What started as a late-night joke among friends has turned into a bold plan for a 20-year-old farmer to cross Canada to raise awareness of rural mental health.
Lachie Young, who lives in Brookton, about 150 kilometers southeast of Perth, decided to take on the challenge after the idea popped into his head after a night out with his friends.
“It was mid-2024 and I was traveling abroad with friends and it was a bit of a drunken joke,” Mr Young said.
“At the time I was living on the farm and all my friends were at university. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do.”
“After that conversation, the plan took shape and two years later I plan to run across Canada in a year.”
Lachie Young grew up on a farm in the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. (Supplied: Lachie Young)
The Wheatbelt producer, who plans to cross the country in 2027, expects the challenge to take about 150 days.
“The plan is to start in the small eastern city of Sydney and then the run will cover around 6,500km,” Mr Young said.
“I will then reach my destination in the city of Victoria in the west, on the other side of Vancouver.
“I’ll walk through snow, through the Rocky Mountains, through bear country.”
“But I think it will be a great experience.”
A reason to run
The plan to walk through the second largest country in the world comes from a personal place.
“I have seen the impact of mental health in my community, in the countryside, particularly among farmers,” Mr Young said.
“It impacts my family, myself and the people around me.”
Inspired by athletes like Nedd Brockmann, Lachie Young set out to run through the second largest country in the world. (Delivered: Bursty/Marty Rowney)
Mr Young believes discussion about mental health has increased in recent years, but said there was still a need to talk about it more openly in rural areas.
“I went to school in the city and there was a lot of talk about mental health and how to deal with it,” Mr Young said.
“Then come out here, there’s still a small presence of it, but I think there’s still a lack of mental health and that discussion. There needs to be more resources.”
The runner hopes to raise $1 million for the Blue Tree Project, a regional mental health charity that paints dead trees blue as a symbol of hope for people with mental health issues.
The original blue tree was painted by Jayden Whyte in 2014 on his family farm in Mukinbudin. (Supplied: Kendall Whyte)
Kendall Whyte, chief executive of the Blue Tree Project, said Mr Young’s project had been an “incredible achievement”.
“We are always extremely grateful to those who raise funds for the charity, especially when they put their minds and bodies on the line for our cause,” she said.