The 22-year-old took a rest day in Port Macquarie on Friday after already running 1100 kilometres since New Years Day.

Mr Carron-Arthur has set himself the challenge of running up the east coast to raise money and awareness for mental health, which affects one-in-five Australians.

The Australian National University Bachelor of Psychology graduate continued on his 4000km journey over the weekend, running about 50km each day with several rest days in between.

Money raised from the fitness enthusiast’s epic journey will be donated to the Australian Foundation for Mental Health Research at ANU.

The 22-year-old said that the run would take him at least four months and he would stick to the coast as close as possible.

“I’m running alone, carrying everything in a backpack,” he said. “I’ve been staying with family, friends and in motels and hostels.

“One of the reasons why I’ve decided to do this is that mental illness is a personal issue quite close to home for me.”

A family member suffered from depression for 15 years and was only recently diagnosed.

“When they were diagnosed, I remember them smiling because they finally understood why they had struggled all those years,” Mr Carron-Arthur said.

“Only about 3 per cent of the total research and development in health in Australia is dedicated to mental health. This is vastly disproportionate to the burden mental illness has in our society.”

People can follow Mr Carron-Arthur’s every footstep by visiting his blog http://brad runsnorth.com and donations can be made online at http://www.everydayhero.com.au/br adrunsnorth