From pounding the pavement to being pounded in the boxing ring, it’s all in the name of a good cause for Division 12 councillor Adrian Raedel.
SOAKED, sun-beaten and weary, they marched on. They set out from Caboolture just a small band undaunted by the 105kms of road that lay before them, ready to cross suburbia, townships, mountains and all in between.
They returned with aching muscles, blistered feet, exhausted but unbeaten.
Community News and Views was the only media outlet to travel every footstep of the five-day Division 12 Big Walk, organised and walked by local councillor Adrian Raedel.
Cr Adrian Raedel said the mammoth walk was as much about raising awareness of the importance of School Chaplaincy as raising money for the service, with more than $1,000 donated.
“Occasionally, the young people in this division need someone to lean on, more often than not that someone is a school chaplain,” he said.
But the walk was also a reminder of the vastness and contrasting landscape of Div 12.
While most were beginning to wind down for the long weekend, Cr Raedel and a small enthusiastic group strapped-on their walking shoes and set-off from the Caboolture council chambers on Friday, April 23 arriving at Wamuran late that night.
Day two was tougher, with walkers, including chaplains, scouts and residents, facing heavy rain on some sections as they headed toward Woodford.
But a sense of camaraderie had already sprung up between the walkers – there would be no quitters.
Day three was a day for walkers to not only pound the roadway, but pay their respects to those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, with Cr Raedel attending three Anzac Day services.
It was a bittersweet leg for the walkers, who paid for the spectacular views of the Mt Mee range with some of the toughest terrain the walk would offer.
By now, after almost three-days of walking, the blisters and muscle aches had set in.
But word had already spread of the great walk and the pack’s spirit was buoyed by motorists who stopped to say hello and throw a few dollars in the donations tin.
The difficult conditions staged the scene for the most brutal leg of the walk on Monday, taking 12 hours to complete.
Tired and with severely blistered feet, progress for Cr Raedel had slowed considerably. It had also taken its toll on the young ones.
Young Anthony Longmore had worn through the soles of his shoes by the time the group arrived at Burpengary.
The group arrived in Caboolture the next day, tired and triumphant.
But the physical challenge was far from over for Cr Raedel, who found himself in the ring the next night for a boxing challenge fund raiser with Olympic boxer Todd Kidd to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation.
“Let’s not do that again,” Cr Raedel said on emerging from the ring.
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