24 Hours of Heroes Australia is on again this April 22 to 23 April. We caught up with father of two Daniel Olford – Co-Owner of Nepean CrossFit and Co-Founder of 24 Hours of Heroes Australia along with Beau Whitton and Maxine Burnett to find out what drives their team to support our cause.
WHA: What inspired you to do the event?
DO: “Maxine and I own Nepean CrossFit and Beau came to us wanting to see if we could run a 24 Hour event. Maxine served in the Australia Air Force and currently serves in the Air Force Reserves and we as a group felt that raising money to help and awareness of veterans doing it tough was a very worthy cause. From there we started to put the event together, with the help of a group in Canada who had been running a 24 Hours of Heroes event since 2016.”
WHA: How many years have you run the event?
DO: “Three years, from 2021 to 2022 and now 2023.”
WHA: Why did you choose Wounded Heroes Australia as your charity for this event?
DO: “The 24 hours of Heroes concept as we know it originated in Canada. After we had decided to run an event like this, and after talking with the group in Canada ,we were put in contact with Wounded Heroes Australia. Immediately they stood out as a charity we wanted to support with the work they do in the veteran space.”
WHA: Where can people register to be part of your event?
DO: 2024 event registrations will open in early January 2024 at www.24hoursofheroes.com.au. The event takes place in gyms across the country. The event is open to anyone wishing to participate at the registered gyms.
WHA: How are you feeling about the event?
DO: “Proud and excited. There is a lot of work that goes into something as big as this, with lots of moving parts. Beau, Max, and I are all volunteers and have given lots of time and effort to bring this event to life. We have been lucky enough to visit all the participating gyms in the lead up to this year’s event. This has been a very rewarding experience both on a personal level and with regards to the event. There is lots of excitement surrounding the event out amongst the participating gym community.”
WHA: Tell us a bit about the event?
DO: “24 Hours of Heroes is run across 24 hours. It does what it says on the box. Teams of 6 will rotate across the 24 hours to complete all 24 workouts. These workouts have very special meaning behind each one. They have been created in honour of men and women who have lost their lives in the line of duty. Our event is always held in April around ANZAC Day to bring even more focus to remembering our fallen brothers and sisters. Check out our FAQs page for more info.
The aims of our event are to:
1) Raise funds and awareness for and of the work wounded heroes do
2) To honour men and women (and K9s) that have lost their lives serving their country or as a result of mental health related issues
3) To showcase community gyms as a place for our military to come and be part of particularly when they exit the military
To donate and follow 24 Hours of Heroes fundraising progress visit
To see all the 24 Hours of Heroes workout updates across the weekend, connect with them at Facebook or Instagram
Special thanks to all the gyms involved in this year’s event:
CrossFit Forster
Connective Fitness
CrossFit Byron
Evexia CrossFit & Therapies
CrossFit Tempered
CrossFit 786
Anchor Fitness HQ
CrossFit 4055
CrossFit Victus
Chronical ADC
GOPT
Mid Mountains CrossFit
Rec Gym Kirrawee
Allied Fitness
Strand Fitness Central
CrossFit Townsville
CrossFit Abode
RFX Athletic
CrossFit Northern Adelaide
CrossFit Fallen
Impact Fitness
CrossFit Muswellbrook
CrossFit TMA
Nepean CrossFit
If you would like to fundraise for Wounded Heroes Australia, reach out to us, we’d love to hear from you!
