FORMER Horsham resident and adventurer Tom Dunn is gearing up for his biggest journey yet.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
He will start a 9000 kilometre triathlon across Australia in April in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the world's longest triathlon. The current record is 5676km set by Italy's Ilaria Corli in 2017.
Mr Dunn will start his journey at the most western point of mainland Australia - Steep Point, WA - and finish at the most eastern point - Byron Bay, NSW.
Along the way, he will cycle 7000km to Yarrawonga, swim 280km along the Murray River to Echuca and finish with a 1720km run. He will also stop in at Horsham along the way.
In 2018 Mr Dunn completed a 4,973km quadrathlon - swimming, running, cycling and kayaking - from Cape York, QLD to Wilsons Promontory, VIC.
He said this next challenge would be his biggest yet.
"It's double the length of my last trip and is my biggest adventure by far," he said.
"My last trip didn't all go as planned. Because of unsafe swimming conditions in the Gippsland Lakes, I had to turn it from a triathlon into a quadrathlon.
"Due to my mental and physical state, I was exhausted and didn't have the opportunity to swim through the dangerous conditions."
Mr Dunn hopes to raise $83,000 for not-for-profit mental health organisation LIVIN'.
"They aim to break down the stigmas of talking about mental health with young people. They do a lot of presentations in schools to help spread their message," he said.
"I chose $83,000 as a goal to break my own fundraising record of $82,000."
He will set off on his journey on April 15 and hopes it will take about 120 days.
"It will depend - if all goes well it could be 90 to 100 days, but if something goes wrong it could be blown out quite a bit," he said.
"My plan is to be entirely self-supported and sleep where I can. Last time I was supported by the generosity of strangers who gave me access to a bed and warm shower."
You can donate to Mr Dunn's fundraising campaign by heading to his everydayhero page.
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.
