Scott Guerini (9) is planning to walk a marathon distance on July 4 in Southern Cross, where his family has a farm.
The St Simon Peter Catholic Primary School Year 4 student said he keeps walking and walking further for the same reason he started in 2010 – to “raise more money for sick kids and babies”.
“It was the hardest thing that I could do at that time,” he said.
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READ NOW“I heard about fundraising and Telethon and sick kids and babies.
“At first mum said ‘no’ because she thought it was too long. Finally after I hassled her enough, she said ‘OK fine’.
“I did 25km when I was four, also when I was five and six.
“When I was seven I did 41km; when I was eight I did the marathon – 42.195km.
“I think about the sick kids and babies that I’m helping and the people and things that I do along the way.”
Asked if it got easier each year, Scott said: “I keep doing bigger walks, so no”.
His mother Nicole walks with him, his brother Damien (6) and their cousins join for parts of it, and they have a support vehicle stocked with refreshments for the journey. They expect to take about 12½ hours to finish the walk, starting at 6am and finishing after sunset.
“Last year we had fog on the window – it was raining because it was so early,” Scott said.
This year Scott and his supporters will wear orange in memory of his cousin Joel Guerini (6), who died in a motorbike accident in April.
“Normally Joel would always come out on the walk days and was a great support for Scott and he would be a good distraction for him,” Mrs Guerini said.
Mineworkers usually join Scott for part of his walk and he said last time they walked they also collected rubbish.
“Last year we had a police escort for the last 5km,” Mrs Guerini said.
Suspected to have Lyme Disease himself, Scott is a Telethon Little Ambassador this year and walked 12km in the HBF Run for a Reason in May.
Mrs Guerini said they hoped to raise $20,000 in this year’s walk.
“From 2010 until now, he has raised over $60,000 for Telethon,” she said.
To donate, visit https:// give.everydayhero.com/au/scottsmarathonfortele thon2015 or look up ‘Scott’s Great Walk for Telethon’ on Facebook.