By CASEY NEILL
DANDENONG North mum Anne-Marie Cassidy will honour the Anzac spirit and inspire her kids when she treks though the bush this month.
She’s taking part in the 15 kilometre leg of the Kokoda Memorial Challenge on 27 October, alongside her friend Sharon.
The gym buddies completed the MCG stair-climbing challenge Stadium Stomp earlier this year and made it through the Tough Mudder obstacle course side by side.
“We work well together,” Ms Cassidy said.
The Kokoda challenge will start in Ferntree Gully and continue to Kalorama Park through the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk – known as the 1000 Steps – before looping back down the Dandenong Ranges.
Participants can sign up for a 15km or 30km course.
The team cross-country and bushwalking exercise is designed to reflect the Spirit of Kokoda – courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice.
Money raised from the event will fund the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program (KCYP) – a 12-month program for 15 to 18-year-olds which is designed to build resilience, self-esteem and life skills.
Ms Cassidy is expecting “15km of hard work” but is looking forward to the challenge, which she thinks will take about five hours to complete.
“I’d just like to try something different,” she said.
“I’m going to cross my fingers and hope for dry weather.”
Her interest in extreme challenges started with Tough Mudder.
“When I signed up for that I couldn’t believe I’d actually decided to do it,” she said.
“I thought ‘you only live once’.
“It’s more for the experience of getting outside my comfort zone and doing something I never thought I would do.”
That experience included a leap into water from a raised platform.
“I have a fear of water,” she said.
“I was very proud of myself after.”
And her kids, aged five, seven and nine, were pretty proud, too.
“They think it’s pretty cool,” she said.
“They like to talk about the Tough Mudder and they always ask me if I’m going to do Stadium Stomp again.
“They make up their own Tough Mudder course at home.”
Visit www.kokodachallenge.com to register for the event or for more information.
