Lenny goes the distance for Mobilise

Completing 10 Olympic-distance triathlons in 10 days, Forbes teenager Lenny Iyer was cheered across the finish line by family, friends and community members after his final 10km run around Lake Forbes. The 15-year-old undertook the challenge as part of Nedd's Uncomfortable Challenge, raising money for Mobilise to support Australians experiencing homelessness. Over 10 consecutive days, Lenny completed a 10km run, 1.5km swim and 40km bike ride while also balancing the demands of school. Speaking after crossing the finish line, he said completing the challenge felt "amazing" and acknowledged the support of everyone who's donated with more than $14,500 raised. Lenny admitted the task proved more difficult than he had expected, "but we've made it, so happy days," he said. A group of runners and members of the Red Bend Catholic College community joined him for the final lap, helping celebrate the remarkable achievement. Lenny said the support he received from people who joined him for runs, rides and swims throughout the challenge had made a major difference. "It's been made a lot more enjoyable," he said. Fitting the triathlons around school commitments meant there was no set routine - Lenny completed the three disciplines in different combinations depending on the day. "I pretty much did every combination possible," he said. It wasn't just school he was working around but changing weather conditions, including heat and storms. One swim session had to be moved indoors after lightning forced the pool to close. "There was only one day I had to go indoors for the swim, with the lightning the pool shut, but pretty sweet other than that," he said. Lenny had the support of the college and wider community - local businesses also got behind the fundraising effort. Lenny thanked RISE Physiotherapy, Bernardis, KMWL, Central West Diesel and Anytime Fitness for their support, which included donations as well as recovery services and equipment. The challenge marked Lenny's biggest endurance test yet. While he had previously completed daily running challenges as part of Nedd's Uncomfortable Challenge, he had never attempted the full Olympic-distance triathlon format in a single day before taking on the 10-day event. Reflecting on the final run around Lake Forbes, Lenny said the crowd that joined him made the finish especially memorable. "100 per cent, it's been unreal," he said. However, even completing that 10th triathlon was not the end of Lenny's challenge. He travelled to Melbourne for the Trackathon finale with Young Australian of the Year Nedd Brockmann, where runners pounded out the marathon distance of 42.2km - another first for the Forbes teen - on an athletics track on Saturday night. Nedd, from Bedgerabong and founder of the Uncomfortable Challenge, said solving homelessness was a big challenge but one Mobilise and its charity partners were working hard to address. "I just think the biggest thing is making everyone understand it is possible," he said in a video shared to social media. "Until we're all like that it'll always happen because a lot of people just accept it - and I don't think we need to accept it, I think we need to understand it's solvable." As the fundraising total surpassed $1.5 million to support people into housing, Mobilise CEO Noah Yang said the NUC 2026 had demonstrated the power of collective action. "We started this journey at Mobilise 10 years ago with a dare - the name Mobilise - what happens if like-minded people come together?" he said. "This year, we've seen it, across 10 days, NUC-tober. "What happens is people's minds change about what is possible."