Ross Kendall
Harry Summers ran a marathon a day for 18 days to complete the 760 km run from Bondi Beach in Sydney to Byron Bay last month.
Harry is one of Australia’s top athletes and was preparing to represent the country at the Tokyo Olympic Games until it was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has also dominated the country’s biggest fun run, Sydney’s City to Surf, winning three of the last four events.
The run was all about raising awareness for the work the Black Dog Institute does to help people with mental health issues.
Harry spent a lot of time meeting people on his way up the coast including a lot of bush fire fighters. He also meet plenty who had struggled with mental health and thoughts of suicide, coach Jimmy Owens said.
‘There was a lot of support for the cause on our social media,’ he said.
The marathon of marathons took its toil on the runner, as he picked up a slight injury during the run.
He had two weeks off from running but was still able to take a walk up to the Byron lighthouse after he arrived.
The runner stayed in Myocum for a week and is set to return to the area to continue training in roughly six-weeks time.
‘The hills around the area are good for training,’ the coach said.
Developing distance stamina was all about patience, positivity and self-confidence.
‘There are no short cuts to success, and it is important to have fun and a purpose,’ Jimmy said.
