Bloody Mission

Bloody Mission Crew

Bloody Mission is an impact led organisation helping fund the eradication of blood cancer through purposeful adventures, community and donations. We adventure in the world "for those who can't". This podcast is about trail running, leukaemia, aiming yourself towards greatness and helping others along the way.

  1. Aug 24

    Ep14. 5,000 Metres of Vertical in One Day | Heatons Gap & The Skillion |

    Two people. Two very different mountains. 5,000 metres of vertical each.We're back at Cal's Bar with Madison and Arlo to unpack what the Vertical 5K Challenge actually asks of you — and why neither of them really knew what they'd said yes to.Mads took on Heatons Gap, the OG: 16 laps, 55 kilometres, roughly 360 metres of climbing per lap, a 14-hour cutoff and a 50% finish rate. Invite-only, 25 starters, and one of only two women on the day. She came home with 40 minutes to spare — while insisting she's "just average."Arlo went the other way. Find Your Mountain, at the Skillion in Terrigal, starting at 4am and doing the whole thing in a single day. He'd done the maths and figured on 20 laps. It was 240. Sixteen hours, 60 kilometres, no shade anywhere on the course, and three days in bed afterwards with what he calls chopstick legs.We get into the fear, the fundraising, the strangers who jumped in for a lap and stayed for five hours, and why the community around this thing turns out to be the part that sticks.This year it's open for the whole of October — solo, or as a team, wherever your mountain happens to be. However you want to get 5,000 metres is how you get 5,000 metres.Sign up / donate: https://bloodymission.leukaemia.org.au/Bloody Mission: https://bloodymission.leukaemia.org.au/#vertical5k #findyourmountain #trailrunning #bloodymission #ultrarunningChapters (source-transcript timecodes — re-stamp after your cut):00:00 Two legends, one stupid idea00:57 Meet Madison and Arlo02:20 What the Vertical 5K Challenge actually is03:41 "I didn't realise what I was accepting"04:56 The maths, the 14-hour cutoff, and being "average"07:03 Asking people for money is the harder part09:00 Finishing Heatons Gap with 40 minutes to spare10:17 Arlo's turn: 4am at the Skillion11:15 "I thought it was 20 laps. It was 240."16:18 Chopstick legs and three days in bed17:43 Mitch's driveway and the negative Strava EPR19:30 Tony, Jenny, and why people show up22:00 The community that carried them23:07 Two women on the start line25:27 Pat Farmer's phone call26:20 October 2026 — how to get involved

About

Bloody Mission is an impact led organisation helping fund the eradication of blood cancer through purposeful adventures, community and donations. We adventure in the world "for those who can't". This podcast is about trail running, leukaemia, aiming yourself towards greatness and helping others along the way.