Toby

48km... she'll be right!

Somehow, I’ve agreed to do the 48km Kokoda. This is either inspiring self-improvement or a complete lapse in judgement.

Since agreeing to this, my training has consisted of forgetting about it and pretending I’ll “lock in next week.”

But either way, I’m signed up now, so I may as well make something out of it.

I signed up mostly as a self-improvement challenge and because Izzy wouldn't stop nagging me about it. Jokes aside, I’m glad she did. I think it'll do me some good.

At the same time, youth mental health is something I care a lot about. I think pretty much everyone struggles with mental health at some point, especially as teenagers. I’ve seen that in myself and in a lot of people close to me, that’s why I think helping young Aussies build the confidence and resilience they need to push through challenges is really important.

I’m also doing this for my brother Will, who’s currently going through basic military training at Kapooka. Compared to what he’s doing, walking 48km is piss easy. Will has always done hard things for the sake of doing hard things, challenging both his body and mind, and possibly just to flex as well. One time, he convinced me to ride 200km on a mountain bike just because we could. I had no idea what I signed up for. At points, I seriously considered giving up, but Will would not let me let myself down. After lots of pep talks from Will, we both made it, and I proved to myself I could do hard things. He puts the Will in willpower. When it gets rough, I will remember what he's going through at Kapooka. I know if Will was doing it with me, there's no way I'd quit and let him down. He's truly inspiring.

If you’d like to support the cause, any donation means a lot. Even just sharing this page would be much appreciated. Thanks, legends.