Right on time, Ben ‘Mino’ Welch reached Echuca’s Victoria Park at 4.44pm on Friday, March 7.
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On the 10-year anniversary of his brother Jai’s passing, Ben was greeted by an army of supporters, gaining a second wind after four days, four hours and 44 minutes of running.
“All the pain’s gone away all of a sudden,” he said.
“I’m just happy that so many people have turned out and everyone’s getting something out of it, not just me.
“The whole community’s got something out of this now.”
Along the 380km ‘444 Run’ from Mildura to Echuca, Ben dropped into multiple schools and the headspace centres he is supporting through the fundraiser.
After starting with an initial goal of $50,000, Ben has raised 10 times this amount.
“I thought I was going to grab a car full of my mates, drive down the highway and we’d just make a bit of fun of it and raise 50 or 60 grand.
“I’m glad I developed it a bit more than that and got a bit more serious, because I wouldn’t have made it without the crew I had.
“I just can’t believe it, it’s amazing.”
Across the hundreds of kilometres of Murray Valley Hwy, Ben had the support of his friends, family and crew, pushing him to keep going.
Some of his team completed their own milestones en route.
“I hand-picked a lot of people I wanted to run,” Ben said.
“A lot of my own mates had a few mental health problems and when I decided to do it, I just hand-picked people and said, ‘you’re running here, here and here’ and just made them train, got them off the couch.
“I’m just proud of them all. I think six guys did their first marathon on the run.”
The conversations along the way have been the most rewarding part of the experience for Ben.
Seeing the impact on local schools in particular has been a highlight.
“It looks like every school’s done something,” he said.
“If they’re getting the kids talking, that’s the best possible outcome.
“It beats raising all the money. It’s amazing.”
These conversations continued at Vic Park, where Ben chatted with headspace Echuca community engagement officer Jayden Howe to the thousands-strong crowd.
Jayden thanked Ben for his incredible work in the mental health space, encouraging people to speak up and raising awareness and important funds through the run.
“We’re going to get over $150,000 per centre,” Jayden said.
“What that money is going to do is change the lives of so many families, so many kids.
“The words ‘thank you’ come to mind.
“For the community, this will look like more access to direct services, which will limit wait lists; it’ll look like group programs; it’ll look like more community engagement and events within the community; and it’ll look like community education, so we can up-skill.”
Ben took the opportunity to credit his team, from the podiatrists and drivers to videographers and his friends and family.
The inspirations behind the run, his brothers Jai and Zac, were front of mind throughout the journey.
Ben’s final message was clear: if you need help, seek help.
“I hope that this run opens up some conversations,” he said.
“There’s probably a lot of people here that are putting on a brave front right now and don’t want to talk about it.
“But, at least for my sake, go and talk to somebody.”
For crisis support or if you know someone who is struggling, phone Lifeline on 131 114 or visit lifeline.org.au; Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or beyondblue.org.au; Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800, or kidshelpline.com.au; or headspace on 1800 650 890 or headspace.org.au; or 13YARN on 139 276.
headspace Echuca offers several ways to connect:
Visit headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/Echuca and complete the online referral form, call on 5485 5048, email headspace@erh.org.au, or visit in-person at 451 High St, Echuca.
Cadet Journalist