Participants in the 100km Oxfam Trailwalker Brisbane event are all set to take off at 7am this morning (Friday 16 June) from Mount Glorious in the fundraising endurance challenge of a lifetime.
Teams of four will walk or run 100km in 48 hours or less to raise funds for Oxfam’s lifesaving work tackling poverty in communities around the world.
Teams taking part in the 55km event will start at Lake Manchester at the same time the following morning (Saturday 17 June) and will have 24 hours to complete the half trail option. Both trails will then follow the same route, winding through the beautiful rainforests of D’Aguilar National Park, past the wildlife-rich Enoggera Reservoir, before finishing up at Mt Coot-tha, with breathtaking views of the city.
There is no shortage of remarkable teams taking part this year, including participant Katherine Ruhle, who was once told she may never walk again; inspirational cancer survivor Kirstin Love; four generous Ipswich mums who are active fundraisers for many causes; five teams of international staff representing the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation; five teams in the midst of their MBA courses at QUT; and four Ipswich mates from the Royal Australian Air Force.
With their sights set on being the fastest team this year, both Team Brioche and Run ERP featuring Team 456 have estimated they will complete the trail in 13 hours, and it looks like it will be a close competition.
Incredibly, Run ERP featuring Team 456 is aiming to complete both events over the course of the weekend, meaning team members would run 100km by this evening, go to sleep and wake up bright and early to run another 55km on Saturday. It was the fastest team in the Melbourne event earlier this year, completing the 100km trail in 11 hours and 25 minutes. The average finish time is 30 hours. Melbourne-based team leader David Overend will become an Oxfam Trailwalker 15-event ‘Legend’ this year.
There are a total of 1,052 walkers making up 263 teams taking on the Brisbane trail. The youngest participant is 18 and the oldest is 72. The team topping the fundraising leader board is BestB4S representing Motorama car dealership. The team is participating for the first time and has so far raised over $16,000 of its $20,000 target.
“We are so grateful to the Brisbane teams for their fundraising efforts,” said Oxfam Australia’s Event Fundraising Manager Anna Wemyss.
“We have a slightly different trail this year, which showcases the diverse landscape of Brisbane’s backyard, so we hope teams manage to enjoy the beautiful surroundings while they take on this challenge of a lifetime.”
Each year, Oxfam Trailwalker takes place in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, raising millions of dollars to empower people to lift themselves out of poverty. The event is a huge logistical operation and more than 500 Brisbane volunteers are generously donating their time. Teams will be supported by more than 1,000 support crew members.
For interviews or more information, please contact Megan Giles on 0433 028 567 0428 029 302 or megang@oxfam.org.au
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