By
PTE Shannon Joyce
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FLTLT
Mark Camilleri
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A
COMBINED service team has rallied together to put in a heartening
effort for one of the greatest tests of team endurance in the
Oxfam 100km Trailwalker at Balgowlah.
The Air Force and Army team battled pain and injury to raise $1000
for Oxfam Community Aid Abroad in the marathon event last month.
Flight Lieutenant Mark Camilleri, Captain Daniel Wishaw, Captain
Pat Heffernan and Lieutenant Nick Griffi ths formed the team Floating
Support Bridge from the School of Military Engineering.
Knee problems for FLTLT Camilleri and ankle injuries to CAPT Wishaw
forced them to pull out of the event with 19km remaining.
FLTLT Camilleri said the event was an challenge from the outset.
“After hitting the trails we found that we were all in single
fi le ... until the fi rst checkpoint,” he said.
CAPT Wishaw rolled his ankle 6km into the trek, with a slight
pain being the only hint of the two hairline fractures that were
to come.
Despite this, FLTLT Camilleri said the team managed a good shuffl
ing pace. “A lot of the trails were up and down hill and over
rocks and boulders, so we were slowed quite a bit.
We covered the fi rst 33km in fi ve hours and so were hoping for
a good time,” he said. Stiffness and soreness began to set in
at the fourth checkpoint.
They had to move through complete darkness for half an hour without
head lamps.
“It had started to get cold by the fi fth stage, so we rugged
up for the night run, threw on head lamps, which weren’t very
effective anyway, and kept on,” FLTLT Camilleri said.
“By the 69km mark we were all feeling pretty drained. Setting
off from there we then slowed up quite a bit, and Dan rolled his
ankle a couple more times.
The next 12km felt more like 18km, as knees and ankles would ache;
more on the down hill shuffl es than anything else.”
At
the 17½-hour mark CAPT Wishaw and FLTLT Camilleri withdrew, while
the other two continued.
