We protect what we love

FRIDAY . 12. 08. 22 .

My name is Lauren Beels, one of the newest board members at For Wild Places and I'm happy to be here and hosting this week’s FWP newsletter.

I live in Orange in the Central West of New South Wales with my husband, two dogs & menagerie of other animals. I am fortunate to have the beautiful Ghaanha-bula (Mount Canobolas) as my local trail, a place of significant cultural heritage for the traditional owners of the land, the Wiradjuri nation. In addition to this, the mountain is a site of significant geological interest as it is in fact an extinct central shield volcano & part of the Inland Hotspot Track.

I have only been running for the last eight years, having decided to do something about my health & fitness when I turned 30. With a few road half marathons under my belt signed up randomly for the 22km at Ultra Trail Australia in 2017. I had done zero research on the course, didn’t own trail shoes & took my usual nutrition for a road half. I won’t share the gory details but five hours later, dragging myself over the finish line I swore never again. Fast forward 12 months, I decided to go back with some proper training under my belt & ran the 22km again. I had the most magical day in the mountains & that was it. I was hooked. 

I work as a full time medical specialist and like all healthcare professionals the last couple of years have been especially tough. My time on the trails has been the one thing to keep my head clear, my heart full & my soul at peace. I am incredibly grateful to have joined the For Wild Places board this year & proud of the amazing work this team do to keep our wild places wild.

A little of round up of things to that I've been into lately:

WHAT I’M READING

“Emotional Female” by Dr Yumiko Kadota

As a fellow woman in medicine, there are so many aspects of this book that I recognise, both in myself & in the system that I work for. Congratulations to Dr Kadota on speaking out & finding a way through the other side.

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO

“The Pants of Perspective” Anna Duff

I like listening to audiobooks whilst out for long runs or hikes. I’ve only just started this one but absolutely loving it so far. Looking forward to spending some more time in New Zealand next year when we head over for the Tarawera Ultra in Rotorua.

WHAT I'M WATCHING

“The Hundred Miler’ by Broaden 

This independent movie came out two years ago & has had almost 300,000 views now on YouTube. It gives me goosebumps every time & highlights just how nuts this crazy sport of ultra-running is. I will watch this every time I’ve set myself a ridiculous goal as it’s guaranteed to get my training mojo flowing.

WHO I’M SUPPORTING

 Doctors for the Environment Australia (DEA)

This is an amazing not-for-profit organisation of medical professionals in Australia solely focused on protecting health through care of the environment. Their IDEA22 conference is coming up in September which I am hoping to attend.

WHAT I'M DOING

 Blue Mountains Gutsy Challenge 2022

I've been super busy of late with several passion projects outside of work. In October I will be leading a team on a fundraising trek in one of my favourite places, the Blue Mountains National Park. Monies raised through our efforts will go directly towards funding ongoing cancer research for gastrointestinal cancers. 

There are still some spaces left on my team for anyone interested……

Blue Mountains Gutsy Challenge 2022 - GI Cancer

The Inaugural Lonely Mountain Ultra October 2022

Orange, NSW 

I have also been working with an amazing team of local trail runners who came together late last year with the idea of starting up a new trail running festival right here on Orange. Our inaugural event will be taking place on 15/16 October on the beautiful Ghaanha-bula.

AWE-GUST

Share your special moments with us!

To be involved, simply tag @forwildplaces in your social media posts and we'll announce the weekly winners each Friday. Prizes include sweet as Fractel 'Pilliga' hats, cosy ioMerino tees & a FWP Annual Membership!

🤗 💛 🤗

We hope you can take some time to get outside this weekend, connect with friends, family and nature, and continue to keep up the fight to protect and celebrate our wonderful wild places.

And, as always, thank you for taking the time to support wild places!

Lauren & the For Wild Places team

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We acknowledge the the First Nations people who have been custodians of land, waters and culture for tens of thousands of years. We pay respects to First Nations Elders past, present and emerging.

This email was written on Wiradjuri lands. To these people, we pay our respects.

Always was, always will be.