Members and guests may remember the Sydney Hobart walking challenge we launched all those months ago during the height of Sydney’s lockdown.

While Australians were ordered to stay home, we were able to get brief respite with a period of time per day allocated to keeping ourselves fit, healthy and active. And so, the Sydney Hobart walking challenge was born.

On Monday 4 May, in teams of up to 10 people and using the app ‘Strava’ to monitor progress, Members and guests set off to complete the 628-nautical-mile (1,163km) distance from Sydney to Hobart from the comfort of their own neighbourhood. Whether it was a 5K jog to the beach or a walk to the park with their pup, the teams recorded their every step and began to rack up the miles.

But one Member took the challenge to a whole new level, shouldering the task of walking the entire distance by himself! And this weekend, Tom O’Callaghan completed his epic voyage with the final leg walking from his home in Sydney’s north shore to the CYCA in Darling Point for a very well-deserved drink and meal!

Even more amazingly, Tom’s cumulative elapsed time was faster than that of Wayfarer‘s 1945 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Of course, Wayfarer‘s 11 days, 6 hours, 20 minutes has gone down in history as the slowest yacht to have ever completed the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Now we know it is possible to walk there faster as crews sometimes grumble when struck with light conditions!

Congratulations on your amazing journey Tom, we hope you enjoy our gift to you for achieving this amazing feat. It might be time for a new pair of walking shoes!