The last will be first

The final team to complete the course, Funky Town Monkey Pimps, have just crossed the line, finishing in 32 hours and 50 minutes, easily making the cut-off. Everybody safe and accounted for and looking forward to hot showers. Anna Huppauf says she took 67,123 steps to finish the 52km section she completed. It’s been amazing how energetic people have been after completing an extraordinary 50km or 100km walk.

News from the middle of the night

Checkpoint 2 overnight staff have re emerged from a quick sleep. For much of the night it was very quiet with staff resorting to playing lawn bowls with apples to keep awake. They committed to delivering a snake or a milky way to every participant – trying hard to win the hearts of participants. They wanted the title of the most fun checkpoint. One participant who tried to sleep in a tent beside the checkpoint complained about the giggling.

Half the teams are in and it’s just after 11am

The 51st team has crossed the line, Team Relativity. That’s half the field. We lost quite a few teams before the start – scared off by the weather on Saturday morning. But 101 brave teams set off and over half of them are home. Well done to all.

The Planeteers, Man V Wild, Mild Bewilderance, Wundarras, Walkabouts, Flying Foxes, iSnack21, Bunyips, All_Nightmare_Long, Gem, Firefly, AntiFitness and PittWalkers are all over the line. They are coming at pretty regular intervals now – enjoying the views of the last leg.

Our oldest participant is through Checkpoint 3!

Barry Bayfield and his team, Hot and Strong arrived at Checkpoint 3 at 10.15am. At 77 years old, Barry is our oldest participant! He and his friends are having a quick rest and then they’ll be on their way to the Finish line. Go Barry!

And they keep rolling over the finish line

Relay team, Fast Foxes came through at 24 hours and 1 minute. That’s a classy time.  Six Pack and BodyRockers were also relay teams just behind them. The Uni of Newcastle’s Burnett Boys made the full 100kms in 24 hours and 14 minutes.

Morning at Finish

It’s a beautiful morning, sparkling and crisp. The mud is still thick on the ground but the cold autumn sun is beginning to hit Katoomba Oval. Many stories of puddles coming from finishers. Many strained knees as tired bodies navigated the slip and slide of the wet track.

Team Boomerang came in at 22 hours and 33 minutes. Wombats, bandicoots and anteaters in 22 hours and 43 minutes. We WAG, we walk a relay team of Wilderness Society volunteers arrived in just under 23 hours. And all four members of R We There Yet crossed the line just before 8am in a time of 23 hours and 7 minutes.

Rush hour at the finish line!

The 1st womens 100km team, Go Girls, finished at 04:17 (19 hours & 32 minutes). Swelling their numbers were 2 remaining members of Weekend Escape (another womens team).

Concrete Oil and Cakemix finished at 04:26 (19 hours & 41 minutes).

Stanpcorgau finished at 04:42 (19 hours & 57 minutes).

LMBT finished at 05:03 (20 hours & 18 minutes).

Willoughby Wanderers finished at 05:04 (20 hours & 19 minutes).

Toughen The Funk Up finished at 05:24 (20 hours & 39 minutes).

4 more teams between 3:15 and 4am!

After a quiet 45 mins watching the micro bats fly around above our heads the silence was broken by the arrival of the next 4 teams: Occams Razor (18 hours & 32 minutes), Reve A Quatre (18 hours & 51 minutes), Get Momentum (19 hours) and Wandering Wombles of Wharf (19 hours & 15 minutes).

Whacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube People

Yes this is the name of a team! And they completed the course in 17 hours & 47 minutes.