Teacher and Ironman Australia Legend, Mr Neil Scotney, is running the Sydney Marathon in August to help not-for-profit organisation TRIMOB empower Indigenous athletes and their communities. Let’s get behind his fundraising efforts to help others. 

Most competitive sports are tough. Ironman Australia is tougher.  

It requires a herculean feat of endurance to finish – a 3.8 kilometre ocean swim followed by a 180 kilometre bike ride and then a 42.2 kilometre marathon run.  

Hard core to say the least. 

Mr Scotney, Newington PDHPE teacher and Scholarship & Eungai Creek Program Liaison, has completed 14 Ironman Australia triathlons. In 2024, he joined the exclusive list of Ironman Australia Legends, one of only 445 people as it stands today, to complete 10 or more triathlons. Mr Scotney’s Legends number – 443 – is tattooed on his arm. 

Unsurprisingly, Mr Scotney is also quite handy at running standalone marathons. He has run five to date (in addition to his 14 triathlons) and is now in training to run his sixth marathon. And come Sunday 30 August (after clocking up approximately 90 kilometres a week in preparation), he will pull on his Adidas EVOs and run the Sydney Marathon to raise funds for TRIMOB.  

TRIMOB is a charity started by Indigenous athlete, Nat Heath. It aims to inspire, train and fund other First Nations people to complete a triathlon (swim, bike, run) and then share their knowledge across community to create a ripple effect. Mr Scotney first met Nat Heath, a former Australia Age Champion triathlete, when he visited Newington during Reconciliation Week in 2024. Newington currently has 10 Indigenous students, with some residing at the Edmund Webb Boarding House. 

‘Nat joined us for the Boarders Reconciliation Dinner and spoke passionately about the work he does, and how the students here could make an impact,’ says Mr Scotney. 

‘It resonated strongly with me due to my long connection with the sport of triathlon, and my knowledge of working with the Mob since the establishment of our Eungai Creek Campus. As the Eungai Liaison staff member and a regular visitor to Eungai, I have formed strong connections with the Elders up there, and love hearing their stories and learning about their connection to Country.’ 

TRIMOB is a registered partner of the Sydney Marathon, and when Nat was looking for runners this year to help raise funds and awareness of the charity’s mission, Mr Scotney put his hand up. 

‘I am happy to help because Nat and TRIMOB’s aim resonates with me personally in that we need to do more to improve Indigenous health in Australia,’ he says.  

‘We are just not bridging the gap so this is a small thing I can do to help develop understanding and awareness around the challenges First Nations people face in Australia.’ 

Mr Scotney hopes to raise more than $3000, and finish in three hours and 30 minutes.  

‘I’ve been running for so long now it’s a part of who I am, although I’ve always been a regular middle-of-the-packer or weekend warrior variety of runner,’ he says. 

‘I do it for the love of it and it’s nice to know that this time, I’ll be running to help others get involved with the sport I love.’ 

You can donate to Mr Scotney’s Sydney Marathon fundraising for TRIMOB here. 

---