From Kokoda to Bodybuilding: Why Susan Wallis is chasing the big and scary goals
After conquering the Kokoda Track, Good360’s Susan Wallis will headline IWIB — and she’s already training for her next challenge.
When Susan Wallis, Head of Government and Philanthropy at Good360, set out to trek the legendary Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea with Walk With Us Kokoda, she expected only one thing: pain.
“I was very worried about my fitness. I anticipated a huge physical challenge, and I thought I would be too slow and hold the group back. I was walking with veterans who were used to trekking with packs, and much younger, particularly men. I just thought it was going to be too hard for me,” she recalls.
Instead, what she found was a mix of hardship, healing, and discovery, lessons she’s now bringing back into her work, her life, and even her next big goal.
On Friday, September 12, she will take the stage as keynote speaker at the Illawarra Women in Business (IWIB) luncheon, sharing her story of her Kokoda trip and the surprising direction it has set her on: preparing for a bodybuilding competition.
Facing Fear on the Track
The most challenging moment came early.
“When we set up on the first day, we went to the cemetery and had a service, and then we only walked a half day, 5K. That afternoon, I was completely in my head. I had a panic attack walking up on the first day, and I was hyperventilating. I couldn’t breathe. I was questioning what the hell I was doing there. I wanted to run down the hill and go back to the bus.”
She credits her guide with steadying her. “Cam came to me and said, ‘Look, the boys are going too fast. You just have to walk with me, and I will get you over the track.’
He believed in me more than I believed in myself. And by day four, when my legs stopped hurting, it felt like a holiday. I was having fun.”
Learning to Believe in Herself
Susan admits one of her biggest revelations came not on the track, but after she returned home.
“I got home on Saturday night. I went to walk with my girlfriends on Sunday afternoon, and by the time I met them, I had decided it wasn’t a big deal and that anyone could do it. I thought, What the hell is wrong with me? What do I have to do to feel proud of myself or good enough?”
For Susan, it highlighted a deeper issue: the way women often downplay their achievements. “I went over there thinking, this is it, I’m going to feel proud and achieve something really big, which was naïve of me. It was an excellent lesson in identifying that I’ve got some work to do. I’ve got some self-belief work to do.”
That lack of self-belief, she says, isn’t just personal; it’s something she sees across professional life as well.
“I bet not one of those boys I was with would be thinking it wasn’t a big deal. They’d be puffing their chests, pounding like Tarzan. It wouldn’t occur to them to think they shouldn’t be proud. As women, we often question our value and success. We don’t celebrate ourselves enough.”
A Big Year of Achievements
The irony, Susan says, is that her doubts came after one of the most successful periods of her career.
“About three weeks before I left, I had my biggest career success to date. Good360 secured multi-year federal funding, which I’d been working on for five years. So I’d cared for my dad, he died, I had my biggest career success, and then I did Kokoda. And then a week later, I was still wondering what’s next and if I’d tried hard enough.”
Her takeaway is clear: “I need to celebrate my success more.”
Lessons in Connection and Sacrifice
Beyond the physical challenge, Susan says the most valuable part of Kokoda was the relationships.
“Definitely the relationships, no question. The relationships, the history and the ceremony around learning about our Kokoda history and honouring the soldiers. We did a morning service and a dusk service that were incredibly moving. Yes, it was a physical challenge and we had a lot of fun, but the way we honoured our diggers was so important.”
Susan is also determined that her trek will have a lasting impact beyond her own journey. She has already begun fundraising. The money she raises will go directly to sponsoring a female veteran to trek the Kokoda Trail, ensuring others have the same opportunity for growth and connection.
“I would like to encourage female veterans to apply,” she says.
“Lachlan Stevens (Walk With Us Kokoda Guide and His Boy Elroy owner) and I have a little scheme brewing where the money I’ve raised so far will be used to sponsor the next female trekker. I’m prepared to train with them and help with the fundraising, in the hope that they then raise enough to pay it forward.”
The Next Challenge: Bodybuilding
For Susan, the journey doesn’t stop with Kokoda.
“I’m quietly toying with the idea of doing a bodybuilding competition. I shouldn’t say that out loud, but it’s probably an 18- to 24-month project.
It’s got to be big and scary, or I won’t chase it. And I’m thinking that’s big and scary enough.”
The motivation, she says, is about long-term health. “The biggest predictor of your health and your longevity in old age is your muscle mass. I’m not just training for me. I’m training so that my husband and daughter don’t have to look after me when I’m old. It feels selfish, but it’s not. It’s looking after yourself so the people you love don’t have to.”
Sharing the Story at IWIB
At the IWIB luncheon on Friday, September 12, Susan plans to take that lesson to the stage, urging women in business to embrace their wins without apology.
“We do the best we can on any given day. Sometimes our best is just showing up. Sometimes it’s securing multi-year federal funding. But neither is any less than the other. When your friends tell you that you’re doing well, say thank you. Own it.”
You can register for the IWIB Luncheon to hear Susan share her story, or support her Walk With Us Kokoda fundraising efforts here.
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