Tria Pitt Essay

Racing to Survive

'Turia Pitt could not outrun the fire, but she was not ready to die.' - Everything to Live For by Turia Pitt and Libby Harkness. Turia Pitt is an inspiring Australian, who has motivated many different people from around the world. She is known for surviving a horrific bushfire whilst doing an ultra-marathon and spending over 800 days in a hospital recovering. Her goal is to prove that we can achieve anything, with the right mindset. Turia was born on 24 July 1987, in Fa'a'ā Tahiti, but is now an Australian citizen. Turia is an amazing person who we all should admire for her bravery and determination.

During Turia's early years, she lived in the French Polynesia (Tahiti). Here, her father made surfboards for the community.

At the age of two, Turia's family moved to Australia. They lived in Maroubra, in New South Wales. Turia's primary years of school passed quickly, and she was soon in high school. At first, she went to Ulladulla High, (Ten minutes away from Milton, NSW) but soon after changed to St John's. St Johns was three hours north of Ulladulla High, so her family moved houses. Unfortunately, when she caught a bus from St Johns, it crashed and one of her classmates died. Turia Pitt then moved schools again to Shoalhaven Anglican School, but couldn't fit in after the tragedy. This school was luckily close to Ulladulla High, so she went back. After finishing high school, Turia Pitt went to university to study mining engineering. Turia also had a part-time job as a model.

A pivotal moment in Turia Pitt's life was the Kimberley Ultra-marathon.

She started the race amazingly and was so far ahead that she was completely unaware of the fire. As she got closer, Turia believed that the majorly loud noise (the bushfire) was coming from a highway that was nearby. Kate Sanderson, who was right behind her, started yelling to let Turia Pitt know about the fire. Unfortunately, the roar of the blaze of fire was so loud Turia didn't hear her. At the last second, Turia and four others ran for their lives. They ran up a hill, and then realised they had chosen the wrong path. Fires go up hills faster, which put the runners in trouble. With no escape of the line of fire, they had to stay put. The inferno blazed around them. They yelled for help but soon realised no one was coming. They had no way to contact anyone, and after a few hours, they started to wonder when someone would save them. All they had was Panadol to help their burns. After over four hours, a helicopter came to the rescue. In Sydney Hospital, they didn't have enough skin for her and had to go to America to get donated skin. After over 200 surgeries and wearing compression bandages for 23 hours a day for two years, Turia Pitt could walk and run without bandages and compression suits. It is so mind blowing that Turia survived over 800 days in a

hospital.

Turia Pitt has accomplished and achieved so much after the tragedy of the Kimberly bushfire. She has become a motivational speaker, doing many conferences each year in places from all over Australia. Not only is she getting paid to do all the meetings, she is inspiring people. Turia has also been participating in many different charity fun runs, walks and rides, to help people in need. She does these charity fundraisers in areas all around the world. Soon, Turia Pitt will be leading a trek up to Mt Everest base camp, to raise money for Nepalese hospitals. She has been such a positive influence for everyone by building awareness and helping to raise money for medical research.

Turia Pitt has learnt from her tragedy and is keen on helping motivate people to keep going in times of despair. She has changed many thoughts and opinions, and done many charity races to help the world become a better place. Although she has burns to 65% of her body, Turia has made a very successful life through influence and encouragement. Turia is an astounding person who is a true inspiration to everyone. Turia Pitt's favourite quote is 'A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.' - Lao Tzu.