Nature lovers rally for 100km walk

Up to 150 teams of four will attempt the gut-busting walk through New South Wales' Blue Mountains. Photo / Supplied

Across the Tasman next weekend, thousands of athletes will push themselves to the limit by attempting to complete a 100km walk in the Wild Endurance event near Sydney.

It is the fourth running of the annual event with up to 150 teams of four (600 athletes) attempting the gruelling distance in the picturesque Blue Mountains in New South Wales.

Behind the scenes a Kiwi is involved with the recipient charity, The Wilderness Society, working to turn around the attitudes toward destroying native forests in Australia.

Peter Cooper, who has been based in Australia since 2003 and now works for the Wilderness Society's Forests Campaign, said that Wild Endurance is a natural fit for what they are trying to achieve.

"The location makes this event special," said the 29-year-old Cooper, who is the senior campaigner of The Wilderness Society.

"The Blue Mountains in NSW are regarded as one of the iconic wilderness areas of the region - over a million hectares were listed as a World Heritage site in 2000."

The Blue Mountains are home to the famous Wollemi pine, one of the world's rarest species, a living fossil which dates back to the age of the dinosaurs - this is what Cooper wants to protect.

Like the Oxfam Trailwalker recently staged in Taupo, the Wild Endurance event has a special atmosphere about it with people pushing their bodies to the limit.

"The teams and their support crews head up to the mountains for the weekend, so you get this amazing camaraderie between the participants, support crews (often the whole family) and the 50 or so volunteers that work on the event.

"As the event is over 36 hours with teams arriving at the four checkpoints at various hours of the night - you get this amazing atmosphere of support, exhilaration and sleep deprived mania."

The nature of the event - walking 100km - is something quite unreal and hence is well supported by fundraising efforts. Over A$130,000 ($173,000) has been raised already with the end goal of A$500,000.

The event organisers said the New Zealand presence in the Wild Endurance is hard to measure.

"Anecdotally we know we attract many Kiwi competitors, but it is difficult to quantify," said Sarah Rimmer, Wild Endurance event co-ordinator.

Find out more

ethicalpaper.com.au