Ears champion Peter Bartlett's run for hearing health in Malawi

Mr Bartlett's 200-kilometre target is the equivalent of running further than from Buninyong to Horsham.

The idea is to run 200km in a bid to encourage 200 people to donate $200 a year to Australian charity Ears, which works to reduce the incidence and impact of hearing impairment in developing nations.

Mr Bartlett hopes his run can help make the need seem more tangible to people in Ballarat.

One of Mr Barlett's friends suggested he dress in a giant ear costume for his run. Mr Bartlett instead settled for a slightly more practical giant ear headband, which he hoped to keep on for as long as he could manage.

"Really the big focus for this run has been on awareness. A lot of people like the cause and have been supporters, but now we hope to better engage supporters and better show what their donation achieves," Mr Bartlett said. "By running I am part of that story."

This run is also deeply personal for Mr Barlett.

He and wife Rebecca, who is also an audiologist, spent six years as missionaries in south-east African country Malawi and helping to set up and train audiology studies at African Bible College Community Clinic.

When they arrived in 2010 there was one audiologist for a population of 19 million, compared to more than 3000 hearing specialists for Australia. The Bartletts have continued to visit and work with the clinic in supporting a training program for hearing health.

Mr Bartlett said Malawi had a high rate of children with hearing impairments, largely due to a lack of primary healthcare and infection risks early in life. He said this was a nation using antibiotics Australia no longer considered appropriate due to high rates of hearing loss as a side effect.

Ears' charity work is already telling.

ABC 's hearing clinic celebrated its first graduating class in June of 10 students from four intakes to the program, all needing to first obtain approval from Malawai's council of higher education and Malawi's medical council.

"When COVID hit, one of the first things we did was we went online for classes, we bought lap tops and data and navigated government requirements," Mr Bartlett said. "A doctor of audiology from the United States living out there had to go back to the States but they could do a lot of stuff, like lectures, online.

"It was a lot harder but still, we could facilitate learning with some international experts, which is something we otherwise would not have done."

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Mr Bartlett will set out from 6am in a run with the Tann Clan before continuing along the rail trail to Skipton and back. He planned to the base his remaining efforts from the Ballarat Grammar boatshed, on Lake Wendouree.

An experienced ultra-runner, Mr Bartlett has conquered the Comrades Marathon (almost 90km) in South Africa 10 times and his longest run has been 100km. Running 200km will take some flexibility.

He hoped to reach the 120km mark by midnight on Saturday, then decide whether to keep going or rest - and rest could be harder on his tired legs as they cooled down.

To support Mr Bartlett's efforts and become an Ears champion, visit earsinc.org/ears-champions.

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