News from the Room
We’re only a couple of months out from Scooting for Hope, the 24-hour Guinness World Record attempt where I’ll ride more than 270 km on a push scooter to raise money for the Royal Women’s Hospital. With funds going directly to the Pregnancy After Loss service, which will support parents navigating pregnancy after miscarriage, stillbirth, or baby loss.
I can now confirm that if we reach the $100,000 target, it will sustain the service for five years. That’s five years of specialised care for families who desperately need it. It also gives the service enough time to prove its value, becoming a model for other hospitals who want to create something similar.
We’ve been planning this since the start of the year, but this week it hit me just how important it really is.
In a meeting with the hospital team, the director of the birth centre shared a story. She’d been with a couple who had lost their baby and were returning for a subsequent pregnancy. When the director mentioned the work I was doing, the dad broke down in tears. Not because of me, but because he felt seen. For the first time, he realised he wasn’t completely alone in his grief.
That moment is exactly why I’m doing this. Grief can feel like silence. Like a weight you carry that no one else notices. But when someone recognises that pain and says, I see you, it makes a difference.
I walked away grateful. Grateful that I get the chance to do this, to raise funds, to push for services that give families compassion as well as care.
Scooting for Hope has always been about more than the kilometres. It’s about connection. It’s about making sure that families walking this hard road know they’re not walking it alone.
So how you can help?
Donate today and help us reach the $100,000 target.
Share this with your workplace or organisation, corporate and community donations can take us further, faster, and keep this service running for years.
Every contribution makes a difference, but collective support is how we’ll truly change the future for families after loss.
SCOOTING FOR HOPE
24 Hours - 1 Scooter - 1 Purpose
$100K for Pregnancy after loss Care
The 411
This Week at Room Eleven
Birthday Number 2
Our son turned four on Wednesday, which meant the kitchen turned into a cake factory. Mission accomplished: he got the cake he wanted and a solid birthday party with his friends.
Training detour
I was supposed to hit the racetrack Tuesday, but my foot decided it had other plans. So I benched the hard-surface training for the week and stuck to the exercise bike and resistance work. Back to the track next week for another crack at it.
Hospital planning
Had a long session with the Royal Women’s Hospital team about Scooting for Hope. We worked on comms, social media plans, and even ran through the “what if Rob faceplants at hour 20” scenario. Worst case, we’ll flip it into a relay. If that sounds like your thing, let me know because you might end up scooting a leg of it.
Scooters sorted
Globber Scooters checked in to say basically: “How many scooters do you want?” Which is the kind of email I like to get.
5am with Utah
Had my third Parent Advisory meeting with the University of Utah (time zones are a cruel joke). The team there are working on adapting Australian stillbirth guidebooks and research resources for use in the US.
Looks like I’ll be heading over there next October for their annual conference.
Excited to share Billie’s story, learn from others, and, bonus, catch up with my sister.
First time in Utah, so that’ll be an adventure.
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Weekly Musings
What I’m Watching: Clarkson’s Farm (Season 4)
I’ve been watching Season 4 of Clarkson’s Farm, and it’s a good reminder of just how tough farming is. You can follow every rule, work yourself into the ground, and still lose the lot if the weather doesn’t play ball. In 2024, the UK had one of its worst farming seasons in history, and the show really makes that clear. It’s a mix of frustration, luck, and sheer perseverance, and it makes you realise how much farmers carry on a daily basis.
The series also follows Clarkson trying to open a pub. True to form, it’s Top Gear level chaotic, but the idea behind it is solid: everything on the menu comes from local farms, right down to the pepper. He could have saved money by buying imported goods, but he chose to support local producers. The execution isn’t perfect, but the principle is worth noting. It’s about valuing local work, investing in your community, and recognising the effort behind what we often take for granted.
Watching it made me think about the Scooting for Hope campaign. I can put in the training, plan every detail, coordinate with amazing people, and make sure everything is ready—but the success of the fundraiser ultimately depends on something I can’t control: our donors. They’re like the weather for farmers—no matter how much effort I put in, without their support, the impact doesn’t happen. It’s a reminder that even the hardest work, no matter how carefully planned, needs others to make it meaningful.
What I Want to Learn More About: Cancer & Ultra Running
This week I came across a video by Hank Green talking about some research suggesting a possible link between ultrarunning and colon cancer. It seems the risk becomes greater with people who run very long distances—ultramarathons, or more than five marathons in a year.
It’s a small study, so there isn’t enough data to draw conclusions, but it’s something I want to continue to follow. For anyone pushing into long-distance running, it feels worth keeping on the radar, not to scare anyone off, but to make sure health checks and awareness go hand-in-hand with the training.
At the core of it all is the same theme: hard work matters, but impact depends on people coming together. Whether it’s farmers relying on the weather, me relying on donors, or families relying on services like the Pregnancy After Loss clinic—none of it happens alone.
If you’d like to help us keep moving forward with Scooting for Hope and the work of Room Eleven, the best way is to share this newsletter, spread the word, or reach out if you’d like to get involved.
See you next week.
Rob
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