Holy Shit We're Running 24 Hours this Weekend!
Well, in a couple days, we will be tackling our toughest challenge yet - running on a treadmill for 24 hours.
Just to clarify, we’re not taking turns on the same treadmill… we’re both running 24 hours each on separate treadmills.
Absurd. Bold. Crazy. Fucked up.
These are the usual responses we’ve been getting from the general public haha.
As mentioned in our recent posts, we’re doing this event for 2 reasons:
- To see how far we can run in 24 hours; and
- To raise the remaining $6.5k of our $20k fundraiser for cancer research & awareness for Cancer Council QLD.
The idea came about a few months back when our mate Coden Sutherland (who’s also doing the Kokoda Trail with us) mentioned that a runner ran on a treadmill in front of a Byron Bay restaurant a few years back and raised $20k for his charity on the day.
Then we thought if this guy can raise that much in one day then we could probably replicate something similar and make an event out of it.
If you’ve fundraised before, you know how hard it is… so our thought of trying to knock out the rest in one sitting is definitely doable, but not easy.
So if we put our bodies through an endurance challenge like this then it would attract people to help donate.
After discussing it back-and-forth, we thought why not bite the bullet and do this challenge.
If you didn't know, this event will be held at Justin's Park in Burleigh and we'll be starting at 7am on Saturday Sept 3rd and running till 7am Sunday Sept 4th...
(Justin's Park, Burleigh)
Organising this ourselves hasn’t been easy.
Physically, we’re fine. It’s the logistics behind the event that’s been a nightmare this past 9 weeks.
Initially, this event was meant to be last weekend but it conflicted too much with Cancer Council’s Daffodil Day.
So our only time would be this weekend.
It did mean we had to pull out of the Coastal High 50k trail ultra which we were looking forward to doing but it is what it is.
No joke, we are fully booked out with events (both personal and this endurance project) on every other weekend of the year and it wouldn’t be ideal taking on a challenge like this toward the end of the year because it’s too hot in summer.
It would’ve been a great way to finish off the year but running in 35+ degree heat for 24 hours on a treadmill is not ideal.
In saying that, remember how we said we’re seeing how far we can run at this event?
Hopefully we run enough to qualify for the Coast 2 Kosci ultramarathon.
The C2K is a 240km (150 mile) ultra that starts at the coast of NSW pf a little town called Eden and we run all the way up Mt Kosciuzsko and you have 46 hours to get it done.
(C2K Elevation)
Not to mention it’s one of Australia’s iconic ultramarathons.
This event is on Dec 9-11 which is during summertime which would be dreadful but to have the opportunity to run this event would be a dream come true.
To qualify for C2K, you have to be eligible. I.e. have had completed some a great deal of races on your running CV.
With doing multiple 100km ultras, b2b marathons on the same weekend, and 37 events in one year, may intrigue the organiser to select us.
Plus it’d be good training for Everest haha.
Therefore, we’re saying that this treadmill challenge is a training run…
Back to the logistics of this treadmill challenge.
Everything from finding a treadmill supplier to lend us the treadmills to getting marquees from the Local Member of Burleigh (Michael Hart) to multiple radio interviews to liaising with the council to approve the event are some of the things we’ve had to hustle.
The hardest part was finding treadmills. It got to the stage where they’re either too hard to transport or no gyms would risk taking them out because of the insurance required.
We were so close to almost having to scrap the ideas of treadmills and use different equipment…
Shoutout to JHTA for being our saviour and supplying us with the goods!
We could’ve held this event at a gym which would’ve made life easier but we’d blow our brains out being in a confined space for that long.
Hence why we’re doing this at a park in front of the beach.
(Burleigh Heads)
That way it’d be easier to get people to come along and get involved.
Having it at a park would also mean we could get our sponsors/ partners involved and multiple marquees to make the event cater to more people.
Now, actually running (physically) for 24 hours is going to be something different.
Neither of us are fan of treadmill running so we’ll have to suck it up and deal with it.
Right now we’re dealing with the small and minor last-minute things of the event but the last couple months leading up to this event has been a busy one!
So if you can come down and support us, that would mean so much to us!
We have a bbq with food available. We have music and a friendly team. And we have prizes for you to win!
(Prizes to win @ TWP 24hr Treadmill Challenge)
And if you don’t mind sharing this, please do so it helps get our name out!
If you know of influencers/ bloggers/ sporting icons/ athletes/ celebrities, please let them know because their presence will help bring people down :)
Click here for the Facebook event.
Hope to see you there watching us slog it out for 24 hours!
Enjoy.
Tofes (Chris) & Ant - The Wounded Pelicans
(After running the River Run 100km Ultra)
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