A man from Victoria recently became the first ever wheelchair participant to sign up for the gruelling Oxfam Australia 100km Trailwalker Challenge. Held over 48 hours between 19-21st April 2013, Bruce Towers has a specially designed wheelchair to help him complete the course in Melbourne with seven team mates.
Amongst his squad are local MP David Southwick, who will be helping Bruce along his way as he attempts to make the history books by being the world’s first quadriplegic to finish the the 100km challenge. The gruelling endurance course takes in the Dandenong Valley Parklands, the Yarra Ranges and a vast array of steep, rocky areas to the East of Melbourne. This would be hard enough on foot, let alone in a wheelchair, so Mr Towers certainly has his work cut out for him!
Bruce became injured during a helicopter accident, which unfortunately claimed the lives of three other passengers.
Mr Towers, said –
I thought I might never be able to access the outdoors like this ever again and now I’m doing a 100km challenge. It proves anything is possible. It is great to be able to participate in the Trailwalker event and be part of the team. It gives me an opportunity to access some of our beautiful park trails and to also support Oxfam.
You can see the vehicle in the picture above that has been created by the Parks Victoria to help those with difficulty to still experience the outdoors in their all-terrain TrailRiders. Here’s wishing them the best of luck in raising funds for Oxfam Australia, and if you would like to sponsor Bruce and the team, simply click on the link below to support them. They have already reached their planned target of $2,500, so the more the merrier will be welcome on what will be a once in a lifetime for Bruce and his band of merry men.
> > Click here to sponsor the team
Oxfam Australia Chief Executive Dr Helen Szoke, said –
This team is an excellent example of the kind of teamwork you see in Trailwalker, where all members are committed to getting each other along the course while raising money for Oxfam’s life-saving work.
