The charity connection came later than the idea, but it fitted the story from the inside.
Sponsors & Supporters
HAA Was Brought To You By...
Not in the polished television-credits sense. More in the messy, generous, very human sense: people opening doors, lending kit, feeding us, finding beds, making calls, walking sections, filming moments, and believing enough to help before there was much proof.
The honest version
This was never one person and a neat plan.
Hearts Across Australia began as my personal attempt to prove that belief could change a life. But an idea that big does not get from Perth to Brisbane on belief alone.
Some people were formal sponsors. Some were businesses that gave food, rooms, gear, massage, web help, or media time. Some were friends who turned up in the rain, drove supplies across the Wheatbelt, or made a phone call that changed the support crew story completely.
The simplest truth is this: HAA happened because a lot of people each carried one piece of it.
HAA survived on practical help, not motivational slogans.
Ben and Ols carried the daily van work, logistics, food, washing, filming, and plenty of walking.
The cause
The Heart Foundation gave HAA a public purpose that made sense.
HAA did not start as a charity campaign. It started as a personal demonstration of possibility after my own life had changed. Then people kept asking whether the suffering was for a cause.
The Heart Foundation made sense because heart health was already part of the no more mr fat guy story. I had been afraid that if I did not change, I could become a heart attack statistic. My Grandpa had died of a heart attack when I was 8. The connection was personal before it became public.
The crew
The Three HAAmigos.
That was the daily work behind HAA: Ben and Ols driving, navigating, cooking, washing, filming, walking sections, solving problems, and making the next start possible while I kept putting one foot in front of the other.
Ben Sutton
Support crew: driving, navigating, filming, walking sections, handling daily logistics, and helping keep the whole crossing moving.
In his Day 5 introduction, Ben wrote about quitting smoking cold turkey, walking more than 50 kilometres with me in the first few days, and wanting to finish HAA in a better mental and physical state than when he signed up.
Ols Nicholls
Support crew: driving, navigating, cooking, washing, filming, walking sections, and carrying the practical work that made the next day possible.
In his Day 6 introduction, Ols wrote about giving up smoking, walking and jogging beside me, supporting the long haul to Brisbane, and aiming to improve at every parkrun on the route.
Shirt sponsors
The names on the HAA shirt were not decoration.
These were the sponsors printed on the HAA shirt. They also sat behind very practical parts of HAA: web support, shoes, fuel, supplements, socks, and people willing to back the idea before it had become real.
SayBubble
Brought into HAA after Josh Smith, whom I knew through Big Think, offered to build the website and then became part of SayBubble. They became a shirt and website sponsor, and later the human bridge that helped solve the support-crew problem.
RunWest / Murray "Muz"
The South Perth running-shop connection that started with shoes, included Lightfeet socks donated by Muz from his shop, supplied Tailwind locally, and became the bridge to Hoka and Tailwind Australia.
Hoka OneOne Australia / Roger Hanney
Shoes for a very large bloke asking his feet to do a deeply unreasonable amount of work.
Tailwind Nutrition Australia / Gavin Markey
Fuel for long days, including the big tub that had to chase us east after we had already left Perth.
USANA Australia New Zealand
Supplements, shakes, bars, and recovery supplies through a connection opened by JR.
Ground crew
The local helpers who made each arrival possible.
As we moved across the country, an informal ground crew formed around us: people in key places who made calls, found beds, connected us with locals, arranged practical help, and helped the next major stop become a real arrival.
Allison and Nigel Hunter
Goldfields ground crew through Kalgoorlie-Boulder parkrun. Allison played a huge part in the Southern Cross and Kalgoorlie stretch, helping put the word out, connect local support, draw in the running community, contact Rydges, arrange a Coles voucher, alert the Mayor, and link us with local parkrunner Chris Woods of StixFX for vehicle stickers and later event shirts.
Julia
Adelaide ground crew who helped turn the first capital-city arrival since Perth into a proper supported stop. Julia handled errands, messages, fresh Hoka delivery, the replacement Garmin delivery point, sausage-sizzle supplies, sports massage organising, and event-shirt logistics.
