Students stride out on Kokoda Challenge

Students and teachers from Caboolture East State School rose to an 18km ‘challenge’ at the weekend.

In teams, 15 students and three teachers took on the Brisbane Kokoda Challenge, in the D’Aguilar National Park.

Weeks of training paid off over the undulating course and raised around $2500 for the foundation, which runs programs to help engage and inspire teenagers.

Most of Caboolture East’s entrants had not covered such a distance or terrain before, but all finished a course, made slippery and muddy by rain, in around three-and-a-half hours.

All were greeted by cheers from waiting crowds as they crossed the finishing line.

The environmental factors also helped give students an insight into the challenges faced by diggers on the real Kokoda Track during World War II.