A mountain of a challenge
Ever wondered what it would be like to cycle all the way up Mount Everest in one go? Ask Tim Sackville.
Although the 34-year-old didn’t undertake the gruelling challenge in the Himalayas, he did the next best thing. He rode up and down Arthur’s Seat hill in the Mornington Peninsula until he had climbed the equivalent height of the world’s tallest mountain, 8848 metres.
And he did it all for charity.
After losing his father to acute myeloid leukaemia in 2007 and witnessing his partner Veronica’s battle with follicular lymphoma in 2020, Sackville has become a passionate advocate for raising funds and awareness for cancer research.
“The only thing more amazing than Veronica’s care team has of course been Veronica herself,” Tim commented, adding, “I’ve quite simply had a front row seat to the greatest show of strength through vulnerability, through love and through care.
“The reality, however, is that far more research and development is needed to keep this beast at bay.”
Which is why, in the early hours of January 16, Sackville commenced his “Everesting” challenge on behalf of the Leukaemia Foundation.
Despite temperatures reaching a scorching 30 degrees, the weather didn’t stop him completing his goal, which he did in 38 laps.
“I hoped to do it within 12-15 hours but it ended up taking 16 hours and 39 minutes,” he told The AJN.
Cheered on by friends and family who took turns cycling alongside him to boost his morale, Tim recalled, “There was not one moment when I was riding on my own.”
Reflecting that he felt “supported, loved and grateful”, by the end of the challenge, he added, “I was in awe of everyone else, but also completely exhausted.”
Initially, Tim set his sights on raising $8848, “a dollar for every metre and the height of Everest”, but his target was soon broken.
“As the donations overtook that, people told me to change the donation goal,” he said. “But I wanted to leave it as it was to show people how amazing the community is.”
A week after completing the challenge, Tim has netted over $20,000 for the Leukaemia Foundation, and he’s urging people to keep on giving.
“There is so much funding, because we need it, there is still so much research that needs to be done,” he told The AJN, adding the Everesting challenge isn’t the end of the road.
“I want to continue to put the spotlight on cancer research.”
For more information or to make a donation, visit fundraise.leukaemia.org.au/fundraisers/timsackville
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