Walking 150km between Sydney and Newcastle might not be everyone’s idea of a good time but for the ‘Beanies for Brain Cancer’ charity they’ve struck gold with the marathon distance.
Charity trek organiser Luke Alexander organised a walk from Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium to the NRL headquarters at Moore Park last June to raise funds for the Mark Hughes Foundation (MHF).
It was so successful, Alexander his mates from ‘The Big Three Trek’ are doing it all again – this time in reverse, from Sydney to Newcastle to arrive on Friday 1 July in time for the Round 16 game between the Knights and the Gold Coast Titans.
“It’s awesome; we have such a good crew from former NRL stars, celebrities, to people who have lost relatives to brain cancer, to other members of the public who just want to support a great cause,” Alexander told nswrl.com.au.
The Big Three Trek is Alexander and two mates from a soccer team they played for which lost their coach to brain cancer.
“We issued a challenge to ourselves to walk from Sydney to Newcastle – as you do – to raise money,” Alexander said.
“Then I started reaching out to others that might want some help.”
Alexander linked with MHF in June last year – the charity has run the ‘Beanies for Brain Cancer’ round since 2014. He also organised a charity walk for the McGrath Foundation last January.
In 2022 there is a warm-up 5km trek from NRL’s Moore Park offices to the Sydney Opera House on Tuesday 28 June to launch the Beanies round. Several hundred people are expected to take part.
Then on Wednesday 29 June a core of around 50 people will begin the three-day 150km walk to Newcastle, finishing in time for Friday night’s NRL game.
“It’s a hard gig to train for apart from walking regularly,” Alexander said.
“But most of it is mental to be honest.
“It’s 50km per day which sounds a lot, but you’ve got such great camaraderie around you.”
There are food-drink check points along the way. The walkers must take two ferries – across to Manly and then from Palm Beach to Wagstaffe as they travel up the Old Pacific Highway.
“It’s a well-oiled machine actually,” he said.
“The first night we’re at Terrigal, the second at Caves Beach and then into Newcastle.
“We have a host of people we call our Brain Cancer Warriors who have lost their dads, their sons, their mums, their daughters – some as young as in their 20s and 30s.
“They walk for a purpose and we want to be right alongside them when they do.”
For more details head to Alexander’s Instagram page @thebigthreetrek
