Deniliquin’s Lachie Trotman is setting off today as part of a mammoth campaign to raise awareness and funding for mental health and suicide support.
Trotman is part of the support crew for Echuca brothers Darchi and Javier Clarke, who are running from Ballarat to Echuca.
The brothers, who are known as ‘2 Clarkes’, decided to contribute to mental health awareness and advocacy after their uncle took his own life a few years ago.
Because both Clarkes play footy and are physically active, they decided something physical would be a great way to start a conversation around suicide and to honour their beloved uncle who lived in Ballarat.
Trotman will ride a bike alongside them for the 220km journey.
He said the effort was years in the making, but will be “definitely worthwhile”.
“Javier is my best mate from school, and as soon as he mentioned his plan of doing this years ago I said ‘let me know when’, and I would crew for them,” Trotman said.
“My involvement is having their nutrition hydration recovery and injury prevention all sorted on the road and off.”
The run begins in Ballarat today, and is expected to conclude in Echuca on Saturday.
Before leaving today they will host a meet-and-greet session at Ballarat Oval, with Lifeline and headspace representatives present.
They will then make their way to Daylesford, through Harcourt, Huntly, and Elmore and finally to Echuca, where they will finish at Gypsy Bar.
The Clarkes have invited anyone from the community to run from Echuca Basketball Stadium to Gypsy Bar with them as a triumphant finish to an extraordinary effort.
Darchi spoke about the gruelling schedule for the event and their plans for the journey’s end when they arrive in Echuca.
“We will run for as long as it takes us, which will roughly be five to seven hours a day. The first day will be the hardest because we’ll start a bit later,” he said.
“We’ll kick off every day from around 6.30am, run for 20km, have a break and something to eat and then run the remainder.
“We are going to have a finish line at Gypsy Bar. We want people from the community to be there or even join in, cheer us on and chat about mental health.
“We’ve run before, but nothing on this scale; it’ll be a big challenge, but we are willing to go through that pain and sacrifice if it helps someone.”
The brothers have been training for the event since June and have raised nearly $6000 for Lifeline through their GoFundMe page, with their end goal being $20,000.
Darchi highlighted the importance of mental health and suicide awareness, mainly as mental illness affects one in five people in Australia.
He said the purpose of the event is to open up a conversation about mental health and suicide and to create a safe space for people to share any issues they have.
Due to the support the brothers have received in the lead-up to the event, they are excited to make the run an annual initiative.
“One in five people have a mental illness, so it is pretty much everyone we know, so I think it is important we open up that conversation,” Darchi said.
“It’s a terrible way to lose someone, for them to choose to take their own life, so we want to create a safe space and let people know that it is okay to be not okay.
“We want to hug people or give them a handshake, make them feel loved and support them.
“We are looking to make it an annual event; we might even try to do it in less time and see if we can go faster; we’ve seen so much support around us already, so it’s encouraging to continue with it.”
If you would like to support 2Clarkes, go to https://www.gofundme.com/f/clarkerun.
• Anyone requiring crisis support can contact Accessline on 1800 800 944, Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14, BeyondBlue on 1300 224 636 or Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800. Resources are also available at www.denimentalhealth.org.au.