by As night fell on Nedd Brockmann’s quest to run 1,609.3km in 10 days, the loneliness of Australia’s favorite long-distance runner could be felt by every member of a crowd of 1,000 who gathered. gathered on Sunday in Sydney Olympic Park to cheer him on at home.
The former professional turned endurance athlete was in agony – and often in tears. By 5pm on the 10th evening, Brockmann, 25, from central-west New South Wales, had covered 1,322.62km. He had run every day for 16 to 20 hours on a 400-meter athletics track. He had raised more than $1.3 million in donations for charity. But his body was failing him.
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“Nedd suffers every day because of this challenge,” said support team leader James Ward. “He has problems with his shins, knees and shoulders. We’ve gotten to the point where he needs us to put him in a wheelchair every morning to get him on the track. But as long as the donations keep coming in, he thinks all the pain will be worth it. »
By Sunday, the blisters on Brockmann’s feet were raw and bleeding. Although he wore shoes three sizes too big to combat the discomfort, at times he could barely walk, let alone run, in his effort to reach the astonishing goal of four marathons every day.
“This track is so relentless… it’s been hell… and that’s why I love it,” Brockmann told his followers in a social media clip. By then, his “Uncomfortable Challenge” had attracted 2.7 million views on TikTok for what proved to be an uncomfortable – but undoubtedly inspiring – challenge.
Brockmann had his eyes on a record set by the greatest ultra runner of all time, Yiannis Kouros, who ran 1,000 miles in 10 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes and 36 seconds in New York in 1988. C t was a typically audacious goal, and on Sunday it seemed out of reach. But as the crowd cheered from the stands, Brockmann persevered.
“The record may be out of reach for Nedd, but he’s not stopping,” said Ward, who met Brockmann in 2020 when Sparkie, 21, ran 50 marathons in 50 days to collect more than 100 $000 for the Red Cross. “Nedd is an incredible character. When he reached $1.3 million in donations today, he burst into tears. Then he continued running.
Brockmann first captured the nation’s hearts in 2022 with an extraordinary 46-day, 4,000km run across Australia that raised $1.85 million for We Are Mobilize, an awareness program fighting against homelessness. Six weeks after he left for Western Australia, a crowd of more than 10,000 cheered the cult hero across the finish line on Bondi Beach.
This challenge was shorter but steeper – and much more exhausting. “Yiannis Kouros’ feat of endurance is simply breathtaking,” Brockmann wrote on Instagram before leaving. “However, if you want to do something, don’t go half-heartedly, throw everything at it. All.”
Over the past 10 days, the former electrician certainly did, eating and sleeping on the track in a tent under the grandstand. Brockmann runs mostly at night to avoid the heat, sleeps during the day and sticks to a strict fueling schedule.
His mother, Kylie, and father, Ian, applauded his every step, and boxing champion Harry Garside and comedian Hamish Blake came to the track to run alongside him.
On the eighth day, with the record slipping away, Brockmann changed tactics. Instead of running each 100 miles in 20-hour increments virtually nonstop for a day, he began working in “17-hour sessions”: running big miles, resting for a few hours, then setting off again.
With 12 hours to go, Brockmann had to run 280km on Monday 14 October at 3:30am AEST (and 35 seconds) to claim the world record. But the record pales in comparison to the more important cause of raising funds for the homeless. “So far it has received 20,000 individual donations, mainly from mums, dads and children, rather than large corporations,” estimates Ward. “It will continue on Tuesday, even Wednesday, until it hits 1,000.”
Beyond 1,000 people, Brockmann encourages workplaces, schools, gyms and friend groups to embark on their own uncomfortable charity challenge in the coming weeks.
“It’s not just about endurance or trying to break a world record. I want it to be a rallying cry for people who want to take a chance, come together and make a difference,” said Brockmann.
Brockmann’s attempt was broadcast on TikTok Live.
