Tour de France - what an event!

Great outline of the Tour de France 2010 route. We wanted to imbed the video in the blog, but it is just too awesome... so check out the link. Very exciting stuff!

These are serious athletes!

Enjoy, Mountain Katts.

Wall of Fame - Going Loco For Lombok

Together we raised $2824 to support the education of children in Gergerung, Lombok. They will now be able to have many of the basics necessary to be able to undertake their primary school education. We will take the money to Lombok in September/October this year, unless we find another secure method earlier.

Thanks once again to:

Jayne Russell

Loretta Garvey

Clare and Steve Peacock

Sheryl Cardozo and Adi Diner

Melissa Crouch

Luke and Leli Arnold

Romek and Sue Gonn

Josh Kay, Lior Kay and Talia Maayan

Geoff and Helen Kliger

Hanna Kopel

Toby and Nat Ovadia

Jessica Garvey

Cecily Maller and Dom Jurcec

Simone Albert and Nick De Vos

Kelly McDermott

Samantha Croy

Mr and Mrs Smith ;) (you know who you are)

Ruth Kingsley, Ryan and Daniel Bass

Winfred Chester

Yotti Kingsley

Alana Tassie

Gillian Fletcher

Rayna Gevurtz and Gersh Zylberman

Helen Pausacker

Hayley Gonn

Jacob Slucki

Dora and Michael Kingsley

Aaron Zelman and Sara Kowal

Ricci and Ori Presser

Desiree Handley and Ben Potter

Julian and Rosie Black

Jake Moller

Kathryn Taylor, Chris and Hayley Foong

Jay Pizaro and Patcharapol

Brynna Rafferty-Brown and Rowan Gould

Savitri Taylor

Gina Flash

Antje Missbach

Matthew and Clare Harding

Ku and Kristian Brown

George Darroch

Anita and Denton Bass

Annie Pohlman

Thanks also to the team sponsor: Smart Records System. This support covered expenses that were incurred in relation to equipment and accommodation for this adventure. A final thanks goes to our support crew for the adventure Dora Kingsley, Michelle Kornberg and Loretta Garvey who gave up their time to help us.

Thanks once again, Mountain Katts.

New direction... More to follow soon.

Before moving onto anything new we wanted to say a BIG THANKS to all of our supporters and donors for giving, caring and cheering... We raised just under $3000, which is a massive outcome. The money will be distributed to the school children in Lombok before the start of the next school semester this August - hopefully pictures from the school will be forthcoming soon too. The Wall of Fame is a fantastic list of people and also once more a big thanks to Loretta, Mishi and Dora for being a wonderful support crew on the day.


We have decided to establish with you, our friends, an Adventure Club... Keeping the challenges and adventures coming. Traversing the globe and engaging with nature. Stay tuned for a more detailed blog posting about this soon!


But back to the writing bunkers for the Mountain Katts.


Cheers, M+J.

Mission accomplished and issuing our own challenge

YAY!

YAY!!

YAY!!!

We did it.

MP preparing.

After three months of planning, sweating, refining technique and motivating ourselves last Saturday we undertook our challenge.  This was our challenge, not organised by someone else, but our own!  


We had a plan of how our day was to go and we surprisingly beat it by about 30min.  What we didn't know was just how hard it would push us outside our comfort zone.  14 hours and 49 minutes after leaving Apex Park in Wangaratta we made it to Bright.  Completing our 84k challenge.  It was a long, draining and VERY wet day (for the most part)... But one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives.  And luckily, although wet, we bet the really cold and rainy weather that really set in on the Sunday. This would have made the 84k's even harder.


The day started with us waking on Saturday morning at 3.45am to prepare and do our stretches... And have our last relaxed bit of food before the run.  Then at 4.50am we walked down to the start of the course and by 5.10am we were running... And the rest is history.  We ran the first 40k to Bowman and then walked the second 44k (we ran at 10k per hour and then walked at 6k per hour).  The run started auspiciously with JK taking a fall in the first 5k's earning him a grazed knees, hands and ego...

Getting ready... JK annoys MP!

At the starting line all lighted-up.

Thanks to Dora Kingsley, Michelle Kornberg and Loretta Garvey who were our support crews for the run.   Dora and Michelle were support crew 1 and let's say they were a little geographically challenged (with 5 check-points to meet us at they made it to 1 no actually 2 on time) they may have got lost from time to time but we appreciated their efforts...  Then Loretta, our country-lady come medical academic saviour took over... and guided us home for the last few legs of the day.


