The weather did not stand in the way of success for those participating in the Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne this weekend, with all walkers picking up their pace to walk 100km as a team of four.
The event wrapped up at 3:30am this morning – the earliest that it has ever finished in Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne’s 10 year history.
It also had the largest participation to date with almost 3000 people walking the 100km stretch from Wheelers Hill to Wesburn Park through the Dandenong Ranges.
The event saw a record-breaking finish time with three-time winners Team Muttley running 100km in just 9 hours and 51 minutes.
Michael Clarke, Rohan Day, Kevin Mannix and Chris Wight broke the record for the fastest Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne time, and also broke their own winning record from last year and 2008.
Team Muttley were remarkably relaxed at the finish line where they offered some advice to all Trailwalker teams.
“It’s about setting a goal and achieving that goal. It doesn’t matter if it’s fast or slow,” Chris Wight said.
“Whenever there was a team member struggling, we’d send our strongest runner to run alongside them to keep them going.”
54 per cent of teams rose to the true Trailwalker challenge, staying together the whole time and crossing the finish line as a team of four. 83.4 per cent of walkers made it to the 100km finish line.
Event Coordinator Brett Long said he hoped Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne would also break fundraising records.
“We have seen a phenomenal effort from everybody involved in this year’s Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne,” Mr Long said.
“Our walkers have picked up the pace incredibly despite challenging weather conditions at times, and they have been buoyed by our cheerful volunteers and support crews.
“We have already raised $2.25 million but need support to reach our target of $3 million for Oxfam’s work helping people out of poverty.”
The walkers were of all ages, occupations and fitness levels and came from a wide range of suburbs and towns in Melbourne and across regional Victoria.
Among those taking part were legally blind man Ben Phillips who walked in a team with Senator John Faulkner and finished the event in just 27 hours.
State Street is the global sponsor of Oxfam Trailwalker events which take place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and another 13 countries around the world.
Rather than hand-outs, Oxfam Australia gives people in 28 countries a hand-up so that they have the tools to live free from poverty long into the future.
For media enquiries please call Oxfam Australia Media Coordinator Sunita Bose on 0407 555 960.
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