Meet Hamish - Gotcha4Life’s marathon man, running for mental fitness

When 100 people attend a Gotcha4Life workshop in the near future, it will be thanks to Hamish Baikie, two very sore legs and a couple of worn out pairs of running shoes.

After 25-year-old Hamish joined the Gotcha4Life team as our digital specialist in mid-2023, he wanted to run more than our digital marketing campaigns and social content.

He wanted to run 30 half marathons in 30 days and use his physical fitness to raise funds for mental fitness.

“I saw all these amazing people doing fundraisers for Gotcha4Life and I wanted to be a part of it. I thought it would be a pretty cool thing to raise money and know exactly where that money is going - straight back into the community to fund mental fitness programs. “

“I wasn’t sure if I could get the runs done, but I just put my mind to it and put myself through a bit of hardship to raise some money that will have a positive impact.”

Hamish got up early every morning before work to run a course around Sydney’s Rushcutters  Bay.

While Hamish was supporting Gotcha4Life, the Gotcha4Life family and members of its village, were supporting Hamish.

“The Gotcha team would bring lots of food and snacks into the office for me, and ambassadors like (Manly Sea Eagles skipper) Daly Cherry-Evans sent me text messages. That was pretty cool.”

“Having that tight village around me really helped me get through those days where I didn’t feel like getting out of bed and going for a run. When my body was hurting, I knew I had people around me who were going to support me and get me through that.”

He mostly ran by myself, with mates sometimes joining him on weekends. Most days, the run took between one hour 40 minutes and two hours.

When Hamish put his tired feet up, the donations kept climbing. He raised almost $4,000, smashing his goal of $3,000, while Gotcha4Life supporters Unibet and Hoka donated running shoes to help Hamish get through his 630km challenge.

“I put a call out on my socials and Instagram. I was doing updates, posting my runs everyday, getting in touch with friends. My parents shared it with their friends, my mates shared it with their families. Everyone got as many people on board to donate as they could.”

Not content with his own fundraising efforts, Hamish laced up his runners again, clocking up 30km running alongside a mate raising funds for Movember.

“Mental fitness is something I’m trying to incorporate into my life. I’m dedicating some of the time I put towards physical fitness to build up my mental fitness, because the two go hand-in-hand.

“Getting out and doing some exercise is an awesome way to clear your head, so it’s nice to have that link between the physical and the mental - and the fact I can do a gruelling physical challenge to help some people build their mental fitness is a nice connection.”

A model citizen

It’s fair to say Hamish enjoys running more than modelling, but he took himself out of his comfort zone to do just that to support Gotcha4Life’s summer collaboration with clothing brand Okanui.

"I got roped into being a model for the photo shoot when one of our ambassadors couldn’t make it at the last minute.”

“I was a little bit awkward but we needed someone and I was happy to step in.

“That’s a really cool partnership. The idea behind it is it’s not always easy, especially for blokes, to go up to a mate and say, ‘How’s your mental fitness?’.”

“You can give someone a pair of board shorts or a bucket hat and say it’s a collab between Okanui and Gotcha4Life. That might spark a conversation around what Gotcha4Life does and then that can flow into a conversation around how’s your mental fitness, how are you feeling?

“You give a gift to a mate and it’s an easier way to approach a conversation about mental health and mental fitness.”

No regrets

Hamish is most excited about his role in transforming all things digital at Gotcha4Life, something he has been involved in since joining the team after running into Gotcha4Life CEO Belinda Elworthy, who he’d previously worked with. Gotcha4Life was looking for a digital marketing specialist and Hamish was ready for a change.

“I was a little nervous at first because it’s a big jump out of corporate into a not-for-profit, especially at this early stage in my career. But once Bel told me about the type of work Gotcha4Life is doing, it made my decision easy. It was something I wanted to be a part of.”

“Six months on, I have absolutely no regrets, I’m loving it, it’s such good fun team and I get to work with the NRL which is great as I love the game. The impact we have makes coming into work every day such a joy. It’s been a very good decision.

“I feel like I have joined at a really exciting time. We are in a real growth phase, the team is growing and there’s a lot of exciting things coming up.

“It’s busy and hectic at times, but when you think about the impact you have it all makes it worth it. A year ago, if I knew this was the kind of work I’d be doing, I’d be so excited. It’s pretty awesome.”

So are you Hamish!