Jimu News reporter Sun Zhe
If you're wondering just how big Australia really is, look no further than Ned Brockman. The 23-year-old from New South Wales traveled 2,456 miles (about 3,953 kilometers) over 47 days from the west coast of Australia to the east coast, arriving at the finish point in Sydney on October 24.
Ned arrives at Bondi Beach in Sydney (Source: CNN)
When Ned arrived at Sydney's Bondi Beach, cheers erupted from the crowd, and Ned waved his hands happily, looking excited. He said in an interview with the media that he runs an average of about 100 kilometers a day.
According to CNN, Ned is an electrician. At first, he just used running as a way to lose weight; But over time, Ned fell in love with the sport, and he began to compete in various running races, which also took longer distances, from half marathons to marathons to 62-mile (about 100 kilometers) long ultramarathons.
Ned ran "through" Australia in 47 days (Source: BBC video screenshot)
In 2020, Ned ran 50 marathons in 50 days, raising nearly 100,000 Australian dollars (about 470,000 yuan) for the Red Cross in the process.
Earlier this year, Ned expanded his ambition even further, with his intention to challenge running across Australia. On 1 September, he set off from Cottesloh Beach in Perth, the capital of Western Australia, to embark on the long run.
Along the way, Ned encountered many difficulties. In order to overcome the high temperature that is very unfavorable for running, he often wakes up at 3:30 in the morning and sleeps only about two hours a night for the first three weeks; Not only that, but Ned also had to dodge trucks speeding down the road while running.
"There is a large truck in every three vehicles with three or four trailers on it; Sometimes there was a strong wind whistling by, trying to push me out of the road. Ned said.
Ned runs on Australian roads (Source: Fox Sports)
On day 12, Ned encountered a major obstacle and developed severe inflammation around his tibial tendon, and he and his team had to go to the hospital for an MRI first. After a 14-hour drive to the hospital, Ned was treated with three injections to relieve the pain. After that, Ned and his team drove for another 14 hours, back to where they had left off, and continued to run according to the planned route.
In addition to lack of sleep and various joint pains, Ned also had a lot of blisters on his feet and even maggots on his toes, but he never thought of giving up.
"I've never seen an athlete like (Ned) who can endure the pain and keep going." Ned's physiotherapist wrote on social platforms.
It is understood that during this long-distance run, Ned also raised 2 million Australian dollars (about 9.3 million yuan) for a charity, which is almost double his original goal.
(Source: Jimu News)
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