Wendy Mathews, Heart Foundation WA
Heart Foundation WA fundraising director and one of HAA's key supporters from the very start. Wendy was the person I first met to pitch the Hearts Across Australia idea, offered me the chance to run London as a Heart Foundation fundraiser, and kept backing what we were doing all the way through.
Nikki and Simon, SA Heart Foundation
Adelaide Heart Foundation support: bringing Hearty to Torrens parkrun, helping organise media releases, and becoming an important part of the team around our Adelaide arrival.
Sarah and Heart Foundation Victoria
Melbourne Heart Foundation support: liaising with Kirby, helping build media interest around Albert Melbourne parkrun, and bringing Hearty into another major HAA city weekend.
Bec Kuss
Two Wells ground crew and a wonderful recurring HAA supporter. Fiona Cooper told Bec to look out for us while she was travelling west, which led to a roadside meeting near Kalgoorlie, another appearance after Balladonia with water and chocolate, and then a full Bec's-neighbourhood rescue near Two Wells: meeting me at the finish, helping bridge the caravan park logistics, shouting us pizza at Empire Cafe, and driving us back.
Jo
Melbourne ground crew from the wider Run Down Under connection. Jo made food for us, opened her home for dinner and showers, looked for practical overnight options, and arranged the Performance Healthcare treatment that helped keep my body moving through Victoria.
Alicia
Alicia was effectively the HAA merch department. Through Oz Virtual Racing she took on the logistics of shirt orders and distribution, virtual run registrations, and getting medals out to people, while also coming along to Albert Melbourne parkrun when HAA reached Melbourne.
Lynn, Rob, Kirby, and family
Kirby followed HAA online and told Lynn and Rob to look out for us on the Nullarbor. They found us, delivered supplies, and refused payment because they wanted it to be a donation. As Melbourne approached, Lynn and Rob arranged the St Kilda apartment that nearly brought me to tears, while Kirby helped on the ground around Albert Melbourne parkrun. After parkrun, Kirby's family looked after us again with lunch in St Kilda, and Warren / Waz even gave us a lift toward the MCG.
Yani
Canberra ground crew through Gungahlin parkrun. Yani invited us to the event, paid for our accommodation at Ibis Styles Eaglehawk Canberra, cooked and brought dinner to the unit, and helped turn the Canberra side trip into a properly supported rest weekend. She also gave the new Hoka delivery a Canberra address, sent cakes out with the shoes, and kept feeding us after the weekend.
ACT Heart Foundation / Tony, Sally and Rowan
The local Heart Foundation team who came to Gungahlin parkrun, talked with me about health and activity, and helped make Canberra feel like another proper HAA capital-city stop.
Canberra / Gungahlin crew
The wider Canberra support around Gungahlin parkrun: David McCooey's introduction and chalk messages, Connie's support, Kat organising the mobile massage, Peta's contribution and handwritten note from her daughter, Claire and family, Elsie's heart face painting, and Mel from Mels Massage helping my feet and legs recover.
Deb and family
Albury-Wodonga ground crew. Deb helped line up Quest Albury, food donations, media interest, and the local arrival around the New South Wales border, then brought her family and a home-cooked roast dinner to the hotel so all seven of us could sit down together.
More practical support
Other practical sponsors helped turn the idea into something my body could survive.
The crossing needed belief, but it also needed meals, compression gear, web help, local advice, and people willing to take the plan seriously before there was much proof it would work.
Runningworks / Chris Lark
Compression gear advice, the first donated kit, a generous discount on extra sets, and a parkrun delivery that helped turn tights and long sleeves into part of my daily uniform.
Sanford & Smith / Josh Smith
After Big Think 3, Josh offered to build a HAA site, and that work soon carried the conversation into SayBubble.
Mark Iriks / easifleet
A Josh Smith connection who loved what I was doing and made the first donation toward helping HAA happen.
Poppet's Pantry / Steve
Donated meals that made the first stretch taste far better than campervan survival food had any right to.
