Yay! My Injinji socks arrived today and the monster blister I had has FINALLY healed up (got infected - yuck!). Was able to get a total of 40km of walking over really hilly terrain last week. Had to break it into walks of 15km or less due to the blister problem. What should I be aiming to increase my weekend walks to now that I have "happy feet" again? I am new to this, so would really appreciate any advice people have. I have been checking local bushwalking routes here in the ACT and nearby NSW.

Hi Richard and Trevor.....blame me rabbits. pretty cool walk on sunday, looking forward to another walk on sunday. my email is claude.dariz@sunshinejaguar.com.au let me know where and when and i'll be there....claude.

Hi Folks, this Sunday Claude (Walkie Talkies) and Richard (Blame me rabbits) will try training routes 5,6 & 7. The old boat ramp intersection with Nerang/Murwillumbah road (about 1.7km north of the Enviro Centre) to Oval Dr and Nerang/Beaudesert Road. This will be approx 21km with 2 decent climbs and the Hellfire Pass descent. We can meet at Oval Dr at 06:00 and start the walk around 06:30.

Thanks John from Four in Balance - will check them out. Happy Training:)

Anyone doing the waterfall creek circuit be careful when parking on the corner of Nerang-Murwillumbah Road and Pine Creek Road. It's quite exposed and my car was broken into there 2 weeks ago. Take the usual precautions :)

The same when leaving your car at the toliet block when climbing polly's hill. There was reports from previous years of cars being broken into as well.

Route 8, to the Velodrome and back, a good work out, lots of long hills,

We will be training on route 1 next Saturday the 25th and looping back for a 26km hike. Meeting at 0645 at Nimmel Lodge if anyone else is keen for a hike.?? Good hills training in this section... love to meet some more teams out on the track sucking it up :) :)

YOU ARE INVITED THE ANZAC DAY FIFTY DOLLAR FUNDRAISER Hello folks my name is Scott from team Koko da Loco and congratulations to you all for keeping the Kokoda spirit alive and taking part in the challenge to supporting the youth program. Team Koko da Loco would like to invite you all to our fundraising afternoon. Where:- It will be held at the SPRING HILL HOTEL. 100 Leichhardt Street, Spring Hill QLD. When:- 1300 hours, Wednesday the 25th of April 2012. How Much $50 Team Koko da Loco’s proud Sponsors the Spring Hill Hotel and Ace 8 poker, would like you have a relaxing afternoon Playing ‘Texas Holdem’ poker. Our Texas Holdem poker game will have add ons and re buys to ensure you have a good afternoons entertainment. The bar will look after your hydration requirements and some fuel will be provided for you to ensure you can go the distance during the afternoon. A couple of old “rock n rollers” are going to play for us as well ! To reserve your seat on the Texas Holdem tables ( these will go fast ) please show your expression of interest to my email s.vickary@bigpond.com or SECURE your seat, deposit $50 with your full name as the reference to bsb 484-799 account 162329107 Q) So what if I don’t know how to play ? A) Ace 8 poker has many players at each table to help new players learn how and guide you through what to do when you get dealt pocket aces. So if you can ramble 96km I am sure you can play poker. Q) So what if I REALLY don’t want to play poker ? A) You can sponsor a friend to play for you. My good friend Nick and Rod from Poker and Casino Events can also help you with your fundraising event but you will also have to get in quick ! Check out his website give him a nudge and a wink and tell him Scott sent you  www.pokercasinoevents.com.au RSVP to s.vickary@bigpond.com by the 11th of April Team Koko da Loco wishes you good luck all the best with your training and the challenge. SEE YOU IN THE FOREST !

Hi Claude - - Walkie Talkies, just confirming tomorrows walk. Trevor and I will meet you at the Enviro centre at 06:15 then drive to Pollies. Hopefully we can find the new fire trail to the enviro centre then do the loop. The creek crossings should be at a managable level. Give us a ring 0414 872070 if there is any probs. If anyone wants to join in, feel free. Richard

Hi everyone, Gluttons for punishment are doing a walk on Monday evening, meeting at Bellis Road at 4:15 pm sharp and walking up to Hellfire pass and back down again... feel free to tag along if you want: sbritton@goldcoast.qld.gov.au

Hi Walkie Talkies, Sports Action at Elanora stocks Injinji socks - a very good choice indeed. I used them in the KC last year and they did the job perfectly...regards, John from Four In Balance

Does anyone know where you get the injinji socks from on the GC - have tried Kathmandu and Anaconda and they don't stock them? Deb

Deb, You can go to this site and shop on line: http://www.activestride.com.au/p-319-injinji-ex-celerator-compression-toe-socks.aspx These look pretty good and if you like the compression style, that will help you with avoiding muscle soreness etc. Dusty

I got mine from the Nerang Camping Disposal Store on Spencer Road Nerang (big yellow building).

