Clare Reilly arrives in Albany after becoming first person to complete Munda Biddi trail in a wheelchair

Victorian multiple sclerosis advocate Clare Reilly has become the first person to complete the Munda Biddi trail in a wheelchair, arriving in Albany on Monday after 26 gruelling days on the WA trail.

Ms Reilly hails from a small town on the coast of Victoria called Portarlington, and travelled to WA in March to take on the 1067km Munda Biddi trail, with the aim of being the first person to complete the journey in a wheelchair.

She set off from Mundaring on April 9, and arrived in Albany 26 days later on May 4, having covered more than 1000km in at-times difficult conditions and raised more than $16,500 for multiple sclerosis research.

Ms Reilly was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis nine years ago, at the age of 32.

She has spent much of her life tackling outdoor expeditions and has a degree in outdoor education, so she said when her diagnosis eventually made her a wheelchair user, it was not a case of being unable to continue her adventures, but adapting them.

This year, that included launching Wheelchair Meets Wilderness, a daring challenge to become the first person to complete the Munda Biddi in a wheelchair.

“I didn’t have too many expectations around the trail itself, but there was about 18 months of planning that went into it before we left home, so we were well prepared for whatever it threw at us,” she said.

“We had some really hard days, and some easy days, we had an incident on day one where I rolled the rig and ended up with a black eye, so a bit of a tough start.

“Initially, when I put it out there saying that we’re going to be doing this, there was a lot of people saying, ‘you can’t do it’, ‘it’s too hard’, ‘it’s a single track, you won’t be able to fit’, and I’m very glad to have proved those people wrong.

“I don’t think I’ve processed it yet, and I think it might be some time before I do.”

Ms Reilly’s husband Jay and their 12-year-old son Elliot both joined her on the expedition, and Ms Reilly said having her family join her as support crew was one of the highlights of the journey.

Although Ms Reilly said tackling the track was a great adventure for her, there was a deeper cause behind the achievement.

Ms Reilly is aiming to raise $100,000 for multiple sclerosis research, which will be donated to the Menzies Institute for Medical Research in Tasmania.

She is in the process of writing a book about her journey with MS and her time on the Munda Biddi, and filmmaker Trent Houssenloge of Cowboy Hat Films joined her crew on the trail, capturing each day of the journey to turn it into a documentary film.

All proceeds from both of these forthcoming projects will also be donated to MS research, and Ms Reilly said she hoped her achievement would raise awareness of multiple sclerosis and the importance of making the outdoors accessible to all.

“Something I’m really passionate about is the idea that we can do hard things and just because you have got a disability or been given a new diagnosis, it doesn’t mean you can’t do the things you want to do, or you have always had passion about, it just might look a little bit different,” she said.