Paddle Dogs - a team of dedicated kayakers - are in training to single-kayak from Victoria to Tasmania next March to raise both funds and awareness for the Black Dog Institute.
As part of their training, some members of the team ran for the Black Dog at the Blackmore's Sydney Running Festival on 21 September, 2008. Paddle Dogs participatd in the fun run complete with kayak.
Team members (all of whom are experienced marathon runners, triathletes and generally impressively fit!) include Paul Crawford, an international aid-worker and Principal Consultant for Aid-IT Solutions, Greg Gambill, Corporate Technical Manager for Sanitarium Health Foods, Troy McDonald, Management Accountant for Sanitarium Health Foods and Brendan Clark, a Sports Physiotherapist.
Originally from the UK, Lee arrived in Australia almost 5 years ago and is about to run his 5th marathon, having competed in Canberra, Auckland and Paris (where the high point was running down the Champs Elysées at the start!)
Just recently appointed Human Resources Manager at Allco, Lee started running at 16 and from age 17 ran half-marathons before taking the plunge and attempting the London Marathon in 2000, when he really “got the bug!”
He describes himself as an average “person in the street” runner and in spite of a recent ankle injury which saw him pull out of the Blackmores Sydney Running Festivla, he's now entered the Singapore Marathon on December 7th 2008. The event is held on Sunday December 7th and it takes in the centre and bay areas of Singapore and all the famous landmarks, including Raffles. Last year over 40,000 entrants ran and this year they are expecting 48,000 coming from all corners of the world making it one of the world’s biggest running festivals. He will be raising money for the Black Dog Institute because he feels that “mental health generally doesn’t have the profile and awareness it deserves, given how many people are affected by it!”
Click here to sponsor Lee in the Singapore Marathon
On April 23, 2008, during the third International Polar Year, travel journalist Felicity (Flip) Byrnes began an epic 650km journey across Greenland by skis and kite ski. She was aiming to walk and sail into the record books as the first Australian to forge a new crossing route, the second Australian woman to cross Greenland and her dog "Basil" a broom head on wheels, was to be the first pretend dog across the icecap. "Basil" went along as her mascot for the Black Dog Institute. Together, over the course of the year, they were aiming to raise funds towards expanding the work of the Black Dog Institute’s Clinic. Unfortunately, due to illness, Flip and "Basil" were forced to abandon the expedition. See the Sydney Morning Herald story
A prolific freelance travel journalist with global scope, for the past eight years she has written for publications as varied and diverse as The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian UK. You’re likely to find Felicity ‘Flip’ Byrnes fishing in Iceland, snowboarding in Kashmir or trekking in Mongolia. She has also completed the 1500km Camino de Santiago on foot, runs marathons, has survived two polar courses (training with a Venezuelan South Pole team), climbed Mt Blanc and slid on mountains in South and North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Visit Flip's website www.arctickites.com
Page last updated: 23-Sep-2008
Depression and Bipolar Disorder Information Australia - Black Dog Institute.
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