In-training at Park Road has them

Hi Teams, is there anyone doing training walks during the week/weekends at Mt Cootha who wouldn't mind a tag along?

We do some walks around there usually one a week. In fact we doing one tonight at about 5pm if interested. Usually involve walking/running up Powerful Owl trail and the Kokoda track.

Hi there Any other Toowoomba based teams out there? :-) Helen

Hi Emma, if the blister is bigger than a 20cent coin it needs to be lanced, if it's smaller leave it be. Either way I would dress it with a "Compeed" blister pad. These are great, like a second skin. Richard

Thanks, BMR. Chemist also suggested compeed and it has been a godsend. Made the diference between being able to keep training or just stopping until it was ok. Got a pair of injinji socks for valentine's day (who says romance it dead?? :)), so am looking forward ot trying the combo of socks and compeed out this weekend Emma J

Ok, need advice. Have blister from hell from a training walk I did on the weekend (5km hill climb, 5km descent). Options on the best way to treat it - let it toughen up or protect it? Open to all suggestions!! Emma J

Hi Emma J, I used to get bad blisters when walking (pulled out my first year with severe blistering) and since I've used injiji socks underneath my hiking socks.. It works a treat in preventing them! I also find that shoes that are slightly bigger than I would normally buy work well for me (this is just personal choice) as it allows a little bit of give when walking downhill without my toes jamming up at the front of the shoe...

Hi everyone, our team has been very fortunate to find a business willing to donate a large amount of precious dollars. I'd like to promote this business as an act of appreciatian for this contribution. Boutique Markets, located in King George Square, Brisbane City, on Sunday 26th February starting at 9am is a national boutique shopping event showcasing high quality handmade and limited edition goods by some of the best local talent in art, craft and design. Boutique Markets hold spectacular quarterly shopping events in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Perth and launch into Adelaide and Canberra in 2012. The retailers at Boutique Markets are handpicked to ensure exquisite products that are genuinely handmade or from a small production line. Our scheduled events are much anticipated and enjoy a loyal following of fashion, brand and quality conscious shoppers. The market promises a shopping event, a meeting point and a great morning out – far remote from predictable shopping centre and retail formats. So if you're looking for a gift for someone or a treat for yourself, come and check it out. I'll be there lending a hand to set up and pack down the market. So you could kill two birds with one stone if you need any advice about the challenge as this will be my forth year. I'm more than happy to help. I'll be the tall guy with the Kokoda shirt on. Let's support the businesses who support us. Thanks to all who read, Craig C

Hi Craig Great news on the sponsorship, congratulations! I will go to the Canberra one when it's on down here. Emma J

Hi Richard....blame me rabbits, thanks for the training walk on sunday, if you're up for it im keen for another walk on sunday.Claude.

Nice to meet you both out there on Sunday :)

Nice to meet your crew out there last week, hope to see you out there again. Happy Trails, claude.

Hi Claude, and to you also GPH 96ers and friends, hope everyone pulled up OK. Yes we (2 of us this time) are doing Pollies to enviro centre then the waterfall creek loop. 20km all up, we will need 2 cars. Meet at Enviro centre 06:15, drive around to Pollies, 20 mins. Start walking 06:45 ish. A second pair of shoes and socks may be required for the creeks. Give us a ring 07 38232070 or 0414 872070 if you need any further details. Anyone can join us.

hi richard, see you at enviro centre on sunday 6.15, i think it will be just myself, will update you numbers on saturday. hope the rain holds off. claude.

Hi everyone, if you are travelling along Murwillumbah-Nerang road to reach the Environment centre to do some training, I'd advise you to keep on eye on your speed. There are some large hills which will put you over the speed limit quite quickly to which you might find a person waiting for you sitting in a little sun cover at the bottom of the hill to take your picture. I don't intentionly speed and I don't encourage it but seeing what I saw really makes you question the real purpose of their goals. This happened as early as 8am on my way back from training in January.

I agree, it seems to be apparent revenue raising. But at the speed that some irresponsible motorcyclists (temporary Australians) travel along that road the sooner they get taken off the streets the safer we all are. I have also seen random breath and drug tests being taken before 07:00am on the corner of Pine mountain Rd with positive results.

Hi all, Did training route 4, directions very confusing at the hall. Much clearer and safer to walk along road, see and pass waste transfer station on right, then turn right into chesters road.

Agreed. Not a bad route to start on though (apart from the wet feet from the 8 creek crossings). We had a good workout today. Need to build up the fitness for the steeper stages now!

Yeah, with the growth of vegetation due to rain, the actual path from the hall through the grasses is confusing... even close to the event it's quite difficult to find. Best going along the road and then up Chesters road.

Hi Dusty, would love to chat to you about the whole KC experience and if I am training enough. feel like I am floundering at the moment, if you are willing to chat could you email me on val.eagar@gmail.com Hope everyone is having fun.

