Heat stroke and stress fractures don't stop teen running 660km for charity

A teenager from Western Australia's South West, travelled more than 2,000 kilometres to the state's north to then run 660km in 14 days.

Lochlan Gilbert lives in Capel, 200km south of Perth, and wanted to raise money to help homeless people as well as give himself a challenge during the school holidays.

So, he chose the Gibb River Road, a 660km stretch in WA's far north that many only travel on with a four-wheel drive.

The 16-year-old spent two months training after school, but admitted more preparation would have been ideal.

Running about 50km a day in 6km bursts, Lochlan started at 4am, resting in the heat of the day, walked when he was fatigued and even crossed rivers on foot.

Both his feet swelled up with suspected stress fractures early in the challenge.

"I kind of tried to ignore the fact it hurt quite a bit and I just kind of went into a bit of denial," he said.

"The beauty of doing it on the Gibb is that the closest hospital is about 300 kilometres away, so you don't really have much of a choice other than just to run to the other side."

With daily temperatures nearing 40 degrees Celsius, Lochlan also got heat stroke on the first day out of Kununurra.

"I fried myself," he said.

Discomfort for a good cause

Lochlan said remembering the cause kept him going when the run became tough.

"Obviously, a lot of people who are impacted by homelessness or find themselves vulnerable, they don't really have much of a choice," he said.

"They're kind of forced to have that uncomfortable sort of living standards and so I thought I'd make myself as uncomfortable as possible to help those who aren't fortunate enough to not have a choice in being uncomfortable."

But by the second week, he had found his stride.

"After having some doubts in the first few days, it feels amazing [to be out here]," he said.

"I'm over the moon."

The southerner also encountered wildlife up close.

"At the start I was absolutely terrified of hawks, they'd all be circling over me and it got me nervous. I was packing it," he said.

"There's been cattle, wallabies and at night cane toads to avoid stepping on.

"Thankfully, no snakes."

Fundraising a big motivation

He said running through the Wunaamin Miliwundi Ranges, 160km east of Derby, was a highlight despite the hill climbs.

"It was my favourite day. The scenery was amazing, a lot of elevation under climb but so worth it. The views were a nice reward," he said.

Lochlan's no stranger to fundraising, having completed a challenge in 2025 to raise money for We Are Mobilise.

"I know where the money's going to go and how impactful it can be for someone," he said.

He got a text message during the run from We Are Mobilise which motivated him further.

"It said when I reached $15,000 I had helped five families," he said.

"It adds fuel to my fire."

He also credited people stopping on the side of the road to encourage him, donate or find out about the cause.

"Dad is on the radio letting drivers know not to be surprised if they see some random kid on the road," he said.

Emotional finish

By the time he crossed the finish line where the Gibb River Road intersected the Derby Highway, he had raised more than $23,000.

Lochlan stopped about 2km from the finish to meet his parents before tackling the final stretch.

"I got ready to kind of head on to that last final stretch and then I reckon I spent probably the first 500 metres of the last 2kms kind of taking it all in and realising what I've done and that I've helped a lot of people in this homelessness scenario," he said.

"It was absolutely unreal coming through the finish."

Now in recovery, there is no rest for Lochlan as returns to high school today.

"I'm definitely going to do something next year," he said.

"Obviously, I'm still raising money for homelessness and going to try to push myself to my absolute limits again."