Brittany is taking on her eleventh 7 Bridges Walk in a row

For the eleventh year in a row, Brittany Austin will be taking on 7 Bridges Walk, a 28km walking challenge to raise money for people affected by cancer.

“When I did my first one in 2012, my grandfather was battling liver and stomach cancer at the time, my rottweiler had bone cancer, and a few of our relatives and friends had been diagnosed with cancer,” Brittany recalls.

“My best friend was in a motorbike accident, and I really wanted to do something to support other people.”

Together with her mum and cousins, Brittany completed her first walk.

“For my mum to go out and walk 28km was a big thing, but she did it,” she says.

Since then, it has become an annual tradition for Brittany and her team, Austin Powers. Over the years, the group has grown quite big with Britt’s mum in charge of getting everyone together. They pick a team colour each year and wear matching outfits to get into the theme of it. They haven’t missed a year, including walking during the two virtual years in 2020 and 2021, completing the walk on their own and continuing their fundraising.

“I was determined not to miss a year, so I continued to raise funds and walk in honour of the people I care about, even if we did get lost once or twice”

“Everyone had been impacted by cancer – a few people in our team had either beaten cancer or were still fighting cancer,” Brittany says.

“I’ve had a lot of people who’ve been impacted by cancer. I enjoy doing the walk with my mum and family and friends. It’s the walk where we talk about those people we’ve lost to cancer or who are going through cancer. We use it as a fun day to remember everyone.

“It’s one hard day for us, but for people going through cancer it’s much longer.”

This year we will be celebrating and honouring our dear friend Maxine. She’s been front of mind in our fundraising since she was diagnosed with bowel cancer. September would have been her 60th Birthday, but sadly she passed away in April this year.

Uniting with the community

A highlight of the walk for Brittany is seeing the local community unite for a good cause.

“One of my favourite parts about 7 Bridges Walk is the community that comes with it, you’re all working together for the same thing, and the amount of friends you make on the walk.”

Brittany encourages everyone who is taking on 7 Bridges Walk to remember why they are doing it.

“You’ll get halfway and you might be tired, but just keep thinking about the people,” she says.

“I’ll be listening to inspiring podcasts and stories – there’s so many inspiring stories out there. And hopefully, once people get through that, it’ll also inspire them on their own exercise journey.” Join Brittany in taking on the 7 Bridges Walk and help raise funds for people impacted by cancer. Conquer 28km on Sunday, 22 October 2023 .