‘Holy moly, we did it!’: Samantha Longmore’s $200,000 legacy

SAMANTHA Longmore’s extraordinary journey across southern New South Wales has come to an emotional end, with hundreds of people gathering at Yass Racecourse to welcome the inspirational campaigner home after eight gruelling days on the road.

The former Junee local rolled across the finish line about 2.30pm on Saturday, July 4, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable mission that saw her push herself more than 400 kilometres from Corowa to Yass in her everyday wheelchair to raise awareness and vital funds for rural mental health.

It was an extraordinary feat made even more remarkable by the fact Sam, left bilaterally paralysed in a traffic crash nearly 13 years ago, completed the journey using just one functioning arm and one functioning leg.

Watch the emotional finish below.

The challenge captured hearts across the Riverina, South West Slopes and beyond, transforming from a fundraising effort into a movement that united communities, inspired schoolchildren and sparked conversations about mental health across Australia.

By Tuesday night, just three days after crossing the finish line, Sam, 32, had achieved the goal she set herself before leaving Corowa, raising an extraordinary $200,000 for Rural Aid and Riverina Bluebell.

One final road

Sam began her eighth and final day on the road refreshed and in high spirits after spending Friday night at the Royal Tara Motel in nearby Binalong.

After completing Day 7 in Bowning, she had been transported back to the motel before returning to Bowning early Saturday morning to pick up exactly where she had left off.

Shortly after 8.30am, she wheeled out for one final time, beginning the last leg of her remarkable journey.

A police escort joined the team at the intersection of Walls Junction Road and Lachlan Valley Way, controlling traffic as Sam entered Lachlan Valley Way before accompanying her along the Hume Highway and into Yass.

About 11.30am, Sam rolled past the Yass Service Centre, where her mother, Narelle, jumped on a bicycle and accompanied her for the final kilometres.

Passing the Yass welcome sign about 11.40am, Sam was greeted by around two dozen supporters waiting to escort her into town.

The group jogged with Sam along Yass Valley Way and Laidlaw Street, arriving at Victoria Park shortly after midday to cheers, hugs and applause from another crowd waiting to welcome her.

READ MORE | Sam opens up before final push to Yass

Local residents and businesses spilled onto Comur Street as Sam made her way through the town centre under escort from police, the NSW Rural Fire Service, and Fire and Rescue NSW.

Among those joining the final push were junior members of the Yass United Rugby League Football Club, who ran alongside Sam for more than three kilometres after meeting her at the Yass welcome sign.

At the intersection of Waroo and Grand Junction roads, Sam stopped.

For more than an hour, she sat quietly on the roadside.

The supporters who had accompanied her into town headed out to Yass Racecourse.

Sam remained behind.

Gathering her thoughts.

Preparing herself for the moment she had spent months working towards.

Then, with one final deep breath, she set off alone.

The finish

The final 2.5 kilometres belonged solely to Sam.

Waiting at the racecourse was the moment she’d spent months working towards, and hundreds of people were waiting to share it with her.

Family.

Friends.

Complete strangers.

Some had travelled interstate simply to witness the moment.

Yass Valley Mayor Jasmin Jones stood among the crowd, while one woman had travelled from Victoria after hearing Sam’s story on the Salt of the Earth, Farm Stories podcast.

As Sam rolled through the racecourse gates, the emotion became overwhelming.

Before crossing the finish line, she was reunited with her beloved dog, whom she had missed dearly throughout the journey.

The reunion, coupled with eight days of relentless physical and emotional exhaustion, proved too much.

Sam burst into tears.

As chants of encouragement echoed around her, supporters urged her forward.

Moments later, she crossed the finish line.

She was immediately embraced by partner Jude before the crowd erupted into applause and three cheers.

After eight days of pushing herself to the limit, Sam would not have to wheel another metre.

Instead, supporters carefully lifted her from her wheelchair into an armchair mounted on the back of a trailer, draped in the Australian flag, where she was showered in champagne before being driven into the main event area.

