Hunter Valley man Peter Worgan walks the talk. And when he does so, he walks a very long way.
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His latest walk was 100 kilometres for Oxfam. He walked from Nobbys Beach to Broke, going through Kurri Kurri, Cessnock, Pokolbin and "all the bits in between".
"Feet are blistered, but they'll be fine in a day or two. The Oxfam 100-kilometre trailwalk is a great life adventure, but also a little taste of suffering," Peter said, after he completed the event on Saturday afternoon.
"It makes you reflect on the lives of the many that Oxfam helps."
The walk took him 21.5 hours. Peter wasn't sure how he'd go. He has "a bit of osteoarthritis in the feet".
He saw a specialist the day before.
"He booked me in for an operation in three weeks. Apparently Lleyton Hewitt had the same operation and then won Wimbledon. So I could break my time next year," he quipped.
Peter was back at work on Monday, mowing lawns and cleaning pools, despite being in pain.
He "took a toughen-up princess pill" and kept going.
Peter has now done 33 Oxfam 100-kilometre walks.
"Years ago I used to be in banking. We'd have long lunches. A mate of mine was a broker living in Hong Kong," he said.
"He heard about the Oxfam trail walk starting up in Australia. It originated in Hong Kong, with the Gurkhas over there. They used to do it as a training exercise."
Oxfam expanded the fundraiser to become a worldwide event.
"We signed up in 1999. I did it again the next year. It becomes an escalation of commitment. You just keep doing it. You did it before, so you do it again."
The charity side appeals to him.
"To me, it's a good charity. From what I've read, not a lot goes into administration.
"They seem to get into places before governments to fix things up around the world when there's a crisis."
Plus, he likes bushwalking. But does he like the pain that comes with epic walks?
"I'm not sure whether like is the right word. I certainly like a beer afterwards.
"I don't enjoy the pain when I have bad feet. The best events are the ones where nothing hurts much and you get through pretty unscathed."
Going without sleep can be challenging.
"You get a bit hallucinogenic in the early hours of the morning when mentally you want to go to sleep.
"Once the sun comes up, it's like a new day and you wake right up again and away you go. I've had a couple of these events where it's gone into the second night and they've been very hard."
He recalled two walks he did in India. Seeing people in poverty was a powerful experience.
And walking through parts of India was "a good excuse for an adventure".
"We went through places where you see the aid go," he said.
He said the 100-kilometre walks give "a feeling of achievement at the end of it all".
"If you can break 24 hours, you've done a pretty good trek I reckon. You've missed a full night's sleep, so you definitely know you've tested yourself," he said.
"You feel good that you've done it and you've had a good detox of the body."
He said the goal of doing the runs was "always a good excuse to push yourself out the door to make that first step happen".
The hardest part, he said, was often "the first step out the door". "Once you get out of bed and get your shoes on, it's all doable."
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