Marty Kallane - ultra marathon runner, business owner, and navy veteran - came along to talk about “doing miles for mental health” – how running marathons has changed his life. We all have the ability to find strength during times of hardship, and Marty demonstrated very clearly how he managed to do that. WA born, Marty found himself in Sydney during his early years, and he was in the navy and then the police force during that time. He suffered much trauma including marriage woes and alienating his five children, but he was helped by some very good friends and found that if you believe in yourself, you can do anything. Seven years ago, Marty gave up drinking and smoking and took up running, and in so doing he started to raise funds for headspace (which provides a free and confidential mental health service for youngsters between 12 and 25). More importantly though his aim was to establish awareness of the mental health dangers that exist and what to do about them. When headspace became government funded, Marty turned his attention to the Veterans Transition Centre (VTC) which provides respite services for veterans and their families. He found that RSL sub branches didn’t really talk to one another, so by running ultra marathons through their areas he has been able to rectify this. He is one of only 11 people who have completed 3 particular runs in a year!