Distance today = 51.94 km; Total distance = 25,244.94 km; Location = Broadford – 37 13.671’ S, 145 00.850′ E; Start time = 0847, Finish time = 1645

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/363535205

I now have less than 1,000 km to run until I finish at the Opera House in Sydney. And that will be exactly three weeks from today.

Today was Carmel’s mother’s funeral. I had fully intended to be there, but Dulcie had made it clear that she did not want me to stop the run, and the rest of the family concurred. I could have disregarded her wishes and attended, but that wouldn’t have been the best way to show the respect she deserved. Instead, I dedicated today’s run to her.

Carmel was at the funeral, of course, and Dave acted as support crew for the day. Carmel will be back tomorrow. Dave also managed to run 31 km with me, leapfrogging Jeff into the second place on the aggregate list, but still well short of Chook’s 272 km at this stage.

The run took me north, and over the Great Dividing Range, where I reached an altitude of 500 metres. So far, my run from the city has been the same as I ran in 2009, on my Melbourne to Sydney run. It won’t all be the same, though.

Earlier in the day, I bid farewell to Michael, who has acted as support crew for the past week and a half. He did a fantastic job. I’ll see him and Annie next in Sydney, as they’re flying up for the finish.

One other milestone for the day was the web site reaching three-quarters of a million visits. It would be great if it reached a million by the time I finished, but I’m not sure that will happen.