On 1 October Ryan Fowler ran out of Melbourne and stopped running 26 days and 1027 kilometres later in Sydney.
In that time he promoted awareness of the need for more children’s hospices around Australia and raised more than $55,000 for the cause.
His running days ranged from 30 kms to his longest day covering 58km between Yarra Glen and Yea. Each day brought its own challenges but with Ryan’s thoughts focussed on his late son Rio and other children who face pain and suffering he ploughed on.
As would be expected in a run of this distance, he struggled through shin soreness and blisters on blisters but any thoughts of not completing the distance were quickly dismissed.
Along the long roads he was sometimes joined by others for a day or just a few kilometres, stopped by farmers, and people driving by and wanting a chat. He was swooped by magpies and had curious cows running over to the fence to see what was going on.
The charity, Rio’s Legacy, has now raised more than $200,000 since March but with only three children’s hospices and 24 beds available nationally there is so much more that needs to be done.
Ryan and wife Karen lost 18-month old son, Rio, earlier this year and were able to spend his last days together in Bear Cottage in Manly, the only children’s hospice in NSW.
To learn more about the charity and Rio’s Challenge go to www.rioslegacy.org.au or facebook.
This post was published on the Upper Yarra Mail
