Bomb suits help protect users from explosive blast and fragmentation effects. They’re hot, heavy and not something you’d typically wear while walking half-marathon distances, from dusk till dawn.

But a team of specialists from Joint Explosive Ordnance Support (JEOS) did just that to raise money for the charity Bravery Trust.

For 12 hours through the night, four volunteers donned the 35kg suits, collectively covering more than 80km.

Air Force Warrant Officer Tim Duke, the oldest bomb suit walker at 55, said when the event was discussed at work, the good-ideas fairy came knocking. 

“Because explosive ordnance disposal is part of our JEOS remit, we have the bomb suits and we have the qualified people, so someone came up with the mad idea of doing 12 hours in the suits,” he said.

“If we were going to chase those charity dollars, we had to do something beyond the norm.”

Called Dusk till Dawn, the endurance relay involved teams of four running or walking a 2.1km loop through the Australian War Memorial precinct, with one team member needing to be on course at all times.

All four bomb suit wearers walked the first leg together, with their youngest and fittest staying on for a consecutive lap to move into the team’s overnight rotation.

'If we were going to chase those charity dollars, we had to do something beyond the norm.'

Each bomb suit wearer had a support walker, like Navy's Chief Petty Officer Nathan Duke. 

“There’s a lot of sweating that goes on in those suits, especially during an activity like this,” he said.

“Our job was making sure the guys were taking in fluids, keeping them company and ensuring they were OK while doing their laps.”

The suits would take three to four minutes to put on and 20 seconds to get off.

Between laps, the suit wearers removed their suits, drank fluids, ate baked goods brought by supporters, stretched and visited the heaters to avoid cooling down too much before their next leg.

Army Captain Samuel Marsh said the first couple of hours were the most physically challenging while adjusting to the course, then around 2 or 3am, it turned into a mental game as fatigue set in.

While not in bomb suits, 55 other teams also toughed it out during the event. 

“There were some really solid efforts. People were running all through the night, which was really impressive to see,” Captain Marsh said.

With a goal of raising $1500, the JEOS team raised more than $5200 in the days following the activity, with the event raising more than $177,000.

Bravery Trust provides a financial safety net for current and former ADF members doing it tough, by offering financial assistance, counselling and education. 

The service is free, confidential and independent of the ADF.