Matt's Marathon Mission

🚨DONATION ALERT 🚨

Massive thank you to the team from Lion who have just donated a massive $10000!!!!

How bloody amazing is that?! This incredible donation pushes our total to $117,000 and edges us so close to beating last year’s total! 🙌

Shaun Letts and Andrew Leahy from Lion (pictured to my left) flew in from Adelaide and Melbourne just for the day to join us for Day 5, jumping on the road and running the entire 55km alongside Rohan Barwick and myself to help us make it to Campbell Town.

Absolute legends! ❤️

Not only did they help us get further down the highway, but they helped us get one step closer to getting our message about early-onset bowel cancer out to more people.

This is so much bigger than running. It’s about raising awareness, starting conversations and making sure people understand that bowel cancer doesn’t just affect old people.

Andrew, Shaun and the entire Lion team, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. What an incredible effort and an incredible donation. 🍺💙

$117,000 raised… let’s keep pushing! 💪🏃‍♂️

#117000

🚨FUNDRAISING UPDATE🚨

We have just ticked over ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR THOUSAND dollars for Bowel Cancer Australia. 🤯🤯🤯

We still have a few more donations coming in and I’m super excited to see where this years total will end up.

I’m so grateful to every single person who has donated, shared a post, supported the mission or come along for the journey again this year. The support has honestly been amazing and means more than I can put into words.

After being diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer at 36, raising awareness around early onset bowel cancer and helping others has become something incredibly important to me. Every donation helps continue that message and supports the work Bowel Cancer Australia do every single day.

It’s not too late to get involved. If you can click the link below and donate.

https://mattsmarathonmission.gofundraise.com.au/page/MattsMarathonMission -code

Thank you legends!

Keep talking about this NEW Disease. Awareness is key

Human tissue collected for biobank in fight against bowel cancer in young people Sunshine Coast researchers are building a 'biobank' of human tissue, as they investigate the increase in young people being diagnosed with bowel cancer.

❤️ WE DID IT… $100,000! ❤️

When I was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer, I never imagined this journey would lead here.

Today, together, we’ve officially reached our goal of raising $100,000 for Bowel Cancer Australia

I’m overwhelmed, humbled and incredibly grateful. This wasn’t my achievement, it belongs to every single person who donated, shared a post, came to an event, sponsored us, cheered from the side of the road, honked as we ran, or simply helped spread the message.

To everyone who supported Rohan Barwick and me, thank you. We couldn’t have done this without you.

This mission has always been about so much more than money. It was about making sure people know that bowel cancer doesn’t just affect older Australians. It’s the biggest cancer killer of people aged 25–54, and if this journey has encouraged one person to listen to their body, get checked, or start a conversation, then every kilometre has been worth it.

The $100,000 raised will go directly to Bowel Cancer Australia to help fund life-saving research, advocacy, education and support for Australians affected by this disease.

From a scared cancer patient to standing here today surrounded by the most incredible community… thank you. You’ve turned something that could have defined my life into something that can help change countless others.

This isn’t the end of the mission. It’s the beginning of something even bigger.

Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for believing in a future where bowel cancer doesn’t exist. 💙

🚨FUNDRAISING UPDATE 🚨

We’re so close! ❤️

When Rohan and I started Matt’s Marathon Mission 2026 we never imagined the incredible support we’d receive. Thanks to this amazing community, we’ve now raised $98,807 towards our $100,000 goal…. just $1,193 to go!

A massive thank you to everyone who has donated, attended events and helped raise awareness for early onset bowel cancer. Every dollar is helping Bowel Cancer Australia continue their incredible work in research, advocacy and support.

If you’ve been thinking about donating, now’s the time. Let’s get this over the line together and reach this amazing milestone.

From Rohan Barwick and myself, thank you for believing in our mission. We couldn’t have done it without you. 💙🏃‍♂️🙏

🚨 DONATION ALERT 🚨

A massive thank you to SHAPE Australia, Stuart Eaton, Jonny Rees and Peta-Marie Matschoss for this incredible donation.

