By Violet Li
Clyde North local Zach Vanderputt will take on a half marathon this July to fundraise for the FightMND.
The 24-year-old will participate in Run Melbourne 2024 on Sunday 21 July in memory of his grandmother who passed away from Motor Neuron Disease (MND) in September 2021.
His first time attending the event, Zach has been very excited and proud.
Despite his busy schedule, Zach has been training two to three times a week.
Raising awareness tops what he aims to achieve through fundraising.
“I think a lot of people, even my friends, they just don’t know enough about it. You say Motor Neuron Disease and people don’t know what it is. And I think that’s the first point. Just getting people to understand what it is first,” he said.
“I guess once people understand what it is and the effects of it and how kind of brutal the condition is, it might spark something in their brain and be like, okay, let’s look a bit more into it, and maybe we can try to do our part to help people with this condition.
“I think the FightMND charity is doing a great job raising awareness and bringing people that education piece, but also raising money to research into helping people with the condition who may not be financially stable.
“I know it’s a very complex condition and finding a cure may not be something in the short term, but I think in the short term, we can maybe find ways to better manage the condition.”
Run Melbourne encourages participants to raise funds and awareness for the charities of their choice as they take to the streets of Melbourne, running past iconic Melbourne landmarks on their way to the finish line.
The event will feature entertainment including live music and DJs, food trucks and finish-line celebrations.
Participants will take off from Batman Avenue with routes weaving past Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, Marvel Stadium, The Arts Centre, Shrine of Remembrance, and Royal Botanic Gardens before finishing at Melbourne Park Oval.
To support Zach’s fundraising, visit: https://runmelbourne24.grassrootz.com/fightmnd/zach-vanderputt
