• Elspeth Jordan and Benita Cattalini prepare for the Melbourne marathon. Photo by Steve Grant

A bad day at the children’s hospital five years ago was a turning point for mother-of-two Elspeth Jordan.

“I wasn’t coping and I just left the house, not knowing what I was doing or where I was going,” she recalls.

Leaving her home in Como, she ended up walking nearly 20km to the coast like an automaton. When she realised what she’d done, she turned around to run home.

Holding back tears over the 2007 death of her 16-month-old son, Ms Jordan says running helps her cope with the loss.

The 39-year-old will run in the Melbourne marathon October 13 with buddy Benita Cattalini, 47, aiming to raise $20,000 for national mental health charity SANE Australia: “I am doing this for Edward, he is still a part of my life,” she tells the Herald, taking a breather from a brisk run on Bathers Beach this week.

Her first glimpse of a marathon was at age 11 when her father took her to central London and described the runners as “nuts”. “I knew from then on I wanted to run in a marathon,” she says.

Ms Cattalini says her late uncle, former mayor John Cattalini, inspired her to run: “My uncle John used to run marathons,” she says. “He was a long-distance runner and told me stories about how running was good for your bones, particularly in women.”

Ms Cattalini says SANE is a sensible choice of charity given her professional experiences with mental health and depression. She hopes to raise awareness about the stigma of mental illness, particularly for people in isolated and remote rural areas of WA.

A Casino in Casablanca fundraiser is planned for Maylands yacht club September 29. Tickets available at http://www.everydayhero.com.au.

by CARMELO AMALFI