Emily Chapman Laing
A 71-year-old woman has completed an inspirational feat, travelling 500km on foot in 12 days.
Paula Porter walked from Cranbourne to Mallacoota earlier this month.
She left Cranbourne on 3 March and arrived in Mallacoota on 15 March, two days earlier than anticipated.
Followers of her journey have called Paula an “inspiration”.
But Paula said she is just an ordinary person.
“People are saying, you’re amazing, you’re this and that, but I’m not any of those things,” Paula said.
“I’m an average person who decided to get fit and do something.
“It’s nothing miraculous. I’m just an ordinary person.
“And that’s the point I’m trying to make.”
Paula has her share of health battles, with two artificial knees, a spinal fusion and diabetes.
But these things didn’t stop her from covering 40km each day.
“It was really awesome,” Paula said.
“But I have to say, it was very, very challenging.”
Paula spent four months in the gym preparing her body for the trek.
The challenge was inspired by the sedentary behaviour she sees overtaking people in her age bracket.
Paula was determined to show older people can be active and achieve athletic goals.
“I’ve noticed with a lot of my friends that once they’ve turned 70, they sort of curl up their toes,” she said.
But the trek did come with its challenges.
“I had no idea the amount of heat that radiates off of bitumen,” Paula said.
“There were days where I just thought, I can’t do this anymore.”
The lack of toilets also led to some choice moments for Paula.
“I thought no one could see me,” she said.
“But I hadn’t looked up and there was a massive hill.
“I was in full view of all of the traffic, there were lots of toots and things like that.”
Paula said a lot of the roads were quite dangerous.
“In a lot of cases, I only had half a metre from where the traffic was passing.
“So that’s fairly nerve-racking at times.”
As a safety precaution, she began taking the rail trails.
It was here Paula found some of the most beautiful views for her journey.
“It was absolutely beautiful. I saw lyrebirds and fantastic wildlife.”
Paula said the further into Gippsland she went, the less wildlife she saw.
“The lack of wildlife and birds really hit after the fires.”
Despite the immense distance covered, Paula’s only injury was a blister.
“I cut holes in my runners so that I could keep going,” she said.
Paula said she was most amazed by the power of the mind.
“I never realised I was as strong and determined as I actually am.
“You just make yourself keep going.”
Along the way, Paula had many encounters with strangers.
Some drivers would pull over to check if she was ok.
“They probably thought I was old and maybe had slight dementia.”
Paula was on the local radio, and soon people were recognising her.
“I had people coming out of their houses on hot days to give me icypoles,” she said.
Paula also ran into others with the same dedication to an active lifestyle.
“I met really interesting and like-minded people that don’t want to give in to old age and become lazy,” she said.
Paula was helped along by a girlfriend in the first week and a long-time friend in the second week.
The helpers met up with Paula at her nightly camp spots.
In the caravan, Paula was able to recuperate and attend to a few hours of work.
Paula expected she would be too exhausted for work and would use her rest time to nap.
However, Paula found she was vibrating with energy.
“Each break, you’re on a bit of a high because you’ve accomplished another 10km.”
Paula’s experience has inspired her to engage others.
She has been asked to talk at schools and a football club about her experience.
Paula would love to bring this movement into local retirement homes and aged care facilities.
“I’m open to speaking to people about how to gently get fit,” she said.
“Without having to use private instructors.”
Paula said she is looking forward to starting a walking group in the area.
“Mentally you feel better, physically you feel better.”