The Fleurieu Kitchen
Sent sweet treats into Adelaide during the rest weekend: macarons, berry and frangipane tartlets, and a Christmas-in-July reminder that support could arrive as pure deliciousness too.
The Fleurieu Pantry / Karly and Laurie
Donated food for the HAA team in Port Noarlunga, arranged through Michelle's Race for Miracles and another small-world running connection.
Foodland
Donated bread and sausages for the Torrens parkrun sausage sizzle, turning a Saturday morning in Adelaide into another practical HAA support moment.
Miss Naked Cakes / Clare
Donated a six-pack of OMG cupcakes in Wodonga, collected through Deb's Albury-Wodonga organising and very happily treated as HAA carb loading.
Henri's Bakery Wodonga / Donna and Kerin
Donated bread, bread rolls and sweet scrolls for the Albury-Wodonga arrival, with Kerin also making a personal Heart Foundation donation when Deb collected the goods.
Border Just Foods
Donated dried fruit, fruit-and-nut mix and chips in Albury, giving us a stash of healthier snacks as I headed back onto the Hume.
The Barista, Baker & Brewer / Harry
Harry donated a $50 voucher for lunch in Albury: paninis, coffee, ginger biscuits, and exactly the chicken and avocado panini I needed after the media interviews.
Amazeballs
A random connection through the Publicity for Profit media workshop, and a provider of yummy snacks for HAA.
The Athlete's Foot Subiaco / Bruce Hogg
A connection that started before the 2014 London Marathon, when The Athlete's Foot asked me to review its new fitting system and Bruce sorted me with a free pair of shoes. In the final week before HAA, he added running sunnies, advice, and a generous send-off.
Beds, showers, food, and body repair
Some places did more than host us. They made the next day possible.
Accommodation, hot showers, meals, massage, parking, power, and a kind welcome could change the whole feel of a day. A few businesses and local people gave exactly the kind of help we needed at exactly the right time.
Northam Caravan Park
Discounted the fee because HAA was a charity effort, giving us an early place to land after the wet, late push into Northam.
Merredin Tourist Park / Laura and Brett
Hosted us for two nights, discounted site fees, bought a couple of hearts, recognised the walk from radio coverage, and made Merredin feel like another early point where local support was starting to gather around HAA.
Railway Tavern, Southern Cross / Jo and team
Donated rooms for all three of us, hot showers, space for the campervan, and a generous Southern Cross base that proved the country-wide support crew was forming around HAA.
Thai Remedial Massage Service / Julie
Donated more than 90 minutes of painful, generous work on my feet and legs, sent me away with care advice, products, and a foot bath, and refused payment because this was her way of being part of HAA.
Rydges Kalgoorlie Resort and Spa / Nicholas Parkinson-Bates and team
Three nights' accommodation and breakfast, plus parking, meals, massage support, heart-display space, and a hotel finish line.
Queen Bees Coffee / Wendy and John
Kalgoorlie parkrun support, coffee, donations, and a warm local morning around the heart display.
Kambalda Hotel / Jamie and Sarah
A donated room, power for the van, and a Heart Foundation donation after the first day out of Kalgoorlie.
Acclaim Gateway Tourist Park, Norseman / Janet and Pete
A kind reset before the Eyre Highway, help around the campervan mess, and a Heart Foundation moment through Max's story.
Ceduna Foreshore Caravan Park / Marty and Jodie
A proper rest-day landing after the Norseman-to-Ceduna crossing: Craig recommended the park, Marty made a kind donation to HAA, and Jodie arranged a discount on the site fees.
City Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic, Adelaide
Donated a much-needed sports massage after I reached Adelaide, thanks to Julia's on-the-ground organising. Simon, Chloe, Nameeta, and Leanne turned the first capital-city arrival since Perth into a proper body-repair stop.
Performance Healthcare / Brad, Laura, Deb and team
Jo arranged a donated Melbourne treatment stop where Brad worked on my tight calf, hamstring and quad and introduced me to cupping and dry needling. Laura followed with a chiropractic check and realignment, while Deb and the rest of the staff team made us feel welcome.
