Despite sleeping through her alarm before rushing to brave a crisp 6.30am winter start time, 16-year-old Tess Baird found running a half-marathon easy compared with her previous challenges.

Baird was first diagnosed with leukaemia when she was six and, although it went into remission, she again fought the blood cancer when it returned four years ago.

After undergoing a bone marrow transplant, Baird overcame the disease and was determined to make Sunday’s Run Melbourne start line – and raise more than $15,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation in the process.

“I always liked running, and I wanted to challenge myself, but I also wanted to raise funds for the Leukemia Foundation, which is a cause close to my heart since I’ve had it twice when I was younger,” Baird said.

Although sleeping through her alarm presented an extra challenge, Baird finished the Run Melbourne 21-kilometre event in two hours and seven minutes – much better than she was expecting.

She joined more than 28,000 participants running in the half-marathon, 10-kilometre or 5.5-kilometre events on Sunday.

Paralympian gold medallist Alexa Leary completed the 10-kilometre run with her friend, Michaela, taking time to dance with people playing the bongos along the route and enjoy the festival atmosphere.

“My biggest thing is I like to move for those who can’t. So that’s a big thing that I actually do run because I couldn’t move for a long time, and now I’m able to,” Leary said.

As well as reaching their own milestones, Sunday’s runners raised more $1million for more than 400 charities, according to Run Melbourne organiser and Sole Motive chief executive Lisa Holmes.

“It’s been the biggest running festival in winter in Melbourne for years, and very big in terms of fundraising,” Holmes said

Two days after celebrating her 70th birthday, teacher Martina Golding joined her daughters, Hannah and Sarah, to complete the half-marathon.

“It was very special, I just felt such a sense of achievement and to share that with my girls was great,” Martina said.

Tuitiga Leota and his sister, Grace, also ran the half-marathon together, supported by 11 of their family members, raising almost $1000 for Beyond Blue.

“She [Grace] was doing it for her own mental health and I joined later to help push her for this run,” Tuitiga Leota said. “It was easy for the first 15 kilometres but then I struggled... the experience was really good.”

Lord Mayor Nick Reece, who ran 5.5 kilometres with his family and alongside Melbourne councillors Gladys Liu and Andrew Rouse, said the event took in Melbourne’s landmark sites from Flinders Street Station and Docklands, to the Yarra River and the Tan.

“It’s a great opportunity for people to see some of Melbourne’s most beautiful, picturesque locations from an angle they never normally get to see, while having fun, while getting fit, while living their best life,” he said.

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James Costa is a breaking news reporter at The Age.Connect via X or email.