“I had a recurring dream for about three weeks before I left that no one would be here,” she laughed.

The dream, thankfully, couldn’t have been further from reality.

The emotion of the moment was perhaps unsurprising.

Speaking candidly with The Junee Bulletin the night before the finish, Sam admitted she had deliberately hidden just how much the journey had taken out of her.

“I haven’t really been honest with anyone about how my body is actually feeling,” she said.

“I’ve enjoyed it immensely, but the pain almost tortures you because that’s all you think about.

“Everyone asks, ‘How are you feeling?’, and I just tell them, ‘I’m fine. I’m great.’

“When actually my whole body is screaming at me to stop.”

Read more of Friday’s interview with Sam, here.

Despite battling severe oedema through one leg and around her ankle, Sam remained determined to reach Yass.

On Saturday afternoon, she finally did.

The road to Yass

When Sam rolled out of Corowa on June 27, few could have imagined what lay ahead.

Over eight extraordinary days, she wheeled more than 400 kilometres across southern New South Wales, confronting relentless rain, freezing temperatures, punishing climbs and a body that, by the final days, she admitted was “screaming” at her to stop.

The journey began under blue skies in Corowa, with Sam making strong early progress through Albury before continuing north via Henty and Wagga Wagga.

It was an encouraging start, but the easy conditions wouldn’t last.

READ MORE | Days 1-5: Rain, resilience and a region united

By the time she approached Junee three days later, the weather had taken a dramatic turn.

After almost 50 kilometres spent battling relentless rain and slippery conditions, Sam conquered Junee’s notorious ‘Mad Mile’, a five-kilometre straight stretch of the Olympic Highway culminating in a punishing climb into town that marked the halfway point of her journey.

The following morning delivered some welcome relief between Junee and Illabo, but the respite was short-lived.

Beyond Illabo came the long climbs of Bethungra and Frampton before another emotional finish in Cootamundra, where supporters welcomed her through pouring rain before she recovered with an ice bath, sauna and hot shower.

Sunshine finally returned on Day Six as Sam conquered Wallendbeen Hill and the long climb over Demondrille before arriving to another unforgettable reception in Harden.

Then came perhaps the toughest day of all.

The rolling terrain between Harden and Bowning proved more demanding than anything she had faced previously, with relentless climbs testing every ounce of her determination.

By the time she rolled into Bowning on Friday evening, donations had surged beyond $125,000 and the finish line was finally within reach.

Throughout the journey, every town welcomed Sam as one of its own.

Communities lined roadsides.

Schools emptied onto footpaths.

Sporting clubs, emergency services, local businesses and complete strangers joined her for sections of the route.

What began as one woman pushing a wheelchair across regional New South Wales became something much bigger.

It became a journey carried by entire communities.

A celebration of community

By the time Sam reached Yass Racecourse, the hard work was finally over.

The racecourse quickly transformed into a sea of family, friends, supporters and strangers brought together by one woman’s remarkable determination.

Families gathered around fire pits.

Children filled a giant jumping castle.

Music echoed across the grounds.

Supporters placed bids for auction items while conversations continued over food and drinks.

It was exactly the kind of atmosphere Sam had hoped her journey would inspire.

Addressing the crowd for the first time since finishing, Sam said the challenge had never been about her alone.

“I’ve lived a big life wanting to help people,” she said.

“I’ve lived a life seeing first-hand the challenges that we rural Australians deal with every day.

“I just wanted to help. I had the ability to help.

“We all have the ability to help.

“I’m not saying everyone needs to wheel 400 kilometres over the course of a week, but one little thing every single day can help everyday Australians get to the next.”

Sam reminded the crowd that, despite spending countless hours alone on the road, the journey had only been possible because of those around her.

“Although I spent the majority of the time on the road on my own, this didn’t happen just because of me,” she said.

“There was a team. There was a community behind me getting here today.

“Just like none of us get through life alone.

“We need our team. We need our family. We need our friends.”

She also urged people to move beyond simply talking about mental health.

