_____ THE ORIGIN
This run was born from grief.
Shaped by love.
"I didn't come back to Iraq as a humanitarian.
I came back as a runner — to retrace the same paths
that families fled along. To run for those who were forced to."— Tim Buxton
Founder, You Belong | Race Director
‘The Return’ Documentary
TAKE A GLIMPSE INTO THE cinematic short documentary capturing Tim’s 100-mile journey through northerN Iraq.
OVER A DECADE OF IMPACT
2014
Tim and his family move to Iraqi Kurdistan to lead a humanitarian mission. On arrival day, ISIS invades Mosul — 45 minutes away. 2 million people flee.
2014–17
On the frontlines. Providing housing, trauma care and education to thousands of displaced Yazidi and Kurdish families along Hamilton's Road and the Zagros foothills.
2018
Tim returns to Australia and establishes You Belong — a charitable organisation built on the belief that every refugee deserves more than survival. They deserve belonging.
2025
Tim returns to Iraq — not as a humanitarian, but as a runner. 168km across Northern Iraq, filming The Return documentary. On Day 1, heatstroke nearly ends it. He keeps going.
2026
IRAQ 200 opens to the world. Just 15 places. The same route. The same roads. A different reason to run — but the same destination. The mountains of Kurdistan and Erbil — the ancient city that endures.