After his 441km run, Kyle Gemmill is ready for a well-deserved break.
After losing his best mate, Brendon Warburton, known as KB, to Ewing sarcoma last year, he decided to honour his friend in a massive way.
Mr Gemmill spent seven days, from November 3 to 9, running more than 60km every day to reach his total of 441km, all while raising funds for research into the rare cancer.
Starting in Nathalia, he ran through Shepparton, Numurkah, Wunghnu, Yarrawonga, Wangaratta, Glenrowan, Euroa, Tallarook, Wallan and Kalkallo before arriving in Melbourne on November 9.
In Shepparton, he stopped by Shepparton Police Station and St Luke’s Catholic Primary School, where he was met with cheers from students and support from the Shepparton Fire Brigade.
During the challenge, Mr Gemmill ran through towns and on highways for over 10 hours a day through the heat.
But he said getting to the finish line made it all worth it.
“It was sensational,” he said.
“We made it to the Victoria Police Centre around 2.30pm, got to the steps and ran through the banner.”
Mr Gemmill said he didn’t feel too bad mentally and physically during the long days, but a setback on day four almost ended his journey.
“I tore my Achilles about 15km in on day four,” he said.
Mr Gemmill said he wound up with three partial tears to the tendon, but he was determined not to let that stop him and continued to run through the pain.
“The pain was a nine out of 10 for each step,” he said.
But in the end, it was all worth it.
“We managed to raise over $145,000 for Ewing sarcoma,” he said.
“It blew my mind because I didn’t know how much we raised until I saw the cheque.”
The donations came from his many sponsors, the generous donations he received on his GoFundMe, as well as the success of both his Sportsman’s Night in Nathalia before his run and the Gala at Crown to celebrate the end.
Mr Gemmill said the success of Run4KB wouldn’t have been possible without his team and support from Camp4Cancer.
“I want to thank the team and support I had behind me; I couldn’t have done it without them,” he said.
“If KB were alive, he would be super impressed — he would be over the moon.”
The money raised will soon be handed to the Australia New Zealand Sarcoma Association to fund research and treatment.
Harrison Colwell from ANZSA said the amount Mr Gemmill raised was amazing.
“It’s such an outstanding amount of money for a rare cancer that doesn’t receive much funding,” he said.
“The more people who know about Ewing sarcoma and know the warning signs will help people get the treatment they need earlier.”
Mr Colwell said Mr Gemmill had been appointed as an official ambassador for ANZSA.
“We will be working quite closely with him in the future to continue to raise awareness,” he said.
Mr Gemmill said he was over the moon to be the association’s ambassador and couldn’t wait to work closely with it in the new year.
“It’s a great and humbling honour,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to what happens in the future and going forward.
“Run4KB was just the start.
“We’re going to go full steam ahead.”