Cam conquers Lorne with Love

STRENGTH and perseverance guided Lorne resident Cameron Nugent across his 150 kilometre run, raising over $200,000 for cancer research institution Love Your Sister in honour of his late wife Skye.

Mr Nugent embarked on over five marathons’ worth of running last week, from the place he and Skye met in Pharan to the dream house he them built in Lorne.

Kicking off late on Wednesday afternoon, the much-loved Lorne figure and local football coach ran only a few hours into the night, before his body started to give in.

“I thought he was done. Completely finished. His body was failing him,” his close friend and Love Your Sister founder, Samuel Johnson said.

However, Mr Nugent bravely did not let his body take ahold of his strong will.

He pushed through to Geelong and then on to Torquay in the middle of the morning on Thursday, hobbling along with bandages and huge blue bruises on his knees.

As the day went on, Mr Nugent became even more inspired and stronger.

“It was like he was getting better, the further he went. We started to think, he’s going to make it,” Mr Johnson said.

As he reached Anglesea and the beginning of the windy stretch of the Great Ocean Road, the Lorne local was joined by his local Under 18 football team to will him home.

With their support and positive energy, Mr Nugent ticked into Stribling Reserve in Lorne just after 5pm in front of his friends, family and the local community.

He said it was one of the greatest moments of his life, and one he will cherish forever.

“I’ve never really been proud of things, but this one made me so very proud,” Mr Nugent said.

“It was certainly the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life; nothing comes close.

“Once I hurt my knee at the start, it became a lot more arduous than I thought.

“I just wanted to battle through, and I knew it was going to be temporary.

“What was supposed to be a battle of exhaustion, became a battle of pain and perseverance.

“I was never going to stop, so it was either collapse and not move, or fight these new levels of pain.”

The Lorne resident said his mind often went back to thinking about Skye and her cancer journey.

“I kept referring back to her battle. She’d be so unwell in the days after chemotherapy just vomiting and vomiting,” he said.

“She didn’t get the chance to just finish vomiting. There was no respite for her, so I had to think of my pain as just temporary for one day.

“People who undertake treatment endure far worse than what I was enduring, and they just have too.

“My battle in comparison was insignificant.”

Mr Nugent said he never through in his wildest dreams they’d hit $200,000 in fundraising.

“We were trying to raise $10,000 at first, then $20,000 and we just thought we’d set it at a lofty height of $50,000,” he added.

“It just kept growing and growing and honestly, it’s the most pleasing part of it all.

“It’ll be such a definitive help for someone, if not many people in getting precision medicine. They can dip into this pool.

“That means everything to me.

“Skye would just be so proud of what we did as a community.””

For more, head to www.mycause.com.au/events/tolornewithlove