I’ve been in Hobart (Tasmania) for work these past two days, which provided a very nice change of scenery for my daily run. Not that I did very much running, as I’m still taking it easy after Friday’s 114 km. But Hobart is certainly one of the more pleasant cities in which I’ve had the pleasure of running.

On the subject of that 12 hour run, it’s worth noting that my good friend and fellow world runner, Tony Mangan, is an old hand at 48 hour runs. In fact, he still holds the world record for 48 hours indoors and on a treadmill. His indoor record is worth comparing to my (much weaker) effort last week. Tony covered 426 km in 48 hours. That’s an average of 106.5 km each 12 hours, for four of them in a row. So I only managed 7.5 km more in a single 12 hour run than Tony averaged for each of four back-to-back 12 hour runs. I guess that’s why he holds the world record.

Back to an old favourite for today’s photo. Here’s the classic  photo from when I passed through Monument Valley and the girls dressed me up as Forrest Gump, minus the entourage of followers.

On This Day

Aug 18, 2013

Distance today = 51.93 km; Total distance = 24,989.33 km; Location = Beeac, Victoria – 38 09.773’ S, 143 37.958′ E; Start time = 0831, Finish time = 1617

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/360683716

Ever been hit in the face by 100 km per hour horizontal rain? It REALLY hurts!!! I had to turn my face away to protect my eyes, as they could have been seriously injured. The weather, at times, was as atrocious as anything I’ve experienced on the world run. It was one of those days of which I was pleased to see the end.

I passed through the town of Colac today. This place is of high significance to ultra runners, as it was Cliff Young’s home town. For those who don’t know the story, Cliff was an unknown, and unassuming, 61 year old, who entered the 1983 Sydney to Melbourne ultra marathon race.

All the best ultra runners in the world turned up for the race, taking off at a fast pace. Cliff was soon left behind in last place. Many people felt sorry for the “old bloke”, who appeared to be embarrassing himself.

However, the favourites soon started to fade, and half way through the race, Cliffy had steadily made his way into the lead. He wasn’t expected to stay there, once the experts got serious.

Cliffy, however, had other ideas, and simply kept running, with tens of thousands of people lining the streets into Melbourne, as he arrived in the lead. They cheered wildly as they watched a 61 year old, complete unknown, beat the best in the world. He had run the 870 km in less than six days.

I reckon any run around the world should include Colac on the itinerary. Current world record holder, Jesper Olsen, ran through Colac in 2005, and I have today, paying homage to the great Cliff Young.

On another note, thanks to all those who have expressed their condolences at the passing of Carmel’s mother. It’s much appreciated.