This challenge pushed us to our physical and emotional limits.   For JK, at the end of the 40k run he was totally salt depleted, but with a little Gatorade and some salty biscuits, colour returned to his face. But then his feet started to feel bruised as he walked into Myrtleford and for a while he felt like he was going to pack it in at the 53k mark and withdraw injured.  At his lowest, he felt like a failure... but MP's encouragement got him focused again!  The problems were not all JK.  As we left Myrtleford, it was MP's tough patch, still 30km to go... But with a little encouragement the endurance bunny was focused again! 


However, the two of us faced some other very challenging moments with bouts of heavy rain.  One just before Myrtleford, and the second, during the last 8km stretch from Eurobin to Porepunkah (1.5hrs) it rained heavily non-stop.  In the last shower, we slogged through a really unpleasant soaking, that water-logged JK's shoes and created wetness in some unpleasant places that exacerbated JK's chaffing....


There were some other problems we had to deal with... In the second leg of our run, we had to avoid a herd of sheep being moved by a farmer (only jumping out of the way with split seconds before being mauled by the stampeding NZ favourites).  


Also, we didn't follow some simple rules of undertaking such an endurance challenge.  A simple example was not to try any food that you are not used to or have not used before or after a training session previously.  For instance, we decided to have a protein bar in our first and second break... which, had a rather poo-inducing affect for both of us (MP a little worse than JK... lucky we ran with toilet paper in our packs).


We could recount the tough points, but it was a truly wonderful opportunity for us.  There were many beautiful points.  Such, as watching the kangaroos jumping ahead of us at dawn... And watching the alpine majesty as we ran towards Eurobin from Myrtleford.  Not to mention the amazing bird life, (although we were suspicious that the kookaburras were laughing at us for all the wrong reasons).  Beyond this, we ran and walked together without an argument or blow-up... not even 1! (this is because we invented an imaginary friend 'Anton' to accompany us and he bore the brunt of any misdirected anger).


The last two days we have been recovering.  Our bodies were pushed, but we did not get any blisters or terrible chaffing (despite the comment before).  Although we were a bit stiff and sore the following day... and maybe we walked like a couple of 80 year olds and had Loretta acting as our carer (luckily she's a trained nurse so adapted to the role perfectly) MP was also eyeing off one of those walkers older people use to get around and was contemplating tripping over a little old lady to get her hands on one!


But we are now both feeling pretty damn fine.  A little walking (about 4k's) and some warm baths made us both feel great!  Alright, we are a little sore still.


Thanks to Jared McClelland whose conditioning and training really prepared us for this challenge physically, but also he helped us work together as a team! We also wanted to thank Jake Moller and Chris Hogan for all their help with our training.


And a big thanks also for all of you for following our progress, contributing donations and being so supportive for us!


Now we have a challenge for you!  We want to raise a few hundred dollars more to get to $3000.  We have perspired and pushed ourselves... Now we are asking for those who haven't donated to please think about giving and to everyone who has generously given please forward this blog onto friends, families and colleagues.  Lets get to $3000.  This doesn't sound like a lot for us here, but we can make a real difference to children in Lombok's educational future!!! 


We are closing donations this FRIDAY, 16 April 2010, @ 5pm! A final posting will be put up on Saturday with the final tally.  So DONATE and tell your fiends!


Enjoy the photographs of us sweating (LOTS) and needing to call on our mental toughness (this was no one-hour workout in the comfort of a gym!).


Thanks for all of your support, Mountain Katts.

Getting sustenance at an early break.

Changing shoes in Myrtleford after the first of two drenching rains.

And changing my shirt (this photograph is for Toby and Josh...)

Heading into the Eurobin rest stop (about 70k's in).

Enjoying our break in Eurobin.

THE END... or just the beginning?

The home straight!

Hi friends, family and supporters,

This will be our last blog before our 84k challenge on Saturday.  We are very excited about it and all the final preparations are being put into place...  But our fundraising target is still a few hundred dollars away!  But lets not just reach the target, but go straight past it!  

As most of you are probably aware, we are fundraising for the students of Gergerung, Lombok.  These are children who will be aided to go to their local government school.  We know these kids and care that they have the chance to get educated.  The world gets better with every educated head.  And Lombok has one of the lowest-levels of literacy and corresponding rates of poverty, therefore, with each $60 that we raise we bring one child closer to breaking a cycle of poverty.  We are passionate about these people and giving them opportunities - to do this we need your help.

Donations from the run will go towards uniforms packs and other essentials for families to support their children's education.

A uniform pack includes:

- one hat and a tie (to wear with normal uniform)
- one pair of shoes
- 2 x normal uniform set
- 1 x Friday uniform
- 1 x Scouts uniform
- 3 x pair of socks
- a school bag
- set of pencils, ruler etc.

