{"id":9253,"date":"2025-11-07T11:03:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/?page_id=9253"},"modified":"2025-11-07T11:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T01:03:10","slug":"bardons-tony-sutton-takes-on-vertical-5km-challenge-to-raise-funds-for-blood-cancer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bardonnews.com.au\/index.php\/bardons-tony-sutton-takes-on-vertical-5km-challenge-to-raise-funds-for-blood-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Bardon\u2019s Tony\u202fSutton Takes on Vertical 5km Challenge to Raise Funds for Blood Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In November, Bardon resident Tony\u202fSutton will tackle the Vertical 5km Challenge, a fundraising collaboration between Bloody Long Way Mission and the Leukaemia Foundation. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read: <\/em><\/strong>St Joseph\u2019s Bardon Wins STEM Competition With AI Project to Help the Elderly<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The challenge, which calls on participants to climb the equivalent of 5,000 vertical metres over five days, mirrors Tony\u2019s own uphill battle with multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer diagnosed in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Tony, the challenge has personal meaning. A routine visit to his GP in September\u202f2022 revealed that 95\u202fper\u202fcent of his bone marrow was filled with multiple myeloma. At just 40\u202fyears old, he was confronting a disease most often diagnosed in people over 70.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Tony\u202fSutton\"
Photo credit: Instagram\/Tony Sutton<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Amid rounds of chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and ongoing treatments, Tony found an unexpected refuge on the trails of Mount\u202fCoot\u2011tha. Encouraged by local mates, he began joining morning walks along the Powerful Owl Trail, a 5.6\u2011kilometre route with 253\u202fmetres of elevation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What began as cautious walks evolved into trail running, becoming a form of movement that helped him process the physical and emotional weight of his diagnosis. By the end of 2023, Tony was running up hills he once thought were impossible, each climb marking a step in his recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Vertical 5km Challenge<\/h2>\n\n\n\n