Racing 84km across Bali to put disadvantaged children through school

Published: 07/06/2019

I recently returned from a one week, life-changing experience in Bali, ‘The Bali Hope Ultramarathon’ to raise funds for The Bali Children Foundation (BCF). The week is centred around an 84km, overnight ultramarathon across Bali to put disadvantaged children through school. I was one of 20 runners selected to participate in the run, with athletes coming from all over the world.

The run hurt; Bali is humid and there was an elevation gain of 1700 metres! I was in the pain cave and I gave it absolutely everything I had. I am proud to say that I won the race, completing it in 8 hours and 15 minutes.

I entered this event because I am passionate about education and giving back. I am so grateful for my schooling at Vermont Primary and Vermont Secondary College, and I wanted to give disadvantaged children the same opportunity. My great mate Max came with me as my support crew member and my family was all at the finish line. It was very special.

The week's experience put everything into perspective. On one of the days, we were lucky enough to visit 2 schools and hang out with the children we were directly impacting. It was incredible to see how happy they were, with how little they had. Their passion and enthusiasm for life was infectious; it was a day I’ll forever cherish.

I am so proud that the Bali Hope Ultra 2019 team has now raised $165,000 for BCF and put 460 children through 6 years of primary school. I can’t wait to be a part of this unforgettable experience again in 2020.

A quote that resonates a lot with me is Albert Einstein’s, “Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value”. This is exactly what this week was about, 20 big-hearted people willing to put themselves through incredibly uncomfortable positions for the betterment of others, to truly make a difference.