Runners pass through region
By the time he sets foot on the Wimmera plains in the early hours of tomorrow morning, Craig Bankes expects to be feeling ‘the burn’.
The Adelaide father of two is one of 13 men taking part in an inaugural MAD Dash to Find 15 – an 800-kilometre non-stop relay run from Melbourne to Adelaide to raise money for PraderWilli Syndrome, PWS, a randomly occurring genetic condition where some of the genes in Chromosome 15 are inactive or missing.
It is a cause close to Bankes’ heart. His daughter Zoe, now one, was diagnosed with PWS three weeks after birth.
The syndrome, which affects an estimated 400,000 people worldwide, impacts every aspect of Zoe’s life, including her ability to eat, drink and move, and requires around-the-clock care.
“There’s no cure and there’s been very little research. That’s why we’re doing this run – to generate some research dollars,” Bankes said.
The diagnosis came as a shock to Bankes and wife Rachel, with all pregnancy tests showing normal.
“But when she was born, she couldn’t breathe, eat or suck. She had to be rushed to intensive care where she stayed for about six to eight weeks,” Bankes said.
He said the fundraising idea, which has so far raised more than $80,000, was the suggestion of friend and runner Michael Lebbon who was looking for a new challenge for his running club team-mates.
“I thought that was bloody nice of him, so felt obliged to run as well, and the idea was born,” Bankes said.
“I have since roped in a few mates and we now have 13 runners and four support crew making the journey.”
Each runner will need to complete at least seven 15-kilometre efforts from the starting point at the MCG until the finish line at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
The runners hope to hit Ararat in the early hours of tomorrow, get to Horsham about 10am and then reach Nhill by 5pm.
Be sure to give them a wave, or for more information and to make a donation, visit https://maddash tofind15.everydayhero.com/au/melbourne-toadelaide-run-for-prader-willi-syndrome-medical.