Spirit of the blood run

There are people in this life who have purpose, and Callan Gates is one of those people. In June 2022, the Central Coaster finished a whopping 250km from Newcastle to Sydney in an effort to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation after the devastating passing of his wife’s mother. Having seen the cause and effect of what the illness does to families, Callan took to the trails and created an adventure in memory of those who were robbed of them.

What will I think tomorrow when I’m showered, belly full of food and in my warm bed? 

Will I be pumped to have completed the adventure or will I be in a deep low because I quit? Too many thoughts go through my mind; I’m hurting, bad. I’ve been running for 21 hours.…110km with 140km to go. As I’m winding through the mountains of the Southern Hunter Valley, I begin falling asleep. 

It’s not a good sign. This seems insurmountable.

I’m Cal, a 37yo guy from the Central Coast. I like running, but I’m not that good at it

and I’m certainly not very fast. I don’t really even look like a runner – hell, I have a dad bod! When I set this challenge there were doubters, and I don’t blame them, but don’t underestimate a guy with purpose, who knows that yes, at some point I am going to be back in the comfort of my own bed with my beautiful wife Tara – the driving force behind this world of hurt that I’m experiencing.

The Backstory

Tara was a 3yo when she lost her mum to leukaemia. Leaine was a fit and healthy

33yo who went for a routine check-up after feeling not quite herself on a skiing

holiday. Nine months later, having received the devastating diagnosis and undergoing intense treatment, she died – and the pain has never left Tara and her family.

So I’m running with a clear goal – to help the 53 people diagnosed every day with blood cancer. A decade or so ago, Tara shaved her head and in doing so raised $9k for The Leukaemia Foundation. It inspired me. Knowing I couldn’t shave my head (I’m bald) I wondered how I could contribute. So I conjured up this wild plan; running from Newcastle to Sydney on the Great North Walk Trail, 250km in length and climbing over 9000+m of elevation in a single push.

I called it The Blood Run.

Could I do it? I’d never know unless I gave it a crack. The date was set for 2 June 2022 with a goal to raise $100 per kilometre of the 250km trail – that would equal $25,000. Nine months of training, let’s give it a rattle.

And So It Began

The day had arrived. Bells were ringing as I set off from Newcastle’s Clock Tower at 5am, solo. As the sun came up, Novocastrians were heading to work and I felt alive. 

At 25km a mate joined me, Dan Borgas, who decided he was going to run the next

100km with me. Legend. We headed up and met the crew at the base of Heaton Gap, a climb 1km in length but ascending over 350m.

At 41km we hit the climb together, moving slowly but having fun. For 10km we were going up and down, up and down. I had forgotten how hard these technical trails were. They were brutal. Soon enough we were sitting at Watagans HQ with my crew, noodles in hand and a fire flickering nearby. I took in the short-lived comfort because we wouldn’t be seeing the crew for hours after this.

It was getting dark and bloody cold as we moved through the trails. When we hit Congewai Road, we found ourselves covered in the light of the stars and the moon – one of the many highs.

“Cal, we’re over $28,000!”. One one-third of the way in, and we’d already surpassed the fundraising goal. I thought about the generosity of people – so wild. Even kids were giving $1.50 from their pocket money.

Leaving the next checkpoint, I felt on top of the world. We were off to another climb, like Heaton Gap – long and steep. My belly (which is sizeable) was full of stew and I was pumped.

But highs are always balanced with lows, and I was about to hit one. Halfway up the climb I started dry reaching and vomiting. Then down into Watagans Valley, which is an extremely steep descent, we arrived at the checkpoint and I was cooked. In those 9km I’d gone from feeling like The Rock after his cheat meals, to feeling like someone had ripped the life out of me. I had a short sleep, some noodles and trekked off into the night, where fatigue started to hit. 

We didn’t see the crew for another 5 hours. That was the point I’d started to fall asleep. We were 6km from the checkpoint on Yarramalong Road and I just couldn’t do it anymore. The front seat of the old Landcruiser

felt like a luxurious bed in the Sofitel; I slept for 60 glorious minutes.

