Antipodeans Oxfam Trailwalker team describe what it's like to walk 100km in 39 hours!

Much like travel (think about it as you prepare for the upcoming Antipodeans trip), reaching that final destination can seem so faraway and yet, right around the corner, you’re jetsetting off to a different country, immersing yourself in a different culture, trying the local foods and living out what you have been working so hard for in the past 6-12 months. And that is what it felt like training for a 100km walk; weeks and weeks of preparation, training walks in rain, hail or shine, bush bashing, deep squats and a personal team favourite; bush toilets.

The weeks go by so fast and all of a sudden, you’re on the tarmac, you’re at the start line and you’re off…and as you run through the night, brave that dreaded creek crossing that has become a friendly boulder climb at 2am, you think to yourself – what were you thinking leaving the comforts of everything you know?

But as the sun rises in the east, from out of the bush, you’re greeted by smiling faces. Your face, a little bit more exhausted but mirroring those smiles, nonetheless. The hash browns have been brought, the porridge has been made and coffee is at the ready (although not through a drip, which is what you think you need). That’s when you realise; you’ve made it to the 5am checkpoint; 20 hours into the Oxfam Trailwalker and over half way there.

Fast forward to the 70km mark, as you lay across the blue tarp, your feet in the air, you prepare yourself mentally for the last 30km because in the end, it’s not your body that is going to let you down, it’s your mind – so you gear up and you look across the sea of tarp, and all that you can see are sandwiches and electrolytes – to the east and the west, the north and the south but just beyond that deliciously squished Nutella sandwich, just when you’re looking for that last little push to keep you going, you see your teammate on the ground, in a full hamstring stretch, and another in a “you’ve got it in you” hug and there it is, you’ve found that drive to get through the last 30km.

Is it the destination or the journey? Both. Walking 100km feels great – but to be honest it felt pretty horrible at the same time – pure elation felt at such an achievement mingled in with the exhaustion from 39 hours of walking. But as you stand (with the aid of walking poles) at your final destination and you look back on everything you’ve picked up, swallowed, or learned along the way, the sandwiches, the muesli bars, the band aids, the paramedics and most importantly the support – you start to see why it was all worth it.

What is taken from the journey will be different for everyone, whether it’s in learning from Team 440 that all you really need is some chicken breast, a can of beans and some talcum powder. To realising that sometimes you just have to run it off, that strapping tape is perhaps not the best solution for blisters (try underlay), that it’s ok to cry, or that in the face of utter exhaustion and defeat, the people around you, whether it’s your team, your family and friends who got up at the crack of dawn to massage your stinky feet, stretch your hammies, change your socks and tie your shoelaces, make you pie, are even more determined for you to overcome this challenge, than perhaps even you are.

Our team name says it all “We are an awesome team” . One of the greatest things about entering a team challenge is learning about yourself and learning about others, whether it’s in learning to facilitate in a group atmosphere, to regulate your emotions, to listen to others and also to yourself, to adapt and be flexible to your team mates and in an unfamiliar environment and most importantly, the value of good support. Whether it’s on skype, face-to-face, in the act of giving a massage, baking pies and caramel slice or giving a hug when it’s needed. That 100km walk was a massive achievement and the biggest congratulations to all the participants who raised money for Oxfam’s work here and abroad by pounding the track for least 24 hours.