For every kilometre he ran, former Assumption College Kilmore student Zac Pettit passed the word about osteosarcoma—a type of bone cancer he lost his best friend Zane Collier to in 2015.
Mr Pettit founded not-for-profit organisation It’s Time To Know Osteosarcoma (T2KO) in 2021.
He had set up the organisation wanting to never forget about the word, and honour Mr Collier’s memory and legacy.
Over the course of 13 days last month, Mr Pettit and his running partner Brandon Lee Grech embarked on a remarkable memory, starting from different states to help fundraise for a 6-year-old girl from Queensland who is battling osteosarcoma.
Running separately but with a shared goal, the duo made their way down to Assumption College Kilmore from Adelaide and Sydney on August 18, bringing their mission full circle to where Mr Pettit and his late best friend met.
His most challenging ultramarathon yet, the journey from Adelaide was full of highs and lows for Mr Pettit, encountering numerous acts of kindness from people along the way.
“The beauty of it was witnessing people come together to help myself on the journey, or to get through whatever the next hurdle was in front of me,” he said.
“I had people let me stay at their house, in their cottages, I had osteopaths work me for free in a farm … so I think that a lot of what I witnessed was people coming together to help someone else, whether it would be me or the end goal, and those in need.
“As an individual, having my pa call me up—he’s suffered with cancer for half my life, and he’s a very fit and healthy man … being super proud of his grandson, I think that was a really proud moment for myself.”
The final moments of the run provided a fitting conclusion for the duo, as they watched everyone come together at the college in a powerful display of unity and support.
“You kind of feel very overwhelmed and pretty exhausted, there’s a lot going through your head … it was a beautiful moment that Brandon and I will save for the rest of our lives, and I think everyone there will as well,” Mr Pettit said.
“The mentality behind our motto ‘Refuse to give up,’—everyone embraced it on the journey, whether they were part of the journey for a couple of hours or came with myself or Brandon for the whole duration.”
To know more about T2KO, visit www.t2ko.com.au.