It’s amazing what rest can do for the body and mind. I awoke refreshed in the early

hours of the next day, and we ran into Yarramalong. Dan had completed his tonne, and my cousin Jesse jumped in, having flown from Melbourne – what a guy.

Dan Ferris, who was leading the crew and was absolutely crucial to the whole event, updated me on the latest fundraising figure – $32,000! I smashed pancakes and took off up Bumble Hill Climb on route to Somersby, a 25km stretch and about 1100m in elevation. That would be fine normally, but I had 115km in my legs already, over 3300m of climbing and a bit over an hour’s sleep. Jesse kept me moving and as Dan promised, Somersby was filled with friends, family and cheeseburgers – probably not the best nutrition however salt, fat, sugar all felt good at this point.

It then got to $34000! I was told The Today Show wanted to interview us when we got into Sydney.

Just Keep Running

My new goal kicked in – $50k. From there on, every checkpoint was filled with friends, family and people keen to support the cause. Some mates jumped on for the next 35km to Patonga despite it being wet and freezing. I tried to have a

kip on the trail but it was just too cold to sleep. With flooding up to our shins on the trials, my low body temperature wasn’t climbing, and hallucinations were creeping in. Once at Patonga, I was 180km in, and two-thirds of the way there.

An hour’s sleep, and then it was a crawl to the boat, with James taking us off into the darkness to Brooklyn. From that point on we headed up the concrete wall destined for Cowan, but it was the wall of fatigue that I couldn’t get past. Another trail sleep was definitely crucial. Some old mates dropped by having come from Byron Bay and Taree to surprise me, and it felt great to see them.

At 190km in, I had a chat to Dan and answered some questions from my brother Mitch, who was filming. It isn’t lost on me how lucky I am to be surrounded by these legends.

It was rough terrain, but we were talking rubbish and laughing, taking my mind off the stabbing pains in my knees, which were getting progressively worse. The 15km felt like an eternity, and as we reached Crosslands Reserve, over 200km in, it hit me like a freight train: I’d been running for two nights with little sleep and I’d be running through a third night, to finish in Sydney on Sunday morning in time for a TV interview. Quite frankly, I was flat and tired. 

Dan filled my pack while I scored myself a power nap and then before I knew it, I was off again. There were 50km left, but we practically had to rock climb out of the gorge and onto the fire trials. Out the back of Hornsby we got into the thick bush and single trails that wind up and down and into, through and over rivers.

Suddenly, I got word we’d reached $43k. I was pumped. My knee was bad though, and it was the downhill runs that were killing me. Dr Matt’s assessment was common sense: It’s cooked, you’ve put 226km through it! Fair point.

As the dollars ticked up, the kilometres ticked down – 24km to go. It was early Sunday morning as we moved through national parks and the back of people’s properties. Sydney was coming alive with the dawn of a beautiful day, and I could taste the end.

Towards The Home Stretch

With 10km to, I got the best surprise; Tara was to join me for the last leg. I didn’t know if someone was cutting onions nearby, but the tears started as we chatted

through what the last three days had meant to us, to our families and to the Leukaemia Foundation’s work.

Finally, Woolwich Pier – we made it! Tears were flowing as my crew Dan, Mitch, Jesse, Dr Knappers and I hugged the crew of mates and family there to support. We all jumped into cars (the ferries weren’t working) bound for Circular Quay.

With only 100 meters to the finish, I saw some of the people that meant the most to me, standing there waiting to celebrate – I felt so numb. 

I did it though. 250km in 75 hours! And the money kept flowing – we were at $53k when I crossed that finish line. 

I was overcome with emotion. The support I’d had over those three days from friends, family and strangers was like nothing I’d ever experienced and probably won’t again.

At the time of writing for Trail Run, we were at $62k, and I’d boldly set another goal of $100k. And this is where my talented brother takes the reins. His goal was to make a film before he turned 35, and he’s done it. The Blood Run premiered to a sold-out crowd on the NSW Central Coast in December 2023. To do this with my brother was special and something I know I’ll cherish.

This was our adventure for those who were robbed of it.