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 westernmost geographical extreme of Australia is Steep Point, whereas the easternmost extreme is Cape Byron. Similarly, the northernmost geographical extreme is Cape York Peninsula, and the southernmost is the South East Cape. The distance between the east and west as the crow flies is 4000km (2,000miles), or 3860km (2,400miles) from north to south†.[1] The westernmost capital city in Australia is Perth, and the easternmost capital city is Brisbane. The northernmost city is Darwin, and the southern to the southernmost 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 14300km (8,900miles)[2] depending on the route taken.
†Distance calculated utilising the resources of Geoscience Australia.
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 | August 1973 | September 1973 | 47 days | Fremantle | Sydney | ||
| Tony Rafferty | August 1973 | October 1973 | 74 days | Fremantle | Gold Coast | ||
| 1983 | 1984 | 217 days | Brisbane | Brisbane | |||
| Sarah Covington Fulcher | 22 September 1986 | 26 December 1986 | 96 days | Bondi Beach | Fremantle (Perth) | ||
| unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |||
| 24 September 1999 | 9 November 1999 | 47 days | Perth | Sydney | |||
| 1999 | unknown | unknown days | Syd | Syd Including Tas | |||
| 5 January 2002 | 13 March 2002 | 67 days | Perth | Sydney | |||
| Jesper Olsen | 31 October 2004 | 11 February 2005 | 104 days | Sydney | Perth | ||
| Achim Heukemes | 2 April 2005 | 14 May 2005 | 43 days | Fremantle | Sydney | ||
| 27 March 2010 | 8 May 2011 | 408 days | Hobart | Hobart Inc Mainland | |||
| Remi Camus | 15 October 2011 | 19 March 2012 | 100 days | Melbourne | Darwin | ||
| Cesar Guarin | 31 October 2011 | 6 December 2011 | 37 days | Brisbane | |||
| Patrick Malandain | 13 October 2013 | 20 November 2013 | 38 days | Fremantle | |||
| Janette Murray-Wakelin | 1 Jan 2013 | 1 Jan 2014 | 366 days | Melb | Melb Inc Tas | ||
| Tony Mangan | 13 March 2013 | 25 May 2013 | 74 days | Melb | Darwin also Hobart-Darwin | ||
| Tom Denniss | June 2013 | September 2013 | 97 days | Cottesloe | Sydney via Melbourne | ||
| Alan Murray | 1 Jan 2013 | 1 Jan 2014 | 366 days | Melb | Melb Inc Tas | ||
| Mark Allison | October 2013 | January 2014 | 82 days | Perth | Shellharbour | ||
| James Brooman | March 2015 | May 2015 | 81 days | Perth | Sydney | ||
| Jason P. Lester[3] | March 2016 | August 2016 | 118 days | Scarborough Beach | Batemans Bay | ||
| Greg Brown | 2 April 2016 | 22 June 2016 | 82 days | South East Cape, Tasmania | Cape York, Queensland | ||
| Andre Jones | 10 March 2017 | 13 June 2017 | 93 days | Melbourne | Darwin | ||
| Richard Bowles | 1 June 2012 | 1 September | 457 days | Healesville, VIC | Cooktown, QLD | ||
| Marie Leautey | 29 April 2022 | 30 August 2022 | 124 days | Cottesloe Beach, WA | Sydney | ||
| 1 September 2022 | 17 October 2022 | 46 days | Cottesloe Beach, WA | Bondi Beach, Sydney | |||
| 7 Jan 2023 | 26 Feb 2023 | 51 days | Opera House, Sydney | Fremantle (South Mole Lighthouse), Perth | |||
| Nikki Love | 1 May 2023 | 16 July 2023 | 77 days | Cottesloe Beach, WA | Bondi Beach, Sydney | ||
| Guy Schweitzer | 28 May 2023 | 13 August 2023 | 78 days | Port Hedland, WA | Scarborough, QLD | ||
| Chris Turnbull | 8 August 2023 | 16 September 2023 | 39 days | Cottesloe Beach (Perth), WA | Manly Beach (Sydney), NSW | ||
| Lachlan and Stefan Lamble (Lambros) | 11 February 2024 | 9 May 2024 | 85 days | Perth Stadium, Perth | Catani Gardens, St Kilda |
George Perdon ran across Australia during the 1973 Trans-Continental Run, completing the 48070NaN0 journey in 47 days, 1 hour and 54 minutes. He averaged 1000NaN0 per day, and set records for 1000miles, 1500miles, 2000miles and 2600miles.[4]
Perdon became a household name in 1973 when competing in the 1973 Trans Australia race and racing his rival, Tony Rafferty. Perdon 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.[4]
Perdon died on 29 June 1993.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6] He completed the run in 74 days.[7]
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.[6]
See main article: Ron Grant (runner). In 1983, Ron Grant ran 133830NaN0 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 61.672NaN2, 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.[8] [9]
The first woman to run across Australia, at age 24, from North Carolina, US, running 2727miles east to west from Bondi Beach, NSW, to the western suburbs of Perth, Western Australia, 22 Sep to 26 Dec 1986.[10] 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. During her record run, Fulcher averaged 10 minutes per mile."[11] "This would also make her the youngest person (at that time) to make any transcontinental run."[12]
Sarah also set the Guinness world record for longest continuous solo run with a distance of 11134miles in 438 days.[13] "Sarah Fulcher, an attractive, 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.[14] "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".[15]
See main article: Robert Garside. Robert Garside is a British runner who ran through 29 countries on six different continents covering more than 480000NaN0 and covering a period of 2,062 days.[16] He started and finished in New Delhi on 20 October 1997, and finished on 13 June 2003.[17] He had completed his Australian leg of the run by April 2000.[18]
See main article: Serge Girard. Serge Girard ran from Perth to Sydney in 1999, covering a distance of 37550NaN0 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.[19] [20]
See main article: Jesper Olsen (runner). Jesper Olsen is a Danish marathon runner who ran across Australia as part of his first journey around the world.[21] He departed from Sydney on 31 October 2004, and arrived in Perth on 11 February 2005.[22] [23] [24] He completed the journey in 104 days, before proceeding onto Los Angeles to complete the American leg of his run around the world.
