By Michael Doran
Going for a run takes on a whole new meaning for 20 year old apprentice plumber Cody McKellar. His idea is to lace up his runners and return 12 hours and 100 kilometres later.
“I finish work, get home, chuck on my running gear and go running,” said the former Mount Lilydale Mercy College student. “I run at least every second day and average 80km a week.”
When injury ended his football playing days he looked around for another way to keep fit.
“I used to do runs to stay fit and when I couldn’t play footy anymore I thought ok, I will make the runs longer and longer and then started doing the real long stuff.
“I did my first marathon two years ago and a couple of days after it I heard there was a 100km run on at Wilsons Promontory which sounded good so I entered.
“When I asked my old PE teacher what I should do for training he said just run slower for longer. I was running up and down the Warby Trail doing 30km runs every other weekend and I finished ok.”
In October he completed the 100km Great Ocean Walk run from Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles, finishing 11th in a field of 90. His time of 12 hours and 20 minutes beat his previous best by an hour.
His bucket list runs include the Western States 100 mile and ultimately the Badwater Marathon, 135 miles (217km) of torture through the aptly named Death Valley, both in the United States.
So what motivates a 20 year old to do these extreme events? “ I don’t think of it as motivation, I think of it as just going for a run,” he said. “I just like to be different.”
His message to anyone contemplating ultra-running is equally simple. “Get started – start with anything you can do, go outside and enjoy the fresh air and go as far as you can. Do what you enjoy.”
