Michael Klim Takes On His Toughest Challenge Yet
You've Probably Heard the story of Sisyphus before. In Greek mythology the king of Ephra was punished for his deceit by being forced to push a boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back past him, repeating this action for eternity.
It’s perhaps not quite the metaphor former Olympic gold medallist Michael Klim and his trainer Dan Kennedy had in mind when they were looking for a challenge that would test both their physical and mental toughness. But in choosing tocomplete a 24-hour charity sled push for Beyond Blue they have set themselves a task that’s certainly Sisyphean in its enormity and its difficulty.
What about its futility you might ask? The truth is to complete it they may need to mix their mythic metaphors by drawing on Herculean strength and endurance.
“It symbolises what going through hardship can be like,” says Klim of the challenge in which he and Kennedy will take turns to push a sled weighing 80kg, 30m for 24 hours. Adds Kennedy: “With the sled push it’s you against the load, not only physically but mentally. It’s really symbolic of the dynamic around mental health issues.”
THE CHALLENGE
Klim and Kennedy will take turns to push an 80kg sled for 24 hours at trainer Dieter Roylance’s Meister Athlete Gym (meisterathlete.com.au) in Melbourne from 6pm Dec 15 to 6pm Dec 16. Along the way they’ll be joined by friends and volunteers who’ll jump in for 30min slots. All funds raised will go to Beyond Blue. Beyondblue.com.au
To read the full story, including Klim's training program, check out the January Issue, on sale Monday, December 4th.
