PEOPLE used to question Scott McGraw’s sanity, but not any more.
“It seems there’s not really any argument — I suspect something is not quite right,” he concedes.
From 6am tomorrow, the Maidstone firefighter will be running up the 88 storeys to the top of Eureka Tower – not once, not the three times he ran up last year, but 31 times.
Each time he climbs from the ground floor to level 88 (the Skydeck) he will climb 1642 stairs, a height of 284 metres.
After a non-stop 31 trips, Mr McGraw will have climbed about 51,000 steps — the equivalent of standing on the summit of Mt Everest.
“I don’t think this has been done before in Australia or perhaps anywhere in the world,” he said. “You just have to keep going, not listen to your body.”
Mr McGraw spent last Friday in training, stringing together 10 repeats of the 1000 Step Walk in the Dandenong Ranges to “get some fatigue” into his legs.
The climb is expected to take up to 12 hours.
“I’ve timed it so I have a couple of days off work afterwards,” he said. “I’m not quite sure how I’ll be feeling after this.”
Rather than promise himself a reward for his efforts, Mr McGraw will be spurred along in the knowledge that every step will help raise money for the Eureka Climb charity partners Interplast and White Lion.
“The main purpose of the run is to raise awareness and funding for the charities, so it would be great if people can get on board with sponsorship.”
Whitelion is a non-profit community organisation that provides youth mentoring, employment and role modelling. Interplast Australia and New Zealand sends plastic surgeons to Asia Pacific nations to provide free surgical treatment for patients who cannot afford surgery.
Mr McGraw will be racing his way back to the top in the annual Eureka Climb on November 18, hoping to better his fifth-place finish in the ‘elite’ category last year.
He will back it all up again in full breathing apparatus, boots and protective gear weighing 23 kilograms as part of an MFB team in the Emergency Services Challenge, in which his team is the defending champion.
To follow his journey or sponsor Mr McGraw, visit facebook.com/eurekaclimb or eurekaclimb.com.au
