Last May, ten young men set out to undertake a week of mentally and physically straining activities to represent the continual battle that people with schizophrenia face every day. Dedicated to their dear friend Connor Hogan, the Crusade for Connor returns this year to Henry Rolland Park on Saturday 11 May.
The Crusade for Connor was born after Connor took his own life aged just 23. The grief felt by his friends was immense, so they wanted to do something to help people like Connor. The tests of endurance were a way to raise awareness around schizophrenia, encourage others to learn how to support loved ones with lived experience and raise funds for research through NeuRa.
The support from the community, both close and abroad, was flowing and heartwarming. Upping their goal multiple times, they continually surpassed it and raised an incredible $67,000.
“It never really slowed down, once it took off it was always a constant pace, there were always donations. It wasn’t like the start was massive and then it died off in the middle, it was constant. Even after the event we still had donations coming in. It was unreal to see the generosity of people,” says Braydan Collins.
“Not even just the donations, it was people reaching out to us. We were getting messages every day touching base and seeing if we were okay. It was overwhelming how much support we got. It was a testament to Connor less than our feat. I think the fact that Connor touched so many people was the main driving factor,” says Luke Bradley.
All ten of the young men remain dedicated to the cause (Aaron Raneiri, Angus McLachlan and Elliot Young not pictured) and will be running, jogging or walking in the upcoming Crusade. After the generosity of the community last year, this year the boys decided to focus on raising awareness. However, you can also still donate with funds going to NeuRa once again.
Wanting the Crusade to be as accessible as possible, they are hosting both a 5km and 10km track, so that people can finish around the same time and enjoy a BBQ together. The goal for the day is to have at least 100 participants, due to a statistic that says one in 100 Australians live with schizophrenia.
“The whole point is to get people together and mingle and we know how good exercise is for mental health, depression and anxiety – which is everything Connor was battling for the last few years of his life,” says Luke.
This time they wanted an accessible event that people could join. Luke says not many people can climb a mountain or busk for 12 hours, so they wanted to make a realistic event for the community.
“Most people can walk, and while 5km can be a challenging distance, it is also what most people can tolerate. Then the 10kms, just getting a bit of that element from last year to push ourselves,” says Luke.
“As with the activities last year this is another way to honour Connor’s memory. He loved being active and being outside, it is another nice touch in that respect,” says Harry Cross.
Local disability support service provider Wattle Blue reached out to the team and has offered to sponsor the end-of-event BBQ and has committed to donating $3,000. Previously working for the organisation, Finely Hollyhead says they are committed to helping improve the lives of their clients in any way they can.
“They’re a disability service for children and young adults who live with a disability. They do a range of support services like community engagement, in-home care, pretty much anything you can think of to support families. They’re a Canberra based company that are doing a really good job,” says Finley Hollyhead.
From climbing Australia’s tallest mountain to seven triathlons in seven days and a half day of music, last year all of the Crusaders undertook feats that helped them feel connected to their friend.
Some climbed Mount Kosciuszko, another completed seven triathlons in a week, Llachlan busked in Garema Place for 12 hours, playing until his fingers bled.
“I had everyone there at the end, so I was able to just push on. Everyone was encouraging, everyone was singing along…I will admit I repeated a couple [of songs], I just went through my Spotify playlists and Connor’s Spotify playlists picking out some good ones to do, especially ones that he likes,” says Llachlan.
Harry, Daniel and Aaron completed the David Goggins run, every four hours for 48 hours they ran for four miles around Jerrabomberra. Harry says across the 13 runs, they struggled to find different parts of the suburb to run while the challenge was harder than they had expected.
“The hardest part of that challenge was probably the lack of sleep that you get over the course of that 48 hours. I think we probably got a total of two or three hours over the whole weekend, which by the end of it starts getting pretty tough,” says Harry.
Even through adverse weather conditions including heavy rain and a disagreement about who owned the dry shirt, they remained determined to complete the task.
“For all the runs, particularly the later ones it was pretty clear as to why we were doing it, which was good motivation to ensure we were not quitting. Those thoughts start to creep into your mind but there was one clear motivator the whole time as to why we were doing it and what we were doing it for,” says Harry.
Braydan, Finley and Christian hiked up Mount Kosciuszko, the day starting with nice weather but Braydan says when they started hitting altitude they were surrounded by cloud. Catching the occasional stunning view through the fog, Braydan says it was like Connor was there with them.
“Especially because he had done a section of that path with Finley in the past, we all reflected on it. Then we had the big culmination essentially at the end of the events, it was a massive feat to see everyone there be so happy…. Once everything had calmed down, it was a real big reflection on what happened over the last week and how we had managed to turn this from an idea and grief after a funeral, and into a full-blown event,” says Braydan.
Luke signed up for an exhausting 24 hours of playing tennis, he says by hour eight it felt like his Achilles might snap. Reprieve came with rain which meant he had to move inside and play table tennis for a few hours before heading back to the wet courts.
“We got about maybe 50 people to come and have a hit, the turn out was massive and overnight through around 10pm- 8am, I usually had around 10 people with me at all times, so that kept me awake,” says Luke.
Surviving the 24 hours, Luke went home feeling physically pretty good.
“Getting home from my challenge, I just bawled my eyes out straight away, it all just hit me at the same time. Around the eight hour mark when it was really tough, that remembering why you’e doing it helped a lot, it felt like he was with us the whole time,” says Luke.
Not exhausted enough by the Goggins Run or the 10km trip around Lake Burley Griffin, Harry is also undertaking the Ultra-trail, a 100km run throughthick bush in the Blue Mountains. He says while it isn’t an official part of the Crusade for Connor, he is also doing it to honour his friend.
Originally listening to Connor’s mum, Carolyn, on which research institute they should donate any funds raised to, the boys and Connor’s parents visited NeuRa. Stepping inside the facility and meeting those at work, they knew they had chosen the right group.
“It was really nice to see where the money was going and these people are so passionate about the cause and they’re doing some really great research into what causes schizophrenia and how to best manage it. We’d love to keep the flow of money going to their research,” says Luke.
“I think I speak on behalf of everyone when I say we were blown away by how good of a job they are doing there. It was really heartwarming to see all that fundraising money has gone to people that are putting it to the best use possible,” says Harry.
If this story raised concerns, help is available. Call or visit the website of Lifeline (13 11 14) or Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636). In an emergency, call 000.
Join the Crusade for Connor at Henry Rolland Park on Saturday 11 May, 11am, learn more here.
