Brad steps up in marathon for mental health

Brad Carron-Arthur

ANU graduate Brad Carron-Arthur is moving his feet for a good cause, running up the east coast of Australia to raise money for mental health research, programs and awareness.

Mr Carron-Arthur, who recently graduated from The Australian National University with a Bachelor of Psychology with first-class honours, will run 4,000km from Canberra to Cape York. Money raised from the epic journey will be donated to the Australian Foundation for Mental Health Research (AFFIRM) at ANU.

The twenty-two year old said that the journey will take him at least four months. He will set off on New Year’s Day, 2012.

"I will run 50km a day, five days a week, following the Pacific Highway, but off road," he said. "I will head off from Canberra to the NSW South Coast and from there head north, sticking as close to the coast as I can.

"I will be running alone carrying everything in a backpack. I plan to stay with family, friends and in motels and hostels, but would also welcome the occasional sofa from anyone who wants to help out.

"One of the reasons why I’ve decided to do this is that mental illness is a personal issue and quite close to home for me.

"One in five Australians will experience a mental illness such as depression or an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. This is an alarmingly high figure, especially given that only around three per cent of the total research and development in health in Australia is dedicated to mental health. This is vastly disproportionate to the burden mental illness has in our society."

Mr Carron-Arthur said that the run was also for his own peace of mind and that he was inspired to undertake the life-changing journey by a TV commercial for beer.

"In my second year of university I saw this beer commercial which featured a bunch of blokes marching behind a banner which read ’Guys who peaked in high school’.

"It really got under my skin. That was me and I was without a doubt marching behind that banner. In fact, I think there are a lot of people who would be marching behind that banner with me and we should all be doing our best not to be.

"I’ve just graduated with first-class honours from university and am still far from my peak. Physically that won’t be for another 10 years and mentally that won’t be for another half century. But when I get there, I want to be there at my full potential."

People can follow Mr Carron-Arthur’s every footstep by visiting his blog http://bradrunsnorth.com
Donations can be made online at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/bradrunsnorth

: James Giggacher, ANU Media - 02 6125 7988 or 0416 249 241