Ph 3259 1900 (24 hours) - Queensland Police Union

The Kokoda Challenge
It is back to the Environment Centre
again for checkpoint 7, and then we
are heading to the new (but already
infamous) Army land that has just
been included in the Kokoda Challenge
this year.
Many people who have trained on the
Army land have spoken of how hard,
steep, and muddy it is, and we are
nervous about what we face.
Sure enough, the land is consistently
muddy, but we eventually reach the
Army land major checkpoint where
our nightshift support crew meet us
for the first time.
We are getting tired but think the Army
land isn’t as bad as everyone had said.
Little did we know that we hadn’t yet
reached the main part.
“Up until this point
on the mountains,
we have been
completing each
kilometre in
11 to 12 minutes.
This Army incline
takes us 42 minutes
to go one kilometre.”
By this stage, it is about 11pm at night
and after some warm soup, we head
off on about 5km of dirt road, still
thinking the worst is behind us. As we
start to climb the Army land mountain,
we realise it is a sheer incline that is
relentless and covered in mud.
Up until this point on the mountains,
we have been completing each
kilometre in 11 to 12 minutes. This
Army incline takes us 42 minutes to go
one kilometre.
It is now we realise what everyone
has been talking about, and all of a
sudden we are behind our forecast
schedule. We arrive at our Beechmont
checkpoint around 2am.
HELLFIRE PASS
We have now been awake for almost
24 hours, and we still have 30
kilometres of the same terrain to go.
We also know that Hellfire Pass is
about to arrive, which is the steepest
downhill of the event, and the thighs
are starting to hurt.
Just before taking on the descent of
Hellfire Pass, we are so tired that I
am actually falling asleep on my feet
while walking. I never knew I could do
this. Rod calls a stop to quickly fix up a
blister forming on his little toe.
I take the opportunity to lay down
on the cold, rough road and within
seconds I’m asleep. The other boys
reckon I was snoring like an old
whipper snipper straight away. Rod
woke me a few minutes later, and it is
amazing how much better I felt after a
few minutes sleep.
We take on Hellfire Pass and it is here
on the steep, relentless downhill that
I witness a competitor walking down
the mountain backwards, to prevent
his ITB (an inflammation above the
knee) burning.
I am in pain with sore toes, knees, and
ankles, but I feel much better after
seeing this guy. The descent continues
for 40 minutes. We have now walked
through 12 creek crossings and have
very sore, pruney feet.
“Just before taking
on the descent of
Hellfire Pass, we are
so tired that I am
actually falling asleep
on my feet while
walking.”
ONLY A HALF MARATHON TO GO
We come out at checkpoint 11 at about
5.30am and see a 21 kilometres sign.
We think this sounds alright: only a
half marathon to go.
However, we start to realise we are
going to go over our 24 hour goal,
which is disappointing. We then
start our trek through a technical and
annoying part of the terrain, the goat
track. We feel so close, yet so far, from
the finish line.
We are over 80km into the track, and
this is where the mental demons start
to raise their heads. All excitement
and enthusiasm is gone, and we are
starting to get snappy (I know I am,
anyway).
“We start to realise
we are going to go
over our 24 hour
goal, which is
disappointing.”
It is around this time that I start
making threats about what I am going
to do to the organiser for putting the
Army land into the equation.
We arrive at Nathanvale major
checkpoint at around 7.30am and we
are feeling very tired and generally
numb. We are so close, though, so
there is no way we are quitting. Only
14 kilometres to go.
THE HARD YARDS
There is not much conversation from
anyone now, and we are almost in
a trance as we take on the Nerang
state forest and a steep incline for the
beginning of the last 10 kilometres.
We are now passing many injured
people who are limping along, and
at this point the event is starting to
look like the historic photos of the real
Kokoda with injured soldiers.
We continue on, determined that
regardless of the pain, we won’t be
pulling out, because we have got so far.
In one last hideous joke from the
organisers, we think we are almost at
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Queensland Police Union Journal August 2012