The brothers embrace after completing their 221km odyssey surrounded by friends and family. Photo: Supplied.
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Locals Javier and Darchi Clarke raised over $40,000 for Lifeline by running 221km from Ballarat to Echuca last week.
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The brothers have been planning the event for the past three years after losing a close family member, who was from Ballarat, to suicide.
The pair have been garnering support for their journey from community members, family and friends to start conversations around mental health and suicide.
With an original goal of $30,000 to donate to Lifeline, the boys surpassed expectations with the help of their support network, and have raised more than $40,000.
Javier and Darchi began their run in Ballarat on Tuesday, September 10, and over the five days, they ran more than a marathon a day.
Though they completed their journey in the time they set out, it wasn’t without its challenges.
Javier developed a blister on the side of his foot in the first 10km of the journey, which grew in size and pain as their run wore on. This caused him to visit the hospital following the event.
Darchi, who has had knee injuries in the past, said his knee was causing him a bit of trouble in the aftermath, but both brothers remained upbeat, emphasising that no challenge would stop them from completing their goal.
“We trained for it the best we could, but we went into it with injuries and not 100 per cent, but we set ourselves a date, so we held it to ourselves to meet that expectation,” Javier said.
“Once the blister had developed, I was in all sorts of pain, but it was nothing we couldn’t get through; we expected all the challenges we faced.
“It was painful from the first moment, but we didn’t let that stop us. We didn’t want to make excuses or back out; we knew we were going to get it done whether we had to run, walk or crawl.”
Wanting to feel the full power of pushing their bodies to the limits, the brothers didn’t play any music or entertainment during the journey, instead focusing on communicating and listening to their thoughts.
The brothers said they were surprised by how powerful positive mindfulness could be, particularly in such an extreme situation.
Javier Clarke, Meaghan Sully, Jayden Howe and Darchi Clarke were present at headspace Echuca where the brothers presented the organisation with a $5,000 cheque. Photo: Aidan Briggs.
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Aidan Briggs
“We told ourselves before we started not to play any music or podcasts because we wanted to dive into our minds and find the strength of our inner selves throughout it,” Javier said.
“We nearly went crazy talking to each other and repeating conversations, but we did find a lot of strength throughout it.
“It’s amazing how powerful your mind is. Just constantly telling yourself one more step will help you go further than you thought possible.
“Having someone like-minded running next to you, you have the ability to push each other through hardship; it was quite amazing, to be honest.”
The Clarkes were taken aback by the number of supporters present not only at the start and end of the run but throughout the entire process.
“We know there are so many Australians struggling with their mental health every day, so for us to choose to go through a little bit of pain, it means nothing in comparison to being able to help those people,” Darchi said.
“The people that came and supported us made us realise that it’s more than just a run; we had people that lost family members to suicide reach out, so for them to say they’re with us was powerful and gave us strength when we were struggling.
“When we reached the finish line, many supporters made a guard of honour at the end for us to run through. We knew people would be there but didn’t realise it’d be that extraordinary.
“We just thought we were two kids running on the road, but we didn’t realise we had whole communities watching and cheering us on.”
Javier and Darchi didn’t want to shy away from their strong feelings when finishing the race; instead, they wanted to show that it is okay to feel overcome.
“About five kilometres out, I started to get really emotional; I was so happy to be raw and authentic because that’s what we are trying to show through all of this,” Javier said.
“Years ago, I was the kid on the phone to Lifeline feeling lost, and just having someone there to talk to was important, so I am doing this for my younger self and for all the young kids out there that are feeling lost too.”
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