Achim Heukemes (born 1951 in Wuppertal, Germany) is an 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.[25]
Rémi Camus ran across Australia, Capital to Capital, Melbourne to the Top End, Darwin. He covered his journey in 100 days at an average of 540NaN0 per day (more than 53000NaN0). He completed his journey with no vehicle support, pulling a trailer of 450NaN0. He went to visit two Aboriginal Communities, Docker River located 1820NaN0 west of Kata Tjuta and Mutitjulu located behind Uluru. He recorded his journey with 2 video cameras. He also raised money for a charity,[26] Syndrome of Lowe, a genetic disease that affect mostly boys.[27]
Cesar Guarin ran across Australia in 2011, as part of his Global Run for an advocacy to help Filipino children experiencing poverty. His run across Australia was the fifth leg of his Global run and has a total distance of 20530NaN0 from Melbourne to Brisbane. The Australian run hoped to raise $200,000 funds.[28] [29]
Pat Farmer established the fastest around Australia long run record of continuous running in 191 days and 10 minutes (around 6 months) over 14662.40NaN0 during his Centenary of Federation run. He set a new world 100000NaN0 record in 129 days, broke a long-standing Australian record of more than 133830NaN0 in 174 days. He set a total of ten international records including the Western Australia border to border run, the Brisbane to Darwin run, and the world record for the longest tropics run (63070NaN0 in 83 days).[30]
Deborah De Williams successfully walked around Australia in 2003–04, and set a world record for the longest walk by any woman in the process. On 25 October 2008, she began running from Hobart in an anti-clockwise direction to raise funds for the national breast Cancer Foundation. She made it to Darwin before being injured, and was subsequently forced to withdraw from the run on 5 June 2009. On 27 March 2010, she restarted her run again from Hobart and successfully circumambulated the continent on 8 May 2011. In doing so, she set another world record for the longest run for a woman.[31] In 2015 Deborah was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours for her service to the cancer community and ultra marathoning community and in doing so is officially recognised as the first woman to run around Australia.[32]
Patrick Malandain (born 1960) ran across Australia from Sydney to Fremantle (Perth) during the 2013 Trans-Continental Run, completing the 38610NaN0 race in 38 days, 12 hours and 58 minutes. He ran average 100.1773NaN3 per day. He breaks Achim Heukemes's record since 2005.[33] . It's the new world record.
Ultra-marathoners Janette Murray Wakelin and Alan Murray ran around Australia in 2013, taking 366 days to complete the journey. The couple, aged in their 60s, averaged at least 1 marathon per day. They followed predominantly Highway 1. They aimed to promote the raw food movement.[34]
Tony Mangan ran across Australia south to north on his world run (in which he covered 50,000 km in 4 Years from 2010 to 2014)He started on Australian mainland in Queenscliff, Melbourne, on 13 March. He finished on the Australian mainland in Nightscliff Beach, Darwin (Nightscliff Pool), on 25 May, 2014. The distance run on the mainland was 3,777 km in 69 road days. The average distance run per road day was 54.73 km; there were five rest days taken. The average distance including rest days was 51 km for the 74 days. This has been declared as a new Melbourne-to-Darwin Trans-Australian record by Phil Essam, former Australian ultra-running vice-president, historian, statistician and author. He also ran from Hobart Airport to Burnie, Tasmania, and including the mainland, has also been declared as setting a second Trans-Australian record for Tasmania to Darwin. The total Australian distance run was 4,064 km.
