TREK FOR TIMOR  : SEPTEMBER 2010

250 intrepid trekkers walked either 13 or 45 kilometres to raise funds for community projects in East Timor. Each participant agreed to raise at least $150 for the cause and donations so far exceed $60,000!!

First past the post in the 45km were the Hills Trekkers, Karen, Emidio and George, who finished in 10 hrs and 40 mins and never even looked tired. In the 13 km trek the clear winners were Fairweather Furber Foursome, 25 minutes in front of the next team. Well done Margit, Mark, Rebecca and Jane.

The youngest team prize goes to Team Awesome with an average age of 21 years. And with an average age of more than three times Team Awesome, the clear winners in the oldest team category were the Vintage Blueberries

And the Top three fundraising teams were In Hot Water, Trampingonandonandonandonalongers and Fitness Frenz Team 1.

>> Read the full results in the Winners blog post >>

Hills Trekkers - 45km Winners

Fairweather Furber Foursome - 13km Winners

At last the final figures are in and we are delighted to say that we have just topped the $60,000 mark. What a fantastic job you did – you are all fundraising stars. Here’s the fundraising league table at close of business on Friday. Many congratulations to the three top fundraisers for a brilliant effort. We are all so grateful for your hard work.

Our committees will be meeting soon to decide on how the funds should be spent and we will let you know, both by email and through the website. And as the projects get underway, we will be posting photographs to show the results of your tremendous efforts. Thank you all

The first selection of photos taken by volunteers around the course. View here

It’s hard to single out winners because you all did so well, but here they are anyway.

First past the post in the 45km trek were the Hills Trekkers, Karen, Emidio and George, who finished in 10 hrs and 40 mins and never even looked tired. Many congratulations to the three of you.

In the 13 km trek the clear winners were Fairweather Furber Foursome, 25 minutes in front of the next team. Well done Margit, Mark, Rebecca and Jane.

And in the 45km trek we do have to give a special mention to Three Men and a Little Lady, who came in just three minutes behind the Hills Trekkers. Must have been stopping to look at all those wonderful views. Congratulations to Jamie, Clive, Adam and Cameron.

And now to the age prizes …

The youngest team prize goes to Team Awesome, Jessica, Joshua, Gilbert and Jana, with an average age of 21 years.

And with an average age of more than three times Team Awesome,  the oldest team by a long way was the Vintage Blueberries aged just 65.5 years. And not satisfied with that, they also claim the oldest team member at 71 years of age. Well done on a marvellous effort, Caro, Maria, Judy and Stuart.

And the prizes for the Top Three Fundraisers were a close run thing, with In Hot Water, Trampingonandonandonandonalongers and Fitness Frenz Team 1 finally taking the honours. Many congratulations everyone and thank you for working so hard to raise these enormous sums of money.

“And the prizes?” you ask? Fear not, we will be contacting you very soon with your prizes.

→ Full Results – 13km Trek [PDF 33KB]

→ Full Results – 45km Trek [PDF 42KB]

What a great bunch of teams you were. From the moment the first teams appeared in the cold dawn light, to the arrival of the last team just after midnight, we were overwhelmed and delighted with the support and effort that you made for Trek for Timor. However tough the terrain, however sore the feet, every team arrived with smiling faces and some even said they’d do it again!

And to all the volunteers, we salute you for your hard work in cheering on the teams and helping them on their way.

Final results, split times, details of oldest and youngest teams will all be posted here, just as soon as we’ve cranked up our calculators. And we’ll be posting lots of photos soon.

Sponsorship is still rolling in and we thank you all so much for your tremendous fundraising efforts. The cut off date for sending in payments, receipt books etc is October 3rd but we will post an interim list of how the teams are doing with their sponsorship.

Thank you everyone for making it such a happy and exciting day. See you in Kangaroo Valley in 2011 and back in the Blueys in 2012.

The T4T Team

Many trekkers are travelling long distances to join Trek for Timor. Our overnight finish line coordinator has been having a bit of a journey too. David Parsons had been helping a friend with an outback trip but his return journey was thwarted when the tiny plane bringing him to Alice Springs was grounded in bad visibility. Undaunted, David’s mate offered to make a 1200km round trip to drive him to Ayers Rock airport. Despite making most of the journey sideways in thick mud, they made it and barring further incidents David will be there at the finish line to welcome you.

This is definitely above and beyond the call of duty! Thanks David.

Final Info for Trekkers

Counting down to Saturday. Here are a few more questions and answers about the trek. Do email registrations@trekfortimorbm.org.au if you have more queries. A final briefing will be sent out on Thursday.

