Two Girls and a Grandad

On Sunday, Two Girls and a Grandad crossed the finish line of the Sydney Marathon.

For the past 20 weeks, that finish line has been the thing we’ve been training towards. But this was never just about running 42.2km.

Along the way, together with all of you, we raised more than $15,000 for the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

And now that the marathon is done, we really want to acknowledge just how many people helped us get there.

Back on 28 December, we kicked things off with our Bunnings Sausage Sizzle. Family and friends came down to buy a snag, volunteered their time and, importantly, occasionally give our BBQ master Rob a break from the hotplate.
Coca-Cola Australia generously donated 300 cans of soft drink for the day, and Mandurah Triathlon Club purchased what remained afterwards so that every bit of that donation continued to support our fundraising.

Then came the Money Board.
We put up the $1,000 prize ourselves and approached mostly local Mandurah businesses to see whether anyone might be willing to contribute a few additional prizes.
We were completely blown away by the response. More than 40 prizes were donated — vouchers, merchandise, services, experiences, beauty treatments and more. And then you lot went and bought all 300 numbers in less than a week.

In April, we held Mandurah Walks for Research.
We mapped out 3km and 5km courses and simply asked people to come along, walk or run with us and contribute a gold coin.
More than 120 people showed up. And somehow those "gold coin donations" turned into more than $800.
BebeLish Kai & Koffee kept everyone caffeinated, while Alcoa supported the event through its Action Grant program, contributing an incredible $3,000. Alcoa employees also gave up their Sunday morning to volunteer and help us run the event.

But something else came out of that morning too. We created the Mandurah Walks for Research Strava Club and set everyone a challenge: help us collectively cover the 3,300km from Perth to Sydney before marathon day. Apparently we underestimated you.
We smashed 3,300km in just six weeks.
So, having already "arrived" in Sydney ridiculously early, we kept going. We headed north, mapped our way around Australia and started making our way back towards Western Australia.
By the end of the 20 weeks, Two Girls & a Grandad and our incredible Strava community had logged almost 14,000km.

And then, on Sunday, it was finally our turn to cover the last 42.2km ourselves.

We wouldn't have raised more than $15,000 without you.
We wouldn't have made it through 20 weeks of training and across that Sydney Marathon finish line without the messages, donations, encouragement, sponsorship, volunteering, kilometres logged alongside us and people simply continuing to ask how we were going.

None of it went unnoticed.

We know it's pretty much all we've talked about for the last five months. 😄

To our families, friends, local businesses, volunteers, sponsors, Strava crew and everyone who backed three ordinary people who decided to run a marathon and see how much good we could do along the way. Thank you.

We crossed the finish line on Sunday, but more than $15,000 for medical research is the part of this journey that will last much longer than 42.2km.

Two Girls & a Grandad 💙

Businesses and organisations that supported our fundraising:
🍎
🎬
🏋️‍♀️
💪
🧘‍♀️
💇‍♀️
✨
💇
🍸
🏡
💎
👟
🥤
👕
🕯️
🎨
👗
🍛
🍺
🛍️
🎡
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⛏️
🏊‍♀️
☕

Given Grandad's Glow Up, people offered suggestions for a new team name now that Doug has apparently knocked 15 years off himself.

Two Girls and a Grand Lad was an obvious contender given the Scottish heritage…

…but someone suggested Two Girls and a Granson has absolutely ruined everything else.

We can't unhear it.
Two Girls and a Granson it is.

At least until the beard grows back.

Sydney we're coming for you!

Well… Doug complained. So naturally, we fixed it. 😂

Apparently the clean-cut bloke in our last graphic looked “nothing like him” and he requested something a little more grey and homeless.

Ask and you shall receive, Doug.

After refusing to cut his hair or beard since 1 June, we appear to have entered the final stage of marathon training.

Forrest Gump 🤝 Chuck Noland

He started this journey training for the Sydney Marathon.

He’s finishing it looking like he’s run across America, survived a plane crash, spent four years talking to a volleyball, and then decided to run a marathon on the way home. 🏃‍♂️🏝️🏐😂

Six days to Sydney.

