Mitch McKinney isn't a professional runner. In fact, by his own admission, he's not particularly a runner at all.

Yet this 38-year-old ordinary Australian achieved something extraordinary; running 1,132 kilometres from the red dust of Broken Hill to the sea breeze of Newcastle, completing a marathon every single day for 29 days straight.

What makes this feat even more remarkable? He ran 380 kilometres of it with a fractured hip.

This story begins not with athletic ambition, but with empathy, the kind that's becoming increasingly rare in our fast-paced world.

Mitch's son attends family day care run by Jess and Bree Maguire in regional New South Wales.

It was there he met their youngest child, one-year-old Huxley, a beautiful little boy born with Angelman Syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder affecting balance, movement and speech.

When Huxley was diagnosed at just four months old, Jess and Bree's world changed forever.

"You're thrown into this new world that you never even knew existed," Jess recalled. "We had to grieve that life that we had planned for him, but we still have him, and he's still a beautiful little boy."

The diagnosis was devastating: Huxley would likely never speak, would probably never live independently, and would require a lifetime of therapies, specialist care and equipment.

"It was very isolating at first," Jess said. "We had to come to terms with the fact that Huxley would never speak."

Jess explains that parents of children with Angelman Syndrome metaphorically "run a marathon every day."

"We have to create that neurological pathway in his brain," she told 7NEWS.com.au. "Instead of developing naturally, we have to create that for him. That's why early intervention is key."

While Bree goes to work, Jess stays home as a family day-care educator, balancing the care of four children whilst delivering targeted occupational therapy, physio and speech programs for Huxley.

"I can stay at home with him and I can still earn an income," she explained. "We want Huxley to have every opportunity to thrive. But that means we need help—research, funding, and awareness."

Watching this daily marathon, Mitch decided to turn their metaphor into reality.

On August 22, Mitch began his journey in Broken Hill with a simple but powerful mission, run from the bush to the beach, one marathon a day, to raise funds and awareness for Angelman Syndrome.

His daily routine was brutal in its simplicity.

"Wake up, eat, hydrate, get dressed, jump out of the car and start rolling. One foot in front of the other. Very basic."

Each day, a different child's name was written on a board, Huxley one day, another child living with Angelman or a rare condition the next. Each step was dedicated to them.

The 40-kilometre daily grind took its toll. Sore muscles. Injuries. Blisters. Sunburn. Exhaustion.

But Mitch kept perspective.

"Mine will be over. Mine was only ever gonna last the month. Theirs lasts a lifetime," he said while running through Dunedoo, about 300 kilometres northwest of Newcastle.

"We've got mums and dads and grandmas and grandpas dealing with not only Angelman Syndrome but a whole lot of rare diseases. They don't get a break. They're up all through the night. They're tired for sure."

As Mitch approached Cobar, the pain in his hip intensified. Medical staff implored him to stop. He refused.

He kept running. Through the pain. Through the doubt. Through 380 more kilometres.

It wasn't until he'd completed his mission, all 1,132 kilometres, all 29 marathons, that scans revealed the devastating truth; he'd fractured his hip.

"What we didn't know was that 380km of that run, he did with a fractured hip," supporters later revealed in a heartfelt update.

Mitch was placed on bed rest before flying to Adelaide for surgery, facing six weeks on crutches and the likelihood he may never run again.

What followed Mitch every step of the way surprised even him.

"There's been an enormous show of support," he said during his run. "People are honking horns, yelling out, handing money over on the side of the road, taking photos. I'm more than overwhelmed with the response."

He ran through towns often overlooked in national conversations, places like Dunedoo, bringing not just awareness but community pride.

"This run picks up a lot of little communities that often get missed when you're talking about rare diseases," he said. "It's affecting every demographic and geographic area."

Celebrities including Casey Barnes, Fatboy Slim, Lynne McGranger and Brisbane Lions players threw their support behind the campaign.

By the time Mitch reached Newcastle, he'd raised an astonishing $164,000 for the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics.

Despite his extraordinary achievement, Mitch remained humble to a fault.

When asked what he expected when he reached Newcastle, he laughed.

"There'll be some people, some not. Probably just…"

He insisted he only played a "small part" in the campaign. But Jess sees it very differently.

"Mitch is a hero," she said. "He didn't have to do any of this. He's not related to us, he's not directly affected, but he saw our struggle and decided to step up in a huge way. That kind of empathy is rare."

While Mitch's physical marathon has ended, the journey continues for families like Jess and Bree's.

Little Huxley has started rolling. Each small win is a major victory.

"Our kids still need therapies, support, and hope," Jess said. "We're hopeful in the next five years, cures will be available, and treatments could come even sooner. Everything that's coming will only help him more and more and more—it's going to improve his quality of life astronomically."

The one bright side of Angelman Syndrome, Jess notes, is that children like Huxley usually have a happy demeanour and smile often, earning them the nickname "angel kids." Though he can quickly become frustrated when he struggles to move or can't communicate what he wants, his joy is infectious.

"This run means the world to us," Jess said. "Not just the money raised, but the awareness. People are googling Angelman Syndrome. They're talking about it. They're seeing our kids. And that's how change starts."

As Mitch recovers from surgery, one thing remains clear, we need more people like him in the world, ordinary people who see extraordinary need and decide to do something extraordinary about it.

One foot in front of the other. One step at a time. Running for those who can't.