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First Day On The Road On The Australian Mainland

 

Meet Michael Gillan, my support driver and recovery man

Michael drove me to my start location a small seaside town called Queensclifff  just outside Melbourne.

The start of the run across the Australian mainland

Just before I touched the water to begin two runners from Geelong Running club Joe and Zdenko arrived to take it in turns running with me the 32km to Geelong. One drove while the other ran.Later we were joined by Joanne.

Tony, Joe, Zdenko and Joanne

On the run Joe told me that he is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa and despite being here only 1 year he has set up a small running club in the area,well done Joe!

No ordinary Joe.. One year resident Joe Rios the founding member of the Geelong Running Club

Zdenko originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina has been living here over 20 years. He met his Bosnian wife who has lived in Australia since childhood while she was back in Bosnia for a long holiday. Long enough for them to date, fall in love and then for him to move over here.

So Joanne was the only true Aussie of our group as Michael told me he moved here from Yorkshire in 1970 with a £10 ticket as it was known at the time. The Australian government was crying out for people to move down under during the 1960′s and 70′s paying peoples air fares should they make the move. In fact my own parents were almost moving to Perth in the 60′s for they had all the paperwork and backed out at the last minute. There was something sad about such a move for many families then, long before cheap airfares not many returned. I often wondered how my life would have panned out had I grown up here in Australia.

The start across the mainland at last.

Today on the road we stopped many times for Joe had a well stocked car full of jelly gums and cola!

Joe, God bless him went to a lot of trouble contacting local hotels on our behalf and finally the Quality Hotel agreed to give me and Michael a complimentary night with breakfast included.

Joe had also arranged for about 10 members of the running club to meet for dinner at the Boat House restaurant where the club treated us to a very pleasant dinner.

Thanks to the Geelong Runners for a delicious dinner and evening

 

In a nearby park Michael gave an impromptu clinic of his revolutionary soon to be famous recovery techniques.

Michael ' recovers ' Joanne

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Up the steps from the beach for the road to the great Australian adventure

Finally my run across Australia will be dedicated to my step father John Foley who died this day 5 years ago, March 13th 2008. So no better man to dedicate my Australian run to than John, the kindest and gentlest man I have ever know. Rest In Peace John, you were very much in my thoughts today your fifth anniversary when I started my run across Australia.

John Foley R.I.P.

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8 Responses to “First Day On The Road On The Australian Mainland”

  1. Ann Says:

    Congratulations on the start in mainland Australia Tony and your beautiful tribute to John, who indeed was the kindest most gentle man to ever live. R.I. P. John :)

  2. Mam Says:

    Thanks Tony for the lovely comment you made about John, every word you said is the truth. He was a beautiful man. We are so pleased you are dedicating your Australian journey to John and delighted you are doing so well yourself. Take care. Look after yourself. Love mam :)

  3. Anna (member of Geelong Runners) Says:

    Such a priviledge to meet u and hear some of ur stories over dinner at the Boathouse in Geelong. u truely r an inspiration. i look forward to following ur journey online. all the best.
    Anna.

  4. theworldjog Says:

    Thank you very much Anna and all the club members for a very special time on my first day on the mainland. You guys certainly made Michael and me so welcome, we talked about it a lot today. Good luck to you all with your running and your new running club. It was also very special to run with some of the club. Keep on running!

  5. Serena Says:

    Hi Tony, great start to the Australian part of your run. Grandad would be proud of you. Such lovely and true words you wrote. Keep on running! Serena

  6. Greg Havely Says:

    Hey Tony—been off the blog during your time in Tasmania—and now it is a step into the great outback–this should be good!!!—-no pack, no bottles no Nirvana—don’t get lazy on us!!!!
    Anyway–good running—yep, you are truly on the way home now!!

    Cheers Greg

  7. kevin scanlon Says:

    tony, a great start to australia. hopefully michael will make the trip a bit easier. you deserve all the help you can. well done. kevin

  8. Jo Mitchell (Geelong Runners) Says:

    Hi Tony, It was fantastic to have the opportunity to run with you and hear more of your story over dinner. I hope you gave Meredith a wave for me as you passed through!! I can’t wait for the next instalment of the blog! Go Tony! Go!

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About Tony

I have always considered myself to be an average runner. In school, I was even bullied for I was a sports wimp. Through hard work, dedication, perseverance, self-belief and a strong mind I succeeded in not only running around the world but breaking four ultra running world records during my competitive career. Having previously cycled around the world I didn't start running until I was almost 30. Then I had a dream of running around the world. For many reasons, I waited for over 20 years. One reason was to establish my pedigree as an endurance athlete. I started and finished my world run as the current World Record-Holder for 48 Hours Indoor Track 426 kilometres (265 miles), a record I have held since 2007. I also broke and still hold the World Record for 48 hours on a Treadmill 405 kilometres (251 miles) in 2008. When I retired from competition, more pleasing than any of my world, European or Irish records I had the respect of my fellow athletes from all over the world - in my opinion, sports greatest reward - an achievement I am most proud of. Then I finally put myself out to pasture, to live my ultimate dream to run around the world! This blog was written on the road while I struggled to find places to sleep and to recover from running an average of 43.3 kilometres or 27 miles per day for 1,165 road days. There were many nights I typed this blog on a smart phone, so fatigued my eyes closed. Many journalists and endurance athletes have referred to my world run as the most difficult endurance challenge ever attempted. During my expedition I rarely had any support vehicles, running mostly with a backpack. In the more desolate areas I pushed my gear, food and water in a cart which I called Nirvana, then I sent her on ahead to run with my backpack once again over altitudes of almost 5,000 metres in the Andes. I stayed in remote villages where many people had never seen a white person before. I literally met the most wonderful people of this world in their own backyard and share many of those amazing experiences in this blog. My run around the world took 4 years. There were no short cuts, I ran every single metre on the road while seeking out the most comprehensive route across 41 countries, 5 continents, I used 50 pair of running shoes and my final footstep of the run was exactly 50,000 kilometres, (almost 31,000 miles) I eventually finished this tongue in cheek named world jog where I started, at the finish line of my city marathon. I started my global run with the Dublin Marathon on October 25th 2010 and finished with the Dublin Marathon on October 27th 2014 at 3 05pm! Thank you for your support, I hope you can share my unique way of seeing the world, the ultimate endurance challenge! Read more...

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