Meet a Legacy Legend

Mark Doble is currently undertaking an endurance ride from Fremantle, Western Australia to the steps of the Sydney Opera House in a velomobile to raise money for Legacy’s centenary. 

The ride, which is 5,471km, will see Mark travel across the country, unsupported, in a Rotovelo Mk2, with the journey taking between 8 to 10 weeks.

While on this demanding exhibition, Mark will be taking stops along the way as he pitches his tent alongside his velomobile, resting at key milestones cross country as he recuperates for the next stint of his journey.

Mark has a personal motivation for this pursuit and a meaningful reason to raise money for Legacy and its centenary. 

He had two great uncles serve in the Great War, his grandmother’s brother-in-law, who tragically succumbed to his wounds six weeks before the Armistice, and her brother, going on to serve in WWII but who sadly passed away after the war when Mark was 11. 

His grandmother was president of their local Torchbearers for Legacy in Campbelltown, and all through his childhood, Mark was often drafted as a helping hand through many fundraising events, even serving as a page boy for the Legacy debutante balls. 

After studying modern history through school and hearing of family history and tales of wartime through his grandmother, the penny dropped for Mark, and he was determined to do his service when he left school.

However, after being unable to join the RAAF after trying to enlist twice, he turned his focus onto other ways he can be of service. In 2014, Mark completed the first velomobile crossing in Australia and raised money for Legacy, his own way to give back. 

Mark says: “After completing my first fundraiser for Legacy in 2014 to mark the anniversary of the start of the First World War, I thought that the next opportunity I had to cross the country would be Legacy’s centennial year. 

The job that the armed forces have had to do for our country has touched me so deeply, and knowing the incredible work that Legacy does to support those families, it was a no-brainer that I would be, once again, raising money for this cause.”

“It’s an incredible journey to undertake, and I’m looking forward to doing it again and hoping people will get behind the cause,” he added. 

To support Mark on his incredible journey visit: challenge.legacy.com.au/page/MarkDoble