Echuca turned out in force to support Ben on his last training session on Friday morning.
At 4.44am on Monday, March 3, Ben Welch was 380km away at Mildura hospital, launching himself into the pre-dawn darkness and on his long run towards Echuca and home.
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Ben plans to arrive on Friday at Victoria Park – at 4.44pm – in a marathon salute to the memory of his late brothers Jai and Zac and hopefully with hundreds of thousands of supporter dollars in the bank to help fund headspace support services in Echuca, Swan Hill and Mildura.
Ben has pushed his body to the limit over the past 12 months in preparation for today and it is all systems go, as he pushes to run nine marathons in just four days, four hours and 44 minutes, or 444 — brother Zac’s favourite number.
“This isn’t about my own personal achievement but rather the awareness we can generate around prioritising positive mental health so hopefully other families won’t have to go through what we have,” Ben said.
“Our aim is to now raise as much money as we can to help as many people via headspace as possible.”
As of Friday, the GoFundMe was sitting at $260,000.
Ben said he has blown away by all the community support and whether it had been big or small, none of it had gone unnoticed.
The community has embraced the 444 journey, proudly wearing the merchandise and yelling out their support as Ben tracked thousands of kilometres in the lead-up.
More than 80 runners turned up to support Ben on his final training session on Friday, running a 7.5km loop around the town.
“I felt like a proud dad to see so many of the boys that I have previously coached in footy (15-16-year-olds) coming along for a run and understanding the message we are pushing,” Ben said.
A community golf day at Cohuna raised $25,000 and there is currently an online auction running on Facebook at ‘the 444 run auction’.
Ben and daughter Frankie punch out a few training kilometres together.
Photo by
Cindy Power
Some of the auction items up for grabs include a corporate box at the AFL (West Coast vs Collingwood), photography, accommodation and fitness packages and there is even a cavoodle puppy.
Auction closes at 8pm on Thursday, March 6.
There will also be a series of community events taking place en route which include a barbecue lunch for a gold coin donation at the Cohuna Visitor Information Centre on Thursday, March 6, from 12.30pm.
Thursday night will see a free practice match kick off at the Gunbower football oval from 5.30pm, when Echuca’s Murray Bombers will take on Leitchville-Gunbower.
Photo by
Cindy Power
Finish line celebrations will kick off on Friday, March 7, at Victoria Park from 4pm, with Ben expecting to run through the gates at 4.44pm.
The night will include free entertainment from local music legends RABS, Intrepid and Heidi Moncrief Music. There will be onsite food vendors and health support workers in attendance. Gold coin donations are welcome.
Please bring your own chair/picnic rug.
“Our community and region has been absolutely unmatched with their generosity and support throughout this journey and I cannot thank them enough,” Ben said.
“I also want to thank my support crew and, of course, my wife Jayde, kids Solly and Frankie and my mum Jackie and dad Leo.”
If you would like to help support Ben in his quest to improve mental health outcomes for young people, you can donate via the 444 Run’s GoFundMe page.
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