Mr Wallace, originally from Gore, used the event to raise money for Gumboot Friday, an initiative of Mike King’s I Am Hope Foundation.
Having had personal experience with bullying and traumatic incidents, Mr Wallace said he knew how critical the need was for immediate and effective mental health initiatives.
Ultimately, Mr Wallace — and his supporters — completed 257 laps of the luge track, which worked out to be about 200km in the cart during the challenge, while he also had to contend with the elements, including snow on Saturday morning.
His game plan included using a pillow from the get-go — “the other boys learnt pretty quickly”, he quipped, and said Crowne Plaza supplied a couple of extra pillows to help them out.
He was also grateful for the support of Skyline Queenstown
By yesterday afternoon, Mr Wallace had raised just over $10,000 on his Givealittle page for the charity, from a $100,000 goal.
“I’d like to have another zero in [the amount raised], but I always knew $100,000 would be a big ask.”
He had plans to do the challenge again next year, possibly at Skyline’s Rotorua luge.
tracey.roxburgh@odt.co.nz
