Illumin8

Fun run brings light to the dark

An adventure challenging participants to complete a 5.25-kilometre course each hour over eight hours has raised $22,000 to restore sight for the blind in India.

Illumin8 began in the dark this past Saturday (June 3) with more than 200 runners and walkers setting off on their first lap around the tracks on the Avondale Estate. Forty completed the eighth and final lap at 2 am, covering the same distance as a marathon. As a group, the participants covered the same distance as from Sydney to Perth.

“Illumin8 showed we can do more than we realise,” says co-organiser Professor Darren Morton, director of the Lifestyle Medicine and Health Research Centre at Avondale University. He tells of one young adult who planned to complete just two laps but completed all eight. “Your true colours come out when you’re tested.”

Many of the participants were students in the Avondale Character Experience Laboratory, which hosted the event. The wellbeing program builds resilience through challenging experiences that build community and connect the students with service, nature and God. “Illumin8 ticked all three,” says ACE Lab Director Dr Jason Hinze.

A food van, fire pits and live entertainment helped create a warm and welcoming feel as participants crossed the start and finish line in front of the auditorium.

Family and friends sponsored the participants. Promoted as bringing light to the darkness for more than 400 people with avoidable blindness, Illumin8 raised money for a charity called Eyes for India Oceania.

Illumin8 is not a race but a fun run where people champion each other, says Darren. “It’s more about the conversations along the way and a commitment to lift your life and the lives of others.”