Two incredibly fit West Australians have embarked on an epic journey along the Mundabiddi Trail from Perth to Albany raising funds for two local families both of whom have their own battles to face.
If the over 1000km bike ride starting from Mundaring wasn’t enough, Aaron Young and John Gilbertson will be stopping along the way to complete a calf burning ultramarathon which is designed to last for several days until one runner remains.
The pair left Perth on Saturday to tackle the first part of the course towards Collie where they will detour to Towerrining Lake for the Birdy’s Backyard Ultra.
The ultramarathon running race is where competitors must consecutively run the distance of a 6.71km loop — every hour and finish within the hour or they are out.
The endurance race continues — often for several days — until there is one runner left standing where everyone else will be recorded as ‘did not finish’ race time.
“I recently qualified for the Backyard Ultra World Championships in Tennessee by running for 63 hours in this race format,” Young said.
“John is coming over to the US with me later this year as my support crew for that race. We are hoping that we can continue supporting the families through to then.”
While the road both on the trail and on the running track is set to be a long and tough one ahead — the budding pair said it’s two local families doing it hard that will push them through it.
Peter and Samantha Shinnick are currently in the US undergoing testing to see if Mr Schinnick could have surgery that would potentially save his life.
At the age of 50 and a father to four beautiful teenagers — Mr Schinnick was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just over a year ago and is currently receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Tackling Birdy’s Backyard Ultra will be Gilbertson’s first ultramarathon and he is vowing to run at least 100km in over 15 hours. Gilbertson will have Mr Schinnick in mind as he is going through his own similar medical journey.
“John (Gilbertson) received a terminal cancer diagnosis earlier in the year and doctors have predicted that he has less than two years to live,” Young said.
“John is a super positive person and has taken this as an opportunity to be adventurous . . . to spend time with friends and family.
“Despite the diagnosis, he still helps many others around him, and we are hoping that we can help others by taking on challenging adventures such as this trip.”
The pair is also raising funds for the northern suburbs family Charmain Blurton and Cody Yappo who lost their one-year-old daughter Kailee in tragic circumstances at Perth Children’s Hospital in late June.
As a young First Nations family still grieving the loss of their daughter and also battling homelessness — the young couple needs financial assistance with funeral costs.
Meanwhile, PerthNow understands their second daughter who was admitted to PCH in ICU with similar complications to Kailee just days after her passing — is now discharged and with the family.
“We recently reached out to the community and found two families that we thought we could support through a fundraising campaign,” Young said.
After the ultramarathon, the pair will head back onto the Mundabiddi trail and ride the remainder of the 1060km trail that leads down to Albany.
You can do your part by donating to the cause here.