Back in the late 1980s, the late Professor Hollows was one of the consultants who helped restore the sight in Mrs Poole’s younger sister’s eye after an accident.

‘‘Kylie was four when a stick fell in her eye and doctors didn’t think they could save it,’’ she said.

‘‘Another surgeon operated but Fred Hollows was a consultant and I guess that connection my family had with him made me excited to be part of this fundraiser.’’

The mother-of-three has joined up with three other northern suburbs’ mums to sign up for Sydney’s Coastrek which will take place in March next year.

The team of ‘Four Fast Foxes’ is well on its way to raising the $2000 fundraising commitment set by the organisers of the walk, which began in 2009 with 40 trekkers.

Registration is open for the 2015 walk until mid-November, with organisers hoping to enlist 3600 participants - or 900 teams - in an effort to raise $3million for the Fred Hollows Foundation.

Mrs Poole said for her group of four - which includes Nicola Richards, Annie Livermore and Cass Hall - it was all about supporting a good cause while getting fit and having fun.

‘‘We’ve all got young children and so it’s a good way to challenge ourselves and to get our fitness back,’’ she said.

Mrs Richards urged other mothers to sign up - and take their kids training if need be. The trek has been embraced by women, with 90 per cent of participants historically being women aged 35 to 55 years.

‘‘Initially we didn’t think we’d have time to put in the training around kids and work,’’ Mrs Richards said.

‘‘But we bought baby backpacks so we can drop our older kids off at school and then pop the little ones on our back and go for a three or four hour walk in the Royal National Park.

‘‘It’s the perfect training ground for the Coogee to Balmoral coastal walk, which we aim to complete in around 12 hours.’’

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