• Mel Koch after completing the 2026 London Marathon.
AS you reach for another party pie during the Grand Final, spare a thought for Mel Koch.
The 43-year-old Beaconsfield local is getting ready to run two marathons, two weeks apart, on opposite sides of the Atlantic—Berlin and Chicago.
But motivation won’t be an issue—she’s doing it for her late sister Sophie Smith, who tragically passed away in 2014 aged 27 from Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Losing my sister Sophie to Hodgkin lymphoma has taught me how precious this life really is, and has encouraged me to live life differently,” Koch says.
The funds raised from Koch’s marathons will go to the Sophie Smith Fund, which since 2015 has raised more than $130,000 for organisations including the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and the Leukaemia Foundation.
“The primary purpose of the Fund was to enable fundraising in Sophie’s name, with the initial focus on cancer research,” Koch says.
“Sophie herself believed science was the best avenue to find the answers to prevent this cruel disease.”
Sophie grew up and lived in Fremantle until she was 20, before going to England on an exchange program at the University of Hertfordshire.
She blossomed in the UK, spending an additional two years living and working in London, where she enjoyed the live music scene.
After returning to Australia, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in September 2012, but despite intensive bouts of treatment she sadly succumbed to the disease in Perth in April 2014.
In 2025, Sophie’s family honoured her love of music by creating ‘A Song for Sophie’ in conjunction with West Australian Music’s Song of the Year competition.
Open to musos under 25, with a strong focus on lyricism, the award includes a mentorship with an established local artist for 12 months and $2,500 for development.
Last year, A Song for Sophie was awarded to Liz-Zard, who was mentored by San Cisco’s Jordi Davieson, and in 2026 to Riyana Samrai.
Koch is hoping she can raise $42,200 for the Sophie Smith Fund by completing the Berlin and Chicago marathons.
She’s had a couple of false starts with marathons—injury forced her to withdraw from the Sydney Marathon at the start line in 2023 and 2024.
But she got her mojo running and completed the Sydney Marathon in August last year and the London Marathon in April 2026.
“If I finish these next two, I will have run my first four marathons—all World Majors—within 13 months,” she says.
“I am a fitness fanatic and love running. Running gives me undeniable proof that I can push through discomfort and handle hard things.”
To donate or find out more about the Sophie Smith Fund, go to the Fremantle Foundation website fremantlefoundation.org.au and click “Donate”, or directly via https://tinyurl.com/265xr7re.
by STEPHEN POLLOCK