Inspired by loss and the work done by a charitable group Sean Bell is running from Cairns to Melbourne.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
ACM caught up with Sean on Friday, May 27 as he ran from Ulladulla to Batemans Bay on the NSW South Coast.
Sean explained why he was taking on such a trek.
"It all comes down to when I was 18-years-of-age and lost a friend. He tragically passed in his sleep and they don't why," Sean said.
"It [the loss] taught me how precious life is and that while we are here on earth that we must chase our dreams.
"So I want to chase my dream of running from Cairns to Melbourne to help sick children achieve their dreams or get their number one wish.
"I also want to inspire other people all over Australia and all over the world to chase their dreams - whatever they are or whatever is the most meaningful to them."
Sean aims to raise $60,000 for Make-A-Wish Australia.
Make-A-Wish Australia creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Their mission is to grant the wish of every eligible child - a quest sparked by the belief that a wish is integral to a child's treatment.
It's a cause close to Sean's heart.
"The work Make a Wish does is amazing," he said.
The Batemans Bay mark will see him reach and pass the 3000-kilometre distance in his journey.
He started Monday, April 11 in Cairns in Far North Queensland.
Sean, luckily, does love running - ever since he was a little boy. However, when he was 19, he really started to get into the sport.
He has dedicated the last five years of his life to running and has been training for his Make-A-Wish run for a number of years.
"To be here now [on the run] is pretty special," he said.
When the 24-year-old is not running he lives in Vermont in Melbourne, Victoria, where he is a running coach and a keynote speaker.
He said he's received lots of support while he's been on his massive run.
"The support has been great with toots, waves and thumbs up out their windows - there has been really good support," he said.
"A lot of people when we are running along here in the bright yellow 'Run for Wishes' tee shirt see that something is happening and then they see the sign head on the motor-home. They then pull over and ask - 'what is going on?'
"When you tell people you are running from Cairns - they just look at you like you are an idiot or are you making this up.
"However, the support has been wonderful."
The 24-year-old has no trouble getting up in the morning and pushing out another 60 or 70 kilometres.
"I am just really inspired by helping others and for me, I am chasing my dream for a purpose greater than myself," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Sean ran his first marathon in 2017 and then had a moment of reflection.
"After that I realised that running for yourself is okay but if you can run bigger and make it more powerful and help others then that's a reason to get up every day and put one step in front of the other," he said.
Sean on average tries to run an impressive 60 kilometres a day.
"I have called the project '60 for 60 for 60'. What that means is running an average of 60 kilometres per day for 60 days to raise $60,000 for Make a Wish," he said.
"However, ultra-running is a weird sport and it's important to run as to how you are feeling because some days you feel great and some days you don't feel as good.
"For example a few days ago I ran 74 kilometres and the day after 61 and by the end of today it could be 70 or 60 - it's hard to know."
The biggest running day he had was over when he ran over 85 kilometres and the smallest was 57.
Sean also had to put a tragedy behind him.
His coach and business partner, Jase Cronshaw, a man he was close to, passed away when Sean was on day seven of the run.
"That was heartbreaking and we had set out to achieve this together and so I want to honour him and get it done," Sean said.
Sean knows many people are finding things tough at the moment and is happy to offer whatever advice he can.
"Everyone is going to face different adversity and different levels of adversity as you go through in life and one of the goals out of this run is to inspire others to chase their dreams," he said.
"For me, it took losing a friend at a very young age and again losing my coach and we all face dark times in life.
"I hope other people don't have to face that dark moment and they can see what I am doing and then they can go out and chase their dreams.
"My advice to other people doing it tough is just put one foot in front of the other - one step at a time and rally around your support network you have around you."
Sean during his run has relied on his own support network - his crew members Max Reilly and Zoe Aidone, along with Health Parkin who has been running with him who he met in Sydney and joined the team.
"I have been relying on people around me and that is what I suggest others should do," he said.