At this point, we're just hoping they let him through airport security. 😭

Your move, Doug. WILSONNNNN! 🏐😂

🚨 WEEKS 18 & 19 UPDATE — WHAT A JOURNEY! 🚨

19 weeks. 12,844.8km. 🤯💛

Over the past fortnight alone, our Strava crew added another 1,285.7km to this slightly crazy adventure.

When we started back in April, the challenge was simple: help us cover the 3,300km from Perth to Sydney before marathon day.

Well… you absolutely SMASHED that within weeks. 😂 So we did the sensible thing and moved the goalposts to 15,000km!

And with one week remaining, we're now at
12,844.8km travelled
Two Girls & a Grandad — 1,932.7km (15%)
Our incredible community — 10,912.1km (85%)

That last number means so much to us.

For 19 weeks, we've watched you head out in the dark, rain, wind and cold. We've seen the walks, runs, hikes, parkruns and treadmill kilometres roll in week after week.

Every single person who kept showing up inspired us to keep showing up too.

Now there's just 7 DAYS until the Sydney Marathon. 😳

One final week. One final push.

Whatever happens, you've already taken our little 3,300km idea somewhere we never imagined possible.

Thank you for coming along for the ride. 💛

🏅 THERE IT IS. Our Sydney Marathon medal. 💙

For months, the finish line has been something we've talked about, trained for and imagined.

Now we know what will be waiting for us on the other side. 🥹

We're officially on the home stretch to Sydney. 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

And when this medal is finally hanging around our necks, it won't just represent 42.2km.

It'll represent the early mornings. The long runs. The tired legs. The setbacks. The ridiculous amount of food consumed. 😂 The moments we've doubted ourselves and the moments we've realised just how far we've come.

But most importantly, it'll represent all of you.

Every donation. Every message. Every person who has joined us for a run, ride or walk. Every business and organisation that's backed us. Every share of our story. Every word of encouragement. Every person near and far who has helped three ordinary people believe we can do something pretty extraordinary.

You've been part of this journey from the beginning.

So when Two Girls & a Grandad cross that Sydney Marathon finish line, these medals won't belong to just the three of us.

They'll be the reward for an incredible community that got behind us, supported our slightly crazy idea and helped us raise money for the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. 💙

The training is almost done.

The kilometres are almost banked.

Sydney is waiting.

One final push. 42.2km. And we're bringing every single one of you with us. 💙🏅

🚨 WEEKS 16 & 17 UPDATE 🚨

THREE. WEEKS. TO. GO. 😳🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️
And apparently nobody is slowing down!

Over the past fortnight, you absolute legends clocked another 🥁 1,332.9KM 🥁

🏃 Two Girls & a Grandad — 317.8km
💛 Our community — 1,015.1km
Which takes this completely out-of-control challenge to… 🌏 11,559.1KM TOTAL! 🤯

Remember when we thought 3,300km from Perth to Sydney was an ambitious target? 😂

We've now travelled the equivalent of that THREE AND A HALF TIMES, with almost 85% of every kilometre coming from YOU.

Last update we were at Timber Creek in the Northern Territory, tantalisingly close to the WA border. Well… WE'RE HOME! 🥳🖤💛

Another 1,332.9km has carried us well and truly back into Western Australia, continuing our ridiculous virtual lap towards Perth.

And yes… before anyone comes for us in the comments, AI has once again taken some creative liberties with the shape of Australia on our map. 😂 Apparently 11,559km wasn't enough of a challenge, so we're also attempting to teach ChatGPT Australian geography. 🤦‍♀️🇦🇺

Meanwhile, the real journey is getting VERY real.
21 DAYS UNTIL THE SYDNEY MARATHON. 😬

The biggest training weeks are behind us, taper has begun, and we're entering that wonderful stage where we simultaneously question whether we've trained enough and panic about every tiny ache. 😂

We started this hoping you'd help three ordinary people get 3,300km from Perth to Sydney.