Through all of their hard work organising our first inaugural golf day, they have raised an amazing $16,110 for Matt’s Marathon Mission and my goal of creating a future where bowel cancer no longer exists.

Every dollar raised goes directly to Bowel Cancer Australia who are doing incredible work in early-onset bowel cancer awareness, research, advocacy and treatment. Together, we’re helping drive the conversation and working towards a future where fewer families have to hear those devastating words: “You’ve got bowel cancer.”

The relationships I’ve built with the team at Shape Australia are truly invaluable. They’re not just raising money, they’re helping spread this important message far and wide.

I first met Jonny last year when I was preparing to run my first marathon. Having never done anything like it before, he generously gave up his time to share his knowledge and experience as an ultra-marathon runner, and even joined me for one of the days.

This year, Stu Eaton played a huge role in bringing the golf day to life and also ran 30 kilometres alongside me on Day 8. And Peta-Marie has been instrumental in making this event such a success. Like so many of us, she’s been touched by bowel cancer through family and friends, making this cause incredibly close to her heart.

The support, friendships and connections that have come from this journey are something I’ll cherish forever. Thank you all for believing in this mission and for standing beside me as we continue to raise awareness and fight for a future without bowel cancer.

Together, we’re making a difference. ❤️

Matt's Marathon Mission I will be running from Stanley to Cockle Creek Tasmania (Over 550kms) in 10 days! Running an Ultra Marathon every day to raise awareness for Bowel Cancer

🚨DONATION ALERT 🚨

How good is the Huon Valley Community!!!

A massive shout out to these amazing humans for taking on the challenge of shutting up for a whole day to help raise awareness for early-onset bowel cancer. Edition #2

Anyone who’s ever walked into Huon Valley Bakery Cafe knows just how impossible that challenge would have been! 😂 Keeping quiet for a full day would have been like running from Cockle Creek to Cape York.

But they absolutely smashed it, raising an incredible $1,320 for Matt’s Marathon Mission. More importantly, they got people talking about early-onset bowel cancer and why these conversations matter. That’s exactly what this mission is all about.

Because of amazing people like these two, we’ve now pushed past $90,000 on our journey towards $100,000.

The Huon Valley continues to prove that when we get behind a cause, we show up in a big way.

Thank you both for your support, your laughs, and for proving that sometimes saying nothing can say so much. 💙

This man is doing great things

More young people are being diagnosed with bowel cancer — and researchers like Associate Professor Dan Buchanan are determined to understand why. By uncovering how gut bacteria can damage DNA, A/Prof Buchanan and his team are helping identify who’s at risk and how we might prevent cancer earlier. Together we can find answers sooner. This tax time, your donation helps power life-changing research like this 🔬 Donate now at the link in bio ☝️ #CancerResearch #BowelCancer #EOFY

🚨 FUNDRAISING UPDATE 🚨

We are so close to reaching our $100,000 goal… absolutely bloody amazing! 🤯

I’m genuinely so humbled by the incredible support from everyone who has donated, shared my story, attended events, or simply helped spread the message. It really reminds me that I live in the best community, surrounded by some truly amazing people.

We’ve still got a few more donations to come in, so stay tuned—we’ll be announcing those soon!

Today marks the end of Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, but the conversation can’t end here. I’m proud of the awareness we’ve been able to raise this month, but there’s still so much more work to do.

Bowel cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in Australians aged 25–54. That’s a statistic that should stop all of us in our tracks. This is no longer an “older person’s disease”—it’s affecting more young Australians than ever before.

Let’s keep talking. Let’s keep sharing. Let’s keep encouraging people to know the signs, listen to their bodies, and seek help early.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of this journey. Together, we’re making a real difference. 💙

Thank you Senator Josh Dolega for taking the time to chat with us and hearing about our lived experience around early on set bowel cancer

Bowel cancer is the deadliest killer of Australians aged 25-50, but it’s not talked about enough.

This week I met with Jennifer and Matt, two young Tasmanians living with early onset bowel cancer. They joined a cohort of 50 young Australians at Parliament House this week to share their stories and bring much needed awareness to the disease.

Bowel cancer is treatable in the early stages, with 90% survival rate when caught early.