AFL boundary umpires Nathan Doig, Adam Bastick and Josh Garrett will be attempting to run 100km in under 14 hours during the Oxfam Trailwalker. Photo: Ben Smith
Camera IconAFL boundary umpires Nathan Doig, Adam Bastick and Josh Garrett will be attempting to run 100km in under 14 hours during the Oxfam Trailwalker. Photo: Ben Smith Credit: Supplied/Supplied

AFL boundary umpires ready to run 100km Oxfam Trailwalker in under 14 hours

Ben SmithComment News

EVERY October, the Oxfam Trailwalker gives teams 48 hours to hike a gruelling 100km through Perth’s hills.

This year, four AFL boundary umpires are taking the challenge to a whole new level for charity.

Adam Bastick, Nathan Doig, Josh Garrett and Sean Moylan have committed to running – not walking – the 100km trail in under 14 hours.

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While the quartet run an estimated 80-100km per week, Doig admitted the challenge was daunting.

“I like to have bad ideas during the off-season to do something. This was it this year and I managed to rope three other guys into it,” he said.

“Two years ago I did the Cape-to-Cape mountain bike race, I’ve done Iron Man WA. I just like to include others in my stupidity I think.”

Despite the scope of their challenge, Garrett said they were confident of completing their goal.

“After the initial join in, further down the line we started to think about it more, but now we’re in we can’t bail,” he said.

Ex-Carey Baptist College student Bastick said all four of them came from a long-distance running background and the 8.5mins/km pace they were targeting was slower than what they were used to.

“The training has been slower runs, we normally run 4.5mins/km pace, whereas we’ve been doing 6.5mins/km at training,” he said.

Doig said the rules stipulated every team member must start and finish together but had faith in the group.

“I think with a lot of advice from people and I’ve done a few longer distance events, we should be able to do it,” he said.

“I’ve tried to give these guys as much advice as I can and hopefully they’ve listened to at least some of it.

“Unfortunately the normal umpiring regime will have to carry us through to the event, although we have done a few longer ones on hills with some elevation to get some fatigue into our legs.”

If you wish to help the group in their fundraising efforts, you can donate at https://trailwalker.oxfam.org.au/my/team/30741.