Walker widens fundraising footprint

AFTER racking up 500 kilometres throughout Ballarat during September, local walker Alan Thorpe has been stepping out of his comfort zone again this month to raise funds for men’s mental health.

With all proceeds to go towards non-profit Beyond Blue, Mr Thorpe has been taking his cause out of Ballarat and into the surrounding regions, aiming to reach a total goal of $40,000 for the organisation.

Having upped last year’s daily goal from 25 to 30 kilometres per day for his April trek, Mr Thorpe said it’s been great to spread his message outside the city.

“I’ve done Castlemaine, Beaufort, Skipton, Avoca, pretty much the whole top end of Ballarat so now I’m starting to do the bottom with a three-day walk to Geelong,” he said.

“Ballarat’s been getting out of control. I’ve heard of eight kids committing suicide since January, so I want to help and let everyone know they’re not weak if they speak up about their issues.”

Mr Thorpe’s walking endeavours were borne out of a spontaneous trek to Adelaide when he travelled nearly 350 kilometres before collapsing at the South Australian border.

He said he’ll have passed through nearly 100 towns by the end of his journey and that the greatest challenges have been navigating unfamiliar terrain and unruly drivers.

Between being shouted pub meals at each town visited and sponsorships from local businesses, Mr Thorpe said everyone’s been throwing their support behind his campaign.

“I’ve been getting responses from all over the world. This has gotten further than I ever thought it would,” he said.

“The messages I get from people has just blown me away. The inspiration I’m having on people to change their life is incredible.

“It just pushes me to keep going even harder. If I can do 900 kilometres around the region, I can do the 630 to Adelaide.

“After this I’ll have done 3850 kilometres in 205 days which is the equivalent of more than Victoria to Darwin.”

Mr Thorpe aims to re-attempt his Adelaide trip in later in September, and said he’s considering a trek to Canberra to take his mental health message to Parliament.

A celebration will be held at the D2E Gym in Delacombe for the campaign’s final day and Mr Thorpe can be followed on social media at Iwalkformensmentalhealth.