{"id":88905,"date":"2026-09-05T18:36:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/88905\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T18:36:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T18:36:14","slug":"perth-man-smashes-fundraising-goal-for-cancer-charity-running-31-marathons-in-31-days-in-memory-of-his-mum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/88905\/","title":{"rendered":"Perth man smashes fundraising goal for cancer charity, running 31 marathons in 31 days in memory of his mum"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perth runner Jesse Chambers has raised more than $73,000 for brain cancer research \u2014 over double his original $31,000 target – after completing 31 marathons in 31 consecutive days<\/a> while also having a full-time job.<\/p>\n

25-year-old Jesse Chambers completed his 31st and final 42.2km run at Hyde Park on Sunday, August 30, bringing his total distance run to 1302 kilometres.<\/p>\n

WATCH JESSE COMPLETE HIS MAMMOTH CHALLENEGE IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE<\/p>\n

Jesse initially set himself a fundraising target of $31,000, representing each day of the 31 marathons he planned to run, but as the challenge went on donations flooded in and pushed the total well beyond his original goal.<\/p>\n

As of Monday morning, his fundraising total had reached more than $73,000, with donations supporting Cure Brain Cancer Foundation research.<\/p>\n

The challenge was inspired by Jesse\u2019s mum Karen, who died from stage four glioblastoma in September 2016, aged 48.<\/p>\n

\"JesseCamera IconJesse Chambers and his mum Karen pictured when he was young. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

Karen was diagnosed when Jesse was just 12 years old and fought the disease for three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cMum was one of the most vibrant people you could ever meet. She was very fit, very active and loving,\u201d Jesse said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those last few years, if we could get her to walk around the island in the kitchen, that was a good day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watching his mum lose her mobility had a lasting impact on Jesse and changed the way he viewed his own ability to run and move.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I got older, I realised how lucky you are to be able to move your body or push yourself physically,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Jesse said his mum remained the motivation behind every kilometre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole challenge for me is about her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll forever be the reason I want to push myself further or harder or challenge myself in any sort of way.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Jesse, finally reaching the finish line was a milestone, but the reason behind the challenge remained the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole challenge for me is about her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019ll forever be the reason I want to push myself further or harder or challenge myself in any sort of way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis challenge has meant everything to me. The amount of people who have reached out to me saying they knew mum or have a similar story is so humbling.<\/p>\n

\"WatchingCamera IconWatching his mum lose her mobility while fighting cancer inspired him to push himself physically. Credit: Ian Munro\/The West Australian<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not going to be the one who cures brain cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if I can help raise money towards it, then I think I\u2019ve done my job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesse told PerthNow at the beginning of August that every day when he finished a run he thought to himself \u201cI don\u2019t know how I\u2019m going to do this\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomehow I recover and start the next day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Perth community rallied behind the challenge, with people joining Jesse for runs and businesses helping raise money and awareness.<\/p>\n

His former workplace Miller + Baker created a special \u2018Jessemite\u2019 scroll, donating $3 from every one sold to the fundraiser, while Parkside Coffee created a special \u201831 and 31\u2019 coffee blend and donated all profits before it sold out.<\/p>\n

Jesse said the response had left him overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly ridiculous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very fortunate to have such a generous circle of people around me.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo many people who I\u2019ve never met have donated. There\u2019s definitely no backing out now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JesseCamera IconJesse Chambers pictured with mum Karen when he was a baby. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

Jesse previously raised almost $10,000 through the Melbourne Marathon, but wanted his latest challenge to capture people\u2019s attention and inspire others to push themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to really push myself this time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to do something that if a random person came across it would stop and make them think.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it was enough to inspire someone to start running or push themselves to do something physical, then great.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven more so, if it made them want to donate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cure Brain Cancer Foundation chief executive Andrew Giles praised Jesse for turning his personal experience of loss into a campaign for research.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Jesse has achieved is extraordinary. He set himself an ambitious challenge in memory of his mum and has pushed himself through 31 marathons in 31 days, while raising a staggering amount of money for brain cancer research,\u201d Mr Giles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat generosity will help support research that we hope will lead to better treatments and better outcomes for people diagnosed with brain cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Giles said Jesse\u2019s challenge highlighted the need for continued research into glioblastoma.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesse\u2019s story is a powerful reminder of what\u2019s at stake for families facing glioblastoma,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we\u2019ve seen remarkable advances in many cancers, progress for glioblastoma has been far too slow.<\/p>\n

\u201cCommunity fundraising challenges like this help accelerate the research that gives future patients and families more hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesse\u2019s fundraising page remains open and can be made online<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perth runner Jesse Chambers has raised more than $73,000 for brain cancer research \u2014 over double his original…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88906,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[917,227,335,464],"class_list":["post-88905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-perth","tag-central","tag-lifestyle","tag-perth","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}