Photo before the start of the challenge with Lynn Parlett from Camp Quality
For those following our journey this particular event was a big one for us. Mentally, physically and emotionally. Testing our strengths and weakness’s and bringing the team even closer. We dedicated this event in particular to the passing of our mum.
We were all up early Friday morning, we had Adrian and Dave on an early flight in from Melbourne, Shane picking them up and Leslie and myself getting to Red Banks early to setup the equipment. Leslie and myself arriving around 7:30am and the rest of the team around 8:00am. Jason and Matt some key supporters arrived shortly after.
We had a couple of tents to setup, tables and some team strategic ideas to discuss before a starting time of 12:00pm. By the time things were setup, and we worked out plans, toilet locations etc it was close to starting time.
Lynn from Camp Quality arrived and worked us up just before the run. Took a few snaps and we were pumped to start!
Some key objectives we had were, work as a team, don’t leave anyone behind, don’t waste energy, ensure each lap you re-energize with food/gels/water.
Lap 7
First lap…, We came in the first lap in at 1hr 5mins, second lap 1hr 15min, 3rd lap 1hr 24mins…..these were rough times. Each lap we made sure we had enough time to replenish ourselves. Being me, I felt the cold the earliest and had the Anchor Wetsuit on first, I can’t remember the lap number but it was pretty early on in the piece. By the time we were on our 8th/9th laps night time had fully kicked in and the coldness was starting to become a big factor. Leslie our Medic and Matt our supporter were frequently checking in on us on the UHF or meeting us at key points to ensure we were ok. Due to safety concerns we were unable to do some obstacles in the early morning but still continued on the run. The general chit-chat that was happening each lap had slowed down to a few words, it wasn’t that we didn’t want to talk to each other it was that it was so much effort/energy too! Bananas were a big part of each lap. I personally changed my shoes 3 times, why some people ask? well each pair I felt was giving me pain in different areas, plus it was good to have a fresh “dry” clean of shoes for 5mins.
6:00am – We were at 11 laps and started packing up the tents, had breakfast. Pancakes, bananas and gel shots were on the menu. This ended up being a good recovery break. Ready for lap 12.
8:15ish – Lap 13 – People had started rocking up, temperature in the air had become slightly less cold. First time going down the massive water slide! and people were on the field. At this stage we were all pretty broken, our “run” had become a hobble. Big thanks to all those on the field that cheered us on, it certainty helped.
10:15ish – Lap 14 – Our last lap, this lap we did with with our local supporters wearing our AussieMudders t-shirts, Lizzie, Jason, Ali, Leslie, Hannah. Aim of this lap was to warm down, help the supporters out where we could and finish at 12 o’clock.
I felt like a zombie at the end of it all. While some of the sports gels did have a small amount of caffeine I could of really done with some caffeine in the middle of it all. Would I/We run it again? I reckon we would, there’s lots we learnt from it, plenty of improvements.
Special thanks,
Lindsay White – Owner of Red Banks – http://redbankstas.com.au/
Lynn Parlett – Camp Quality – www.campquality.org.au
Dale – Raw Challenge – www.rawchallenge.com.au
Leslie – On-site organiser/medic.
Jason/Matt – On-site supporters.
The Mercury – http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/brotherly-lark-gets-a-raw-of-approval/story-fnj4f7k1-1226834969119
Media Release from Camp Quality – Lynn Parlett
Four men will spend 24 hours running an obstacle course that many of us would be reluctant to run for an hour, all to honour the memory of a loved one and raise money for Camp Quality.
Adrian Mannix, 37 and his brothers Grant 29, Shane 24 and David Murphy 34, call their team The Aussie Mudders, affectionately known as three brothers and one crazy friend. They will run the Raw Challenge obstacle course at Redbanks Fish & Field in Nugent, continuously for 24 hours, aiming to complete at least 15 laps of the gruelling course.
“We recently had a family member pass away from a cancer related illness and wanted to do something in their memory, so we decided to support Camp Quality.” explained Adrian.
The Aussie Mudders, with the support of the Raw Challenge organisers and Camp Quality, will begin their marathon adventure on Friday February 21 at noon, running through the night and finishing at noon on Saturday. From 8:45am on Saturday, they will be joined by hundreds of other people running the course as teams and individually.
The brothers are no strangers to challenge events, setting a ‘last man standing’ competition at the inaugural Raw Challenge Event in Tasmania last November, with Grant completing 5 laps, Adrian 4 laps and Shane 2 laps. Their 15 lap goal is ambitious, but the team is determined.
“Needless to say we are going to smash those records and have fun along the way. Running obstacles are a real game changer and it’s good to have the support of your team to get through it.
Our ultimate goal is to complete every lap as a team, this is not an individual race.” The whole team is training hard in this last week before the challenge, running up to 60K per week, mixing resistance training and obstacle training, as well as forgoing their favoured meat pie diet.
“We feel honored that we can support Camp Quality through our run because we feel their programs make an amazing difference to children living with cancer. Every dollar raised during our event will go directly to Camp Quality to help them create a better life for every child living with cancer and their families. We are hoping people will dig deep for this worthy cause.”
- Lap 13 photo
Lap 14 Finish photo – The Mercury article