Days 20 to 22 - 12.4km

Wednesday 22nd Oct Goooaaal! The last two walks got me over my 100km goal for the Oceans to Outback. I’m at 111km walked with 9 days to go, and more importantly 100% of my goal to raise $550 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Once again a massive thank you to everyone who has donated and supported this wonderful cause. The photo says “I”, but really it should say *you* have all helped provide 14 laryngoscopes (used to assist in intubating and ventilating a patient), 9 medical chests for remote, rural or regional communities, and 8 defibrillator pads used with a machine used to monitor a patient’s cardiac health. Thank you to: Josh Ball Amanda Ball Clint Alford Karen Ray Sue Chris Letheby Anonymous donor full of hoo-hah Anonymous ANZ + Kelsian for matching Sue’s donation I’m treating the rest of the month as bonus time and will continue to rack up the km since clearly I underestimated how far I could get in a month. I’ll probably give the blog posts a rest until I hit the Rail Trail for my stretch goal, which is looking like it will be wet and wild because I’m good at planning things. I had a cursed secret goal where if we doubled the donation goal I would do the rail trail shirtless with some kind of RFDS body paint, but luckily for everyone down south it looks like they’re safe from that. Until next year. Share

Days 17 to 19 - 21.2km

Sunday 19th Oct Yep that’s right, ended the day with 1km to go. Meant to do an 8km today and hit the 100km goal, but for whatever reason my body had just had enough. 11 days and 1km to go! Not sure I’ll make it… Share

Days 12 to 16 - goal breached

Friday 17th Oct That’s right, thanks to all you wonderful supporters we’ve reached my goal of raising $550 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service! Huge thanks to Sue Collins for her generous donation, which landed during the Dollar Match Day period today. This means Kelsian + ANZ matched that donation. And finally, thank you to the anonymous donor who kicked in the last bit to push me over the goal. Since we’ve reached the goal before the 20th of October, that means I owe you all an attempt at the Coast to Vines rail trail sometime in the next couple of weeks. Look forward to that, because my legs sure don’t. Lastly a quick progress update. 20.2 km logged since last check in, which means 77km travelled and 23 to go. Share

Days 9 to 11 - 7.2km

Sunday 12th Oct This weekend has been hectic, and not in ways conducive to getting a lot of walking in. Had an event on the 9th so that was a complete write-off, day 10 kilometres were all errands, and day 11 I squeezed in a quick 3kms in the southwest CBD. That puts me at 57% of my distance goal, with plans to hopefully make a bigger dent tomorrow. Big thanks to my latest supporter Amanda Hughes! Remember all donations greater than $5 are tax deductible in Australia, so make sure to hang on to those receipts. And lastly, a reminder that if we hit my donation goal by the 20th I’ll attempt the Coast to Vines rail trail in a single day sometime before the end of October. Share

Day 8 - 7km and 50%

Wednesday 8th Oct I’ve been away from the beach for a month or two now since the sea spray carrying the harmful algal bloom kept making me sick. Went back today to see if things were any better. Spoiler alert: things are not better. As I write this my throat is absolutely shredded and my voice is gone. Shan’t be making that mistake again for a little while. I have no idea how the people still out there surfing manage it. On the positive side, the 7km along the esplanade got me to 50% of my 100km goal! More importantly, thanks to all my supporters, we’re also well over halfway to my fundraising goal of $550 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Share

Day 6 and 7 - 10.7km

Tuesday 7th Oct The blog may have slept yesterday but the challenge marches on. Yesterday was a short but steep 4.5km walk around Sleeps Hill/Windy Point from Lynton. I made the mistake of taking my camera with me, so pace was a total write off. Today was back to the river to check on the bloom conditions. My usual 6.2km loop at a respectable 10min/km. Tomorrow will probably be more elevation work with a view to tackling the Mt Lofty hike sometime during the challenge. Share

Day 5 - 6.2km

Sunday 5th Oct Yesterday ended up being a write off due to hayfever and exhaustion, but back in the saddle today with a modest 6.2km. Think I’ll have to find a new trail for my walks soon. I already abandoned the beach due to the algal bloom wrecking my lungs, and today I could see and smell it in the Onkaparinga. Eventually I’ll just be doing laps of Uluṟu, I can see it now. Share

Day 3 - 10.2km

Friday 3rd Oct A leisurely pace today but good distance. The sun was out and it finally felt like spring, so enjoying it while it lasts. I’ve thought of a few stretch goals to hopefully motivate anyone still on the fence about donating. Stretch Goal #1 - if we reach my donation goal by the 20th of October, I’ll attempt the whole of the Coast to Vines rail trail in one session during the last week of October. Total distance is 37km which is by far the longest walk I will have done. I have another (very cursed) add-on to this if we *double* my donation goal, but I’ll only talk about that if we hit goal #1. Share

Day 2 - 9.6km

Thursday 2nd Oct Wanted to put my best foot forward with a nice long walk today. But unfortunately you have to put both feet forward when you walk. Not at the same time, but you get the idea. Started off badly with a lot of pain, still getting used to new runners. Then around the halfway mark started to feel really good, which either means I’ve adjusted, or I’m going to be really sore tomorrow. On the plus side, the sun finally made an appearance today. And I managed to maintain a pace I’m happy with for the whole 9km. Share

Day 1

Thursday 2nd Oct 1 day and 6.2km done. Not a very hard walk and a slow pace, but between the weather being absolutely feral and breaking in new shoes I figured best to go easy. Curiosity for the day: doing language lessons while I walk costs me about 1.5 minutes per kilometre. Thanks again to all my wonderful supporters, and also my wet-weather cheer squad for the day (pictured). Share

24 hours remain

Tuesday 30th Sep 1 day to go until October means 1 day to go until I start recording my kilometres travelled! September training has gone well and I’ve averaged well above where I need to in order to hit 100kms. If anything I’ve done too well, so I might need to start thinking about stretch goals for once I pass 100. Thanks to all my generous donors! Look forward to my updates throughout October becoming increasingly unhinged as I battle unpredictable spring weather and the ravages of some moderate exercise! Share