Achilles Melbourne stomps and conquers

By Peggy Soo (Achilles Melbourne Athlete with Vision Impairment)

We stomp stomp stomped our way to the MCG! Brooke, Maddy, Christine and I, along with guides Jeff, Deb, Adrienne and Sarah all braved the cold and stomped around the MCG for the 2017 edition of the Stadium Stomp. We climbed all the stairs without even stopping to watch a sports game!

Brooke and Sarah started early and completed the whole course of 7,300 steps. This consisted of both level 1 and 4, with level 4 being the steepest part of the MCG (don't look down if you are afraid of heights!!). After a pre-race ABC radio interview from Brooke and TV appearances from Sarah/Brooke on 7 news and Maddy on ABC news, Maddy, Christine and I tackled the short course with our guides which consisted of level 1 with 1800 steps. Both courses included a victory lap on the grounds of the G.

We stomped our way with a man in a gorilla suit, Wonder Woman and some firemen. We earned our medals in the end, feeling very much accomplished. A few of us had a much needed refueling breakfast/lunch at our favourite cafe, In A Rush.

Thank you to all the guides and Achilles for making this possible, including guides who took us up and down hills and stairs prior to this event. Thank you Achilles for making this possible for us to attend. If you are contemplating this event for next year, I would highly recommend it. It is very supportive, has a wonderful atmosphere without the need for timing chips!

(Picture above: Victory selfie with [front left to rear back right]: Adrienne and Peggy; Christine and Deb; Maddy and Jeff; standing on MCG grass, level 1 stands with empty seats and stompers in background right, black finishing banner and other stompers in background.)