Caleb’s passion is running and helping others. From July 30 – August 3, he ran the entirety of the Great North Walk (Sydney to Newcastle), over 250km, to raise $25,000 for Cancer Council Australia. The run was a passion project, a way to honour his grandfather, who passed away just over a month ago to cancer. “One thing my whole family – my pop, my dad – had in common was we all really liked exercise. One of the ways I could honour my grandfather was by running.” The Great North Walk was close to home and a special trail for his grandfather – who completed a lot of it over his life. “I told him I was going to do it before he died, so I had to honour that commitment.”
Up there with one of the most challenging activities he’s done, Caleb has also completed a marathon, and Ride4Rescue where a group rode from Canberra to Mount Kosciuszko. He prepared for this challenge with a consistent running schedule, “I should have walked more,” laughed Caleb. Beginning the challenge, he faced sickness and torrential rain, but it didn’t stop him. “The weather was horrific – bucketing down all day every day.”
“Get out there, do something that you are scared to do… get uncomfortable.”
Mapping out the logistics with his father, Dr Darren Morton, the pair realised that the first few days were going to be the longest, averaging over 60km per day. “It’s a long way to go on that type of terrain,” said Dr Morton. “Over the course of the event, you are climbing the height of Mount Everest.” The weather forecast was not in their favour, so they decided to drive back to homebase in Lake Macquarie at the end of each day. “We were drenched the whole five days,” laughed Dr Morton.
Supporting Caleb throughout the more technical sections of the tracks, Dr Morton reflected on a section in the Watagans coined ‘the Jungle’ – from MacLeans Lookout to Heaton Lookout – that was particularly challenging. The MacLeans trail is known to have the most elevation gain of most trails in the area, with small creeks flowing through it. Due to a storm and extra rainfall, the pair were wading through at waist depth at 9pm. “It’s pretty hard as a dad to hear him say ‘I can’t do this anymore’ – but my approach was to stay silent, let him ruminate on that… then in a few minutes he would start to speak more positively again,” expressed Dr Morton.
Caleb’s run is shaping and growing community, with many friends and family supporting along and journey and present at the finish line at Queens Warf on Sunday night. His determination and passion is inspiring others in his circle of influence.
“One of my main goals is to see young people find issues in the world they are passionate about and actively go at making a difference,” said Caleb. “As a generation, we really need to work on applying ourselves, and this is why I think it’s so important that we as young people are having goals and challenges.” His encouragement to others? “Get out there, do something that you are scared to do… get uncomfortable.”
As of August 19, 62% of the goal has been reached. Help Caleb reach $25,000! Donate here