Under the cool darkness of an outback sky, Blake Bourne sprints towards a banner in the remote Queensland town of Birdsville.
After more than three days of running almost non-stop, the 26-year-old from Traralgon, Victoria had finally completed his run across the Simpson Desert.
Readers are advised that this story contains references to suicide.
To some watching, it might have looked like the final strides of an ordinary race.
In truth, it was the end of a 380-kilometre odyssey across the Simpson Desert.
For Mr Bourne, the finish line was more than the end of a physical challenge. It marked the closing of a chapter that began in August 2021, the night he tried to take his own life.
“All the pain of the last four years, I had bottled it up and used as fuel for the run,”
he said.
“And now that the run is complete, it has all disappeared.”
Activities such as running have supported Blake Bourne during his mental health struggles. (Supplied: Jadyn Lam)
A long fight
Years of battling mental health issues led Mr Bourne to that point.
“I was on antidepressants from 11 till 18 and then back on it when I was 22 when I was back in the hospital,” he said.
But despite all of the medicines he tried, nothing seemed to work.
“If anything, [the medication] made it worse,” Mr Bourne said.
“It took away the energy to commit suicide, but it also took away the energy to do everything, so I didn’t have the energy to do the things I loved.“
Blake Bourne made his second attempt to run across the Simpson Desert. (Supplied: Jadyn Lam)
But after the night he attempted suicide, he decided he needed to find a way forward.
“The pain on the faces of the people I love most when I came out of hospital is a memory I will never forget,” Mr Bourne said.
Inspired by a story about a woman who had run across the South Australian desert in 2012, he set himself a goal: to run across the vast expanse of the Simpson Desert himself.
One of Australia’s most unforgiving landscapes, the desert has 1,100 parallel red sand dunes.
While training for the run, Mr Bourne realised there was a bigger goal beyond his personal aims.
“I’ve had mates and those around me, people they love, lost to suicide and I realised it was more than me and my immediate circle,” he said.
He decided to use his run to raise funds through the Speak and Share organisation.
“They give practical solutions to those suffering so they can manage their own mental health, and I think that’s so important,” Mr Bourne said.
It took Blake Bourne three days and 17 hours to complete his fundraising run across three state borders. (Supplied: Jadyn Lam)
Three days, 17 hours, 40 minutes
Mr Bourne’s journey stretched across endless red sand dunes, salt pans and dry creek beds through South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.
He completed the run in three days, 17 hours and 40 minutes, about nine hours short of the world record.
“I managed to become the youngest person ever to run across the Simpson, which is pretty cool,”
he said.
But this wasn’t his first attempt.
In 2022, Mr Bourne set out to cross the desert.
But 203km in, injured and exhausted, the run was cut short and when he returned to Traralgon, he was unable to stop thinking about his abandoned pursuit.
“I went to the gym and ran 177km on the treadmill, just to prove to myself that I could do it,” he said.
Lessons from the first attempt were incorporated into this year’s run.
Blake Bourne found solace in running after struggling with mental health issues from a young age. (Supplied: Jadyn Lam)
“It was like 35 degrees the first day and then even at night it didn’t get below 28 [degrees],” he said.
Mr Bourne carried a hydration vest with enough food and water for an hour and a half at a time, refilled by his lead support vehicle when he needed.
At night he had icepacks on hand to deal with inflammation.
Blake Bourne’s swollen and bruised feet after running across the Simpson Desert. (Supplied: Blake Bourne)
For runners, the Simpson Desert presents a challenge like no other, with its 176,500 square kilometres of endless sand and no shelter from the elements.
“I said that to my support crew before the run as well … there is absolutely no reason to stop this run, unless I physically can not move,” Mr Bourne said.
“Because I’ve spent four years training for it, dreamed about it for four years and planned it for four years, its consumed my life for four years.“
Blake Bourne’s friends were his support system through the run. (Supplied: Jadyn Lam)
Leaving it in the desert
In the final 40km of the run, the fatigue and lack of sleep started to hit Mr Bourne hard.
“I sort of hit a wall and stumbled through the next 10km,” he said.
After a 10-minute power nap, he was ready to go again.
Running has been Blake Bourne’s way of improving his mental wellbeing. (Supplied: Jadyn Lam)
“I felt like I was flying when I was running that last section,” he said.
Everything after that was a blur.
Mr Bourne hugged the first person he saw, a stranger who turned out to be a Birdsville local who had been inspired by the young man’s effort.
“I have no idea who he was,” Mr Bourne laughed.
Mr Bourne’s body was shutting down, his brain only knew one thing — he had done it.
“When I came out of the hospital this is what I set my eyes on,”
he said.
“And now that I have ticked it off I can leave that chapter behind, left out in the desert for sure.”