LOGANHOLME’S Peta O’Brien reached out to Beyond Blue after experiencing the loss of her sister from a tragic accident in 2020, and walking helped her conquer her “overwhelming grief”.
“I wasn’t sleeping; I wasn’t eating, I went to a very dark place,” she said.
Now, the local resident and business owner is set to tackle a “grueling” 60km day trek from Currimundi to Noosa “to get people talking about mental health”.
Coastrek community ambassador Mrs O’Brien says she will walk in the inaugural Coastrek Challenge for the second time on July 15 in support of Beyond Blue.
“My aim is to raise as much awareness and funds to help support Beyond Blue and keep up with demand for its 24/7 support service,” she said.
“Everyone is affected by mental health in some form, whether it be directly or indirectly, and I think we need to take the stigma away.”
Mrs O’Brien said training for Coastrek was a huge help to combat her grief, “as it gave me a focus and a goal to work towards while supporting a cause I was passionate about”.
“I leaned on Beyond Blue for support when I really needed it so I know the benefits that the 24/7 support service provides,” she said
“I now want to try and make a positive change and pay it forward.”
The event is expected to attract thousands of trekkers to the Sunshine Coast, where groups of four will hike either 30km or 60km within 18 hours.
Mrs O’Brien says she began training by walking from Cornubia to Kangaroo Point, but it has never been about competition.
“I think 10km was the most I had ever walked in my life, and I hadn’t realised how therapeutic walking was for your mental health,” she said.
“It’s not a race, it’s a challenge so you go at your own pace and that’s all I try to encourage.
“It’s about a journey, training together with your friends, laughing, chatting, exchanging tips
“My biggest motto is we start as a team, we finish as a team; it’s doing it together and encouraging each other.”
Mrs O’Brien has partnered with Meadowbrook Golf Club, where a ‘mega raffle’ will be held on July 10 to raise funds for Beyond Blue.
Mrs O’Brien will be stepping out with her team ‘Pottering Along’– named in honour of her sister Toni Louise Potter.
The Coastrek Community Challenge is aiming to raise $1 million for the support service – part of an overall fundraising goal of $6 million for the year across Coastrek’s five events throughout Australia.