Mark Allison is known as Run Geordie Run and as part of his charity money raising he completed the run across Australia in January 2014.[35]
James Brooman ran from Cottesloe Beach, Perth, to Bondi Beach, Sydney. The journey was solo and unsupported, with James pushing a buggy the entire distance. Beginning on 11 March 2015 he completed the journey of 25620NaN0 in a time of 81 days, 5 hours 55 minutes. The route took him through Kalgoorlie, across the Nullarbor on Highway 1 and through the Blue Mountains via Cowra. Prior to this journey James was an inexperienced runner, completing 3 marathons since 1999, and began his running training for this challenge in December 2014.[36]
Tom Denniss ran across Australia from Perth to Sydney in 2013. It was the final leg on his world circumnavigation run, which he commenced on New Year's Day, 2012, in Sydney. The trans-Australia leg was 97 days from 10 June to 13 September 2013, covering 5,000 km from Cottesloe Beach in Perth, to Kalgoorlie, Norseman, then across the Nullabor Plain, then Melbourne and finally Sydney, where he completed his world run on Friday, 13 September 2013. This was the fastest ever circumnavigation of the Earth on foot, some 40 days quicker than Jesper Olsen's earlier circumnavigation.[37] Denniss' entire run raised $60,000 for Oxfam Australia.[38]
The first American male to run across Australia. Jason P. Lester's Trans Australia Run started in Scarborough Beach, Western Australia and ended 135 days later in Bateman's Bay, New South Wales. Lester ran 118 days, 2,633 miles, of which 2,000 miles were self supported pulling his gear in a 50 lb cart.
Greg ran the East Coast of Australia from Cockle Creek on the South East Cape of Tasmania to the top of Cape York, Queensland, following the coast as close as possible totalling 5,500 km. He did it to raise money for The Cancer Council under the title of 'Cape to Cape for Cancer'. He started on 2 April 2016, had 7 April off to catch the ferry across Bass Strait, then continuing along the coast to Cape York. Finishing on 22 June 2016 only 82 days after starting.
At the age of 56, Andre, who lives in Melbourne after serving 18 years in the Royal Australian Navy, ran solo and unsupported across Australia from Melbourne to Darwin in 93 days, between 10 March 2017 and 13 June 2017. In the 93 days, he took 9 days of rest (5 of which was to recover from an infected ant bite). From Melbourne, he travelled west to Adelaide then north to Darwin along the Stuart Highway via Port Augusta, Marla and Alice Springs, camping along the road when no other accommodation was available. Covering the approximately 3,700 km in the 84 running days, he averaged 44 km per day. As Andre was solo, he pushed the Intrepid (a custom made buggy) which carried his water, camping gear and supplies; when fully stocked it weighed as much as 95 kg. Andre used this journey to raise funds and awareness for beyondblue.
In 2012 Richard Bowles covered almost the entire length of the Great Dividing Range, along Australia's Bicentennial National Trail at 5,330 km.[39]
Nikki Love ran from Cottesloe Beach to Bondi Beach over 77 days in 2023, raising money for the ADHD Foundation’s Umbrella Project.[40]
Guy Schweitzer, 48, ran from Port Hedland, WA, to Scarborough, QLD. While Guy resides in Scarborough, he had been living in Port Hedland for the last two years prior to the commencement of his run, while managing a major infrastructure project in the town. To commemorate the end of Guy's working stint in Port Hedland, he made the decision to run home and complete his journey at Scarborough Harbour Brewing Co, which he co-owns with his wife. Guy completed this feat in 78 days, covering a total distance of 4,480 km, with a daily average of roughly 60 km (37.28 mi). The vast majority of his run was completed on dirt and gravel roads, affording him the opportunity to experience some of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland's most remote areas. Guy had the assistance of a support crew for some of the more isolated sections of the journey, but he spent much of his time unsupported, wheeling his food and supplies in a converted push bike trailer.
On 16 September 2023, Chris Turnbull a 39-year-old from the Northern Beaches of Sydney became the second-fastest person to run across Australia. He completing the journey in 39 days, 8 hours and 1 minute and covered 3,864 kilometres. He started his run at Cottesloe Beach in Perth, Western Australia, at 5am (GMT+8) on 8 August 2023 and finished at Manly Beach in Sydney, New South Wales, at 3:01pm (AEST +10) on 16 September 2023. Chris was supported on the road by a crew of between 2 and 4 people.
In 2024, Stefan and Lachlan Lamble, a brother duo better known by their collective social media handle Lambros, ran approximately 3,360 km from Perth to Melbourne to raise money for cancer research. The duo attracted more than 522,000 Instagram followers and more than 10 million YouTube views.[41] [42] They also garnered mainstream press.[43] [44] Additionally, they were the first brothers to run across Australia in recorded history, raising A$212,628 for cancer research as of June 2024.[45] They completed their journey in 85 days despite injuries such as stress fractures, achilles tendinitis, and a torn meniscus.[46]