People are extraordinary. My friends are no exception to this.
This week I went over to Melbourne to join my friend Sean Bell for another run as part of his project ‘Jog for Joey’. Earlier in the year, I joined Sean for 27km on one of his marathons. Note the word ‘one’. Sean is running 50 marathons in 50 days in memory of his great mate Joey.
Jog for Joey
Samantha, Sean and I
As I tell the following story, please keep in mind I’m doing my best to relay the details Sean told me and pay my utmost respect to the Moschetti family.
A few years ago, one of Sean’s great mates Joseph Moschetti sadly passed away at the age of 18 in his sleep. Till this day, no amount of testing was able to determine his cause of death. Sean and Joey formed a very close friendship whilst playing football together in Victoria, Australia. Often discussing everything footy related, the ins and outs of their favourite team Richmond, and much much more, their friendship blossomed. In the year after Joey’s passing, Sean told me how lost he felt and was unsure whether he wanted to continue playing football any longer. It was a sport he had played his whole life but no longer felt the same excitement for. At the end of that footy season, Sean ran the Melbourne marathon off little-to-no training. He also won the club footy award in honour of his teammate Joey. Till this day, the award from his local football club is his most cherished possession.
In the months following Joey’s passing, Sean spent a lot of time with the Moschetti family. As his relationship with the Moschetti family developed, he learned about what they were dealing with experiencing behind closed doors. The Moschetti family lost a lot of friends after the passing of their son Joey. People would avoid/hide from them on the street, make deeply hurtful comments and no longer contact them.
It was one night whilst Sean was home at his desk that he had the idea to run around Australia in honour of Joey. After telling Joey’s parents, he asked them to choose a charity to which he could fundraise for.
Joey’s parents chose ‘The Compassionate Friends Foundation.’ It is a registered charity formed by and for parents whose children have died, irrespective of the child’s age at death and the cause of death, and is independent of any religious, philosophical or government body.
In lead up to Sean’s run around Australia in 2021, part of the timeline and plan was to run 50 marathons in 50 days to gain media attention and to give himself an idea of what kind of strain he will be placing on his body. When 2021 arrives, Sean will be running over 60kms a day for 8 months straight.
If you want to be involved or support Sean in any way you can do so by following his journey on Instagram at @seanbellfitness.
Marathon Time
My friend Chris and I flew over from South Australia to join in with Sean. We stayed with Sean which was very insightful. Being able to see his different routines throughout the day was fascinating because without these, waking up to do a marathon every single day would be exponentially harder.
Out of bed by 4.45am, Sean was the first to rise quickly announcing ‘Let’s fucking do this’ as he turned the lights on. It was clear to me that I was with a man on a mission with no one going to stop him. Ready for a 6am kickoff we all had a large breakfast. With the intention of completing marathon 49 in approximately 4 hours and 20 minutes, adequate nutrition is vital. My wonderful and inspiring friend, Samantha Gash, joined us for the 6am start. Off we went with the starting crew of 8 people. Early into the run, we had more join and others drop out, this would continue across the next 4 hours. It was amazing to see what Sean had created and the people he had inspired to run. On our run, we had Sarah, Dean, and Chris who were running their first ever marathon. It delighted me to see the impact Sean had made on so many people. We went through the suburbs, along trails, and around ovals to collect the 42.2 kilometers for the day. With heavy legs we finished marathon 49 with Sean, leaving him with one to go!
The next day, Sam, Chris and I would head on in the finish line of Jog for Joey. A celebration of Sean’s unbelievable journey and test of endurance, persistence, heartache, and self-belief. The close of Jog for Joey brought along in excess of 400 people, once again highlighting the tremendous impact Sean has made over the last 50 days. I was deeply moved listening to Sean and Joey’s family members talk. They highlighted the importance of simply ‘being there’ for people who have lost loved ones. You don’t always need to say or ask things, but instead, just ‘be there’.
I am very lucky to know Sean and I can’t wait to see what the future unravels for him.
Time with friends
Beach time
It was now time to put the legs up, the rest of the weekend we spent near the beach. Perching ourselves amongst some of Melbourne’s popular beaches Brighton and Black Rock. It was a nice time to reflect and spend time with friends I hadn’t seen in a long time.
Here’s to another big week!
Big Love,
JL
“Do what you thought was possible, and then some. Even multiply that first thought by one hundred and then see where you end up.” – Josh Lynott
