THE UPHILL CLIMB WITH 7 PEAKS IN 7 DAYS

By Kate Dzienis

Because pushing himself beyond the limits isn’t enough, AURA’s Dion Finocchiaro earlier this month participated in the 7 Peaks in 7 Days challenge, hoping to raise awareness and funds for SANDS Australia with a group of other runners in the state of Victoria.

SANDS Australia is a volunteer-based organisation providing individualised care from one bereaved parent to another following the death of a baby through miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death.

Finocchiaro’s colleague Jay Bosanquet and his wife Naomi lost their baby daughter 5 months into their pregnancy back in 2020, whilst Finocchiaro’s twin brother lost his girl soon after birth.

On a personal level, this has hit Finocchiaro hard and when Bosanquet came to him last year with the idea of running to raise funds and awareness, he was all in.

So together with mate Eric Groulier, the three of them decided to challenge themselves and complete 7 Peaks in 7 Days over the 2021 Easter period.

So what was the concept?

7 Peaks in 7 Days is originally a cycling challenge through Victoria’s High Country that takes cyclists up winding mountain roads, around steep turns and past spectacular views right to the top of seven Victorian Alpine Resorts.

Finocchiaro, Bosanquet and Groulier decided to do without the aid of bikes, and instead use their running shoes.

Here’s a look at the daily mileage and elevation.

• Day 1 (April 3)
  Up Mt Baw Baw, a total of 6.71km with a moving time of 1h 01m, elevation of 750m.
• Day 2 (April 4)
  Lake Mountain Road Climb, a total of 21.05km in 2h 09m, elevation of 982m.
• Day 3 (April 5)
  Mt Buller Tourists Road Climb, a total of 15.23km in 1h 42m, elevation of 933m.
• Day 4 (April 6)
  Mt Buffalo Road Climb, a total of 20.62km in 2h 2m, elevation of 1069m.
• Day 5 (April 7)
  Mt Hotham, a total of 30.36km in 3h 33m, elevation of 1471m.
• Day 6 (April 8)
  Falls Creek (Bogong High Plains Road Climb), a total of 29.01km in 2h 57m, elevation of 1297m
• Day 7 (April 9)
  Dinner Plain (Great Alpine Road Climb), a total of 42.79km in 4h 11m, elevation of 1442m.

Finocchiaro explained that although it was the three of them for the entire challenge, multiple runners joined them along the way, with Bosanquet’s wife Naomi heading up to the top of the each mountain to do the same distance but without the elevation.

“There were no marked paths, no bike lanes, just ‘country’ roads where some parts were not that safe but not terribly busy either,” he recaps.

“All 7 peaks were beautiful to run on with nice weather, great company, and brilliant views; some of the areas we were running through were fire effected, whilst others had a lot of recovery happening.

“Logistically doing the 7 peaks in 7 days was a bit challenging because there was a lot of driving every day to and from the start or finish lines, plus going back home or changing accommodation.”

When it came to the elevation, Finocchiaro said running uphill was a much better choice than heading downhill.

“I was expecting to be quite bad when it came to soreness and recovery from going uphill,” he said.

“But it was actually okay because the impact was not really there; it was more so that we were tired and had to walk a bit so when the walking came into play we were tired in the glutes and hips, but impact-wise we were able to keep going day after day.

“Look it was never easy, but because we all knew why we were doing it, all of us with reasons to keep us going, and the fact we were doing it together, it kept us motivated that way; the physical strain on the muscles is so much better when you’re going up.”

Finocchiaro actually did a 13km recovery run the day after 7 Peaks in 7 Days finished, but he said he was a write-off afterwards for 8 days.

“When we started, I wasn’t sore at all but that day I couldn’t head out for a run for just over a week,” he recalls.

“Despite that, we always made sure we were recovering well after each peak whether it was ensuring nutrition was on track, getting enough sleep, and stretching the muscles.”

Approximately $12,000 was raised between the 3 runners, with Finocchiaro shaving off his well-known beard off on April 12 once he reached $5000.

Finocchiaro is getting back into the swing of things with his running following his trip to the US for the Hoka Project Carbon X2 last year, and is yet to set his sights on an A Race. 

Pictured: Eric Groulier, Jay Bosanquet and Dion Finochiaro on Day 2 of 7 Peaks in 7 Days. Photograph – Supplied.