About 1000 walkers are expected to participate in the Great Illawarra Walk on Saturday, March 11 – and this year they’ll be taking the scenic route.
For the first time in the charity event’s 16-year history, the 40km one-way course from Shellharbour to Thirroul will be staged along the coast rather than its usual Princes Highway inland route.
The Great Illawarra Walk’s founder Chris Lovatt said the change had been requested for some time. This year, with the number of walkers back at full strength after years of Covid restrictions, felt like the right time, he said.
“At the end of each event, we ask what people's feedback is, and most feedback is to do more of the coast road,” Chris said.
“We've always walked on the inland roads, so along the Princes Highway, [but] this time we are staying to the coast roads as much as we possibly can.
“It’s going to be beautiful.”
Though you can begin and end your walk where you wish, there are two official starting points – Addison Road in Shellharbour for the 40km course and Tate Park in Wollongong for the 21km variation – which Chris says makes the event suitable for all walkers.
“It's definitely for any ability, any age, mums with prams, we've even had people bring dogs along, [so] it's a very, very open event,” he said.
“There's a group of disabled walkers with support that are joining us [for the Blue Mile in Wollongong].
“We try to limit the rules, we just try to make it as much fun as possible.”
Though the Great Illawarra Walk changes fundraising recipients every few years, every cent raised this year will again be awarded to the Illawarra Academy of Sport’s Athlete With a Disability (AWD) Program, with this year’s goal set at $150,000. As of Monday, March 6, more than $57,000 had already been raised.
“We're supporting the Illawarra Academy of Sport, and they're building a gym purpose-built for disabled athletes… for kids all the way up through to adults,” Chris said.
“There's just not much in the way of equipment … that's designed for them to be able to use and get themselves to the highest level of fitness that they can be.
“It's something special.”
Chris said all the funds raised on and before Saturday would go directly towards shaping the Illawarra’s next generation of Paralympians.
“The thing that we're the most proud of at the end of the event… we always put the number of, the donations that come in, the walkers that come in, everything that they paid onto the website… [and] that is the full amount that we donate,” he said.
“There's no admin, no paid staff, no marketing – nothing comes out of that.
“We've raised over $1.1 million so far in the [past] 16 years, and as I say, every single cent of that's been used for some good.”
The entry fee for participants this Saturday is $40 per adult and $20 per child, which entitles all walkers to a free t-shirt, reusable drink bottle and morning tea or lunch at Tate Park, courtesy of this year’s major sponsor, South32, as well as an afternoon party at the finish line, hosted by Headlands Hotel.
“The rapid relief team are amazing. They put on about 30 staff and provide food and drinks for everyone… everything from burgers, chips, coffee, slices, cakes, fruit,” Chris said.
“At the finish line we've got Headlands Hotel [providing] pizzas for everyone that arrives early… and then, after 3.30pm, they bring out plates of canapes for everyone – and they provide that free of charge.
“We also have entertainment [with] a DJ at the end… so it's a great day event.”
For more information on how to register or to view this year’s new route, visit The Great Illawarra Walk’s website
