When you’re exhausted, your feet are hurting, and your muscles are screaming “Stop!” it’s hard to resist the desire to collapse in a heap on the ground and take a rest.
But when you’ve got a job to do, a goal to complete, and you know you’re cold and wet because it’s been raining for the last three hours, you keep going, by focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. And another. And another.
Last week, over 1350 women and men completed the Coastrek Margaret River Challenge. Our Happy Thrivers team, comprising myself along with others from my regular bush walking group and members of the WA Lifestyle Medicine group, all finished! We were recognisable by our multicoloured tutus that not only showed we were part of a team, but also helped us to find each other along the route.
We were on a mission, walking to raise much-needed funds for Beyond Blue’s national telephone counselling service, which is currently operating at capacity.
Walking.
It’s such a simple activity we do every day, without even thinking about it.
It’s also an essential activity to maintain our physical fitness.
Add in an extra element, walking in nature, and you’ve unlocked an activity that can have a profound effect on your physical health – improving cardiovascular health, your mental health – improving mood and mental well-being and social health – restoring your sense of connection to self, the environment and to others.
It’s associated with less risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, less loneliness, a stronger immune system and greater happiness.
In lifestyle medicine we talk about the six pillars of well-being: healthy eating, sufficient physical activity, restorative sleep, effective stress management, positive social relationships and avoiding risky substances (smoking and alcohol).
The seventh pillar, Time with Nature, impacts all of these.
Nature provides us with food. Consuming a wide variety of different foods each day provides us with all the essential nutrients we need for a healthy body and mind.
Nature provides us an excellent platform to undertake all kinds of physical activity in green or blue spaces.
Nature improves our sleep pattern. Exposure to early morning light and spending time outdoors has been shown to improve the quality and duration of sleep.
Nature helps alleviate stress. Stepping outside even for a few minutes, leads to lower cortisol levels, lower blood pressure and imbues a sense of calm.
Which is why when I’m working with someone who is going through a hard time, struggling to cope, exhausted from having to juggle too many balls simultaneously, I’ll ask if they’d be willing to spend even a small amount of time outside, to see if it helps.
Because time and again, I find it does.
“Too simple”, you may say.
Maybe.
But isn’t it true that it’s often the smallest things we change that can have the most profound impact on our lives?
If you’re someone who works long hours, is constantly busy, on the go from morning to night with always more on your to-do list, when was the last time you stepped outside, to notice the green world around you, to look up at the clouds as they drift across the sky, to marvel at the buds appearing on the trees and listen to the birds chirping?
It’s not that you can’t do these things.
Rather, it’s that we get too caught up in our bubble of busyness, so we don’t remember how good it feels to have the warm sunshine on your skin, to listen to the rain or to watch a beautiful sunset, and we don’t schedule it into our diary.
We don’t make it a priority.
We miss the opportunity to do something good for ourselves.
Sometimes it’s good to have a reminder of what helps us flourish.
Walking in nature for Coastrek is something I see as vitally important for the walkers themselves as much as the funds raised for good causes. It’s why I’m proud to be an Ambassador for the WA event.
Di Westaway OAM is the Founder of Wild Women on Top and started the Coastrek hiking challenge back 17 years ago after realising that being fit and healthy is far more than having to go to the gym. Fitness, according to Di, is the freedom to experience time with nature in beautiful places, that, when shared with others can make you ridiculously happy, even if it’s been raining.
We were lucky enough to have Di at the Margaret River event this year, cheering us all on, inspiring each and every one of us to do our best and get to that finish line.
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- Jenny, Di Westaway, and Nadia Mitsopoulos from 720ABC radio
Along the walk, I heard many stories shared by women about why they were doing this.
- Some were doing it because they had had mental health challenges themselves and wanted to do something to help others.
- Some were walking because they had lost a family member to suicide and were doing it to commemorate their life.
- Some were doing it because like me, they love being outside spending time in a beautiful environment (and yes, the Cape-to-Cape trail is stunning) and wanted to join in the fun while contributing to a worthy cause.
Di is a pioneer and has massively positively impacted the lives of many busy women who often miss out on doing something just for themselves, in the company of others, and that takes us to beautiful places that feed our soul.
She recognises this ticks all the boxes for well-being.
She is also a staunch advocate for lifestyle as medicine and recently (fanfare please) completed her Masters in Lifestyle Medicine at Avondale University. Woo Hoo!
Key points from a paper she co-authored and published in the British Ecological Society Journal; People and Nature in Oct 2025 that sought evaluate the benefit of unstructured walks in natural bushland, forests and parks included,
- Adhering to a 12-week program of regular walks in nature resulted in a sustained behavioural change. Participants kept walking regularly after the end of the program.
- The nature-based program improved the mental well-being of participants during the program and for at least three months afterwards. The time with nature being the critical piece leading to the highest increase in mental health benefits (which were longer lasting) compared to controls.
- The mean economic benefit per participant was estimated at cAU$4000. The researchers concluded that “the total economic contribution via mental health, adjusted for socio-economic and demographic factors, participation patterns, post-program fade-out and the national number of participants each year, is cAU$20 million a year.”
In other words, Coastrekkers who undertake a 12-week training program before embarking on that long coastal walk of 20, 35 or 50km embed a healthy lifestyle habit of walking in nature that lasts.
If you’re looking for a way to get fitter and do something that helps others, there’s a #Coastrek walk waiting for you.
This year, the Margaret River event raised $747k – not bad for a big walk!
Collectively, Coastrek events have raised $56 million over the years. Knowing that every walker has contributed to this extraordinary tally, it’s something we can all be seriously proud of.
Getting out into nature doesn’t have to be a walk either.
You can sit, stand, jog, run, cycle, swim, play tiddlywinks, read or simply enjoy being out in the fresh air.
If getting out is tricky, you can also invite nature in – open up a window, buy some indoor plants, watch a nature doco, go VR, or furnish your home or office with natural elements like wood and stone.
Move over 10,000 Steps. The new way to walk is for longer.
New research has shown how walking for longer distances is one of the best things we can do for our health, including our heart health.
Rather than worrying about getting our steps in, it turns out that walking for 10-15 minutes rather than shorter bursts can reduce your risk of developing cardiovascular disease by two thirds!
Taking a longer uninterrupted walk is what counts. Even if you’re normally physically inactive.
All that’s required are some comfortable walking shoes and the decision to step outside for a walk at a pace that feels comfortable and steady for you.
This study involved 33,560 adults between the ages of 40 and 79 who typically walked less than 8000 steps a day and followed them over an 8-year period.
The biggest gains were made in those who were the least physically active, meaning you don’t need to be an athlete or go to the gym to benefit.
And don’t forget to unplug before you go. Switch off your phone or turn to silent. Ditch the ear pods and drink in the beauty of everything nature has to offer.
How will you schedule in a short walk outside every day to boost your physical and mental health?
If feeling more energised and less stressed is something that appeals to you, I’m opening the doors to Your Summer Challenge in December. More info coming soon.
