Double Kokoda: For the Aussie Athlete Fund

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Two men. One double crossing of the Kokoda Track. One goal: backing the next generation of Australian athletes.

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Two men. One double crossing of the Kokoda Track. One goal: backing the next generation of Australian athletes.This November, Chris Raleigh and Lucien Simpson-Quinn will take on a double crossing of the Kokoda Track: the length of the rugged Owen Stanley Range and back, through some of Papua New Guinea&#39;s most demanding terrain.They will trek in excess of 250 kilometres on foot and more than 27,000 metres of total ascent and descent.They are aiming to complete it in seven days, finishing on 11 November, Remembrance Day.The trek will be organised and supported by Aidan Grimes of Our Spirit, who has crossed the Kokoda Track 139 times and will complete his 140th crossing before the challenge.<h2> </h2><h2>Why Kokoda, and why the Aussie Athlete Fund</h2>For Chris, it will be a third crossing, and he wanted to turn a deeply personal challenge into a way to support the next generation of Australian athletes. Stan Bisset was selected for the Wallabies&#39; 1939 tour of Great Britain. His team reached England the day before war was declared and never played a match. Bisset came home, enlisted, and after fighting in the Middle East was sent to the Kokoda Track with the 2/14th Battalion. There, at Isurava, an outnumbered Australian force fought one of the most important actions of the whole campaign, holding off the Japanese advance. It was there that Bisset&#39;s brother Butch was fatally wounded and died in Stan&#39;s arms. Later in the campaign, Stan was awarded the Military Cross for his bravery and leadership. He carried the memory of his brother for the rest of his long life.Noel Hall was an army marksman who won a King&#39;s Medal for shooting before the war. He fought on the Kokoda Track and later represented Australia in shooting at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.At Isurava today, four black granite pillars stand over the valley where that fighting took place. Each is engraved with a single word:Courage. Endurance. Mateship. Sacrifice. The values carved into those pillars are the same ones this country still asks of those who represent it. Walking in the diggers&#39; footsteps to support Australia&#39;s athletes is a way of carrying that spirit forward, and honouring where it came from.That is why this double crossing of the Kokoda Track supports the Aussie Athlete Fund, founded by five-time Olympian Natalie Cook OAM OLY to back Australian athletes as they chase their own hardest goals.<h2> </h2><h2>Where your donation goes</h2>Chris and Lucien are covering every cent of their own costs associated with the double crossing, and Aidan Grimes and Our Spirit are donating their time to organise the trek at no charge. Because of that, every donation made here goes directly to supporting Australian athletes as part of the Aussie Athlete Fund&#39;s $1 Million Challenge. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible. Target finish: 11 November 2026 (Remembrance Day) Please give what you can, and help turn this double crossing of the Kokoda Track into real support for the athletes carrying Courage, Endurance, Mateship and Sacrifice forward. See the full website: <a href="https://kokodadouble.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://kokodadouble.com/</a>