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For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, I like to test myself against adversity. A couple of years ago I heard that they were holding a race across the Kokoda Track. A seed was planted.
In January this year, I had surgery for prostate cancer. I couldnt bear to think of myself as an invalid, and I started looking around for a big challenge that would help me to feel and act normally. Perhaps running the Kokoda Track would not be considered normal behaviour by most people; but it gained momentum in my thinking in the weeks following surgery, and with the encouragement of my wife, I decided that this would be a worthy goal for 2007. It was 7 months away, so I figured that ought to be enough time to recover and get my training underway.
The Kokoda Track was the scene of bloody fighting between Australian and Japanese forces during World War 2. I have a strong interest in military history, and this definitely increased my desire to participate in this challenge. There are many outstanding books on the subject, so I wont be giving a blow by blow account of what occurred on the Track in 1942. Suffice it to say that I was aware of the extreme hardships faced by our soldiers on the Track, I felt apprehensive about the challenge I was facing … the more so knowing that I would probably be the oldest competitor, with my 60th birthday not far off.
Photograph: John Lindsay, far right back row in this photograph taken shortly before the commencement of the Kokoda Challenge at 7am 26th August, 2007
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