“Although we talk a lot about conversation and speaking more about mental health, I believe we need to speak honestly,” she said.

“The more honest we are with ourselves and each other, the further you and I will go.”

Reflecting on the lessons of eight days on the road, Sam said she hoped her journey would inspire others to confront life’s own challenges with the same determination.

“I hope that moving forward from here, every single one of you will know that you can dig deep and get over every hill that comes up in front of you.

“There are hills every single day. I’ve realised that over the last eight days.”

She finished with a heartfelt thank you to those who had followed every kilometre.

“Thank you so much for believing that I could do this,” she said.

“There’s many people out there that didn’t. I certainly wasn’t one of them.

“I knew from the very beginning that I’d be here. But I didn’t think I’d be here with this many people. So thank you.”

A generation inspired

Long before Sam reached the finish line, it had become clear her journey was leaving a legacy far greater than the fundraising tally.

Across the Riverina and South West Slopes, children embraced Sam’s message of resilience in ways nobody could have predicted.

Schools began following her progress in the classroom, using her journey to teach students about determination, mindset and overcoming adversity.

At St Joseph’s Primary School in Junee, Year 5 and 6 students spent the morning after Sam’s emotional hometown arrival discussing resilience and the importance of maintaining a positive attitude through life’s challenges.

As Sam continued north, students from Illabo Public School lined the Olympic Highway with handmade signs before cheering her through the village.

The following day, dozens of children in Harden abandoned the footpaths and ran alongside Sam for the final stretch into town, creating one of the defining images of the journey.

Less than 24 hours later, the scenes repeated themselves in Binalong, where students from Binalong Public School lined the street chanting Sam’s name before she stopped to greet every child.

Experienced Harden-Murrumburrah photographer Martin Lang, who documented Sam’s arrival into Harden, described the sight of a “sea of kids” running alongside her as one of the most remarkable moments he had witnessed.

By the time Sam reached Yass, one thing had become unmistakably clear.

She hadn’t just inspired adults to donate.

She had inspired an entire generation to believe that even the biggest hills can be overcome.

READ MORE | Inspiring a generation: Sam’s unexpected legacy

“You’re a bloody legend”

Yass Valley Mayor Jasmin Jones then presented Sam with a bag of local gifts before delivering a heartfelt tribute.

“We are going to rename you ‘Stellar Sam’, because you are a superstar,” she said.

“We are all in awe of you.

“As Mayor of this town, I just want to say from the bottom of my heart how much we appreciate what you’ve done for the rural mental health of not just our community, but every rural community in this nation.

“People have been watching you. They’ve been watching your team.

“Even today, just looking around this crowd, people are smiling. They’re talking. They’re checking in with one another.

“That’s because of you. And it’s not just for today. It’s for every day after this.

“We just think you’re a bloody legend.”

For eight days, communities had lined roadsides, schoolchildren had cheered her on, strangers had joined her for sections of the journey and donations had climbed by the hour.

When Sam finally crossed the finish line, it felt less like the end of one person’s challenge and more like the culmination of a community effort that had captured the imagination of people across the country.

A remarkable legacy

The finish line may have marked the end of Sam’s journey, but it wasn’t the end of the fundraising.

Just three days after crossing the finish line, the fundraising page ticked over the extraordinary $200,000 milestone after Sam banked more than $31,000 from raffles, auctions and cash donations collected throughout the journey.

It was the ambitious goal Sam had set herself before leaving Corowa.

“Holy f****** moly, we did it!” Sam said.

The milestone means Sam will now be able to donate $100,000 each to Rural Aid and Riverina Bluebell.

What began as one woman’s determination to help others became one of the most successful community fundraising efforts the Riverina has witnessed.

For Sam, however, the true success of the journey may never be measured in dollars alone, but in the countless conversations about mental health that began because one woman decided to push herself beyond every limit she thought possible.

The money will help Rural Aid and Riverina Bluebell continue supporting Australians doing it tough, while the conversations Sam started are likely to continue long after the final donation is counted.