The Lambros Army On Running, Resilience And Raising Funds

How often do you get to chat with real-life heroes? While it’s a label they might reject, Aussie brothers Stef and Lach Lamble, otherwise known as The Lambros, have well and truly earned it after raising over $100,000 for Cancer Research UK. Following on from their mammoth run across Australia in 2024, the pair have just wrapped up a run across the entire length of the UK—making them the first brothers to achieve such a feat.

To celebrate the launch of CELSIUS’ new Sparkling Mango Lemonade, I caught up with the CELSIUS ambassadors to learn more about what motivated them to conquer another cross-country adventure, and what kept them going when things got tough.

Ask the Lambros where their love of a challenge comes from, and the answer is simple: the footy field. Growing up as avid Australian Rules players, the pair lived and breathed the sport before setbacks like ACL surgeries and concussions forced them into early retirement.

Aged 24 and 22, Stef and Lach were looking for a new challenge. “Lach came home from his job as a physio and he said, ‘Stef, I've got this idea of running across Australia,’” says Stef. “And that's really where our journey in running kicked off. We started training super hard for that for about six months. And that got us all the way to the Australian run.”

Run is downplaying it just a touch. Running 3400kms from Melbourne to Perth, they ran 85 marathons in a row, and raised over $250,000 AUD for cancer research, achieving both of their goals in the process.

“We really wanted to create awareness and raise money for cancer research, but not only that, to inspire people that limitations in life actually don't exist,” says Stef. “You are capable of achieving anything that you put your mind to and that you believe in enough.”

Why stop there, though? After smashing their run across Australia, the pair wanted to take on another country: the UK. Running 1000 miles, or 38 marathons, in 35 days, the pair were keen to put themselves through the ringer once again, raising money for charity.

Every step of the way, they’re inspired by family.  Lach explains, “We lost our beautiful grandma to cancer when we were younger. And our other beautiful grandma is in and out of cancer remission. She's been battling thyroid cancer, and she's always been like a second mum to us.”

The run wasn’t all smooth sailing, though. From foot infections to shin and ankle problems, the pair were pushed to their absolute limits.

Lach explains, “So it all started on about day 15. I drank a little bit of funny water in the caravan, and I got extremely bad gastro. And this gastro meant that I basically couldn't eat for around 10 days. And because I couldn't eat properly and I was running ultra marathons every day, my shin just absolutely blew out. So my shin was the first problem. The next day, when my shin was in excruciating pain, I woke up in the morning, and it felt like I was getting bitten by a thousand wasps on my feet. My feet were so swollen and red. It was like I've got these massive red burning boulders."

“Three days later, I couldn't cope with the pain anymore. I got 11 kilometres in. And we were only six days away from the finish line. I went to the hospital and I went straight to the emergency room. The doctor said, ‘This is only the second time he's ever seen this rare blood infection in his whole life.’"

“Turns out he had to put me on a steroid infusion, so he put a needle into my arm, infused it throughout my body, and said that I wasn't supposed to be wearing runners and running for at least two to three weeks. I said, ‘Doc that's actually definitely not going to happen. I'm going to show up tomorrow. It turns out five or six days later, we've just run on average around 65 kilometres the last couple of days, and we got there.”

But they had to find a way to keep going—and they did, turning to each other. “I think finding humour really helped bring the best of us out in those moments and find things every single morning that we're grateful for,” Stef says.

“Lach and I would always discuss that each morning, even when he was going through so much pain, just why we're so grateful to be out here.” Watching along on their Instagram, their resilience is inspirational—and a reminder of what we can achieve when we push ourselves.

As a certified couch potato myself, I wanted to understand the secret to how they were able to run kilometre after kilometre, every single day. The boys were happy to share. “Well, the secret is caffeine and a load of CELSIUS,” Lach says. “I think caffeine is really, really helpful, particularly when we're moving and you do start to feel a little bit demotivated in your run, just walking and having a cold drink when your body's so hot from running is a massive thing.”

When asked what he hopes people take away from their Herculean feats, Lach says there are a couple of things he and Stef are keen to show people every time their feet hit the pavement. “So the first is, only you decide and define your own limits. So you can always push further than your limits. It's like a bubble. You only decide what the outside of that bubble is. And you can step outside of that bubble. It may not be normal. It may be very abnormal. But you can step outside that bubble if you are fearless and you are fearless in the face of adversity."

“And the second thing that I really hope people will take away from this is to just keep moving forward, no matter what. It doesn't matter how fast or slow you're moving in life. As long as you're just putting one foot in front of the other, trying to do the best you can, that is all that matters.” After speaking to the boys, I’m inspired to dust off my own running shoes and take it one step at a time.

Feeling inspired? CELSIUS Sparkling Mango Lemonade just hit convenience stores and service stations across the country, so grab yours and hit the pavement. 

Editor’s note: This article is sponsored by CELSIUS and proudly endorsed by The Urban List. To find out more about who we work with and why read our editorial policy here.

Image credit: Lambros Instagram