Armed with only a box of pizza flavoured Shapes, four Canberra women mustered up some good, old-fashioned courage, and braved their way across a flooded Birdsville Road in their undies with just two things on their mind – hot food and a warm bed.

Chelsea Holton, 45, and Erica Collins, 47, shared with Canberra Daily the hilarious tale of their adventure of a lifetime – crossing 100km of the Simpson Desert, unprecedented flooding trapping them in a car, and their steely resilience.

“I’m not a runner, and I don’t profess to be one – I’m at best a shuffler – but I was inspired to compete in my second year,” laughs Chelsea, as she settles in to relive her experience running (and walking) in the Simpson Desert Ultra Marathon.

“A group of us decided to sign up under our coach, Cath Wallis, who’s big on inspiring women to get out and live life large in the body that they have.”

Loading up their Prado, the four Canberra women began the long journey from the ACT to the Queensland desert, enjoying the uneventful beginning of their road trip, blissfully unaware of the journey about to unfold.

“We knew there was flooding, but we were told it would have peaked by the time we got there, so we should be able to clear it, from a someone on Facebook,” says Erica.

“They said ‘keep coming, we’ll get you across the river’. By the time we left Windorah, we were about 400km away, and they then told us they’d like it if we diverted and went north, which would then be another 1500km.

“It was also raining in the desert and driving on the dirt road was pretty sketchy with lots of water over the road. We eventually got to the Birdsville racecourse, and we were told the volunteer coordinator who told us they’d get us across the river had finished for the day.”

The four exhausted women were told to pile back in their car and settle in for the night, with no bedding or food – just the one box of Shapes.

“We were just like 2km from a warm bed and hot food, so we decided to just link arms across the waist-deep floodwater, and walk through the town of Birdsville in our underpants,” Erica smiles.

“It was really empowering actually… it was absolutely awesome. I was so distracted because the sunset was amazing, and we were just so elated that we didn’t care we didn’t have pants on.

“People came walking out of the pub saying ‘are those girls in their underwear’ and we just said ‘yes, yes, we are, and we’re going to get a hot meal’.”

“Everything else was secondary, we didn’t care if we drew a few stares from the Birdsville Pub – we weren’t naked, so oh well,” says Chelsea.

“So, then we walked to our friends and told them to give us some dinner.”

The sun rose the next morning and it was time for the marathon of champions – 100km across the desolate and barren Simpson Desert.

“The event was hard and brutal. It’s really, really hot, and for me it was all about conserving energy and not overheating,” says Chelsea.

“At night, it was complete darkness and there were lots of claypan sections that were really slippery because of all the rain, and it was difficult to pick them up in the dark. You’d go through periods of time where you didn’t see anyone, but it was beautiful out there.

“I was thinking about lots of things: how hard it was, how I’ve trained for this, encouraging myself that I can do it, and knowing that Erica was waiting for me at the finish line. I just kept pushing and remembering how disappointed I felt after not being able to finish it last year.

“People are lovely out there, too. They’d catch up to you and slow down for a bit for a chat, make sure you’re okay, walk with you for a bit. The really beautiful landscape was the biggest driver.”

Women competing in this arduous marathon are in the minority, and Chelsea says she used to believe she would never accomplish finishing such a momentous feat.

“There are definitely barriers for women wanting to compete in something like that. I was one of those women three years ago – anxious, depressed, on the couch, 30-40kg overweight – and I didn’t know how to access these opportunities,” says Chelsea.

“I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and came across a Facebook group where I found like-minded people, and I see so many women in a similar boat.

“One of the big things is just confidence; women in particular relationships lacking confidence. But the preparing for the marathon shows people that with a bit of training and belief in themselves, anything is possible.”

With finishing the marathon ticked off Chelsea’s bucket list and still glowing with a whole lot of pride, the group of women set off on their journey home but were once again met with an array of farcical challenges seemly out of a comedy.

“The floodwaters, which were supposed to have peaked, were rising, which is unprecedented for Birdsville. They’ve never had seven days between peak flooding,” says Erica.

To navigate their way out of the flooded region, the four women decided their best option was to head towards higher ground where an SES boat awaited their safe arrival.

“We got our gear together and met down at the river crossing, and the SES boat was doing one trip only. The river was over 1m and the stuff we waked through a few days ago was underwater,” says Erica.

“After that, we jumped back in the Prado and were told to turn off the road and follow the sand dunes, and I really wasn’t comfortable driving in the desert.

“But we decided no one was left by themselves. The guys from another group headed down to the water and it was up to their butt cheeks, it was way too deep, so off to the sand dunes it was.

“It was like being on a desert safari, and by the afternoon we were back onto the road and decided to stop for the night. We stayed at the Betoota Hotel, which was an experience in itself!”

The next day, the women were finally back on ACT soil, in disbelief as to how a simple road trip turned into a crazy floodwater rescue mission.

“The next big marathon is in Mongolia – 160km across an ice lake,” says Chelsea.

“But no, I’m not doing the Simpson Marathon next year. I’m done with that one for now.”

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