Saturday, December 27, 2008

Maps, lots and lots of maps!

The maps have arrived. Twenty-seven maps. The enormity of what we are undertaking suddenly hits home as I unfold map after map and trace the Australian Alps Walking Track across endless topographical contours. Hidden in the crisp folds of these new maps lies our path across the high country.

Our planning is well underway with lists of gear and lists of jobs to-do. Ultrarunners love the chance to paw over lists of gear. Better still, we love choosing new gear. Getting us to do the to-dos isn’t quite as easy. We’d rather be out running. That’s when a good crew is priceless. Having someone inspired enough to take part behind the scenes and organise the stuff that needs doing but otherwise probably wouldn’t get done, makes all the difference. Thanks Kathy.

We have all the ingredients, we have the mixing bowl, we even have a chef, now we just need to bake this cake. Come February 14 we get to eat our cake. We get to run endless trails through remote Australian bush. Well, not quite endless. Somewhere around 650km. Whoever said you can’t have your cake and eat it too? A

Friday, December 5, 2008

The Journey Begins

Sometimes you’ve just got to push the boundaries. Step outside the 9 to 5. Sometimes you have to test your limits. Sometimes you find yourself drawn inexorably towards a challenge that both excites and scares you at the same time. This is our challenge.

This is not a race, this will be a journey. Our journey. A journey for “Mellum”, three great mates, tackling the toughest trail Australia has to offer. We plan to run the Australian Alps Walking Track from Walhalla in eastern Victoria to the outskirts of Canberra, roughly 650km.

This blog is our way of documenting and sharing our adventure. True to our ethos, we have pledged to raise money for the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Our major sponsor, Injinji are offering 10% off when using our promotional code and have also offered to donate 10% of sales that quote our code to AWC.

So follow us as we test our limits and live our dream and attempt to run the entire AAWT. It doesn't get any better than this. A