Event: 2024 Rottnest Channel Swim Duo

Joel and Kaidee took part in the 2024 Rottnest Channel Swim attempting to complete the 19.7km open water swim in support of Hurt to Help. Unfortunately due to terrible weather conditions the race had to be abandoned but not before Joel and Kaidee managed to complete 12km in the difficult swimming circumstances.

Event: 2024 Herdy’s Backyard Ultramarathon

Ben and Ike took part in the 2024 Herdy’s Backyard Ultra in support of Hurt to Help. A Backyard Ultramarathon is where competitiors complete a 6.71km loop on the hour for as many hours as possible. It is a test of physical and mental endurance and both boys pushed their body and minds to the limit.

Ike was able to complete 12 loops/hours (80km) before unfortunately his right knee blew out rendering unable to go any further.

Ben managed 24 loops/hours (160km) and pushed himself so hard he ended up in hospital as a reward for his efforts.

On Saturday November 2nd Ethan and Ewan George took on the Feral Pig 100K Ultramarathon, representing Hurt to Help.

The weather gods were on their side as cool overcast conditions made for a good day of running. This was Ewan’s first ultramarathon, having only completed one marathon (42.2km) previously. Ewan showed enormous strength and resilience as he battled much adversity on the track. His ability to push through physical pain, vomiting, dehydration and delirium was inspirational to watch. Despite his troubles Ewan finished strongly with a time of 18:45:54, a great effort for his first ultramarathon.

Previous course and ultramarathon experience paid dividends for Ethan who had a good day of running. Other than vomiting at the halfway point he was lucky enough to avoid any major disruptions and went on to win the race by over an hour with a time of 12:10:30.

The crew support provided by Ethan and Ewan’s friends and family was invaluable and made sure that the boys got over the line, so thank you to everyone who provided assistance on the day. Additionally thanks to @ultraserieswa for putting on yet another expertly managed event.

On November 16 Ethan ran the Sandman 50 ultramarathon to raise money for Hurt to Help.

Sandman 50 is a 50km running race from Old Dunsborough boat ramp to Busselton Jetty and back. The course is on the beach, with the nominal race line being within 3 metres of the water’s edge. Starting with strong running form, Ethan won the Sandman 50K with a time of 3:50:19.

Starting at 0200 from Old Dunsborough boat ramp to Busselton jetty and back, good weather conditions made for a great morning of racing, congrats to all who competed and those putting on this unique event.

In August 2024 Hurt to Help was lucky enough to be represented by Todd Cresswell and Leigh Slomp in the Avon Descent, a 124km boat race just outside of Perth.

These gentlemen very kindly promoted Hurt to Help in the lead up and throughout the event. Unfortunately they took the “Hurt” to Help motto a bit too literally suffering a big crash and some pretty nasty injuries.

We cannot thank both Todd and Leigh enough for their support and promotion of Hurt to Help and wish them the best in their recovery.

Busselton Iron Man. 🏊‍♂️🚴‍♂️🏃

Hurt to Help was represented by two legends at the Busselton Iron Man on the Sunday the 1st of December.

Brodie Chalwell (H2H committee member) completed the half Ironman in a time of 5:49:32. His first event of this magnitude he showed enormous resilience and determination to get the job done. Brodie also does a mountain of work for Hurt to Help behind the scenes and we couldn’t be more grateful for him for not only representing H2H but all the work he does for the charity, congrats Brodes!!

Will O’Keeffe completed the full Ironman in a very impressive time of 10:10:15. Will has prepared extremely well for a race of this proportion so we are stoked to be represented at such a high calibre. Big things to come from Will in the triathlon space, we look forward to seeing what he can produce in the future!

Congrats guys, huge achievements that you should be very proud of!

Event: The Delirious West, Ultraseries April 2025.

If you have been following me for while you may have picked up that I like the outdoors and keeping fit. It’s one of my many passions and serves me in so many ways.

Running was something I took up many years ago as the one sport I could take anywhere and do at pretty much anytime, I just needed my shoes and 30mins.

When motherhood came along and some changes in career path and figuring out how I wanted life too look, running came to the front of my day as away to get clearer on things. I basically used the time to figure out many decisions.

After running a marathon in 2017 I wanted to see what else this body and mind could achieve in terms of running. I remember watching some friends complete an ultra marathon and wondering could I do that?

So after figuring out life with my running as my time to do that, and a goal to run an ultra, in 2021 I completed my first 50km and I was hooked. Hooked on finding how far I could go without my mind or body breaking on me. Since then I have run multiple ultras and running continues to give me that space to work stuff out.

In recent times I have been wanting to find ways to give back to the world whilst at the same time doing something big to challenge myself.

Last year through my network I came to know of the charity @hurttohelp_ who is run by a young guy by the name of Ethan Stirrat (another lover of running and challenge) This charity aims to raise funds to help people who are facing major challenges in life due to sickness, trauma or tragedy.

Late last year they called for people to join them in challenging themselves by undertaking athletic feats whilst at the same time helping to raise funds for them to continue to support families in need.

So I knew I had found my challenge and at the same time can help raise funds to support other people.

So what’s the challenge I have set myself you ask. In April 2025 I will running in the Ultra Series WA 100 miler race “ The Delirious West” which starts in Denmark and takes me along the Bibbulmun track into Albany. It’s a non stop race which I aim to complete under 48 hours.

So if you would like to support me in my crazy challenge then I would love you to donate which you can do so via my instagram @melissawelshstyleanddesign Even just donating your daily cup of coffee would mean the world to me and someone else.

Mel