Distance today = 48.05 km; Total distance = 25,915.01 km; Location = Gunning (12 km west of) – 34 48.159’ S, 149 09.001′ E; Start time = 0806, Finish time = 1550

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/370811688

Some high cloud today made the conditions a little more comfortable for running. Not that they’ve been bad at all.

I passed through a couple of towns – firstly, Bowning, where Poddy McMahon has an antique shop. It wasn’t open that early in the day, but it looked like a beauty.

Later I passed through Yass, which seems to have grown since I was last there, four years ago. It was really bustling today.

The rest of the day was less interesting, particularly as a good deal of it was on the Hume Freeway. I’ve found a parallel road, however, and shouldn’t have to run on the freeway much tomorrow.

I have previously mentioned Kevin Carr, who has recently started a run around the world. On his web site, he has an interesting way of describing an earlier run he did. I thought I’d have a go at a similar description for my run, to give a different perspective on the total distance and vertical ascent (uphill), so here goes.

Imagine you are contemplating a really difficult ultra marathon. It consists of running three consecutive marathons back to back, then culminating with a run up Alpe d’Huez, one of the most famous and feared climbs of the Tour de France. OK, so that’s 126.6 km of running, finishing at the top of one of the most iconic peaks in the French Alps. Quite an event!!!

Now, as soon as you’re finished that, imagine you have to do the whole event again. In fact, once you’ve done it again, do the whole thing another 200 times, back to back – yes, that’s 200 times. And when you’ve finally done that, you’re not finished yet – top it all off with a final 1,000 km run.

The above is what I will have managed to complete when I finish next Friday. Admittedly, it’s taken me more than 20 months. I had never thought of it that way, but now I’m beginning to appreciate why I’m a little bit tired.

Don’t forget, the finish is Friday, Sept 13 at 1 pm, at the Sydney Opera House steps. I’d love to see as many people there as possible, so try to make it. After that, it’s down to the Clovelly Hotel for celebrations. Yee ha!!!