We are going to give route 5 ago next weekend (Sunday) if anyone wants to join us.

Perhaps...need to get to a doctors first...Don't want people to think I'm about to kneel over and die cos my asthma kicks in :-D

Or maybe route 8? Internal debate going on - whether to build progressively on routes like 4 and 8, or whether to give in to the lunatic in our team who wants to go straight to the steep climb of route 5.

Hey 96K, Some of our team would be keen for a walk on Sunday. Route 5 sounds good, but any other route would be good too... can you email me details (start time etc) to sbritton@goldcoast.qld.gov.au ?? Or just shoot me an email and we can discuss details if you like... i quite like training route 5, its one of the more enjoyable walks (despite the steep climb).

OK help needed. Gold Coast Springbrook road - past Polly's I think, theres a rest area on your left hand side with toilets and a picnic area (after you go over the bridge heading west) - I believe there is a track on the right hand side...can anyone tell me if this is the case and if it is part of the track?? Thanks Emma M

Hi ATL, that picnic area is a good start point for a hike. Park at the toilet block, cross the road and you'll notice a fence, cross this and veer left and on on up the hill. From the bottom to the top at the log, is 2.4 k's and rises about 480 m. So it's pretty steep. There is three sections so you can get relief from the steep climb. On the lday you hit this bad boy after 33 odd k's so you need to get your head around it early. I have done the KC 3 times but am support crew this year. Still happy to help others out. Dusty

Don't forget to turn right at what seems like the top... there is a sign there but I cant remember what it says. This will take you to the actual top and then down towards the environment center.

Feck :-p....made it about 200 metres and was seriously hoping it wasn't part of it lol...wasn't really prepared though, just thought would see what it was like. Can see the poles coming in handy as well as keeping the head down and not looking to see whats coming up haha

Hi Dusty, This is our first KC live in Gympie. Are you able to give me some guidance on training throughout the week please? :) Tan

OK. Lots of k's on lots of different terrains. Train in the boots/shoes you intend wearing in July. Start off dedicating about two hours during the week once then out for 4 hours on the weekend. Do some other stuff like bike riding, swimming or gym work. Always ensure you are hydrated and fuelled. I have a two liter water bladder and have a couple of water bottles with Endura but if you are comfy with Gateraide or similar use it. Take sweet and salty snacks plus something more substantial for the longer hikes. Every 90 minutes you need refueling under normal exercise - this is very strenuous so drop that to every 80 mins or less. Keep a record of times and distances ( very good motivational tool). Try and get down to the actual trail as often as possible - lots of teams will be happy to walk with you. Increase weekday gradually to about 3 hours and weekends to (eventually) 40-50 k walk by mid June then wind back slightly. Involve your support crew ( they should be able to take you to start points and meet you at finish points). My email is dusty08@optusnet.com.au for more info. Dusty :-)

For Gasp, for beginning training???????? are you serious, you are making me scared, and where is Velodrome? Route 8?

The Velodrome is the finish. Route 8 is the final section of the challenge (minus a little bit) that start on Beaudesert-Nerang Rd. I only meant good for beginning training cause the hills are not as steep or as long and the end is mainly flatish. The Velodrome is near the tennis courts at Nerang.

Hi All, We did Route 8 last weekend to the Velodrome and back (28km). Tip for young players....make sure you go OVER the big black tree/log on the path and don't turn right. Cuts off about 3km but takes you up the steepest hill ever! Nice walk though for beginning training on.

Thanks for the heads up, am doing this one next weekend (I think)...

We will be there again this Sunday - just doing it once though as short on time. Easy cause you don't have to drive into the mountains. Might see you out there.

hi gasp how long did that take you??

Hi Walkie Talkies. Last week going to the Velodrome and back it took us 5 hours but we missed about 3km cause we turned at the tree. We did the right way today (only one way) and it took us 2hrs 40min for the 14km.

hey blame me rabbits, would love to hook up on sunday for the walk to pollys. it will be myself at this stage, will confirm other team mates by saturday. where and what time will we meet up, looking forward to the walk.

We can meet at Pollies Kitchen, on Mudgeeraba/Springbrook Road at 06:45. Then we leave one car there and drive 6km around to the start at Mt Nimmel Lodge on Austinville Road. We will only do 2 of the hills, leaving the 3rd untill later in the training schedule. No sense in scaring people away, just ask "the beyond 18 project". I anticipate it will be, in parts, muddy, very slippery with possible leeches. Bring a change of clothes (for the drive home), repellant and poles if you have them. I will also find out on Saturday if anyone else from my team is coming. Will advise by chat/post of numbers. Richard

hey, rabbits, confirming the walk tomorrow. it will only be myself. other team mates have other commitments. see you at polly's at 6.45.

Same here, other team member doing overtime at work. See you in the morning