Aussie mates conquer 80 marathons in 80 days for Cancer Council


Four friends from New South Wales are on the verge of completing 80 marathons in 80 days up the east coast of the United States, raising more than $144,000 for the Cancer Council.

The epic 3376km journey has featured a tornado in Georgia, a meeting with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and former foreign minister Julie Bishop in New York, and a series of painful injuries.

But 23-year-old Jasper Gotterson says he and Max Cutrone, Sean Stuart and Rory Cheal – none of whom were long distance runners before the gruelling challenge – have learned that “you’ve just got to shoot for the moon”.

“It’s obviously a big challenge but then you break it into granular little pieces, one marathon every day,” he said.

“It’s never looking at it thinking whether we can run 70 more, because that’s damn overwhelming.”

The mates started running 42.2km a day on February 18 in Florida, passing through 13 states before they were due to reach the Canadian border just south of Montreal on May 9 (US time).

Their endeavour was inspired by how cancer had affected their family and friends, and Mr Gotterson said they hoped to raise money as well as awareness about the disease.

“Before we left, we were injured and I personally didn’t have a lot of belief that we’d be able to get this far,” he said.

“It’s just proven to me that once you put your message out there and tell people what you’re doing, and you find a group of people willing to go the distance with you, then you can push the boundaries so much further than you’d initially think.”

Their self-funded trip – completed mostly without a support crew – has been aided by Americans and Australian expats offering them accommodation as well as homemade meals as they consumed a whopping 6000 calories per day.

“It was like a glorified pyramid scheme,” Mr Gotterson laughed.

“One person has taken us in and then they have to find three more hosts for us … They’ve been so generous, it’s unbelievable.”

“There’s so many people we’ve met along the way who have had experiences with cancer and have opened up … There’s this shared community of people who are touched by the cause, and it’s so special and so empowering.”

“The generosity (of those who have donated) is so appreciated towards the end of this challenge.”

To donate or to find out more, visit matesvstates.com

Originally published as Aussies mates conquer 80 marathons in 80 days for Cancer Council

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