Blind runner to travel 3,000kms this year raising money for blue-collar counselling
Ben Pettingill is running 9 kilometres every day this year to raise money for blue-collar counselling service, ‘This Is A Conversation Starter’ (TIACS). The 29-year-old struggled with his own mental health after he lost 98 per cent of his vision due to a rare condition called Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy. Mr Pettingill, who encourages people to join him on his runs, aims to finish his fundraiser on New Year's Eve.
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00:00Victorian man, Ben Pettingill, is running 3,249 kilometres to raise money for mental health.
00:09And he's doing it blind.
00:11For me, only having 2% eyesight affects my daily life in every single way.
00:17It makes things different, it makes things challenging and sometimes it makes things fun.
00:24The 29-year-old father of two lives with a rare genetic condition.
00:29He lost 98% of his sight overnight when he was 16 years old
00:34and says that early on he found it difficult to adjust and bottled up how he was feeling.
00:40I was putting up walls and going, no, I'm fine, I'm sweet, it's not that bad, it's not that big of a deal,
00:45it's actually easier than you think, even though none of that was the truth.
00:49After several years of putting on a brave face, he says he reached a tipping point.
00:54It was a moment with my dad where I actually spilled that bottle out,
00:59had a conversation with him, burst into tears and recognised the importance of talking to someone.
01:07He now works as a motivational speaker, often talking with tradies, truckers and farmers.
01:12He says his fundraiser, coined 3,249 Blind, was inspired by the stigma that surrounds mental health
01:19and the barriers to support that blue-collar workers face.
01:23I think mental health, particularly regionally and particularly in lots of male-dominated workforces,
01:30is a massive thing.
01:32To reach his target, he says he runs an average of nine kilometres per day
01:36and is often joined by a sighted guide.
01:40The pair have now completed several runs and a half marathon together.
01:44Mr Pettingill plans to finish his run on New Year's Eve
01:47and says he hopes to help end the stigma in speaking about mental health too.
01:53For more UN videos visit www.un.org