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Riley Abbott

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Raised

$815

My Goal

$1,000

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About

Support our team and empower local youth!

Our team are tackling Australia's toughest team endurance event, The Kokoda Challenge, to support the Kokoda Youth Foundation in their mission to change the lives of young Australians through instilling the values of the Spirit of Kokoda; Courage, Endurance, Mateship and Sacrifice. These are the values we will embody on our adventure, paying tribute to Kokoda Veterans.

The Kokoda Youth Foundation is an Australian charity that runs free youth programs for kids in the local community, empowering disadvantaged and disengaged youth with the tools to realise their full potential.

By making a tax-deductible donation today, you can support our team in The Kokoda Challenge and provide Australian youth with life-changing opportunities.

My Updates

Night Training at You Yangs

This week we tested out our night hike gear to ensure batteries are sufficient and get the feel of the darkness. 
A relatively short 22 kms in some rain but nice to get the feel of it all.  We got to see some wildlife out as well including a possum and some kangaroos. 
Shit is getting real now, less than 3 weeks to go!!!

Anakie Gorge 42

Almost freezing start to the day in Anakie, even the puddles were frozen. We saw a couple of deer in the wild, not something you see every day close to Melbourne. 

Body was just about spent today, tired, warn out and some chafing to boot.  Head down and pushing through was the order of the day for me. The weather turned on a treat for this time of year, blue skies all around. 

Donations have now topped $3k as a team, thanks so much to everyone that has supported us so far.  We are so grateful for your support.


Macedon Ranges double loop 36kms

Early morning start for a double loop of Mt Macedon, twice the distance, twice the fun, or so I'm told.
Always a challenging start going up the goat track to the Cross, and quite wet and slippery and to top it off, very foggy this morning.  In fact, the fog didn't let up until 3.30pm. 
Alex took a tumble down the rocks at one stage, but thankfully he was ok and soldiered on like a champ.  Only 5 weeks to go now, a couple of big trainings to go and then we will wind it back before the big event to give our legs a little rest in prep. 
thanks to all that have donated, we truly appreciate it, and it's going to a great cause. 

Torquay - Anglesea return 42

Melat and I alone on this one, captains knee has a lot of fluid and he needs rest. 
A lot of variety in this hike, coastal trails, sand, rocks and some rainforest to top off. 
Rained pretty much all day, and realised I'm not equipped for this much rain. Oh and chaffing is awesome 😎 
Long day, and clocked our longest day and hike yet.  

Dandenong Ranges 30

This week i trekked out alone to the Dandenong Ranges, completing a 30 km hike from the bottom of Sky High up and down numerous times, reaching the 1000 steps around halfway.
The hike was pretty challenging, with 1700m of gain, and the quads and knees were definitely feeling the strain by the end of the day. 
I go to see the Kokoda memorial at the 100 steps, which had more of an effect on me this time seeing it. 
Getting closer to the hike now, with 7 weeks to go. 

Brisbane Ranges 37kms

A long hike of 37kms on 8 May through the Brisbane ranges, point to point from Friday's campground to Boar Gully campground. 
At 5kms in we realised my keys were still in the second vehicle, so a quick run back to car added a few kms to the total. 
Some challenging climbs and learnt about the Stony Creek dam wall, which supplied Geelong with their water in the 1800's, very impressive structure for the time.
We were all glad to see the car at the end of the hike, super hungry and some sore feet.

Lederderg 32

Alex and I on our own this week, we were aiming for 30 KMs but ended up doing a wrong track at the 27 km mark and that added a couple to the end 
Easily the most challenging track so far with some climbing involved, not good for my fear of heights, and some dodgy single trails around the river. 
The sharp rocks made it interesting, and we got to test out the new headlamp as it was dark when we finished. 
Good day out, kudos to Alex for helping me through the harder sections. 

Macedon Ranges

This week's hike was in the beautiful Macedon Ranges.  We began by tackling the goat track, a tough little one to begin, and then up to the Memorial Cross, then a clockwise circuit via Sanatorium Lake, Hells Hole Track, past the impressive Macedon Lodge horse racing precinct and back to the car park.
In all a 27.5km trek, was a challenging day but well worth it. 

Lederderg training

We completed a 21 km hike through some of the Lederderg state Forest on Sunday 30 March. 
Elevation gain of around 800m, the team has been getting used to using walking poles and breaking in new shoes. 
We are looking at a weekly long hike, and building the distance each week, as well as shorter and strength training during the week. 

Thank you to my Sponsors

$106.12

Mum

You can do it 🏃🏻‍➡️

$104.92

Todd Cail

Good Luck!

$100

Sylvana Karam

Hi Riley Huge kudos to you and the team for taking on the Kokoda Challenge — clearly you're all gluttons for punishment! Wishing you all the very best (fresh legs and zero blisters) for the challenge ahead — I’ll be cheering you on from afar and looking forward to following your journey as it unfolds. Good luck and thank you for making a difference!

$75.14

Suriati Scinto

$54.12

Bob Abbott

$54.12

Edel Ryan

$54.12

Anonymous

$54.12

Cornucopiafp

Nice work Riley

$54.12

Jason Rees

Best of luck when you complete the big event.

$50

Karen Arndell

Best of luck, Riley! Looking forward to hearing about your adventures next Melbs visit.

$41.38

John Campbell

Go Riley. Youcan do it! 👍🏻

$27.81

Riley Abbott

$27.81

Listy Arianti

Good luck Riley!

$11.65

Brad Mcinnes

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Our Team Members

Alex Valentine (C)

➤
Raised so far

$410.08

Riley Abbott

➤
Raised so far

$815.43

Melat Gezaw

➤
Raised so far

$277.27

Poni Tongun

➤
Raised so far

$1,388.94