Images: Hoka One One
Twelve days ago, ex-AFL star Kane Cornes left Adelaide for Melbourne – something he does quite regularly – but this trip was a little different. This time, he passed up the aeroplane and began the 725km across the border on foot.
The Port Adelaide legend set off on the epic journey in a bid to raise money and awareness for the My Room Children’s Cancer Charity, a cause working towards a cure for childhood cancers.
Running over 5 hours a day, Kane averaged a distance of 66km a day – something most of us couldn’t even fathom – and battled through inclement weather, undulating terrain and of course, fatigue, documenting his journey through social media.
His updates showed the mental and physical battles of such a gruelling task. In one post he wrote, “Had my doubts today, saved by some special people.”
Those special people? The kids he was running for. Passing through rural towns such as Murray Bridge, Tintinara, Horsham and Ballarat, Kane was greeted with open arms by some of his young fans that have been directly affected by cancer, something that clearly made a huge impact on him.
Kane managed to complete his journey in the set twelve days by running into the Channel 9 Studios live filming of the annual Footy Show Grand Final: My Room Telethon. Overcome with emotion during his post-run interview, Kane explained the driving force that got him through the challenging run, was the kids that he was running for and the families doing it tough.
The Footy Show announced Kane’s Run raised $337,200 – well above the initial $200,000 goal, with all proceeds going directly to frontline cases and research, having a direct impact on families going through a hard time. In addition to direct donations, last night’s telethon managed to raise a total of $3.2 million, beating last year’s record.
Kane described the run as the “hardest and most brutal thing he has ever done”, which doesn’t go down lightly considering his previous physical achievements.
In 2021, Kane ran 42km on a treadmill to raise money for My Room and in 2020, he raised over $4000 to help fight Covid-19 by running more than 602 laps of his home tennis court.
Kane also revealed on last night’s televised arrival that good friend and Geelong star, Patrick Dangerfield, will put his Grand Final jumper up for auction post-match this Saturday, with all proceeds going towards My Room.
Win or lose, Dangerfield will sell the prized possession, a massive act of generosity considering the AFL premiership cup has previously eluded the Geelong star despite his efforts as one of the sport’s greatest players.
To see a full recap of Kane’s Run visit the Facebook and to learn more about My Room, visit the website here.
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