IN TWO WEEKS, The Road Less Travelled Expedition Team (RLT), a Sydney based, self-titled group of soft-handed, highly ordinary office workers, will fly to Hawaii to take part in the Moloka’i Hoe, the jewel in the crown of the world outrigger canoeing circuit.
Established in 1952, the Molokaʻi Hoe is the oldest and most prestigious long-distance outrigger race in the world. The race will start at Hale O Lono Harbour on the island of Moloka’i and travel across 65km of famously treacherous ocean, affectionately known as the “Channel of Bones”, to finish in Waikiki on Oahu. The world championship event features more than 100 crews from across the globe, most of which will have trained for years, if not decades, for a chance to cross the Kaiwi Channel and write their names into waterman folklore.
For the boys of The Road Less Travelled, the first time they sat in an outrigger canoe was 12 months ago.
To understand the why, you have to go back a few years.
What started as a conversation in 2018 between a few mates in a Sydney pub became a million-dollar ambition to take on some of the world’s toughest adventures in support of mental health research.
Image: RLT
“We all knew we wanted to do something,” says RLT co-founder Martin Fletcher, 43, who is CEO of Camp IV, a mindset and performance consultancy. “Most of us had hit our mid-30s. Careers, families etc. Life was ticking along, but we all had a sense that it was lacking a bit of a spark. We felt like we had something more to give and wanted to see what we were capable of.”
The formula was as simple as it was stupid. Find a challenge containing some combination of the words “hardest”, “longest”, “steepest”, “coldest” or “hottest”… and then attempt it. Usually with little to no experience in the chosen discipline.
Seven years and nearly $650,000 later, the boys have swum the Rottnest Channel, rowed 5,000km unsupported across the Atlantic Ocean, setting an Australian record in the process, completed the Marathon des Sables, a gruelling 252km ultramarathon across the Sahara Desert, as well as taking on a number of smaller challenges here in Australia.
Training for these events definitely has its challenges.
“We all have demanding jobs and families, so fitting training around that is no mean feat,” says Cameron Mostyn, 40, who is Head of Finance at Blackmores and another of RLT’s co-founders. “We are all, for the most part, pretty fit guys who carry a good base throughout the year. But technically speaking, we start each challenge as amateurs, so the learning curve is steep and time-consuming. None of us had touched an oar before signing up for the Atlantic row. And the furthest most of us had run before the Sahara Desert was completing the City2Surf!
Image: RLT
“But the pros overwhelmingly outweigh the cons. There is sacrifice, but it doesn’t feel like it. It can sometimes be hard to see, but there’s always more margin in our lives than we realise. I would often feel overwhelmed by the amount on my plate, but still doomscroll for hours or spend weeks bingeing TV shows. I also think I operate more slowly and inefficiently if I’m feeling disengaged or uninspired.
“It definitely helps to have understanding partners and families. They share in the journey and are a big part of it. They are an important part of the team, acting as shore managers, overseeing logistics, PR, media partnerships, fundraising and social media and I think we are all slightly better humans for the experience. There is something about being part of a group, training towards an audacious shared goal that ignites something within. When you set out to achieve something as a team, there’s something about that journey that is incredibly powerful. And that translates into your family life, your ability to parent, to be a partner, a mate…”
The team also talks about the knock-on effect in their careers.
“It sounds counterintuitive, as people might assume that a bigger load outside of work would mean that careers suffer,” adds Fletcher. “But we have found the opposite. Members of the team have spoken about higher levels of resilience, an increased ability to deal with pressure and a newfound passion and enthusiasm that is palpably felt by those around them, which in turn has led to promotions, better performance or new business ventures.
“Consistently putting yourself back into beginner mode is also a highly useful byproduct of adventure. Neuroplasticity is often overlooked. Continually learning new skills challenges the brain, encourages flexibility of thought and can help you approach situations from viewpoints you might not otherwise have considered.”
Training, nutrition and recovery belong in that picture too. Preparing for prolonged effort means considering how to eat and drink on the water, how supplies will be accessed and how rest fits around training. These practical questions deserve as much attention as distance and pace.
“These are less races and more expeditions,” says Mostyn. “It becomes harder to simply ‘white-knuckle’ your way through. You need to assess how your body is going to hold up over a longer time frame, and that takes thought and planning.
“What is great is that training for an ultramarathon is obviously very different to training for a paddle event. That range forces you to balance your training and think creatively. A lot of the boys have, at some point, been forced away from the free weights and into Pilates and yoga studios!
“But we have a spectrum of fitness in the team. Elite athletes who place highly in HYROX events and former competitive swimmers, right down to genuine ‘middle-of-the-packers’. There is zero physical barrier to entry.”
And that’s really the point. The team has always placed way more emphasis on the mental than the physical, with results that suggest there may be something in that philosophy. The crew was able to row 5,000km across the Atlantic in under 35 days, setting an Australian record and one of the quickest crossings recorded for a journey that typically takes 45-55 days.
“Grinding your way through a marathon is one thing,” says Mostyn. “But preparing yourself for 35 days at sea in a rowing boat the size of a sofa is another. That requires a lot of mental fitness.”
And mental fitness is something the boys discuss frequently. As ambassadors for the Black Dog Institute, the partnership is something they are incredibly proud of, and the goal of raising one million dollars has been part of the mission from the very beginning.
“Mental health touches every family, friendship group and workplace in some way, and we wanted the challenges we took on to stand for something bigger than simply testing ourselves,” says Fletcher. “Raising money for research is obviously a huge part of that, but so is using adventure to start conversations about how we can all live healthier, more connected and mentally fit lives.
Image: RLT
“For us, mental fitness means strengthening ourselves so that we can live mentally healthy, fulfilled lives. It means taking action on the things within our control to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and poor mental health. Mood follows action. In the same way we might go to the gym to strengthen our bodies and reduce the risk of injury, we believe there are things we can proactively do to strengthen and protect our mental health.
“And over the years, we’ve discovered that many of them are remarkably simple and are found simply through being part of the team: having strong relationships, community, purpose, perspective, challenge, time outside, laughter and having something in the diary outside of the daily routine that makes us feel alive.
“The project started as a fun and slightly ambitious goal. But over time we have realised that, more than the challenges and the adventure, what we’ve created is a group that reminds us that we are all capable of so much more. That every now and again it’s necessary to try to find the edge of the map. To do something that sets your soul on fire. And that almost everything worth doing is better when it’s done together…”
So what’s next for the boys?
After returning from Hawaii, they will set their sights on a world record attempt back here in Australia for the longest continual paddle in an outrigger canoe.
You can follow their journey on Instagram and donate to their campaign in support of the Black Dog Institute, here.
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