A charity founder and medical student from Muntadgin, near Narembeen, held his first marathon event over the weekend, with the proceeds going towards disadvantaged families and individuals living in rural areas.
Ethan Stirrat, 24, founded Hurt to Help in June 2023, raising money for those who have suffered unjust or harmful circumstances by partaking in mentally and physically challenging feats.
Since then, Hurt to Help has raised $40,000 which has been donated to two young families dealing with life-altering illness.
Bin2Bin was held on Saturday, with Mr Stirrat previously fundraising alone or with friends in endurance events around the State.
He was approached by Shire of Narembeen chief executive officer Rebecca McCall with the proposal.
"The Shire has been huge in getting behind us and making it a Narembeen event," Mr Stirrat said.
"Into the future we really want to push it as an event for Narembeen to get people into the town and to provide Wheatbelt people with a marathon event that they know will go back to helping their community," he said.
The marathon began at the Mount Walker grain receival point and ended at the Narembeen receival point, with the total distance being 42 kilometres.
Temperatures into the mid 30s could not dull the spirits of the 84 participants, who completed the marathon either half or whole, alone or in teams.
Mr Stirrat said a breezy headwind was welcome relief from the challenging conditions.
Runners travelled long distances, including Busselton and Albany to compete, with one competitor being from Melbourne, Victoria.
"We really wanted to draw runners in from all corners of the Wheatbelt and surrounding areas," Mr Stirrat said.
"We had a few runners say they love running and to have a marathon event like this in the Wheatbelt is awesome, so it's good that we're able to provide locals with this sort of sporting event.
Hundreds of supporters welcomed the runners into Narembeen, along with children's activities and music.
Lots of runners recorded personal bests and it was the longest distance many had run.
"For our first event, we're really stoked with how it went," he said.
Mr Stirrat is a medical student, and said completing his practical placement was an eye-opening experience.
"Working in hospitals and seeing the sorts of things that happen to people that are completely out of their control and the things they're going through really opened my eyes to just how good I've got things," he said.
"I've noticed from working in Karratha last year, the access that rural families have to healthcare is definitely at a disadvantage compared to those in metropolitan areas."
The funds raised so far has gone on to support the Gilpin family, who moved from Karratha to Albany to be better supported after their young daughter, Hollie, was diagnosed with Batten disease, a form of childhood dementia.
The family will soon travel to the United States to undergo gene therapy.
The Reynolds family, York, is also preparing to travel to the US with young daughter Eliza who is battling an aggressive form of brain tumour.
The therapy required is called proton therapy, and is currently unavailable in Australia.
"It's extremely tough, and they're just the nicest and most grateful people," Mr Stirrat said.
He started long distance running during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Initially he challenged himself to a 10km run, and after training and realising he could do it, aimed for greater distances.
"I like the mental challenge it serves me, I like being able to push myself and get the most out of my body," Mr Stirrat said.
"I've also realised how lucky I am to do these things, a lot of people aren't able to run and do this sort of thing.
"If I can put myself through a bit of mental and physical pain to hopefully ease someone else's suffering a little bit then I think that's a pretty cool thing to do.
"I've noticed how much (running) improves my self-esteem and how much happier I am by training for these things, and I want to be able to share that with other people."
Planning for another Bin2Bin marathon is already underway.
Mr Stirrat said he was looking at building a community of people interested in completing endurance events to fundraise for Hurt to Help.
Registrations for the next Bin2Bin marathon will be announced shortly.
To follow along with the fundraising journeys, or to get involved, visit Hurt to Help on Facebook or Instagram, at @hurttohelp.
Perri Polson
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
Perri is an agriculture journalist with Farm Weekly. Born in regional Victoria, Perri developed a love of regional and rural news at a young age, and is now passionate about advocating for the agricultural industry. Her interests include science, agronomy, livestock and food production.
