KYNETON man Joel Bertoncini is preparing to undertake an epic trek from the Sydney Opera House back to his hometown in memory of his friend, who died of cancer six years ago.
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Mr Bertoncini plans to cover the 888 kilometre journey – the equivalent of more than 21 marathons – in just 15 days.
The run will raise money and awareness for Cancer Council Victoria and is in memory of Mr Bertoncini’s best friend’s father, Peter Connor snr, who battled cancer for two years before his death in 2009.
"It is very important, Pete did a lot for me, I want to do something to pay him back," Mr Bertoncini said.
"I don't want anyone to go through what he did."
Peter’s son and Joel’s best friend, Peter Connor jnr, will be with Joel every step of the run as the main driver of his support team.
Peter said his father would be impressed by Mr Bertoncini’s efforts.
“He’s doing a good thing. It’s amazing. Dad would be proud,“ Peter said.
Mr Bertoncini said it was important to him to do what he could to honour the older Mr Connor’s memory.
“Peter had meant so much to me, so I vowed to do as much as I could to raise awareness about the disease that took his life,” he said.
To send Joel off on his journey a launch party will be held at the Newmarket Hotel in Kyneton this Friday.
The launch party will include an auction of signed AFL memorabilia and donations from local businesses, as well as presentations from AFL great David Parkin and Cancer Council Victoria’s Rohan Morris.
Auction items include memorabilia signed by AFL stars Nat Fyfe, Matthew Richardson and Dustin Fletcher.
Also up for grabs is a baseball bat signed by Chopper Read.
Joel will then depart from the steps of the Sydney Opera House next Tuesday.
He plans to complete his epic run at Piper St, Kyneton on Tuesday 27 October, the anniversary of Peter’s passing.
Joel will be welcomed by supporters at the Newmarket Hotel, where a cocktail party will be held on the evening of his return.
With support from charity foundation Shout A Mate, Joel will travel through Campbelltown, Mittagong, Marulan, Gunning, Bookham, Gandagai, Tarcutta, Holbrook, Albury, Springhurst, Benella, Longwood, Broadford.
Tickets to the cocktail party are $40 and can be bought at www.trybooking.com/159535
Joel’s journey will be documented and recorded along the way via his Facebook page.
Visit http://vic.cancercouncilfundraising.org.au/bigpete to donate to Joel’s run.