Erchana Murray-Bartlett. On environmental advocacy while running 150 consecutive marathons, 6330 kms from Cape York to Melbourne

Episode 33! We’re back and stoked to be joined by a super inspiring, fun and determined woman - Erchana Murray-Bartlett.

Erchana joins us from Sydney, off the back of 120 consecutive marathons, having broken a Guinness World Record and continuing to crush the existing record as she runs over 6000kms from Cape York to Melbourne on her “Tip to Toe” mission.  

Erchana talks to us about her roots as an athlete, mainly in highly competitive soccer; her journey into running and subsequently racing as an elite on the road and her time in Melbourne’s COVID lockdown which sparked the idea of her Tip to Toe challenge. We hear about the realities of running 150 back to back marathons; the logistics; the toll it takes on the mind and body and how Erchana continues to maintain such a positive, bright spirit amongst it all. 

Erchana also shares with us the very important environmental advocacy element of this adventure, raising funds and awareness for the Wilderness Society and in particular putting the spotlight on the Australian extinction crisis. In addition to the not so small task of completing a marathon every single day, Erchana has a busy schedule visiting schools, community groups and local clubs, sharing this message. We were blown away by her energy and also really grateful for Erchana's honesty in terms of the highs and lows of this journey. 

One of Erchana's genie wishes was for an increased focus on the environmental message of this mission and with that in mind, we're sharing an extract from her fundraising page here:

Funds raised from Tip to Toe will go towards: • Educating communities on acting on the extinction crisis before we lose Aussie biodiversity. • Supporting the Wilderness Society's work to see Australia’s nature protected. • Advocating towards protecting our natural ecosystems and the incredible wildlife within them.   If you’re not able to donate, no worries! There are plenty of other ways you can help our important cause that is equally impactful. You can: - Share our story! - Start a conversation about the threats to the local wildlife in your community. - Contact your local MP about their plans for protecting local wildlife - Volunteer to clean up parks and waterways. Check out: https://www.wilderness.org.au/work/movement-for-life - Plant native trees - Keep your beloved cat indoors where possible, especially at night. - Minimising single-use plastics. These actions have very real, direct impacts on our endangered and at-risk wildlife and are a great example of PEOPLE POWER!   Wishing you all the best for the rest of your incredible adventure Erchana!

You can find Erchana on Instagram at @tip_to_toe_2022

To make a donation visit the GoFundMe page at : https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-local-extinctions-project-our-native-mates 

Sponsor shout out: Tarkine Running, Trackabout Campers, Clif Bar, Market Organics, Amble Outdoors, Sun Sense 

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