Weather - The weather for the weekend isn’t looking too bad, with only possible showers forecast for both days.  BUT Saturday night temps are forecast to go down to 1 degree. So it’s essential that you come prepared with lots of warm clothes and wet weather gear.  Your support crews should be armed with blankets to help to warm you up at each checkpoint. The recent Oxfam Trailwalker event had some cases of hypothermia, and that was in Sydney. Expect it to be much colder up here in the Blueys.

What to pack - have a quick look over the gear list on page 14 of the Trekkers’ Information pack to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything. 
http://www.trekfortimorbm.org.au/trekkers.pdf

Access to checkpoints – The start, finish and checkpoints 1 and 2 are all accessible on sealed roads, so 4WDs are not necessary. Don’t forget, if you’re doing the 13km trek, there will be a shuttle bus to get you back to the start line or the station, so no need to leave a car at Leura Cascades. If support crews are unsure about the location of the next checkpoint, ask our checkpoint crews for a map.

What’s this departure cut off time at checkpoints? - trekkers arriving at a checkpoint after the departure cut off time will not be able to continue on to the next leg of the trek. By this time some of our support services ahead of that checkpoint will be closing down and so we will not be able to ensure your safety. BUT ….. checkpoints won’t close down until all trekkers are in, be sure of that!

Retirements – if one or more of you has to drop out because of injury, etc, please remember that you MUST sign a withdrawal form at the nearest checkpoint. This is the only way we can be absolutely sure that we have accounted for all trekkers at the end of the trek. And please remember that if your team size drops below 3, for safety reasons we will ask you to join up with another team.

Oldest & Youngest teams - lots of entries for the oldest team and the leading team by a long way so far is 63.83 years. Let me know if you can beat that. But only two entries so far for the youngest team. Come on you young ones.

Personal Information and Waiver Forms - save yourselves a lot of time on Saturday by either emailing your forms to me, or completing and bringing them along on the day. There will be spare forms if you forget, but it all takes valuable time when you are raring to go. You’ll find copies in “The Trek” section of the website.

Sweeps - for those of you who haven’t done one of these treks before, the sweeps are the volunteers who follow on at the end of the trek to ensure everyone is safe and well, and also to take down signs, clear up garbage, etc, etc. They be a good distance behind the last team, so you don’t feel them breathing down your necks.

Enjoy your week and see you all on Saturday
Best wishes
Maggi

Sorry folks. Registrations are closed for Trek for Timor 2010. If you would like your name to go on a waiting list, please email registrations@trekfortimorbm.org.au but we can’t make any promises!

However there are still several ways you can help.

Sponsor a Team – help boost the fundraising efforts of your favourite team by donating on our sponsor page. Don’t know a team? Why not select a name that appeals to you from our team list.

Volunteer – we still need volunteers to help at checkpoints or act as marshals. If you have a few hours to spare, please contact our volunteer team at volunteers@trekfortimorbm.org.au.

And if you’re not able to get involved this year, don’t forget that Trek for Timor Kangaroo Valley will be happening in 2011.
http://www.kvrp.org.au

OMG! Only two weeks till we’re off and walking! Again! For the last few months 3 of us have been training for the Oxfam Trailwalker Sydney event. Doing really long walks seems to get into your blood. Maybe it’s the challenge, the scenery, the team work, or the chance to raise money for good causes. Or maybe its just the chance to eat anything we want, because we’ll burn it off! We will burn it off, won’t we?

This is our second Trek for Timor. Last year, a group of us went down to Kangaroo Valley and really enjoyed the challenge of the walk and the beauty of the Valley. Not to mention the superb organization, wonderful volunteers and fabulous muffins at the checkpoints. We couldn’t resist the chance to do it again in our own backyard.

There’s a little bit of trepidation though. With 10 feet in the team, there’s 50 toenails under threat, 20 knees to strap, countless blisters to anticipate. This year’s Trek looks like a real challenge. Lots of steep ascents and descents, some creek crossings, firetrails and, of course, that big climb at the end.

The real excitement hasn’t hit yet, but it’s building. The lists are being made – have we got enough trail mix, carbs, chocolate, electrolyte drinks, band aids, blister blocks, spare shirts and extra socks? Have we trained enough?

We’ve done enough long walks to know that fitness is just part of it. The thing that makes the real difference is how well the team works together, supports each other, and encourages each other to take just one more step. A good support crew is vital – they feed us, encourage us, massage our sore bits, and make sure we don’t spend too much time at the checkpoints. Without each other, we wouldn’t make it.

So, ready or not, Trek for Timor, here we come!

Sharron from the Bush Lemon Tarts