‘I fell apart’: Carrie Bickmore’s emotional life update

Carrie Bickmore has given listeners an update as she shared the results of a recent emotional journey she made.

Carrie Bickmore fought back tears on her radio show on Tuesday as she shared the results of a recent emotional journey she made.

The star recently completed what’s considering one of the world’s toughest half-marathons, running along a section of the Great Wall of China.

She had been open with listeners on the Hit Network’s Carrie & Tommy show that she was nervous she wouldn’t finish the gruelling 21km course – but Bickmore returned to the studio with good news.

“It was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done in my entire life. There was a point where I didn’t think I would be finishing it because it was so hard,” she told co-host Tommy Little, before revealing that she did in fact complete the course.

Bickmore confessed she’d worried she wouldn’t finish the run.

The course: Not your average fun run.

Bickmore was competing in the marathon to raise money for a cause close to her heart: Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer charity.

The presenter, who lost her first husband Greg Lange to brain cancer in 2010, ran the Great Wall in honour of Donna Nottage, who died aged 28 in March from the same illness. She left behind a husband, Sean, who joined Carrie on the run, as well as two young sons.

She said news of Nottage’s death had been “devastating,” as she had worked closely with Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer since being diagnoses seven years ago.

“I want to stop those families that get torn apart by brain cancer, it’s been a mission of mine for a long time,” Bickmore said.

More stairs – and sweltering 35c conditions.

Bickmore says she “fell apart” at about the 15km mark.

The star said seeing the Great Wall for the first time had been an “incredible” experience – until reality set in and she realised she then had to run 21km of its steep, stair-filled track.

“The first five, six kilometres of it is just running up a hill, so just straight up a hill to get to the Wall. Getting to the Wall, you’re overwhelmed by the beauty of it, but also by the enormous feat ahead, it was mind-blowingly hard,” she said.

“You start getting dehydrated, and you start getting shaky.”

Bickmore said she “fell apart” at the 15km mark, as others in her team started to falter too – among them Sean, struggling in the 35-degree heat.

“The locals were beautiful; they gave us sponges to sponge down. We went across the finish line, and it was just incredible. For so many ways.”

Carrie (left) and her fellow runners.

She said the most emotional part of the run was the connection with other runners, competing from all over the world, many of whom asked what cause she and Sean were running for.

“Everyone wants to know why we’re ‘doing it for Donna’, and so we were talking to everyone about that,” she said, fighting back tears.

“Everyone was just so wonderful to each other. It was like a spiritual journey – I just loved it.”

So much so, Bickmore said she was keen to return and run the course again.

“I think we should all go back next year. We should take everyone listening and do it again,” she said – although co-host Tommy Little was less convinced: “It sounds far too hard for me, but Carrie we’re very proud of you,” he told her.

The goal of the run was to raise $1 million for brain cancer, with the tally currently sitting at around $166,000. Donations are still open.

Since 2015, Bickmore’s charity has raised more than $22 million for brain cancer research.

Originally published as ‘I fell apart’: Carrie Bickmore’s emotional life update