OH! Magazine - Australian Version January 2015 (Australian Version) | Page 9

nnie Crawford tells me that the
first time she was interviewed by
a journalist she thought she was going to
have a heart attack! It’s hard to believe
that this woman, mother of three, sought
after public speaker and winner of many
prestigious awards gets the jitters. ‘I was
absolutely terrified of public speaking,’
she says. ‘Having to get up and welcome
seven people the first night of our very
first program was really nerve-racking.’

the end of the program we had 54 people
and we raised $105,000. It has been far
more successful than I ever thought.’

The conscience decision to ‘never say no’
and ‘just do it’ as well as being
exceptionally prepared has allowed Annie

Combining her passion for health and
fitness, Can Too is primarily about
sharing this love with others, while at

A

But success wasn’t always a priority. ‘It
was more about keeping the product,
keeping the integrity of it, and making
sure people had a good experience rather
than how big it was going to grow. To be
honest, I wish I could say that I had a
five-year plan but I didn’t,’ Annie adds.

You can be altruistic and at the same time be
able to achieve a whole lot of goals for yourself.
to overcome most of her fear in a bid to
share her passion for Can Too. It’s also
this very determination that enabled
Annie to pull Can Too together in a few
months, and in a mere ten years take it
to Foundation status, a charity in its own
right. During this time Can Too has raised
$14 million for Cure Cancer Australia and
has trained over 9,500 people. Annie
believes this success is credited to having
a clear idea about the culture she wanted
the organisation to embody.
In the early days of Can Too Annie says
she often had an overwhelming fear of
failure. ‘I think the biggest challenge was
in my own head and the anxiety of whether
anybody would turn up,’ she explains.
‘Back then, every single time there was a
new program I couldn’t sleep for a week;
I’d be terrified no one would show!’
On the other hand, Annie says she also
started ‘freaking out’ at the small turn
out on that very first night. ‘I’d told Cure
Cancer Australia that I was going to raise
money for them and I had Macquarie
Bank on board and I thought, “Now I’ve
got to achieve this,”’ says Annie. ‘But by

the same time giving back to the
community. However, it’s quite clear
from our chat that, personally, Annie
has come a long way since launching
Can Too. ‘I am a much more confident
person as it’s forced me to confront my
own anxieties, to make changes and to
take responsibility for making those
changes,’ she explains. ‘I have learned
so much from all of our Can Tooers
(programs participants), causing me to
reflect on my own behaviour.’

The ‘Crawford effect’ has also rubbed off
on Can Tooers, with participants in the
run, swim and triathlon programs alike,
all achieving great things – both
emotionally and physically. Annie says
there are hundreds of inspirational stories
that she’s witnessed and heard about.
She tells me about a self-confessed
‘couch potato’ who has transformed into
a weekend warrior, having completed a
myriad of Can Too programs, competitions
and having raised tens of thousands of
dollars for charity along the way.
‘I get a kick out of watching people come
along that first night, often feeling

anxious or nervous, and worried about
whether they are going to achieve their
goals,’ says Annie of the personal
transformations that she sees many Can
Tooers go through. She puts these
personal success stories down to the
incredible support provided by the Can
Too community.

tonikrasicki.com.au

TONI
KRASICKI

Annie believes it’s this sense of belonging
and community, as well as the opportunity
for people to raise funds and give back,
that is the backbone of the Foundation’s
success.
Although consigned to Australia’s
eastern state capitals at the moment,
Can Too programs are earmarked to
begin in February in Canberra,
Wollongong and Newcastle, with the
Foundation hoping to one day go
national. For now, the Foundation is
focusing on regional Australia, as they
believe regional areas sometimes feel
left out when it comes to services that
are readily available in the cities.
For anyone else who has a project they
dream of one day getting off the ground,
Annie has this piece of advice: ‘Be prepared
to take a risk. Be prepared to face your
fears. Have the mantra – you can live half
the life and never take a risk, or you can
make a conscious decision to live a full life
and be prepared to take risks.’
Registrations will open on 11 February
for people to join training groups for:
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•
•
•
•

Sydney Morning Herald Half
Marathon (21km, 14km and 7km)
Great Ocean Road Half Marathon
(21km and 14km)
Brisbane’s Twilight Running Festival
(10km)
Canberra’s Australian Running
Festival (10km)
Newcastle’s Hill to Harbour (10km).

For more information about the Can Too
programs visit www.cantoo.org.au

( OH! MAGAZINE ) JAN 2015

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