Captain Australia raises over $100K for children’s cancer research
A real-life superhero has set out on a quest to walk 2,000 kilometres in ten weeks to raise funds for children’s cancer research, and has already raised over $100,000 in the process.
Captain Australia, also known as Simon, began his ‘Big Walk’ from Brisbane to Melbourne in December 2021, and hopes to raise $250,000 for the Kids Cancer Project by the time he reaches the finish line.
Captain Australia began his journey in Queensland to raise funds to fight kids’ cancer. Image: Captain Australia’s Big Walk
Simon was inspired to undertake the Herculean feat after he was diagnosed with head and neck cancer four years ago.
“I had a 40-60 percent chance that chemoradiation would beat the disease, and six months to live if it failed. I got lucky,” he said on his fundraising website.
“But even when you survive cancer, you have to pay a horrible price, dealing with side effects and the threat of recurrence for the rest of your life.
“No child should have to endure that.”
This won’t be the first time Simon has undergone a journey of this magnitude, having walked from Brisbane to Sydney to escape a dangerous domestic situation when he was 15.
During that journey, Simon said he found himself and discovered a renewed sense of hope for the world that he wants to share with kids fighting cancer.
Simon reached Sydney on February 12, and still has about 700 kilometres left to go.
When asked where he was on his journey, Simon told OverSixty: "I'm headed for Federation Square in Melbourne which something like 750 kilometres straight down the freeway but I take the long and winding road (less travelled).
"It's 1200 kilometres plus back to Brisbane but I would easily have come 1400 or more so far so it's hard to say precisely.
"I've come a long way, literally and figuratively."
You can support his trek by donating to The Kid’s Cancer Project here.
Image: Captain Australia’s BIG WALK (Facebook)