Some major names in Sydney banking and commerce will begin doing themselves untold physical damage on Thursday evening as they set off on 100 kilometres of mountain biking, kayaking and off-road running for the Smith Family Challenge.

The event, whose base camp is at Sussex Inlet on the New South Wales south coast, has raised $7 million since 2008 and more than $1 million this year, all to provide educational resources to disadvantaged children. You’re never too young to read Den of Thieves or The Bonfire of the Vanities.