The months when the idea became training, logistics, support, final nerves, and a real start line.
Entries
Shinno talked me into Moonshadow, and Graham's advice sent us onto Eagle Trail in daylight first, turning a reckless night-trail idea into one of the first practical lessons of the Perth-to-Brisbane build-up.
London did not create Hearts Across Australia. It happened because HAA had already pushed me toward the Heart Foundation, and it gave me a childhood dream, a family weekend, and one famous finish line to carry into what came next.
After London, Gold Coast, and months of talking about Perth to Brisbane, a six-hour morning walk made the impossible feel less like an idea and more like something already moving under my feet.
The training stopped being about ordinary running goals and became something stranger: walking more, running less, learning fuel and feet, and teaching my body that repeated long days were going to become normal.
By early 2015, the mad distance had become routine: 3am walk-to-work starts, 50km ultras, overnight walking, 130km weekends, practical sponsor support, and one last big excuse falling away.
A month before departure, Bunbury became the final big rehearsal: a 50km PB, a stripped-down backpack, three days walking back toward Perth, and a practical education in feet, roads, logistics and help.
Nineteen days before departure, the support crew stopped being an anxious blank space and became Ben and Ols: two school friends pulled into HAA through Saybubble, timing, and one Joondalup meal.
Eight days before I left Perth, Catalano's Vic Park filled with friends, supporters, pasta, laughter, fundraising, and one more reminder that HAA had people around it.
Six days before I left Perth, Joondalup Half Marathon became one last race-day rehearsal: legs moving, the SPOT tracker tested, supporters showing up, and all eyes turning toward Saturday.
Three days before I left Perth, #FindRichard was still part sponsor hustle, part public joke, and part slightly ridiculous optimism.
Two days before I left Perth, HAA passed 1,000 likes and I put out a call for people who could help coordinate the growing chaos once we were on the move.
On my 46th birthday, we picked up the campervan, shopped for supplies, dealt with my car dying, collected donated meals, and posted the tracker link with one more sleep to go.