Ball to raise $50,000 for race burns victim Turia Pitt

FAMILY and friends of Kimberley Ultramarathon burns victim Turia Pitt hope to raise $50,000 towards her medical expenses with a charity ball this weekend.

The fundraising drive comes just days after the brave 24-year-old publicly fronted the media after giving evidence to parliamentary inquiry in Perth on Monday.

The  committee was told Ms Pitt's medical expenses had exceeded $2 million but she was unable to work due to her injuries and was living off Centrelink payments.

Ms Pitt  and Kate Sanderson, 35, were left disfigured with severe burns after fire swept through a rocky gorge as they competed in a 100km outback marathon between Kununurra and El Questro on September 2 last year.

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Turia Pitt fundraiser

On September 5th 2011, Turia participated in Racing the Planet’s Kimberley Ultramarathon.  During the early stages of this race, Turia and four other runners became trapped in a gorge when a bushfire, burning out of control in the El Questro Wilderness Park, engulfed Turia and her fellow competitors. 

Turia suffered horrendous burns to 60% of her body, sustaining the worst burns on her arms, hands and legs.  Her face and neck were also burned. Turia will have to wear a full body compression suit for the next two years and will not be allowed in the sun without her body being totally covered until 2014. 

Although the majority of her medical expenses will be covered through Medicare and her health fund, there are huge medical and associated costs that will be a financial burden on Turia and family e.g. cosmetic procedures, prosthetic fingers, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, counselling support and day-today living expenses during her recovery.  Obviously, Turia will be unable to work for some years because of the debilitating injuries sustained.  

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Killer blaze that claimed runner not deliberately lit

AN ultra-marathon runner caught in the Kimberley blaze has been taken off the critical list as an investigation by police has found the bushfire was not deliberately lit.

Melbourne runner Kate Sanderson, 35, is in a serious, but stable condition, according to a spokesman at The Alfred hospital.

Sanderson and fellow runner, Argyle Diamonds mining engineer Turia Pitt, 24, were the worst injured in the bushfires, which trapped runners competing in the 100km Kimberley Ultramarathon on September 2.

Pitt was being treated at Sydney's Concord Hospital.

Both women received burns to more than 80 per cent of their bodies.

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Bushfire marathon: Organisers were 'cowboys'

ORGANISERS of a desert marathon that left two women fighting for life after becoming trapped in a bushfire were yesterday described as "cowboys" with no clue about outback conditions.

A former competitor said organisers were "grossly unprepared" for last year's 250km race and had to urgently fly in intravenous fluids.

Footage of the weekend's 100km Kimberley Ultramarathon clearly shows smoke on the horizon just after the start, and it was reported that the course had to be re-marked just before the event after scrub fires burnt ribbon markers.

Ulladulla model Turia Pitt was among those burned when runners became trapped in a narrow gorge as bushfires, which had burned in the remote WA wilderness for up to a week, changed direction.

She was in a critical condition in Concord Hospital while marathon veteran Kate Sanderson is in Melbourne's Alfred Hospital. Both have burns to 80-90 per cent of their bodies.

Marathon fire: Runners Turia Pitt and Kate Sanderson fight for their lives

A 100km outback ultramarathon turned into a fight for life after two women suffered horrific burns when they became trapped in a flaming gorge.

The two women severely burnt in a bushfire while running an ultra-marathon in remote Western Australia remain in a critical condition.

The women, aged 36 and 24, were competing in a ``rough country'' endurance race in the Kimberley region when they and two men became trapped in a gorge during a bushfire.

They suffered burns to up to 80 per cent of their bodies.

Turia Pitt, 24, is in a critical condition in Sydney's Concord Hospital, while Kate Sanderson, 36, is in a critical condition at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

Ms Pitt is reportedly a model from Ulladulla on the NSW south coast who had been working in WA with Argyle Diamonds.

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