To read about the background of participating in this event, please visit my previous blog post.

Basically we were going to do it in 2020, but COVID-19 meant the event was cancelled/postponed. And we were then able to participate in 2021 (in between further lockdowns). In fact, as I write this on 2nd June 2021, we are in our fourth COVID-19 lockdown!!

…

So, just popping in to say. My friends are better than yours! So bloody proud of these guys, and the 26km team members who were gone by the time we finished.

Massive thanks to our personal support crew Joe Amelia and Archie, top work from these guys

Follow my Strava profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/30265198 

The post Surf Coast Trek 2021 appeared first on Sara Napier.

A couple of days before my 39^th birthday, I kicked off with a solid long weekend of walking. I set myself the goal to walk at least three times a week. By the end of June, I was achieving this, and had, in fact, walked every day straight from the 20^th June to the 30^th June.

I devoted some time to reshuffling my work calendar so that I could finish work earlier a couple of days a week, in order to squeeze in a one-hour walk before it got too dark during the winter months. Big thanks to the GBM technology team, for making this possible!

A great team of friends supported this new adventure. We organized catch-ups that involved walking 6 kilometres to the Noorat Hotel, having Sunday brunch, and then walking 6 kilometres back to Terang (in the rain). What a team! By the end of September, I had exercised (closed my Apple Watch Green Ring) every single day – 102 days in a row! As an added benefit, I had lost 11kgs, and felt more confident about going backpacking in Europe for a then-upcoming one-month long trip! 

Around about this time, I threw around the idea of joining the Surf Coast Trek – a 40km fundraising trek on the Surf Coast Walk, to be held on Saturday 28^th March 2020.

I was blown away by the ongoing support from my crew. Our team The Tactical Wheeze now have 12 registered participants! Massive thanks to Alison Buccheri, Lisa Bernoth, Mali Glendinning, Craig Cole, Steven Welsh, Sharna Whitehand, Melissa Rees, Clare Dunn, Belinda Bennett, Ulick Napier and Simon Buccheri for supporting this idea, joining the team and being all-round top people.

We have been training both individually and on team treks. Team treks have included:

• Sunday treks to Noorat from Terang, with a stop at the Mount Noorat Hotel for brunch
• An epic 33km walk from Naroghid to Timboon, via the Rail Trail. The ice cream and whisky at the end was an awesome reward
• A 17km walk along the Old Beechy Rail Trail from Barongarook to Gellibrand – ending with a yummy pub lunch at the Gellibrand Hotel
• Walks up Mount Leura
• A 17km walk from Naroghid to Cobden and back to Naroghid on Melbourne Cup Day
• Followed by a long walk (25km) on the beach from Port Fairy to Warrnambool on the Saturday following Melbourne Cup Day
• Mount Noorat Summit and Crater (to and from the pub)
• Narrawong Mount2Mouth Beach Walk (17km)

Wow, when you put it into a list like that, it seems crazy! But it has been fantastic to work together towards this goal.

We now have less than two months until the big event, and in addition to the ongoing training, we need to raise some funds for the Surf Coast Trek beneficiaries – Kids Plus Foundation and Give Where You Live Foundation.

Our team has a combined target of $3000 to raise, and we have currently raised $461.

Your fundraising dollars will be split evenly between charities Kids Plus Foundation and Give Where You Live Foundation.

Kids Plus Foundation is a community organisation that delivers programs for babies, children and young people with neuro-development conditions including cerebral palsy, brain injury and stroke.

Give Where You Live Foundation raises funds and allocates them to the less fortunate in the community within Geelong and district.

If you would like to support our team, please visit https://givewhereyoulive.secure.force.com/Fundraise/surfcoasttrek2020/TheTacticalWheeze

To follow our training treks, follow my Strava profile: https://www.strava.com/athletes/30265198 

The post Surf Coast Trek 2020 appeared first on Sara Napier.

All was going well with my new boots until I keep having the laces come undone! They have those round laces that look nice, but do have a tendency to slip. This was not going to do at all!

I wondered whether the way I learned to tie my shoelaces, back in grade prep, was in fact the right way to do it! Well, the answer was no! I spent some tie researching online, and discovered that I have been tying my shoelaces in a granny knot for the past 30-plus years. 

Turns out I only needed to make one small adjustment to my shoe-tying technique to convert my inferior granny knot to the superior and secure reef knot. 

If this has you questioning your shoelace tying abilities, visit this website so you can troubleshoot like I did!

The post These Boots are made for Walking appeared first on Sara Napier.