This time last year, Leroy Brown couldn’t run a single kilometre without wanting to throw up.
This month, the 36-year-old Wyndham Vale man will run a half-marathon – a mere 21.1 kilometres – at the Melbourne Marathon event, in a bid raise money for ovarian cancer research.
The idea was born, like many good ideas, over a beer with a mate, in January this year.
Mr Brown, a self-confessed non-runner, started off by downloading an app, which helped him gradually run longer distances.
Since then, he’s lost 17 kilograms and runs about 28 kilometres a week.
He’s already run the half-marathon distance twice, and hopes to beat his current personal best of two hours and 14 minutes come the next race day.
Mr Brown said he was surprised to find he loves running.
“It just gives me time to zone out and be with myself,” he said. “It’s almost like an addiction.
“I’m looking very much forward to finishing the run on the MCG.”
Mr Brown hopes to raise $5000 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation.
His efforts will honour his wife’s grandmother, who died from ovarian cancer.
“I’m doing it, not just for [my wife’s] grandmother, but for all Australian women.
“It’s Australia’s silent killer. There’s no early detection test, and we need to throw it into the spotlight.”
Mr Brown also has his sights on completing the full marathon next year.
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