About 2 years ago now I read a biography about Pat Farmer and his incredible ultrarunning achievements, and it was his attitude as an “everyday bloke” that inspired me to have a crack at my 33 Marathons run across the Nullarbor. I was lucky enough to be supported by Blackmore’s, who also where a major sponsor of Pat’s Pole to Pole run.
And now, thanks to Blackmore’s, I am in possession of a signed copy of Pat Farmer’s book – Pole to Pole, a diary of his World Record marathon of Ultramarathons covering over 22,000km from the North to the South Pole. The good news is that I am going to be giving it away!
In the spirit of Pat’s achievements last year and in his amazing running life to date, I shall be sending it to an everyday Aussie who has, through their displays of running endurance, been an inspirational light to so many runners and non-runners alike. I couldn’t possible pick one, so I have made a shortlist of suitably qualified contenders who achieved some incredible feats in the past year. It is up to you to vote for the one that you think is the most worthy on the right hand side of this page. I will send the book to the one that gets the most votes for being the most inspirational, “every-day runner” (that is completely amateur) when the poll closes on Monday June 25th.
I have shortlisted (no pun intended Jane!) my top 6 for you to choose from, and given how worthy they all are I have given you 2 votes, as you may not be able to split them. The list has been kept to lower profile individuals who would normally miss out on recognition for the impact they have on others.
The candidates are:
Andy Hewat – Completed GNW 100mile 10 weeks after heart surgery. Also completed solo run along the 550km length of Munda Biddi Trail in WA in the middle of a heat wave (not planned). AND he completed a solo Bogong to Hotham out’n’back.
Jane Trumper – The first female to run the full 650kms across the Simpson Desert (raising a heap of cash for Bear Cottage Children’s Hospice in the process) as well as countless other ultra race successes.
Meredith Quinlan – Female winner of GNW 100miles, and then backed it up by running the complete 250kms of the GNW from Newcastle to Sydney, taking 11 hours off the previous record.
Roger Hanney – An ultra runner with type 1 diabetes who has continued to notch up ultramarathon success after success including a stellar debut at GNW 100mile, and will be completing the 4 Deserts marathons with team Born to Run (the Atacama leg was completed in Feb 2012)
Chris Turnbull – Out there, hard core endurance athlete who, amongst other ultras, decided to run Sydney to Melbourne with just 2 weeks preparation. What else should he have done, the leave from work was booked?
Jess Baker - Running the complete 250kms of the GNW from Newcastle to Sydney, taking 11 hours off the previous record, and the female member of the Team Born to Run assault on the 4 Deserts Marathons.As an added bit of fun, I’ll also send a 33 Marathons t-shirt out to a random voter, so get over to the right hand side of the page and make your selection from that incredibly inspirational groups of Ultrarunners. Or you can Vote Here :)
Run Happy!
Andy
“What counts in battle is what you do when the pain sets in” – John Short
www.ultramarathonrunning.com.au
