guiness world record attempt
On March 12th I'm going to run 265km in 24 hours...on a treadmill.
I'm going to run just over 6 back to back marathons to break the Guinness World Record for the furthest distance run on a treadmill in 24 hours!
But....why??
This next challenge is on a topic that, similar to mental health, affects a lot of people - Cancer.
As you may know from my last challenge, out of the blue back in October 2014 our good friend and neighbour Frank was diagnosed with cancer. Frank sadly passed away in February 2015.
And it really felt as long as it took you to read that sentence.
One minute we were all laughing and messing about, passing our kids over the back fence to each other's houses, and in a short space of time Frank was gone and we were all a bit lost.
I just couldn't make sense of it at the time. I started drinking. Couldn't sleep. Started to struggle at work. And became anxious and depressed.
Running helped bring me out of the darkness and gave me hope. It gave me purpose. It was in my darkest moment that for some reason I decided to run from Brisbane to Sydney.
When i started to prepare for my last challenge I was introduced to this passionate and energetic ultra runner called Luca Turrini, who was the founder of the charity Outrun Cancer. Not only had he run 20 marathons in a month in Italy, but in 2017 he ran 261km in 24 hours on a treadmill...becoming a Guinness World Record Holder in the process!
After picking Luca's brain for over an hour, I remember typing his name into YouTube to find his documentary detailing his world record. I watched it over and over. I was hooked. I couldn't get my head around how someone could do that. I thought to myself if I can get through Brisbane to Sydney in one piece I'd love to give that a crack.
Luca ran with me on marathon number 3 from Byron Bay. We were running along the beach and I was asking him about his run, plucking up the courage to casually drop in the line "I would love to do that one day." Without skipping a beat Luca said "Get through this first and let's chat".
So I finished my run in October and this obsession grew and grew until I couldn't keep it in any more. In January I called him up and said I would love to partner with him and his charity Outrun Cancer and give it a crack. And here we are now.
But it's not just about the running.
There's not a week that goes by that I don't think about Frank.
It is estimated that at least one third of all cancer cases are preventable, and that potentially more than half of all cancers could be avoided through a combination of healthy lifestyle and regular screening.
OutrunCancer is a charity that empowers individuals and teams through running to raise awareness and funds for cancer prevention.
So, back to my original question...why am I doing this?
I'm doing this for my family, to lead by example and to show my kids Lily and Alfie that anything is possible.
I'm doing this in partnership with my good friend Luca Turrini and his amazing charity OutrunCancer, to raise awareness and funds for cancer prevention.
I’m doing this in honor of those who won the battle, those who are still fighting the battle, and those who unfortunately lost the battle to cancer.
Together let's #outruncancer