Motivated by his father’s death from diabetes, West Australian Glen Hurst has embarked on a very unique adventure — towing a boat behind a motorbike around Australia for 80 days.
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The Wangaratta stop yesterday was about two-thirds into the journey, which has covered more than 17,000 kilometres.
Mr Hurst is joined by his wife Marina, and friends Guy Cook and Raymond Cowcill, for the project entitled “Hope in a Boat”.
The project is supported by the Lions Club of Albany and is raising money for Diabetes Research WA.
The total number of Australians with diabetes and pre-diabetes is estimated at 3.2 million.
In Australia, about 275 people develop diabetes every day, enough to fill the Melbourne Cricket Ground each year.
“I lost my dad to diabetes a year ago and my mum also has the condition, so this is a cause that’s very close to me,” Mr Hurst said.
“We believe now is the time to act on this, especially because they predict that, in 25 years, every Australian citizen will have diabetes”.
The ride coincides with the discovery of an “obesity gene” that is linked to insulin resistance and high blood pressure, with a link to type 2 diabetes.