Four years after Kate Sanderson and Turia Pitt suffered shocking burns to 60 per cent of their bodies in a Western Australian ultramarathon the two women are now taking on a 100km walk to raise money for Oxfam Australia.
Joining them are Robin Lennon and Bronwyn Hull, the wife of Michael Hull who was also severely burned in the same event.
Their team, Northside Runners, is one of 550 teams of four who will take on Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney, one of Australia’s toughest charity events. Teams have 48 hours to complete the 100km journey from Parsley Bay in Brooklyn to the finish line at Tania Park at Balgowlah Heights.
Kate, who had half of her left foot amputated, said this will be her seventh Trailwaker, the second she’s participated in since the fire. “I have participated in four Melbourne Trailwalkers, but this year was the first time since my accident,” Ms Sanderson said.
“It was good to be back out there, even if I can’t run. It gave me a lot of confidence that I can still do the distance.”
For Kate, recovery has been a slow process.
“Getting back to events that I have done previous to the accident have been great as I am one step closer to getting my life back and being able to do the things I did before,” she said.
She said the team, which is half based in Melbourne and half in Sydney, have been training regularly for the upcoming Sydney event and are all very excited.
“Turia and Bronwyn have not done an Oxfam Trailwalker before so we don’t really know what our time will be, but I estimate it will take us about 26-28 hours,” Ms Sanderson said.
“The more trailwalkers you do doesn’t make it any less of a challenge. I find them all equally challenging and my teams have always been made up of different people, so the dynamic is always great and we just have fun. Not to mention Oxfam is such a great cause to raise money for.”
Their team hopes to raise $4,000. Overall, this year’s event aims to raise $2.5 million to help people living in poverty around the world.
Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney event details:
- Starts Friday 28 August – teams will start at 7am, 8am, 9am and 10am at the Parsley Bay car park in Brooklyn.
- Saturday 29 August – the majority of teams are expected to cross the finish line between 7am – 4pm at Tania Park Balgowlah Heights. The fastest teams are expected to cross the finish line from around 7pm on Friday.
- Ends Sunday 30 August – the final teams will cross the Tania Park finish line before 10am.
To make a donation to Kate’s team go to: https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/team/blogs/19631
If you would like to arrange interviews, photos or to find out about teams participating from your area, please contact Oxfam’s Media Coordinator Bianca Wordley at biancaw@oxfam.org.au or 0407 799 365.
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