Run Around the World – About Tom Denniss

Hi, I’m Tom.

Although I have now completed a run around the world, I don’t really consider myself to be much of a long distance runner. I actually started life as a sprinter, having had some moderate success at schoolboy level, including a fairly respectable personal best of 10.90 seconds for 100 metres. What speed I did have served me well on the football field too, but after the age of 21 I craved for longer and less explosive activities – races that took more time and allowed me to savour the event while actually competing. Sprints simply didn’t give me that.

So I ventured into marathon running (PB of 2:49:14) and, in the past few years, I’ve gone for even longer events. I ran a 100 km charity event in 2008 in 9:26:12, and then placed 9th outright in my one and only ultra-marathon race – the 2009 Run to the Sun, a 58 km race from sea level to the peak of the Haleakala volcano on Maui, sitting at over 10,000 feet (3,045 m). I followed that race the next month with a 1,000 km run from Melbourne to Sydney on my own, raising money for cancer research.

Which brings me to my latest endeavour – although I’m not really physiologically suited to long events like running around the world, I did enjoy it immensely, and I surprised myself with my ability to survive consecutive days of 50+ km. And, if I can do it, I reckon pretty much anyone can, so long as they apply themselves to the task and do enough training to adapt their body to the challenge. If nothing else, I hope my run will inspire others to take on similar challenges.

Other Information on Tom Denniss

Tom Denniss has a PhD in Mathematics and Oceanography, as well as a First Class Honours degree in Science and a degree in Mathematics. He has worked as a high school teacher, a university lecturer, and an investment banker. Tom is also a former professional musician, having played to audiences in eight different countries, a former professional rugby league player, and an amateur artist.

Tom Denniss currently works for a company he cofounded in 2016, Wave Swell Energy Ltd. The company has developed a technology to convert the energy in ocean waves into electricity.