By Aaron Cordy
COURAGE comes in many forms. For Australian Defence Force Major Ed Orszulak and firefighter Sebastian (Seb) Boehm, their courage has never been questioned, but earlier this year they embarked on one of the biggest challenges they have faced that highlighted the true grit and character of the men when they began a walk from Brisbane to Melbourne to raise money for Camp Quality, which helps children and their families battling cancer.
Tuesday, July 23, the pair, along with their support crew, set off on their 2,720km walk from Brisbane to Melbourne, which led them through the region last week. The two have walked on average 50km a day on their way to the finish line in Melbourne on Monday, September 30.
“It was Seb’s idea. Seb and a mate of ours, Dave, were at a Camp Quality planning meeting dinner and Seb said he wanted to do some fundraising for Camp Quality and raise awareness. Just get the name and the brand out there again,” said Ed.
That was five years ago. Seb initially wanted to walk from Canberra to Melbourne, because he’s from Canberra and Dave was in Canberra at the time. But Dave knew that would not get them the coverage they needed for this worthy cause. So, they began their journey from Brisbane.
“When we started planning it with Camp Quality, they suggested to us a number of regional areas where CQ had large numbers of families or volunteers so that we could move through them and show them that people are doing stuff for them, for Camp Quality, and to get them to help out. To tell their side of the story, give their side of things. Because we can give the volunteer story very easily, but unless you’ve been through it as a family, it’s hard to sort of explain the impact of that support on a family. So, that was the reason why a lot of the regional areas were chosen.”
Covid setbacks and the heart-breaking loss of Dave meant it has taken Ed and Seb a little longer to get on the road than they originally planned. The gruelling walk has been a test for both men, who trained as much as they could in the lead-up to day one but could not prepare themselves for how much of a test they faced.
Missing toenails and blisters on blisters was the theme for the early part of the walk. Feet bruising like neither had ever experienced before. It wasn’t until Hoka came to sponsor them with the right shoes that their feet began to heal. Then it was injury management for stress fractures and tendon damage from the repetitive nature of the extended walk.
“I think the first morning when I woke up after the first day when I realised, I went to get up and my back just went ‘No, no, no, you’re not moving anywhere near as free as you thought you would be,” said Seb.
Ed and Seb are both waiting on knee replacements when the walk is over, with advice from doctors to run their knees into the ground before they get replaced.
While the physical side of the walk was expected, it is the cause, raising money for Camp Quality that has kept them grounded.
“For me, it’s the emotional side of the people that we’ve met, because we’ve met the most… I’ve been more humbled doing this than I ever thought I would be in my life,” said Seb.
“Met the most humbling, kind, generous people who have the most amazing stories that make us both laugh our asses off. There’s been times Ed and I, and we’re really good mates before this, we’ll talk to someone, and without saying a word one will walk forward, one will walk back for five meters. We’ll do that for a few minutes, then come back together and tell a joke, because we just need time to possess what we heard.”
The important work Camp Quality does is why the long-time volunteers are on the road to Melbourne.
“What’ve found is dads in particular don’t talk,” said Ed. “Mums talk. They get together in their social groups and they talk, but dads don’t. when we can bring a bunch of dads who have kids dealing with cancer together and give them enough space and enough trust to do that, it’s a massive moment for them, because all of a sudden they realise they’re not the only guy going through this.”
If you missed them as they walked through town, you can follow Ed and Seb on their journey at www.edsbigimpact.au with links to their Instagram and Facebook pages and how you can give generously to this wonderful cause.
