Detective’s marathon mission to scale Bluff Knoll 14 times non-stop for charity

Reaching the summit of Bluff Knoll once is hard enough for some, but this week, Albany detective Kylie Bell plans to do it 14 times non-stop.

With a background in ultra-marathon running, Detective Senior Constable Bell will tackle a gruelling personal challenge of hiking up and down Bluff Knoll 14 times in about 30 hours from Thursday morning.

She said doing the hike 14 times was equivalent to a “virtual climb” of Mt Everest, which stands at 8848m.

Det-Sen. Const. Bell is aiming to raise about $5000 in the process.

The 42-year-old completed her last block of training in August in the Birdy’s Backyard event at Lake Towerrinning, where she lasted 24 hours and ran 160km to finish in the top 15.

“I do a lot of ultra-marathons and since COVID-19, all the events have been cancelled,” Det. Sen. Const. Bell said.

“There are a lot of virtual races these days and that gave me the idea. I love Bluff Knoll; it’s beautiful and a really good challenge.”

She said the mental side of the hike would be the biggest challenge.

“The most repeats I’ve done is five when I was training for a Canada race last year and I did a couple of repeats last Tuesday,” she said. “I like to set a goal and challenge myself, and you never know until you try these things.

“It’s more the mental fitness with these things. It will be interesting to see how the body goes but I’ll try and get it done as quickly as I can. I also have to find that balance of speed going up and down and not tripping up in the dark.”

A member of WA Police for 18 years and a detective for the past 14, Det-Sen. Const. Bell is raising money for the Albany Women’s Centre and the Animal Protection Society WA. So far, she has raised $2720.

She will split the funds evenly between the two charities.

“Domestic violence has always been an issue but there is added stress in life right now and the women’s shelter do a really good job in the community,” she said.

You can follow her exploits through her Facebook page, Running Pink.

To donate, click here.