Every morning before heading into his 9-5, 25-year-old Jesse Chambers laces up his shoes and takes on a marathon.
By the end of August, the Perth local will have completed 31 marathons in 31 days — totalling an incredible 1302 kilometres — a gruelling challenge inspired by the memory of his mum and a desire to make a difference for families impacted by brain cancer.
Jesse is raising money for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation after losing his mum Karen when she was just 48 years old to stage four glioblastoma in September 2016.
At the time of writing, the challenge had already raised almost $24,000, with support continuing to flow in from the community, local businesses and strangers inspired by his grit and determination.
Despite the physical toll, Jesse has continued to show up every day, completed each marathon before starting his full-time workday.
He said he usually runs for about four-and-a-half hours a day.
“I finish every single run and I’m like ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get through this’,” he said.
“Somehow I recover and start the next day.
“Your cardio isn’t the limiting factor.
“I’m not out of breath, I’m not puffed. It’s just everything hurts.”
To help him recover, Reset HQ on Beaufort Street is providing him with a month of free recovery throughout the challenge.
“I pretty much go in every day and do compression boots,” he said.
The challenge follows a previous fundraising effort where he raised almost $10,000 through the Melbourne Marathon, but Jesse said he wanted to something that would capture people’s attention and encourage others to push themselves.
“Last year I raised around nine to ten grand,” he said.
“The reason I was able to raise that money wasn’t because I was doing anything extraordinary.
“I’m very lucky to have a generous circle around me.”
“I wanted to really push myself this time,” he said.
“I wanted to do something that, if a random person came across it, would stop and make them think.
“If it was enough to inspire someone to start running or push themselves to do something physical, then great.
“Even more so, if it made them want to donate.”
Jesse was only 12 years old when mum Karen was diagnosed with brain cancer and everything moved really quickly.
“She went into hospital one day, sleeping 20 hours a day,” he said.
“They saw the tumour pretty quickly.
“They had to bring the surgery forward.
“We only kind of just managed to wake her up.”
Despite the aggressive nature of the cancer, Jesse’s mum fought for three years.
“The fact that Mum pushed through for three years is pretty insane,” he said.
“Dad took a year off work to look after her. He pretty much converted the house into a hospital.
“I’ll pretty much forever be grateful to him.
“I don’t think I would have gotten those extra years with Mum if it wasn’t for him.”
Jesse described his mum as a person who loved bringing people together and caring for those around her.
“She was very active, loved swimming, going for walks, she was a massive people person,” he said.
“She loved hosting people and cooking.
“You never really saw her not smiling.
Jesse said that almost every day during her battle, a different person was over to help.
“I think that’s a reflection of her as a person,” he said.
Jesse said his happiest memories were the simple moments they shared together — heading out to the park, kicking the footy, getting croissants, picking up The Sunday Times and watching animal documentaries.
The community has rallied behind Jesse’s challenge, with colleagues and friends joining his runs and local businesses helping raise awareness.
On Saturday mornings, Jesse heads down to Hyde Park and invites people to join him doing a couple of laps.
“I just wanted to do something where people from the community could get involved,” he said.
Local bakery Miller + Baker, which is also Jesse’s former workplace, has supported the fundraiser through promotions including the creation of the ‘Jessemite’ scroll, donating $3 from each one sold to the cause. Customers who donate $10 or more in store also go in a draw to win free bread for a year.
“They had all these banners hanging up,” Jesse said.
“There’s been quite a bit of support within the area, which is crazy.”
Parkside Coffee also created a special ‘31 and 31’ coffee blend, donating all profits before it sold out.
“It’s honestly ridiculous,” Jesse said.
“I’m very fortunate to have such a generous circle of people around me.
“So many people who I’ve never met have donated. There’s definitely no backing out now.”
Cure Brain Cancer Foundation chief executive Andrew Giles said Jesse’s challenge highlighted the importance of continued research into glioblastoma.
“Jesse’s story is a powerful reminder of what’s at stake for families facing glioblastoma,” he said.
“While we’ve seen remarkable advances in many cancers, progress for glioblastoma has been far too slow.
“Community fundraising challenges like this help accelerate the research that gives future patients and families more hope.”
Mr Giles said Jesse had turned personal loss into action.
“Every kilometre he runs helps raise awareness, funds vital research and brings us one step closer to better treatments for people diagnosed with brain cancer,” he said.
Jesse said anyone wanting to support the fundraiser could donate, share the cause online, or even join him for a run.
“It doesn’t have to be a donation,” he said.
“Sharing, liking, interacting — it all helps, even coming down to Hyde Park on a Saturday.”
Donations can be made online or in-person at Miller + Baker. Follow along on Instagram @Jessechambers999.
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