Jarrod Backway with “beautiful three-year-old girl” Adelaide.
Plans are afoot for a run so big it would raise an eyebrow even among seasoned marathoners.
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But for former Shepparton local Jarrod Backway, the kilometres are the easy part.
Now living in Parkes, NSW, with partner Erin Blunden and her children, Matthew, 5, and Adelaide (Addy), 3, Jarrod is preparing to run 800km in eight days to raise money for families facing childhood cancer.
The distance is deeply personal.
It mirrors the roughly 770km stretch of highway between their home and Sydney Children’s Hospital, where little Addy is receiving treatment for an aggressive brain cancer.
“Addy, she’s a beautiful three-year-old girl,” Jarrod said.
“She’s a happy, bubbly little girl with a lot of sass.
“If she doesn’t like something, she’ll definitely let you know — that’s all part of her charm.”
Jarrod and Erin first grew concerned late last year when Addy began vomiting intermittently for more than a month.
At first, they assumed it was a lingering stomach bug.
Then, on December 29, Addy suffered a seizure in Erin’s arms.
“We called the ambulance and took her down to the Parkes hospital that very same day,” Jarrod said.
“They told us that she had a lesion on her brain … which was pretty crippling news at the time.”
Surgeons removed a major tumour from the back of Addy’s brain to relieve the pressure causing her symptoms, only for further testing to confirm every family’s worst fear.
Addy is now undergoing radiation and chemotherapy at Sydney Children’s Hospital.
Adelaide, 3, receives treatment at Sydney Children’s Hospital, with mum Erin Blunden by her side.
The toughest pill to swallow?
“I felt very helpless about what I could do for Addy,” Jarrod said.
“I wanted to somehow give back to the charities and the medical professionals who helped us out.
“The people who work there are fantastic, and they deserve every ounce of respect you could give them.
“So, I thought I would run.”
Jarrod, who has long had a penchant for running and competed at an elite level during his time in Shepparton and overseas, is now inching towards the physical beast that is a 800km challenge.
At this stage, a start date has not been set, but training is well under way.
“I’ve managed to get 130km down in the legs over the last 14 days,” he said.
“I did a marathon last Monday, a half-marathon, 25km, the Monday just gone … hoping to get up to doing 100km in one go.”
Jarrod is fundraising for Redkite, an organisation supporting families navigating childhood cancer, alongside the vital work of Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Addy is the heartbeat behind every step.
And when exhaustion inevitably bites, Jarrod knows exactly what will carry him forward.
“It’s emotion,” he said.
“Addy is so tough and so inspiring, to see her go through this and just keep fighting through it — that’s what I’ll think of when I feel like maybe it’s too much.
“I can’t quit because Addy can’t quit.”
To support Jarrod’s Run4Addy fundraiser, visit Redkite’s donation page and search “Run4addy”.
For updates on the challenge, follow @unhinged_runon Instagram.
Jarrod Backway with partner Erin Blunden, Adelaide, 3, and Matthew, 5.
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