three months at a time at clinics and hospitals, all while continuing to work at a preschool and cafe.
"She was trying to fight it as best she could," Ms Preston said.
"She didn’t want it to be part of her life, she wrote a letter to ED saying ‘Go, I don’t want you in my life anymore, I don’t want to die’.
"But the disease was too strong."
Tamika passed away aged 22 after a cardiac arrest on March 19, 2014.
The In Loving Memory of Tamika Preston team is participating in NewRun to raise funds for The Butterfly Foundation, which supports everyone affected by eating disorders and body image issues.
"Anorexia is such a terrible disease and there’s so many people suffering but not a lot of help," Ms Preston said.
"We want to try and raise as much as possible to help the foundation help people like Tamika.
"We don’t want to see anyone else go through what we and our our family went through.
"If we can help just one person, that would be a big bonus for us."