Trek for sight

The celebrated Olympic swimmer and Fred Hollows Foundation ambassador said taking part in Coastrek was a great way for women to get outdoors while helping raise more than $1 million for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

“Coastrek is a life-changing adventure and a chance to get together with a group of friends or colleagues and support each other to be fitter, stronger and healthier,” said Susie, who completed Sydney Coastrek in 2014.

“It’s also an opportunity to change the lives of people living with avoidable blindness, particularly women and girls, who make up more than half of the world’s blind.

“By signing up for Sunshine Coastrek, you’ll reap the social, mental and physical benefits of spending a day hiking along stunning coastlines with your friends, and you’ll also help transform the lives of some of the poorest people in the world by restoring sight.”

Coastrek is a team trekking challenge designed to get women outdoors in nature. Teams of four, including at least two women, walk the beaches, bays and clifftops of the Sunshine Coast for 30 or 60km while raising $2,000 per team for The Fred Hollows Foundation.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Coastrek. The event started in Sydney in 2009, expanded to Melbourne in 2015 and to the Sunshine Coast in 2017.

More than 27,000 trekkers have walked 1.2 million km in the three events – the equivalent of walking to the moon, back and to the moon again.

They raised more than $22 million for The Fred Hollows Foundation to restore sight for hundreds of thousands of people living with avoidable blindness.

The second Sunshine Coastrek will be held on Friday July 27 with a 60km route from Dicky Beach in Caloundra and a 30km trek from Mudjimba Esplanade to the finish line at Noosa Woods.

Registrations have closed for the 60km event but it’s not too late to sign up for the 30km trek. Entries close Friday June 22 at: www.sunshine.coastrek.com.au