Mt Barker Caravan & Tourist Park / Linda
Gave us a discount on the first night after Adelaide, when Day 66 had taken us through the Adelaide Hills and on to Dawesley.
Grampians Edge Caravan Park
Discounted our site fee for the night after Day 74, another welcome piece of practical support as we moved through western Victoria.
Acacia Caravan Park Ararat
Discounted our site fee on Day 75, giving us an overnight base in Ararat before I returned to the marked walking finish the next morning.
Bacchus Marsh Caravan Park / Janet and Mark
Gave us a powered site for free at the end of the first walking day after the Melbourne weekend, turning another long, cold day into a warmer overnight reset.
Glenrowan Tourist and Caravan Park / Steve and Amanda
Donated our site fee to the Heart Foundation after the long day into Glenrowan, turning a practical overnight stop in Ned Kelly country into another generous HAA support moment.
Quest Albury on Townsend / Kevin and David
Donated a two-bedroom apartment for the three HAAmigos through Deb's local organising, giving us a hot shower, proper beds, warmth, and exactly the kind of recovery space I needed when I reached Albury feeling unwell.
Holbrook Motor Village / Trevor and Sharon
Donated a powered site after the wet 64 km push from Albury to Holbrook, which meant warmth, charging, and a proper place to recover before the next day.
Barney's at Bookham / Darrel and Brett
Turned a Day 95 coffee stop into practical HAA support: Darrel put the coffees on the house, Mon made a donation, and Darrel and Brett paid for a powered site at Yass Caravan Park that night.
The cafe has changed management since HAA visited in 2015.
Cunderdin and other local stops
Practical help, hearts on the display, and all the small bits of hospitality that rarely fit neatly into a headline.
Communities
There were communities around HAA before there were many kilometres behind me.
Running clubs, parkrunners, online friends, local groups, charity supporters, and people who had followed the no more mr fat guy years all became part of the public story.
parkrun Australia / Tim Oberg
A major supporter, newsletter voice, and the reason parkrun became a focal point in each capital city.
Canning River parkrun
The public departure point, a wet farewell, and the community that made Day One feel surrounded.
Kalgoorlie-Boulder parkrun
The Goldfields welcome network: local runners, media, council awareness, Rydges, and the first big milestone weekend.
Torrens parkrun
The Adelaide parkrun welcome: event-team warmth, local community, a sausage sizzle, Hearty, and the third parkrun event of HAA.
Albert Melbourne parkrun
The Melbourne parkrun welcome: a large crowd, a great atmosphere, a sausage sizzle, Hearty, and unexpected national television coverage.
Gungahlin parkrun
The Canberra parkrun welcome: the event community that gave the side trip its focal point and helped turn Gungahlin into one of the standout HAA weekends.
Running Mums Australia
The RMA support that turned part of Day 100 into roadside company, a walking interview, plenty of laughs, and a Maccas pause on the push toward Liverpool and Sydney.
Rogue Runners Club Australia
The running-for-those-who-can't community where a joke Brisbane-to-Perth route helped the real Perth-to-Brisbane idea click.
Run Down Under / Run The World / Travis Ireland
The virtual lap of Australia that lined up perfectly with the planned walk: I joined early, used it as a community and fundraising route through club cash-back, met founder Travis at the 2014 Gold Coast Marathon lunch, and later shared a few kilometres with him on the Gold Coast. Now Run The World, where the old HAA club continues as Runners Gateway.
Oz Virtual Racing
Virtual race support, medals, event packs, and challenge momentum that helped people feel part of HAA from wherever they were.
Jetts Australia / Jetts Canning Vale South
Part of the training and preparation environment in the final months.
Run Forest Run / Markus Forest
Training advice, ultra-distance logic, support-crew planning, and the massage connection in Southern Cross.
Big Think, Mega Motivation, and Out of the Box Biz
Speaking rooms and human networks where the story became more public and practical help started connecting.
no more mr fat guy supporters
The people who followed the original change story and gave Hearts Across Australia its first real audience.
