Team Tropical Tryhards doing 100km Coastrek for Fred Hollows Foundation

Starring Leanne Kruger, MF DeJourdan, Deb Trehearn and Doon McColl

Friday 4^th March saw the intrepid team of the Tropical Tryhards ( Leanne Kruger, Mary Frances DeJourdan, Doon McColl and Deb Trehearn) join some 600 others in teams of four for Coastrek -  a 50 or 100km walk along the stunning NSW coastline from Palm Beach to Coogee in order to raise funds for the Fred Hollows Foundation. We tackled the 100kms and had 36 hrs in which to complete the event.
 
What a welcome relief from the constant rain in Cairns it was, as we began the walk at 6am in cool and clear conditions. The whole event was incredibly well supported and organised and there were manned checkpoints at 25, 50 and 75 kms – with volunteers handing out hydrolyte ice blocks, drinks and Lyndt balls!

The trek was a combination of descending and ascending stairs down to the 20 odd beaches, walking on pathways, along concrete walkways, bush tracks and through the suburbs of the Northern Beaches (is that really just ONE house?). Two thirds of the teams had entered the 50kms and the finish point for this was on a great space beside the beach at Balmoral. A huge crowd of well wishers had gathered and we envied the champagne and picnics laid out on the grass – alas we had only reached half way!

Onwards towards the approaching darkness we went, a bit nervous about finding our way. We were given detailed maps and instructions and the navigation was pretty straight forward until we hit the night time sections. But a couple of wonderfully friendly Sydney teams took us under their wings and we managed to negotiate the Sydney Harbour bridge (at midnight), through the Rocks, around the Opera House and out to Mrs Macquarie’s chair, all the time sharing jokes and laughter with other like minded women, one of whom celebrated the beginning of her birthday as we crossed the bridge! The looks from the Saturday night party crowds were a thing to behold – lots of questions asked but inevitably it ended with cheers of encouragement.

Sunrise saw us battling strong head winds coming out onto the exposed cliff tops of the Gap – now only 20 kms to go. Our wonderful fairy godmother (support person) in Sydney met us with real coffee and pancakes and we chomped it all down overlooking the crashing surf below, with great views back to where we had come from, some 25 hours earlier. By the time we hit Bondi Beach the beautiful people were out in force and we felt fairly crappy in our sweaty, crumpled gear, walking sticks and camelbaks among the matching designer running attire, bare chests and lipstick … but all who passed cheered us on and we felt a million dollars.

At last the end was in sight and we walked into Coogee Beach 28 hrs and 20 mins since the start, feeling proud to be part of such a terrific event and a group of over 600 walkers who had raised over $510,000 for the Fred Hollows Foundation!

A special thanks to all those out there who supported our fund-raising efforts here in Cairns, via online donations, the Sausage Sizzle, and the Trash and Treasure Sale.