Alan Thorpe to walk 25 kilometres for 20 consecutive days in Ballarat

The big lesson Alan had to face earlier this year was that it was OK to not be OK. This is the message he had been touting in an attempt to walk about 600 kilometres from Ballarat to Adelaide.

Battered and blistered feet forced Alan to abort his mission not long after passing over the South Australian border.

Digging deep, two months on, Alan is back walking again with a new focus to continue raising funds and awareness for mental health.

He is gradually stepping up to walk 25 kilometres for 20 consecutive days about Ballarat later this year.

"I'm not going to stop until something changes and the stigma has to change on men being seen as weak," Alan said.

"I feel more positive about this. Twenty-five kilometres for me feels more like a walk to the shops and back now," Alan said.

"I'm confident I can achieve it. I don't have to upturn my life and I can come home to my own bed every night."

Alan raised almost $12,000 for national mental health body Beyond Blue. A further $8,350 for his Ballarat attempt will take him to a new $20,000 goal.

But it was not just about the money. Alan wanted to get people talking.

He is a suicide survivor who could barely get off his couch at this time last year.

Alan said recovering from his trek to South Australia was tough mentally because physically he was unable to find his release through walking. He recognised this and has taken smaller steps to build back.

Alan got moving out of his comfort zone this week by chalking up five kilometres indoors with a Tuesday morning walking group at Ken Kay Badminton Stadium.

Mostly older and rugged up against the cold, the group was intrigued by Alan, who is in his late 30s, power-walking in a t-shirt. One gentleman had lost a loved one to suicide and Alan said it felt good to have an important conversation about mental health.

"They were all chatting to me and asking what I was doing - they were all stoked that I would do that," Alan said.

He can hardly wait to get back to the stadium for another Tuesday session and encouraged others to join in for company.

This was another reason Alan was keen to keep his next mission local: to build more hometown support on the journeys.

He was in the process of determining five key walking routes to get his 25km across town - a different one for Monday to Fridays - before chalking up laps of the lake on Saturdays and Sundays. He hoped people might get to know him and his routine, whether they might donate or just have a chat.

Hip Pocket Workwear has started making him walking tops and jumpers to be recognisable.

It takes Alan four hours and 10 minutes to walk 25km, once he had built up to the distance, a block of time that he said he could easily fit in while his children were at school.

Alan hoped to have his Ballarat mission mapped out and ready to go in two months' time.

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