Teenager running for his mate's life gets a boost over the Moonbi Range

Thankfully he's got a good group of mates to help him out.

Despite never doing a major run before, 16-year-old Ted Chick is running from Sydney to his hometown Armidale to raise funds and awareness for his mate Mac, who's facing his own uphill battle against non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The Leader caught up with Ted as he came in to Tamworth, about 80 per cent of the way through his run across NSW. He said he's excited to be nearing the finish line, but he's having trouble with his right knee.

"The knee's hurting quite a bit, but I've got a bit of physio cream and strapping tape which should help," Ted said.

"The Moonbis will be a bit of a challenge. It's a big hill that goes for about 10 kilometres."

But his dad says Ted will be able to rise to the challenge with a little help from friends, family, and sponsors.

Many of Ted's mates have come out to run with him now that he's getting close to home, and a Walcha-based business is extending a hand to help him up the Moonbi Range.

"We've got a bit of a lift from one of our fantastic sponsors. Betts Transport is going to drive Ted a bit of the way up where it's too dangerous to run," Ted's father Anthony Chick said.

"The big challenge for Ted is trying to get a ripple effect going. There are kids and teenagers who might be feeling disconnected and wondering what they can do, and if someone like Ted can do something like this then there's lots of kids who can."

The proud father says Ted's Miles 4 Mac run has raised more than $35,000 for non-for-profit cancer support charity Win the Day so far and their goal is to hit $50,000 by the time Ted makes it home on Monday.

Ted plans to reach The Armidale School in time for the Monday morning bell on May 13, though he's unsure whether he'll have the strength left to get through English first period.