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List of people who have run across Australia

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Location of Australia
Map depicting the geographical extremes of Australia, and the cities at each point of the compass.

This article is about people who have run, and are currently running, across or around Australia. For a list of people who have walked across Australia, see List of people who have walked across Australia.

People who choose to run across Australia can choose to run from either of the geographical extremes of the continent, or from directly opposed cities on opposite shores. The western-most geographical extreme of Australia is Steep Point, whereas the eastern-most extreme is Cape Byron. Similarily, the northern-most geographical extreme is Cape York Peninsula, and the southern-most is the South East Cape. The distance between the east and west as the crow flies is 4030km (2504 miles), or 3685km (2290 miles) from north to south*. The western-most capitol city in Australia is Perth, and the eastern-most capitol city is Brisbane. The northern-most city is Darwin, and the southern to the southern-most city is Hobart.

Runners who choose to circumambulate Australia can follow the National Highway for large sections of their journey. Distances involved are in the vicinity of 14,300km (8,886 miles)[1] depending on the route taken.

*Distance calculated by author utilising the resources of Geoscience Australia.

Completed journeys

The names of the individuals who have run across Australia have been listed below in chronological order. Sources for data contained within this table have been listed within the body of the article, or where not readily available, directly from the individual concerned.

Name Nationality Start date Finish date Duration Starting location Finishing location
George Perdon  Australia August 1973 1973 47 days Fremantle Sydney
Tony Rafferty  Australia August 1973 October 1973 74 days Fremantle Gold Coast
Ron Grant  Australia 1983 1983 217 days Brisbane Brisbane
Sarah Covington Fulcher  United States 22 September 1986 26 December 1986 96 days Bondi Beach Fremantle (Perth)
Robert Garside  England unknown unknown unknown unknown unknown
Serge Girard  France 24 September 1999 9 November 1999 47 days Perth Sydney
Achim Heukemes  Germany 2 April 2005 14 May 2005 43 days Fremantle Sydney
Sarah Mycroft  Australia 4 April 2010 27 November 2010 238 days Sydney Sydney

George Perdon

George Perdon ran across Australia during the 1973 Trans-Continental Run, completing the 4807 km journey in 47 days, 1 hour and 54 minutes. He averaged 100 km per day, and set records for 1000 miles (1600 km), 1500 miles (2414 km), 2000 miles (3219 km) and 2,600 miles (4184 km).[2]

George became a household name in 1973 when competing in the 1973 Trans Australia race and racing his rival - Tony Rafferty. George was was unable to get time off work at the appropriate time and missed the official start, giving Rafferty one week’s head start before heading off from Fremantle. Perdon was to end up beating Rafferty into Sydney by a day. They took slightly different routes during the run, causing the run to generate front page headlines for a majority of the journey.[2]

George died on 29 June 1993.[2]

Tony Rafferty

In 1972, Tony Rafferty became the first man to run from Melbourne to Sydney, pioneering ultra-distance running in Australia. He was also the first man to run from Perth to Adelaide, Adelaide to Brisbane, Melbourne to Brisbane and Sydney to Brisbane. In 1978, he became the first man to run from Melbourne to Sydney and return.[3] In August to October 1973 Tony became the first person to run from Fremantle to the Gold Coast, and in the process became the first person to run across the Nullarbor Plain.[4] He completed the run in 74 days.[5]

Tony has received many commendations for his achievements. Most notably, he was a Torch Bearer for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and the recipient of the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2002 for services to Ultramarathon Running and the promotion of Community Fitness.[4]

Ron Grant

In 1983, Ron Grant ran 13,383 km around Australia in 217 days. Ron completed the run in an anticlockwise direction. Starting in Brisbane, he then proceeded to Townsville, Mt Isa, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, then back to Brisbane. He maintained an overall daily average of 61.67 km, and was the first person to do it solo. Soon after this achievement, he was awarded the Queensland Sportsman of the year Award in 1983, Queenslander of the Year in 1984, and the Order of Australia in 1984.[6][7]

Sarah Covington Fulcher

The first woman to run across Australia, at age 24, from North Carolina, USA, running 2,727 miles (4399 km)east to west from Bondi Beach, NSW to the western suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, 22 Sept to 26 Dec 1986 [8]. Fulcher describes her journey through remote areas in an interview with Bryant Gumbel on NBC's Today Show. “Sarah Fulcher set her incredible record one marathon at a time. It was an unparalleled feat that will take a heck of a commitment to beat. The feat earned her the record for the youngest person ever to run across a continent, and the first woman to foot it across Australia. During her record run, Fulcher averaged 10 minutes per mile [9]." "This would also make her the youngest person (at that time) to make any transcontinental run [10]."

