Melbourne Trailwalker - Media Release
100 kilometres - Teams of 4 - 48 hours
Australia's bravest tackle Oxfam Trailwalker Melbourne 2003
April 4th 2003 will see Melbourne's very first Oxfam Trailwalker endurance event. Trailwalker has been running in Sydney and Adelaide for 4 years and in Hong Kong for over 20 years. Teams of four put themselves to the ultimate endurance test: all four must complete a 100km track within 48 hours.
Winding through some of Melbourne's most beautiful bushland, the trail starts in Ferny Creek at the base of the Dandenongs and works its way up through the Dandenong Ranges National Park to the Warburton Trail in Mt Evelyn. Participants will follow the Warburton Trail to Warburton at the base of the Great Dividing Range. After a steep climb to the Mt Donna Buang Summit the trail continues through the Yarra Ranges National Park to Dom Dom Saddle Reserve at the top of the Black Spur. The final 20 kilometres is through the Marysville State Forest to the finish line at Gallipoli Park in Marysville.
Teams can run or walk the 100km to help raise money for struggling communities around the world. Each team pledges a minimum of $1000, with gold teams pledging $5000 and platinum $10,000. This year, Sydney Trailwalker raised over $800,000. All funds raised through team sponsorship will go to Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, Australia's leading aid agency, working for social justice and the alleviation of poverty. The organisation funds development projects in over thirty countries around the world, including Indigenous Australia.
Oxfam Trailwalker has become one of Australia's most popular annual endurance events, described by ultra-marathon champion Pat Farmer as "the greatest event on the face of the earth".
Oxfam Trailwalker began in 1981 as a military training exercise in Hong Kong for the Queen's Gurkha Regiment, the Nepalese regiment of the British Army. It now takes place annually in Britain, Hong Kong and Australia. "Oxfam Trailwalker is an event anyone can do, an exercise in what is possible. At the same time it is also a serious physical event that attracts elite athletes worldwide", said event organiser Cameron Wiseman.
For individuals to register and for information call (03) 9289-9486 or visit the website: www.caa.org.au/trailwalker
For an interview, please call Cameron Wiseman (03) 9289-9486 or 0416-373-366.