Annisa, a non-government group we know well, will be distributing the packs, so we can verify that the money will be used wisely! Just so you know where your money will be going a pack costs about $60 (Rp 510,000). That price also allows for a little wriggle room in terms of exchange rates.

TO DONATE: Click on the icon "Donate" in the "Donations" box on the side of this blog.  To follow the fundraising efforts see the thermometer in the "Fundraising" box (and on the "Wall of Fame" box).  Or if you are having trouble donating this way, just email:

j.kingsleyATunimelb.edu.au OR maria.plattAThotmail.com.

While we have the chance we want to thank all those personally who have donated.  Your support of this worthy cause is sincerely appreciated and you deserve to be on a "Wall of Fame". Terima Kasih (Thanks).  Also we would like to thank those who attended the film night and shared their time with us.  More thanks will come in the post-run blog...  But for now that is enough.

We are excited to challenge ourselves physically and emotionally as individuals... And are so happy to be able to do this as a couple - a team - sharing our love in a strange way.  

We will remember your support while running and we think it will come in as useful fuel while we are on the trail.  So if you have any final well-wishes and feedback, please put it in the comments section of the blog... Every kind word will go a long way!

A blog entry will be posted with our memories and happy snaps after the run.  There should be some wild looking Mountain Katts... But to follow the fundraising efforts keep logging onto our blog over the next few days.

Keep posted team.  Our adventures are about to start and will not end with an 84k challenge!  Let the sweating begin... 5am Saturday morning.

Salam, Mountain Katts.

The Mountain Katts are powered along by the support of Smart Records System taking care of all your filing and document management needs.

Alpine reconnaissance mission

Hi friends, family and supporters,


People we have spoken with have said that we should provide a little more information about the actual trail... So this blog is about what we found.


Well the first major issue is that the whole trail is paved (in many places it is just compacted gravel, like the tan, but in many other parts it is asphalt paving or the like).  This is good in that it shows the trail is well maintained and easy to follow, but the negative to this is that it is harder on our legs than trail running, which is just cleared earth.  When your running long distances this can make a major difference.  But we will do things, such as run on the soft edges that are still cleared and gravel, but not paved, where possible.


The trail we are running is undulating with a gradual incline as Wangaratta is on the flat lands while Bright is in alpine country.  There is one killer hill to Taylors Gap.  This stage is about a five kilometers slow climb which ends in a sharp incline.  It is not just physically difficult, but mentally challenging.  The incline and its ongoing nature makes you have to keep mentally on top of things and not give up.

We enjoyed the ride and are looking forward to the run, because you can get a real sense of the differences in nature between the flat lands and the alpine area.  You get to see things, but also smell the vineyards, hops which grow along the trail and bush land... It allowed us to really feel the land around us and what people were doing with it (for instance, at vineyards).  When you drive through such amazing areas you can see things, but you often can't savor what it offers nor smell the world...


Overall, the trail is going to be a serious challenge.  But we are both looking forward to it.  And we know we can do it!  Our support crews are ready and final arrangements are being made.  This week we are tapering down our training, although we will be doing a conditioning session today and then two runs this week to keep things flowing.


One final things - our friend Sheryl sent an article about an American couple living life to the full (and they are no youngsters)... They are an inspiration of life, love and adventure.  We hope to never stop adventuring.  


ALSO - get those final donations in... We are not there yet!  But we can reach our goal together.


Speak to you soon, Mountain Katts.

Weekend warriors go alpine

Hi friends and family,


We have just come back from a weekend adventure where we rode on bikes from Wangaratta to Bright.  It was about 85km each way (if you include riding from the bike store) meaning we completed a 170km round trip.  We were scouting out our fundraising run challenge of 84k.


It was a wonderful opportunity to see where we would be running, but more importantly, it was one more opportunity for Maria and I to make our lives adventurous.  We go to gym so that we can do these sorts of things... Several years ago, we would never have even contemplated such a trip.  


And on Saturday night we had an early anniversary dinner.  On April 10, after the run we will not be able to enjoy such a special dinner.  So we went to 'Simone's of Bright' - it was a really special meal!  Fantastic atmosphere and excellent food.  Even more special after a day on our steal horses.


This is the last fortnight before our challenge on April 10/11.   PLEASE DONATE the kids of Gergerung and their education will benefit directly from it... We are close to the target, but not there yet.  


Have a wonderful passover and easter everyone!  Remember to keep smiling.


Salam, Mountain Katts.