People
The real support network was a human chain.
Some people had formal roles. Most did not. They made calls, opened doors, drove supplies, walked sections, took photos, found beds, fed us, sent messages, gave donations, and made the long days feel less lonely.
JR / John Ross
Early event prompt, first speaking opportunity, and the connector who helped open the USANA door.
Josh Smith, Catherine Madden, and the SayBubble team
Big Think introduced me to Josh, Josh offered to build the HAA website, and his move into SayBubble brought Catherine and the wider team into the conversation that eventually led to Ols and Ben.
Margie Bryant
A steady supporter from the Big Think season and an important speaking-network connection.
Scott
The friend who drove the Tailwind tub out from Perth when the fuel arrived after we had already left.
Melinda
The friend whose Kalgoorlie trip turned another batch of Poppet's Pantry meals into practical support.
Jon Storey, Abdul, Jon's family, Ben Harris, Michelle Brown, Grant, Richard, Mike, and the Day One crowd
The people who made the start feel like a moving village rather than one bloke stepping out alone.
Michelle Brown and family
A recurring support thread, from the Bunbury-to-Perth rehearsal through later family and connection points.
Geoff and Jane Smith
Michelle's parents, who hosted the McLaren Flat pizza lunch, fired up the pizza oven, invited friends, made the gathering a fundraiser, and gave HAA a brilliant social refill on a too-short Adelaide Sunday.
Matt Napier / Towards a Better World
Matt's Perth-to-Sydney walk, blog and itinerary gave me practical evidence that the Nullarbor was doable when HAA was still mostly a wild idea. He answered emails, spoke with me before Norseman, helped confirm the route into Sydney, met us in Canberra with Wendy and Mari, then picked up the new Hoka Valors and brought them out to Yass before walking nine kilometres with Wendy.
Louise, Grant, Chris Woods, Nicholas Parkinson-Bates, Melinda, Ryan, Shane, Wendy, John, and the Goldfields crew
The local network that turned Kalgoorlie from a dot on the schedule into a proper arrival.
Justin and Sharmaine Beard
Adelaide hospitality: Justin had offered us somewhere to stay soon after we left Perth, through the Chris Lark / Runningworks connection. When we finally reached Adelaide, Justin and Sharmaine gave us food, beds, conversation, and a proper home landing after weeks of campervan life.
Jim, Renae, and Stuart
Ols' uncle, aunt, and cousin in Adelaide. They opened their home to the three HAAmigos for two full days and nights, giving us comfy beds, a warm house, proper meals, and clear instructions to make ourselves at home.
Trish Slater
Online running friend who sent a generous supply of sunscreen to Adelaide, exactly the kind of practical support that mattered once HAA meant being outside all day, every day.
Media and story helpers
The cameras and articles helped other people find the story.
Media attention was never the whole point, but it mattered. It helped people understand what HAA was, why the Heart Foundation belonged in it, and how they could follow or support what we were doing.
Visual Reality Productions / Pete Liddicoat
The Out of the Box Biz talk video, Bunbury-to-Perth footage, and the Canning River parkrun departure video.
Channel 7 and Channel 10
Start-day TV coverage at Canning River parkrun, including the now-essential Ben Harris high-five moment.
ABC / 720 ABC Perth
Public coverage before Adelaide and wider awareness of HAA.
GWN7 News and The Kalgoorlie Miner
Goldfields media support around the Kalgoorlie arrival.
Daily Mail Australia
National online coverage just before Adelaide.
The Heart Foundation video team
A post-walk follow-up that connected HAA back to the health story that started it.
parkrun Australia newsletters
The weekly updates that helped the parkrun community follow the departure and early crossing.
Still growing
This thank-you will keep growing.
The list is not final, because the story is still being rebuilt carefully. Some names are already clear. Some roles still need exact wording. Some people belong on specific day pages before they belong in a broad thank-you.
As more photos, videos, posts, and memories are connected, this page can keep becoming a better roll call of the people who made an impossible-looking crossing a little more possible.