Despite the heat, Illawarra residents have put their best foot forward for a valuable cause.
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The annual Great Illawarra Walk took place on Saturday and continued on Sunday, raising money for ‘Saving Chloe Saxby’.
Although funds were still being tallied on Sunday, walk founder Chris Lovatt predicted they would raise between $90,000 and $100,000.
Chloe is a nine-year-old girl from Woonona who was diagnosed five years ago with an extremely rare and degenerative brain disease - Vanishing White Matter Disease - for which there is no cure or treatment available.
It was recently announced that Australian-first research into Vanishing White Matter Disease will take place at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), with researchers using advanced methods in stem cell research to try to find a potential cure.
The walk, now in its 11th year, is donating all funds raised from the 2018 event to research at IHMRI.
The 2018 event had 500 registered walkers.
Participants could choose to walk any distance between Shellharbour and Coalcliff, with many opting to tackle the full 100km over the two days.
The event was scheduled to conclude on Sunday evening.
Three runners from Wollongong Distance Runners Club, Matt Menegazzo, Crayg Mayo and Todd Hazelgrove, decided to take on the full 100km – in one day amid Sunday’s heat.
“When we heard the Great Illawarra Walk was raising money for Chloe Saxby we decided to get on board and raise money by taking on the whole event in one day,” Mr Menegazzo said.
Mr Lovatt joked that the walk “doesn’t get easier physically; every year I get a year older”.
In order to deal with Sunday’s heat, organisers had more water stops in place and additional support vehicles, and encouraged walkers to take plenty of breaks.
Mr Lovatt said next year’s event would again be in support of ‘Saving Chloe Saxby’.
Chloe’s mother, Nyree Saxby, said community support is crucial in the race to find a cure for Chloe.
“As a small charity raising funds for an extremely rare disease, it can be very difficult to get large scale support and the type of funding that we need to save Chloe’s life and children like her, which is why it is so important for us to receive support from the community and other organisations,” she said.
“We are ever so grateful to the committee of the Great Illawarra Walk and the event sponsors for choosing Saving Chloe Saxby as their charity for this year.
“We have a very large target to reach in the hope to save Chloe and children like her and we cannot do it alone. Every dollar raised from this walk goes towards finding a cure for Vanishing White Matter Disease.”