10km a Day for Johnny

Just over 12 months ago, my good mate Johnny Konings suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury while surfing at D-bar in Queensland. In a single moment, Johnny lost the use of his legs, his career as a builder, and many of the hopes and dreams he and his fiancé, Charlie, had been building together.

To make things even harder, Johnny and Charlie have fallen through the cracks when it comes to support. They’ve been in Australia too long to qualify for New Zealand assistance, but not long enough to receive Australian citizenship or NDIS help. This has left them facing the immense physical, emotional, and financial challenges of spinal cord injury largely on their own.

Charlie has been Johnny’s full-time carer while also trying to keep their lives afloat. Normally, there would be funded help, but right now they are navigating this journey without a safety net.

That’s where I want to help.

This October, I’ll be running 10km every single day — over 300km across the month — to raise awareness and funds to support Johnny and Charlie. I’ll be documenting every run and sharing updates to keep Johnny’s journey front of mind.

Your donation, no matter the size, will go directly toward helping with the costs of care, recovery, and everyday life.

Together, we can make sure Johnny knows he’s not facing this alone.

Thank you for your support,

Nik Finlay