David Hill sheds 52kg training for Leukaemia walk to Wagga

So it was for livestock agent David Hill, who lost 52kg after losing his grand niece Billie Grace Richards to Leukaemia.

Mr Hill came to public attention for walking the 130km from Albury to Wagga, raising $142,763 for the Leukaemia foundation in the process. He had a "crazy" goal of raising $100,000 - a target he passed before be first set foot to road.

"The company I work for really got the ball rolling with a big donation - $20,000"

"All the livestock agents and farmers between Albury and Wagga were really supportive"

But walking 130km in three days is not for the faint of heart. At 59 years old and 164 kilos, he knew it would take training to get fit enough to make the trek.

"I was so big I could barely tie my shoes," he said.

"I started with a mate of mine ... I remember getting up the top of a 3km hill, looking back down and thinking 'I couldn't' have done that before'

"You have to sacrifice a fair bit - I stopped drinking, went to Lite n' Easy and trained - worked really hard at it."

Mr Hill says when he was in training for the Billie Grace Richards Leukaemia Walk, he was doing 120 - 150km a week. He was ultimately able to complete the walk to Wagga in 27 hours of total walking time.

It wasn't all smooth walking though - there were "blisters and bloodblisters" on the first day, and a host of other small injuries like inflammation and lost toenails, he describes as "superficial". There was rain, high humidity, and poor surfaces for walking.

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He attributes this to mental as much as physical fitness, and knowing he was doing it for his grand niece gave him the extra fuel to keep going when things got tough.

"Out of something bad came something good - that's been our motto," he said.

"I want to spend time with my grandkids, and knew that If I was gone that wasn't going to happen

"If I had a heart attack, I'd be dead, and I wouldn't get to see them at all."

Mr Hill said now that his "big toenail finally fell off", he's back in training and considering doing another walk when his family get together in Wagga in August for a fundraiser. He says it's more immediately important he keeps getting the word out about his niece, and his own journey.

"Nobody can make you do it - when it gets hard, only you can make yourself do it."

"It's about getting past that mindset where you think 'I don't want to', and keep pushing until you start seeing the results. I haven't had a beer in two years, and I don't miss it."

"I hope people look at me and think, if he can do it, I can do it too," he said.

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