The year was 2007. The road to Cooktown had not long been fully sealed and a heart patient and cyclist had an idea to raise funds for cardiac services in FNQ.
“I had to go to Townsville to have the hole in my heart closed and it was pretty traumatic at the time,” Pete McNally, Cardiac Challenge instigator, recalls.
“I’d been on a few fundraising rides before and I thought ‘wouldn’t it be great to raise some money for the cardiac unit here in Cairns’,” he said.
At the time, the unit had just obtained its first permanent cardiologist, had just four patient beds but was already undertaking some cardiac research.
The Australian Retirement Trust Cardiac Challenge, a three-day fundraising bike ride from Cairns to Cooktown hosted by the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation, was the brainchild of Mr McNally.
It has gone on to raise more than $6 million for cardiac and related services and has engaged thousands of individuals in cycling and living a healthier lifestyle. The cardiac unit is now one of the best in the state, in some situations processing more cases than tertiary hospitals in Brisbane.
Today, the unit is comprised of 11 cardiologists who can treat a heart attack at any hour of the day and night, nurses, sonographers, cardiac scientists, Indigenous health workers, radiographers and administration staff. The team travels thousands of kilometres across rural and remote areas of Far North Queensland, and electrophysiology services are now provided.
It’s an outcome neither Mr McNally nor Peter Sexton or Laura Garner, who also have ridden every year, could never have envisaged.
Mr Sexton was already a cyclist when his sailing friend Mr McNally suggested the idea of the bike ride.
“The fact the ride has been going so long and achieved so much is a credit to everyone involved, but particularly the volunteers, such as Pete’s partner Judi Phillips and my wife Trish who rode the first year and every year since has driven an escort vehicle,” Mr Sexton said.
“As a former committee member and pack leader, I’m also incredibly proud of our safety record to date. There’s a lot of work and thought and preparation goes into the ride that no one ever sees and it’s a tribute to everyone who gives up their time to make it happen. For example, I think I sourced about 40 different escort drivers from Rotary and other friends over the years. Without those people giving up their time, it wouldn’t happen,” he said.
Mrs Garner, a Cairns Hospital nurse, said she actually got involved after her sister Emy took part in the unofficial first “reccy” ride and it sounded like a fun thing to do.
“We keep going because it’s just fun, I love the camping, I love meeting new people, some years are harder, some years are easier than others. But I never expected my husband would need the services, or my daughter,” she said.
Ride organisers, 330 cyclists, 136 volunteers and various supporters are heavily training, fundraising, and preparing for the 319-kilometre journey in September for the 20th time. This isn’t the only milestone being recognised.
Foundation CEO Gina Hogan paid tribute to thousands of cyclists and volunteers who had brought the event to this point but said it also was important to recognise major donors such as Australian Retirement Trust.
“After six years as the QSuper Cardiac Challenge, we’re excited the ride has transitioned to become the Australian Retirement Trust Cardiac Challenge, ” Mrs Hogan said.
“But for us, the support from this sponsor has been an absolute standout over the last few years. Not only do they provide financial support to help us cover the costs of this major event but for the last few years they have had a team of cyclists taking part, last year they held a fundraising silent auction and just recently they held a fundraising golf day in Brisbane, for this event,” Mrs Hogan said.
“This is an incredible example of support – that our naming rights sponsor don’t just give us money and leave it at that, they come out with us on the road for three days and two weeks ago they held a golf day 1700 kilometres away to raise funds for cardiac patients in Far North Queensland,” she said.
Last week the Foundation announced a $250,000 software system had been installed in the Cairns Hospital cardiac catheter laboratories, to help with monitoring of patients while undergoing procedures.
And the Foundation has embarked on its largest fundraising campaign for cardiology for several years, with the aim of bringing dedicated CT conorary angiography services to FNQ.
“We’re partnering with the health service which is providing $1 million, we already have $1 million in the bank from previous Cardiac Challenge rides and we need to raise another $1.7 million to bring the service to FNQ,” Mrs Hogan said. The new CT service will enable people who present to the Emergency Department with chest pain, not necessarily a heart attack, to be diagnosed quicker and either be treated or discharged.
“If you are having a heart attack you will go straight to the cardiac catheter laboratory, but if you present and have a blood test which shows no heart attack, an ECG that shows no heart attack but you’re still experiencing chest pain, we can investigate that further,” Cairns Hospital Director of Cardiology Dr Steve Sutcliffe said.
The Foundation’s partnership with Australian Retirement Trust, other sponsors and the Foundation’s social enterprises, enables 100 percent of funds raised by Cardiac Challenge participants to go directly towards improving cardiac services in Far North Queensland, helping ensure patients have access to world-class treatment close to home.
Australian Retirement Trust’s General Manager Commercial Relationships Patrick Twomey said the team was proud to have sponsored the event since 2020 and this year, be part of the 20th anniversary event as the Australian Retirement Trust Cardiac Challenge.
“Our riding team will once again experience first-hand the passion, camaraderie and generosity that defines this iconic event. It’s incredible to see how the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation has, for two decades, united participants, volunteers and communities to raise funds to improve regional cardiac health outcomes,” he said.
- The 2026 Australian Retirement Trust Cardiac Challenge is an annual bike ride from Cairns to Cooktown and will be held September 19-21, 2026. Find out more at www.cardiacchallenge.com.au
- Photo: “Artie”, Australian Retirement Trust General Manager Commercial Relationships Patrick Twomey, Pete McNally, Peter Sexton, Foundation CEO Gina Hogan.
