That's why the Canberra sprint queen pinned a photo of Hunter under her bib as she claimed her sixth 100 metres national title in Sydney on Saturday night.

Getting an A-qualifying time to lock in her place at the Rio Olympics would have been a bonus. But Breen says she was running for Hunter because she felt helpless.

Hunter is the grandson of Breen's first athletics coach, Marlene, and is recovering from a brain operation on his tumour.

So while some said "bad luck" to Breen because she didn't get the desired time even though she won another national title, Breen was just happy to hear Hunter laughed two days ago.

"Hunter is a very special little boy. His grandma was my first coach and [I'm] good friends with [Hunter's] dad, Ryan. I felt helpless, so I ran with Hunter under my numbers," Breen said.

"I wanted him to be with me. It puts life in perspective … I can't even begin to imagine what that young family is going through. I get frustrated with my running, but the least I could do was have his photo there and I know how blessed I am.

"I want to excel and run fast. But the focus for last night was Hunter, winning for him and his beautiful family. No, I haven't qualified for Rio but I know that I will if I keep my head screwed on and stay healthy.

"We're just trying to get behind a special family. I hope I don't have to run with his picture, because if I don't that means he's better and back in Canberra. But I'm glad I did it [on Saturday]. Winning is great, but giving someone else some joy is hopefully something I could help with."

Family and friends in Canberra have raised more than $54,000 for Hunter after he became ill in February.

For Breen it was a welcome distraction from all the hype of trying to secure a qualifying time for her second Olympic Games.

She won the race in a time of 11.53 seconds and is still chasing the golden mark of 11.32 to book a ticket to Rio.

Training partner Lauren Wells locked in her selection with her eighth national title in the 400m hurdles, having already run an A-qualifying time, while Leigh Bennett claimed the men's 400m hurdles to complete a hat-trick for coach Matt Beckenham.

"It's a huge load off my mind [to confirm a place for Rio], I was actually really nervous and it was a dreadful race technically for me," Wells said.

"To get the tick and automatic nomination for Rio is great. My coach Matt Beckenham and I didn't really plan peaking for the Australian season so to run fast without running at my absolute best is great."

Breen will run in Canberra on April 16 before Beckenham takes Breen and Wells to Japan for a stint. Breen, 25, will run four races in 10 days in Japan as she looks to earn another Olympic berth.

Breen was rundown after a busy two weeks, which included racing at the Stawell Gift.

"It frustrates me a bit that people would feel sorry for me, I've won another national title," Breen said.

"The last few months haven't gone to plan but when you're out on the track you have to perform. I've had a few little setbacks with my body but I'm on the mend and all I can do is run as fast as I can.

"I'm not too worried about [the qualifying time], I'm confident I can get it. You've got until July to do it and if you can't do it by then you don't deserve to go."

There is a gofundme page set up to raise money for Hunter Reid and his family. Follow the link to donate to the cause. https://www.gofundme.com/paravnzc