Carrying Grandma’s Legacy on Mother’s Day
09 May 2025
“Thousands of people, all walking or running together in memory of their loved ones, or celebrating survivorship, all with a sense of hope. It’s beautiful. It’s emotional. It’s powerful,” says Molly Robertson, smiling as she recalls one of her favourite days of the year.
For Molly, a Nurse Practitioner and Research Nurse at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Mother's Day Classic is much more than a fun run — it’s a living legacy.
Her grandmother, the late Mavis Robertson, co-founded the event in 1998 alongside Louise Davidson and the Women in Super network.
What began as a modest community initiative has since grown into a national movement that’s raised over $46 million for breast and ovarian cancer research — including substantial support for researchers at Peter Mac.
“My grandma was so passionate about women’s rights and financial security for women,” Molly explains.
“She was overseas when she saw someone wearing a medal and asked about it. They told her they’d done a run to fundraise for breast cancer and she came back home, gathered her network, and that’s how the first Mother's Day Classic started.”
It was after Mavis passed away that Molly and her family threw themselves behind the Classic – continuing her legacy and the immense community she had created.
She’s now an ambassador.
“Once I became a research nurse, it really hit me just how critical fundraising is. We can’t do the work we do without it,” she says.
“The funds from the Mother's Day Classic have supported research that’s directly impacted breast cancer outcomes. The five-year survival rate has jumped from 84 to 92 percent — that’s because of research. And research can’t happen without funding.”
Soon to be a Nurse Practitioner in the clinical trials team, Molly’s work helps bring new treatments and options to patients — often years before they’re widely available.
“Breast cancer research has come a long way, but ovarian cancer hasn’t changed much in 30 years. Survival rates are still around 49 percent. That’s why the Classic now also includes ovarian cancer — we have to do better,” she says.
As part of her Nurse Practitioner role, she will work towards helping broaden access to clinical trials — including for people in rural and regional areas — through telehealth and virtual trial models.
“We’re growing, and I want to help more people access these opportunities,” she says. “Every patient deserves access to cutting-edge care, no matter where they live.”
Every year for a decade she’s returned to the run, surrounded by thousands of people with one goal – to see end to breast and ovarian cancer.
“It’s incredibly moving. You see people in T-shirts with names and photos of people they’re walking for. Survivors. Families. Kids. Everyone is there for the same reason, and there’s this amazing sense of connection. I always get emotional.”
And this Sunday, as Molly winds around the Royal Botanical Gardens in Melbourne on the 2025 run, she’ll be thinking about her patients, her friends who have been touched by cancer, and of course — her Grandma.
“I’m so proud of what this has become. I’m proud to carry on her legacy. And I’m proud that this event continues to make such a real difference for people with cancer — the people I care for every day.”