Oxfam Challenge Report

"Nothing can match the strength of those whose lives have been shaped and forged through challenging and overcoming hardships."
Diasaku Ikeda

It’s with great pleasure that I write this post with news about the amazing journey I just lived: not the Oxfam breeze, the Oxfam CHALLENGE!

Setting the scene:
- 502 teams
- 2008 walkers
- More than 700 volunteers
- The hardest track ever
- Weather forecast: rain!

In Colmar Brunton (corporate group where I work):
- 6 teams
- 24 walkers
- 15 supporters
- 1 day off
- Excitement. And an incredible “doing the right thing” feeling

The day:

Fri, 10 a.m. (starting time)

- Team still at registration, as 1 team member was late, due to lack of taxis in the area
- Therefore, a lot of traffic slowing us down
- Anyway, energy was super high
- 2 of our company teams were walking together (8 people)
- Stops in the first 2 checkpoints (20.5 km) were brief, just enough for refuelling water bottles and grabbing a little food

Fri, 6 p.m. (checkpoint 3 – 30.5 km)

- Drizzle turns into rain and we got quite cold
- 3 people from the other team retire (we're 5 walking together now)
- We decided to walk a little faster, as traffic was gone



Sat, 4 a.m. (checkpoint 5 – 51 km)

- Terrain is very steep and got quite muddy because of the rain
- Team energy is drained and tiredness is apparent
- 2 more people pulled out, one with strong feet pain, another really dizzy. Now we are 3 girls left and make a vow we’ll finish together

Sat, 12:30 p.m. (checkpoint 7 – 72.5 km)

- Sun has risen, terrain is drier, energy level is higher
- 4 amazing friends (or should I say saints?) met me with signs, motivation lines and disposition to give me a foot massage!
- The hardest leg is about to start
- Changed clothes; feeling a new person



Sat, 5 p.m. (checkpoint 8 – 86.5 km)

- Feet are sore, muscles are good, disposition is great!
- 1 team mate doesn’t have any strength left, is crying of pain and desperation, but decided to continue
- 1 of our company teams finished the walk, 1 retired, the others are behind us
- We didn’t think we would need to face another night, but ready to head for the final leg!



Sat, 10 p.m.: Finish line crossed! 100 km completed!



Results:

- 16 of our Company walkers finished the Challenge (1416 overall)
- More than AU$ 17,000 raised for Oxfam in our Company (more than AU$ 2,118,000 overall)
- Everybody learned a lot about team work, the importance of mental strength and our own limits!

Thanks a lot for everybody who supported me in this amazing journey!

For more pictures, click here.