Since losing their beloved son Vinny, Benalla’s Jodi and Ricky Symes have dedicated countless hours to keeping his memory alive, while also raising funds for the Royal Children’s Hospital.

While they do an annual ‘Team Vinny’ fundraiser for the Good Friday Appeal, they also take any opportunity to honour Vinny’s memory.

On Saturday, July 12, Jodi and Ricky were joined by 82 friends and family members at the Run Melbourne half-marathon.

“They all travelled predominantly from Benalla,” Ricky said.

“But we had a few friends from Melbourne, too.

“It was amazing. I think we had 16 do the half-marathon from our group, then some did the 10k, and some did the 5k.”

Ricky said that while those who took part were encouraged to donate to the Royal Children’s Hospital, that was done via the Royal Children’s hospital’s website.

“So I’m not sure how much was raised. But for us, it’s two-fold,” Ricky said.

“Raising funds for RCH is one. But for us, it’s all about honouring Vinny and keeping his memory alive.”

Ricky said the idea to take part in the half-marathon came from friends who also had the heartbreak of losing a child.

“Steve and Emma Watty lost their daughter Sylvie,” he said.

“They’re also from Benalla, and they do the marathon every few years.

“And Emma ran with us at the weekend.”

Ricky said doing things like the half-marathon, in Vinny’s honour, lets people going through a similar situation know they’re not alone.

“The Run Melbourne team did an amazing job,” he said.

“They interviewed myself, interviewed my wife, my brother and a friend of ours.

“That gave us some air time, which was fantastic because, again, it gives us that opportunity to connect with people that have been through something similar.

“On the day, we had a lot of people come up to us and ask about what we were doing.

“It’s just a nice way to bring people together.”

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Saturday, 18th April 2026

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