Sarah also set the Guinness world record for longest continuous solo run with a distance of 11,134 miles in 438 days[11]. "Sarah Fulcher, an attractive, brightly-smiling, 25-year-old native of Winston Salem, N. C., jogged through Sequin this week on her way back to Laguna Hills, Calif., near Los Angeles, from where she began her 11,000 mile run…the world’s longest, continuous solo run in history [12]. "Fulcher has been recognized by untold news organizations and government organizations including the Connecticut General Assembly Permanent Committee on the Status of Women's (CTPCSW)publication Selected Highlights of Women's History (page 38) and the United States Congressional Record in a "Salute to Sarah Covington Fulcher" [13].

Robert Garside

Main article: Robert Garside

Robert Garside, also known as "The Runningman", is a British runner who ran through 29 countries on six different continents covering more than 48,000 km and covering a period of 2,062 days.[14] He started and finished in New Delhi on 20 October 1997, and finished on 13 June 2003.[15] Garside broke the world long distance running record in the West Australian outback. The record fell 3km outside Norseman on the Eyre Highway when he eclipsed the old mark of 17,814.4km held by American runner Sarah Covington-Fulcher. [16]

Serge Girard

Main article: Serge Girard

Serge Girard ran from Perth to Sydney in 1999, covering a distance of 3,755 km in 46 days, 23 hours, 12 min and setting a world record in the process. The world record remained intact until beaten by Achim Heukemes in 2005. [17][18]

Achim Heukemes

Achim Heukemes (born 1951 in Wuppertal, Germany) is a ultramarathon runner known for his 4,568-kilometre run through Australia. He started from Fremantle on 2 April 2005 and finished in Sydney 43 days, 13 hours and 8 minutes later. By this feat, he beat the previous world record of Serge Girard from 1999[19].

Sarah Mycroft

Sarah Mycroft ran around Australia on 27 November 2010. She ran an average of 62 km a day for 238 days, covering a total of 14,772 km. In doing so, she also raised $3021 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).[20][21]

Journeys under-way

The following list provides links to people currently running or planning to run across Australia. Only reputable sources have been referenced, in so much as there is proof the individual has commenced the journey, or a reputable charity or organisation has sanctioned a fund-raising event.

Name Nationality Start date Starting location Finishing location Benefactor (if raising for charity) Cited references
No journeys known to be underway...

See also

References

  1. ^ "Deborah DeWilliam's Town Itinerary" (PDF). 16 June 2004. Retrieved 2011–04–04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  2. ^ a b c "George Perdon". Retrieved 2011–03–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  3. ^ "Speaker Tony Rafferty". Retrieved 2011–03–28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ a b "Tony Rafferty". Retrieved 2011–03–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  5. ^ "A History of the Marathon Race — 490 B.C. to 1975" (PDF). Retrieved 2011–03–28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ "Ron Grant". Retrieved 2011–03–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  7. ^ "World Harmony Run: 75 Ron Grant". Retrieved 2011–03–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ Russell, A. (1988). The Guinness Book of Records with Australian Supplement. Enfield, England: Guinness Books, pp. 350-351
  9. ^ Kevles, B. (1989, March). The longest run ever. Women’s Sports and Fitness Magazine, 11(2), 67
  10. ^ Morris, D (2011). Sarah's Long Run: Highlights from Sarah Covington Fulcher's World's Record Longest Run. Jamestown, North Carolina: Crazy Feathers Publishing, p. 14
  11. ^ Matthews, P. (1989). The Guinness Book of Records 1990. Enfield, England: Guinness Books, pp. 298-299.
  12. ^ Gossett, G. (5 June 1988). It’s a very big run for a slip of a girl. Sequin-Gazette-Enterprise, p. 1A
  13. ^ Lowery, B. (15 May 1989). Salute to Sarah Covington Fulcher. United States of America Congressional Record Proceedings and Debates of the 101st Congress. First Session (135) 61.
  14. ^ "Around the world in 2040 days". The Sydney Morning Herald. 27 March 2007. Retrieved 2011–04–04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  15. ^ "Earliest Run around the World" (PDF). 27 March 2007. Retrieved 2011–04–04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  16. ^ "Briton sets World Record". 1999-09-11. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  17. ^ "Trans Australia". Retrieved 2011–05–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  18. ^ "Serge Girard Attempting Trans-Australia record". 6 September 1999. Retrieved 2011–05–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  19. ^ "Achim Down Under (2005)". Retrieved 2011–05–28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ "One lap, no excuses". Retrieved 2011–03–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  21. ^ "Running mum: 'I ran around Australia!'". 21 March 2011. Retrieved 2011–03–21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
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