Like a lot of Australians, Pablo Miller used the 2020 COVID lockdown to get fit and started walking every day – but unlike a lot he has managed to keep up the habit and is now using his daily routine to fundraise for Children’s Medical Research Institute.

The Triple M breakfast announcer in Karratha WA first started running in March 2020.

“I was never a runner, but I had recently lost a lot of weight and I knew I had to do something when the gyms closed so that I could keep my fitness up – so I just started running,’’ Pablo said.

He committed to running 5km every day for 50 days. Then he extended it to 100 days, and then he never stopped. Now he has done 365 days but wanted a new challenge.

“A lot of people asked why I was running, was it for charity? So, I thought that was a good idea.’’

Pablo decided he wanted the charity to have a focus on genetic disease. His four-year-old daughter Charlotte was born with a rare condition which causes “segmental overgrowth’’. This means that parts of her body grow faster than others. Her parents noticed that, when she was a couple of months old, one leg looked so swollen as though she had been bitten by a spider.

“It varies from child to child, and we are very lucky that her condition has been very mild,’’ Pablo said. “She’s had very intense monitoring for the last four years, having six monthly scans to check for liver or kidney problems or signs of cancer. Thankfully, she’s been okay.’’

Pablo took part in Jeans for Genes Day as a child in primary school, so immediately knew that Children’s Medical Research Institute was the place he wanted to fundraise for.

“It wasn’t until I started looking into who does research into genetic diseases that I saw that 1 in 20 children in Australia have a birth defect or genetic disease. I couldn’t believe it was so common.

“It was quite eye opening, and it makes you release that there are so many unseen conditions. It’s not like seeing a child with a broken leg and immediately understanding their pain. Most of these kids are suffering and we don’t even notice. It made us feel helpless, so I wanted to support a charity that is doing research into genetic disease.

“Last year was for me, but for the next 365 days it is for kids born with a genetic condition.”

Pablo is raising $5,000 over the next 12months as he walks 5km every day. If you would like to contribute to his fundraiser visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/another-day-another-5k