Coastrek, Australia’s iconic team hiking challenge, has raised $3.1 million for the Heart Foundation, to help end heart disease and close the gender gap in heart health for women in Australia.
Throughout 2024, 8,000 trekkers hiked more than 230,000 kilometres across six Coastrek events along some of Australia’s most spectacular coastal trails, supported by over 42,000 donations from friends, family and colleagues. Together with funds raised in 2023, the two-year partnership with the Heart Foundation has successfully raised over $7 million.
With its focus on training, preparation and connection in the outdoors with all event routes utilising coastal - and often remote - trails, Coastrek is both a fitness and fundraising challenge, says Di Westaway OAM, Coastrek Founder:
“Coastrek fosters connection – with friends, with nature and the community – in fact, it’s essential. You train as a team for 12 weeks and take on the 20 to 50 kilometre event day hiking challenge together, creating healthy habits and long lasting benefits beyond the finish line while supporting a valuable cause and improving heart health for women and for many Australians,” says Westaway.
Walking is also one of the easiest ways to lower the risk of heart disease. Just 2.5 hours of walking per week – or 21 minutes a day – can help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke by 35%. The Coastrek 12-week training program outlines an average of 2.5–5 hours of exercise per week – more than meeting the minimum requirement to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The $3.1 million raised by trekkers this year will help support vital life-saving research and programs to combat heart disease – the leading cause of death in Australia. This includes:
- Supporting funding offers to researchers like Prof Rebecca Ritchie and Dr Ashley Meakin who are focusing on women's specific factors in the management of heart failure and managing maternal and foetal cardiovascular risk.
- Heart Foundation support of the International Research Challenge on Women’s Cardiovascular Health, which will fund a world-class international research program over five years to address areas of unmet clinical need within women’s cardiovascular health.
- Supporting representation of female leadership in the sector by championing 36 female research fellows undertaking a broad scope of research to improve heart health for all Australians. This accounts for 54% of the awards offered in 2024.
- Supporting programs to help end Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) in remote communities – a preventable disease particularly prevalent amongst First Nations women and girls – such as the continued roll-out of the Remote Laundry Project(1), and welcoming new Champions to the Champions4Change research program.
While everyone is welcome to take part in Coastrek, it remains wildly popular with women and is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of women in Australia.
Currently, one woman dies from heart disease in Australia nearly every hour – on average that’s 20 a day and around 7,000 women per year.
Heart Foundation CEO David Lloyd - who participated in all Coastrek events around Australia - thanks Coastrek and its community for their tremendous support:
“We are incredibly grateful to the Coastrek team and its loyal army of Trekkers for their funding support, which is helping to address the critical challenges facing women when it comes to heart disease.
“Heart disease continues to be a leading cause of death for women in Australia and funds raised by Trekkers has played a key role in supporting more research by women and about women.
“The more we understand about the female experience of heart disease, the sooner and better we can address this heart health inequity.”
Coastrek events took place in Sydney, Canberra, the Mornington Peninsula, the Sunshine Coast, the Fleurieu Peninsula and Margaret River - creating awareness across the country about the benefits of walking in nature for improved health and overall wellbeing.
(1) in partnership with the Aboriginal Investment Group
Coastrek and Heart Foundation teams at Coastrek Margaret River 2024
