Four Australians have completed a mammoth feat by running more than 3,300 kilometres from the southern tip of Florida to the Canadian border in 79 days.
Key points:
- Four mates have run across the US from Florida to the Canadian border to raise money for cancer
- The foursome completed a marathon every day and a double marathon on the last day to finish the feat
- The group has so far raised $165,208 for the Cancer Council
The plan originally involved the foursome running 80 marathons in 80 days, but the crew decided to finish a day early with a double marathon.
The time frame for running across a continent might seem tight, but as Lightning Ridge’s Rory Cheal explained to ABC News Breakfast during the journey they could not get any more time in America.
“We could only get 90 day visas into the US, so even if we wanted to we couldn’t,” he said.
“We’ve given ourselves 10 days leeway and we’re gunning for the border before they chase us out.”
The journey covered 3,360km past well known landmarks such as the Lincoln Memorial and through global cities like New York along the east coast of America.
Capturing the attention of the nation’s media along the journey, Sean Stuart told America’s CBS News “it honestly feels a bit like Forrest Gump”.
The friends have gathered a large following on their Instagram page Mates V States and raised more than $170,000 dollars for the Cancer Council.
A worthy cause
Cancer is close to all the runner’s hearts and has been the constant motivation for their journey along the way.
Max Cutrone lost one aunty to breast cancer and had another battled it more recently.
Mr Cheal said his mother had cancer in 2015 and it was a “struggle” getting medical treatments from the remote opal mining town of Lightning Ridge.
“We essentially had to stay with family friends in Sydney for almost two years,” he said.
Mr Cheal’s said Angel Flight Australia, a charity that ferries people from rural areas to critical medical treatments, had supported his family through the ordeal.
His mother is now in remission but he wanted to give back to the charities that supported his family.
“Hopefully some of the money that we’ve raised can go to helping out those people struggling with cancer in those rural and remote communities,” he said.
“We know that no matter how hard it gets we put ourselves in perspective. We know we put ourselves in this situation and that people with cancer aren’t able to do that.”
Final legs
The crew crossed the finish line on Tuesday morning, Australian time, after deciding to finish with a whopping 84-kilometre double marathon.
But the trip has not been without its challenges — from oppressive heat in Florida to medical emergencies along the way.
Max Cutrone said the group was not expecting a heatwave in Florida and had to start some marathons at 3am to outrun the worst of the conditions.
“Some of those mornings were really tough and the beginning of the trip is always the hardest because your body is adapting,” he said.
The group garnered a lot of attention on their journey north with local media tracing their journey and locals throwing open their homes to accommodate four pairs of very tired legs.
During the trip Mr Stuart got blood poisoning from a blister and was almost hospitalised, and Mr Cheal was told to get on crutches halfway through the trip following a calf issue.
“We’ve had some injuries but have been able to push through, luckily,” Byron Bay born Jasper Gotterson said.
After crossing the line Mr Cheal said he was feeling a bit “worse for wear” but was thrilled to have got through the challenge.
“It was an interesting atmosphere towards the end. Just a whole bunch of emotions,” he said.
“We’ve been through so much together as a group. I’d seriously do anything for the three of them.”