Anthony Farrant has participated in every edition of Johnno’s Run, having been invited to participate in the very first iteration at Run Melbourne in 2014.
As the event draws nearer to its 10th anniversary on Sunday, August 6, the former Community Living and Respite Services board member reflected on how he became involved nearly a decade ago.
“It was just myself and a couple of mates, Brett Sands asked me to join it because he got asked by Johnno to train him, and then it sort of just grew from there,” he said.
“I think there was about 12 of us at the first run. I was probably going to go and do Run Melbourne anyway, but then I thought well, we might just raise a few bucks here and see how it goes, so that's probably how it started.”
While Johnno’s Run was initially part of the Run Melbourne event, it was moved locally last year, blossoming into a very successful fundraiser for CLRS and the Opening Doors Project.
“It's been driven so well in the initial years by Community Living and Respite, and I think locally, they promote it really well,” Farrant said.
“They show what the funds go to, so the houses that get built for their clients, so when people do join and start raising money, they can point to a house that we contributed to that year.”
Having been one of the few people that were involved in 2014, and every year since, Farrant has no plans to stop doing Johnno’s Run, such is his love for the event.
“I just don't want to miss one now,” he said.
“We had a couple of years where we did virtual runs with COVID, and then after that we got it back to Echuca Moama, and I just don't really want to miss one.
“It’s good to be involved in, being one of the first runners that there was, it’s good just to stay involved. You do see a lot of people that you don’t really know that well, but it’s the one time you do see a lot of these people.”
Aside from the personal satisfaction of completing the run, Farrant encouraged those considering participating to take the opportunity, as it benefits a deserving organisation.
“Probably for two reasons, if you're a local person and you do a little bit of running and you enjoy it, it's probably a good event,” he said.
“You can do a five, 10 or a 21km run, so there's probably something there for everyone and it would be great if we can just build on this local running event.
“And then the other side of it, you pay your entry fee and contribute to Community Living and Respite and all the good work that they do, helping their clients.”
Johnno’s Run will be celebrating its 10th edition on Sunday, August 6. To register for the 5km, 10km or 21.1km event, head to www.clrs.org.au/get-involved/johnnosrun