{"id":199689,"date":"2025-04-23T01:18:39","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T01:18:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/how-far-would-you-run-to-get-to-the-pub-how-about-480km\/"},"modified":"2025-04-23T01:18:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T01:18:39","slug":"how-far-would-you-run-to-get-to-the-pub-how-about-480km","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=199689","title":{"rendered":"How Far Would You Run To Get to the Pub? How About 480km?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\"How<\/p>\n

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\u2018They\u2019re still standing\u2026\u2019 was Tim\u2019s first thought as he shook hands with The Bloody Mission crew in Hobart. If they\u2019d run any further to get there they\u2019d have had to swim.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Cal Gates is larger than life. He\u2019s also just large in general, with a big red bushy beard, broad shoulders, and a hand that dwarfs mine in a firm handshake.<\/span><\/p>\n

His smile\u2019s broad too and it cracks ear to ear as he introduces himself: \u2018Fancy a beer mate?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Cal Gates: pretty much always looks like this<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m in Hobart for The Bloody Mission After Party, but I\u2019ve got to say I feel like a bit of a fraud. Along with four of his closest mates, Cal just ran the <\/span>Tasmanian Trail<\/span><\/a>, all the way from Devonport to Dover, in a non-stop relay that has so far raised $40,000 for blood cancer \u2013 blitzing its $25K goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the support of trail running lords <\/span>New Balance<\/span><\/a>, and the legendary Tasmanian brewer Boags, we\u2019re here to go for a trot, hear Cal and the crew share some stories from their mission, and sink some beers.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Waggon in North Hobart has a beaut courtyard that almost lines up with the peak of Kunanyi. With crisp blue skies above, it\u2019s not long before local run clubbers start to roll in, eager to hear the crew\u2019s story (and potentially nab a pair of New Balance <\/span>Hierro V9<\/span><\/a> trail runners, the same shoe that carried the boys here).<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0<\/strong>The New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro v9 Brings Cushion for Trail Pushing<\/a><\/p>\n

Before we get too stuck into it, the run begins. A backstreet amble takes us over Brooker Avenue and into Queens Domain. This huge piece of parkland along the Derwent River is a local runner\u2019s favourite, with closed pathways and a good dose of dirt to keep the New Balance shoes honest.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"How<\/p>\n

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Despite each having run 100km in the last few days, the guys are here, identifiable by their bright orange \u2018Bloody Mission\u2019 Fractel hats. There\u2019s Matt, Dan, Jesse, and Steeley and they\u2019ve paid the price of being close mates with Cal. At one point one of them tears past me, putting my much fresher legs to shame.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rolling back to The Waggon, we charge our glasses and settle in for the main event. There\u2019s a real buzz in the air, no one\u2019s heard this story yet and despite their local status, most of the Hobartians (that\u2019s legit what they\u2019re called) haven\u2019t been out on the trail.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an old route, more often biked or ridden on a horse, and it crosses a fair bit of private property. In fact, Dan tells me, \u2018Some bits were a right bush bash\u2019. So it\u2019s overgrown, too.<\/span><\/p>\n

At another point, alone and 38km deep, Matt came afoul of an angry farmer. His explanation of how far he\u2019d run, and why, was met with confusion more than anything, potentially justifiably.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018Look, I\u2019d make a pretty bad burglar wearing a head torch and a hi-vis vest wouldn\u2019t I?\u2019 was the quip that eventually got him on his way. He\u2019s got more great material like this by the way, just ask him.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

Matt manages to find humour just about everywhere<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The exact format of the challenge was a relay, broken into roughly 50km ultramarathons. Some of the crew hadn\u2019t even run 100km before, but Cal had decided it wasn\u2019t quite hard enough. Once you know that The Blood Run, a solo 250km along the Great North Walk from Newcastle to Sydney, is under his belt, this starts to make sense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cal devised a lottery system where runners wouldn\u2019t know who was going next. No plan, all headgame. At least, that was the idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

Up on stage, Steeley tells us exactly how this panned out for him. As the least experienced runner of the group, grinding out 50km in the middle of nowhere was a big feat. And 50 clicks never gets easy.<\/span><\/p>\n

But it doesn\u2019t get much harder than whipping your name out of the hat again, back to back, and sucking it up for a consecutive run. That\u2019s what Steeley did, and it was bloody heroic.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

The mood turned serious as Cal reflected on why The Bloody Mission exists<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Cal tells us though, it doesn\u2019t come close to what people with leukaemia are going through. \u2018We can\u2019t even comprehend it\u2019 he says, his voice catching in his throat as he talks to the crowd. Blood cancer\u2019s a terrible disease that\u2019s taken people close to Cal, and close to me, but it\u2019s a testament to Cal that he turned those feelings into action, and tens of thousands of dollars for life-saving research.<\/span><\/p>\n

I often think about these charity runs. Should someone have to go and hurt for us to give to charity? Why can\u2019t we just donate? Why does it seem to be those who hurt the most who gain our attention, rather than those who break records with calculated precision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s a trick of human psychology. We\u2019re transactional, we demand a blood price, if you will. Or perhaps it\u2019s simply that we relate. To suffering, to failure, to Doing Hard Things.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cal\u2019s energy is infectious. He thanks everyone, from the New Balance crew to the bar staff with genuine care and it\u2019s reflected by everyone: his mum and dad, his mates, his mate\u2019s wives who can\u2019t even argue with this boy’s trip on steroids.<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that another challenge is coming, from Cal for sure, but hopefully this whole merry band is in tow. Later in the night, a few Boags deeper, there\u2019s chat of bringing even more people along for the ride next time, I think I might\u2019ve said that I\u2019m in.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next morning I miss a call, it\u2019s Cal. Better lace up I guess.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"How<\/a><\/p>\n

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Photos by Mitch Gates and Daniel Ferris<\/strong><\/p>\n