24 hours and 24 laps for a dream: 120 kilometres to fundraise for terminal cancer

Posted on 30 October, 2026

Three Canberran men are challenging themselves to run 24 parkruns in 24 hours this November with a goal to raise $10,000 for Australians Facing Terminal Cancer.

Join Chris Williams, Matthew Leckenby and Toby Fuller on Saturday 7 November as they complete 24 laps of the five-kilometre parkrun course at Lake Tuggeranong in 24 hours. All money raised by the trio will be donated to Dreams2Live4, a national Australian charity helping adults aged 17 and up who are battling terminal cancer.

The men will begin their first run at 8 am, returning every hour to continue their laps until they reach their 120 kilometre mark at 7 am the next day.

“This is a charity that means a lot to us all. Patients living with advanced cancer go through hard times constantly. The least we could do is suffer a little too,”  says Chris Williams.

Chris planned this marathon to raise money for Dreams2Live4, a charity that has helped his family firsthand. Chris is a team leader in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry as well as a triathlete and ultramarathon runner. Chris’s sister Natalie lives with stage four breast cancer and has seen for herself the positive impacts of Dreams2Live4’s work.

Chris will be joined on his 24-hour marathon by his brother-in-law Matthew Leckenby, Natalie’s husband, and Toby Fuller, a 27-year-old man living with multiple myeloma.

Natalie first contacted Dreams2Live4 in 2022, saying, “To dream is like a double-edged sword. On one side I am so fortunate to have this opportunity to be able to access the amazing work that you do at Dreams, but on the other hand, gosh I really wish I wasn’t in the position to need it”.

Natalie has been an advocate for Dreams2Live4’s cause. In 2023, Natalie, Chris and Matthew took part in City2Surf, a fun run based in Sydney; they did this run to advocate for Dreams2Live4. Matthew took part in the Canberra Times marathon in 2023 to fundraise for Dreams2Live4. Following this, Chris took part in the 2025 Ironman triathlon as part of his mission to raise $10,000 for Dreams2Live4.

Toby is also a beneficiary of Dreams2Live4. His dream was to gain a place in the TCS Sydney Marathon. Toby now holds a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon by a runner with multiple myeloma. He was helped to achieve this goal through support from Dreams2Live4.

Running is a huge source of strength for Toby; he is joining Chris and Matthew to help other Australians living with terminal cancer to experience the joy of having their own dream.

Kathryn Patten, CEO of Dreams2Live4 says that Dreams2Live4 aims to shift focus from cancer to life, dreams and goals.

“Dream2Live4 helps to bring hope, joy and light to those living through some of their darkest days by giving people something meaningful to look forward to and creating lasting memories for those they love,” she explains.

“We can’t be more grateful to Chris, Matthew and Toby for undertaking this crazy challenge to help give others living with terminal cancer the opportunity to dream.”

The community is encouraged to get involved in the event, whether you want to join in on one, or a few of the laps, or if joining in on the run isn’t for you, you can show support through cheering on the runners or donating to their cause.

The trio requests a minimum donation of $24 from the runners to Dreams2Live4 to help reach the donation goal of $10,000. So far Chris, Matthew and Toby have interest from more than 450 participants looking to join them for at least one of their 24 laps.

For more information, or to donate, visit fundraising.dreams2live4.org.au