iCan Challenge 2026

Raising money for the Good Friday Appeal

WE DID IT!! Yesterday, we walked 50kms from St Kilda to Frankston to raise $100,000 for the Royal Children Hospital's Good Friday Appeal.

$76,007 raised so far!

Please sponsor us!

IT'S NOT OVER YET!

We will be presenting the cheque at the Good Friday Appeal tomorrow - WHAT WILL IT SAY?

The day started very early with all our participants getting up in time to meet the buses at school and depart at 5:45pm sharp! There was a contagious buzz of excitement in the air and though walkers may have arrived tired, pretty soon, they were chatting and laughing, eager to start!

We arrived at our starting line, Catani Gardens, St Kilda at 6:30am and had time for a quick toilet break before meeting with Rebecca Cowan, Executive Director of the Good Friday Appeal, and Penny Fowler, Chairman of the Good Friday Appeal, and giving an Acknowledgement of Country.

This was followed by media interviews and photo opportunities with Zeke Simari being named the official iCan Challenge flag bearer for 2026 befrore being interviewed along with Ms Wallis and our iCan Challenge Captains.

Finally, the countdown began and we were off! Only 10 minutes late, we quickly made up speed as the sun rose over St Kilda and lit up Port Phillip bay. As we passed the smelly marina, one walker was heard to say 'The view is breathtaking...and the smell takes your breath away too'!

It was at this point that Deng and Ella, our iCan Challenge Captains, caught up with the 7News cameraman for an impromptu final TV interview! Missed it? You can watch it here.

Mr Lewis was on hand taking photos (thank you Mr Lewis!) and we were all very surprised to reach our first pit stop at Brighton !

At this point, Clarke Bull and Blake Jolme prepared to be returned to the start line so they could start their iCan Challenge run! Clarke ran the full iCan Challenge and Blake ran a half-marathon. Later, Jimmy (one of our major sponsors) joined them to run a 10km leg!

We were all very excited when our runners caught up with us, just as we were leaving our second pit stop at Sandringham! We cheered them on and it was just as exciting when Clarke we rushed to meet Clarke as he crossed the finish line!

By now, we knew we'd passed the $70k mark and were on our way to $80,000!! This pepped us up as we walked the longest leg of our day, which happened to be in the hottest part of the day. We were very relieved when we came around the corner to see our incredible support crew waiting for us at the third rest stop at Mordialloc!

Our support crew drove ahead and set up food, drinks and a first aid station at each rest stop. They greeted us with high fives and cheers, and looked after us. Their planning started weeks ahead of time and we were so grateful to see them at the end of each leg - more and more grateful with each stop! Thanks to Deb, Julie, Nerilee, Michael, Mel, Jack, Charlie & Randolph!

Next stop, Edithvale, and boy did it suddenly feel hot. This is the 'concrete jungle' leg of the Challenge, with the path leading us one block in from the beach to walk along Nepean Hwy. Every so often we'd look up to see Mr Lewis taking photos from across the road or the train rumbling past! Quite a few of us wondered if anyone would notice if we ducked in to one of the gelato shops for a refreshing treat along the way! After a short break at Edithvale, we continued along the urban route to our final rest stop before the last leg, Carrum!

Suddenly, we were on our last leg and after gathering staff to 'Walk like an Egyptian' in the name of raising money for the Royal Children's Hospital, we were off! As always, we rearranged our walkers so that those who had fallen behind, started the next leg at the front of the pack. Those who fell behind learned that when Ms Wallis was the whip (person at the back) she enjoyed urging people along with an energetic "Come on - look up and keep up with the group ahead!"

Next thing we knew, we were off the pavement and onto a sandy path, flanked by bush and hazards. All heads turned down to watch for unexpected tree routes jutting out of the sand. Suddenly, all heads turned up as it started to lightly rain! We were relieved at the prospect of a cool change after such a gruelling day.

The sea came back into view and we realised we were almost there!!! Whoever mapped the course had one final challenge ahead - we had to go down a very long flight of stairs, walk across a short boardwalk, then go up another flight of stairs before crossing the Frankston Foreshore bridge to the finish line!

As we came over the last steps, we were greeted with the cheers and applause of our support crew and all the families and friends that came to celebrate with us!

It was wonderful to have Stuart Broadly, our Major Sponsor from Pro Quip international there to celebrate with us on behalf of the Business Sponsors and to hand out the medallions after the speeches.

A flurry of photos, hugs and tears followed before a subdued bus ride home and the shocking pain of limping off the bus.

As Ms Wallis said, our walkers were magnificent and all deserved a good meal and a good rest. At the time of publishing, we have raised $76,249. I'm sure everyone will agree with me when I say, it was worth it.

We are still raising money. Please help by sharing our posts or sponsoring us.

Watch us at 10:30am on Channel 7 tomorrow when we present the cheque to the Good Friday Appeal - what will it say?