Instead, you've turned it into an 11,559km community adventure around Australia.

And we're not finished yet.

Three weeks. Let's bring this thing home. 💛🔥🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

29 days until the Sydney Marathon! 🏃‍♂️🏅

Since 1 June, Doug has made one very important commitment... no haircut and no shave until marathon weekend.

What started as a motivational challenge has gone from Forrest Gump... to somewhere between Cast Away and "has anyone seen Wilson?" 🏐😂

He's not quite living in a cave yet, but Tom Hanks would be proud.

The good news? Our accommodation in Sydney is directly opposite Westfield, so we'll be escorting him straight to a barber for an emergency transformation back into a respectable member of society right after the finish line. 💈✂️

Tomorrow is the biggest training day of the entire block – 34km, the longest run before the taper begins. One more huge effort, then it's time to trust the training, freshen up the legs... and hopefully freshen up Doug's face too.

Sydney, we're almost ready... even if the beard isn't. 😆

🚨 WEEKS 14 & 15 UPDATE 🚨

Over the past fortnight, this incredible community clocked a massive 🥁 1,226.4km 🥁

Rain, wind, freezing mornings... Perth has thrown everything at us, but you've continued to lace up your shoes and get it done. 💪🌧️

Our virtual lap of Australia rolls on, and we've now travelled from:
📍 Perth
➡️ Sydney
➡️ Brisbane
➡️ Whitsundays
➡️ Cairns
➡️ Cape York
➡️ Across the Gulf of Carpentaria
➡️ Through the Top End
➡️ Past Darwin and into Timber Creek, with Western Australia almost in sight! 🌴☀️

The countdown is getting very real...

Five weeks today, the Sydney Marathon will be behind us.

If all goes to plan, we'll probably be sitting somewhere with a well-earned drink, wondering how we're ever going to walk down a flight of stairs again! 😂🍻

This weekend we tackled the 16km WA Coastal Running Festival at Burns Beach, specifically chasing hills before Sydney. Wet, windy and challenging—but we handled it far better than we ever expected.

Next weekend marks one of the biggest milestones of this entire journey...

Our final long run before we begin the taper. 😳

Before we finish, here's the statistic that absolutely blew us away...

🏃 Two Girls and a Grandad 1,429.3km
💛 Our incredible community 8,796.9km
🌏 Total logged 10,226.2km

That means 86% of every kilometre travelled has come from YOU.

And to think... when we kicked this challenge off, we were simply hoping to make it 3,300km across Australia from Perth to Sydney.

Instead, you've helped us log an incredible 10,226.2km... and we're not even finished yet.

We completely underestimated this community, your generosity, and your willingness to get involved.

This stopped being our challenge a long time ago.

It's become a community adventure around Australia, and we couldn't be more grateful to have every one of you along for the ride.

Now... let's get ourselves back into Western Australia. 🇦🇺💛🚀

🚨 WEEK 13 UPDATE 🚨

Who let this happen?! 🤯

Just when we thought you couldn't possibly top last week... You went and logged a whopping
🥁 783.5km 🥁

Perth has continued serving up winter, but this community clearly didn't get the memo. Rain, wind, icy mornings… none of it has stopped you from getting out there. 💪🌧️

Last week we were making our way across the Top End.

This week you've powered us all the way to Kakadu National Park, with Darwin now firmly in our sights! 🌴🐊

Think waterfalls, wetlands, crocodiles and some of Australia's most spectacular scenery... not a bad place to spend our virtual adventure!

Our journey so far:
📍 Perth
➡️ Sydney
➡️ Brisbane
➡️ Whitsundays
➡️ Cairns
➡️ Cape York
➡️ Gulf of Carpentaria
➡️ Northern Territory
➡️ Kakadu (Current Location)

And the best part?
There are now only 49 days until the Sydney Marathon! 😳

Every walk. Every run. Every hike. Every treadmill session.

You're proving that a community working together can achieve something pretty incredible.

Darwin... we're almost knocking on your door! 🚀💛