(Saturday 14th December)
Mark was wide awake in the early hours of day 60. At 1am Mark shared his thoughts with Twitter:
"Painkillers have worn off. Both feet are so sore. I'm not sure how I can even walk never mind run."
"Mind very active and it's just after 1 am. Tomorrow is a key day. There are. 11 days left. Whatever mileage I do tomorrow leaves a simple sum for the following day. That is I divide the remaining mileage by 10 (days left) to give the required average needed…."
"There is a huge incentive to get the remaining mileage to as far below 500 as I possibly can tomorrow."
"As it stands there are 523 miles to #bondi. Running 45 miles will leave 10 days of 47.8 to get to #bondi."
"At this stage during the run across the USA I was running into the night. There's no hint of having to do that in Oz and never has been."
"I've worked so much harder on this tour than in the USA. It's all still to do but with huge effort it's looking good for #bondi on time."
"One day next week, possibly Friday or Saturday, I hope to have a go at a huge distance. 70+ miles is the target."
"If conditions are favourable then 70+ miles is a possibility. I should be in the mountains by then. Climbs always bring the best out of me."
"That will leave only a few days before the finish but the back of the home straight will have been broken."
"The forecast for the remaining 11 days of the run isn't favourable. Temperatures of up to 40 Celsius will be very tough to run in."
"That's all for now. Tomorrow's mileage is hugely important. It's going to set the scene for the final 10 days."
"Back to sleep now and to dream of the tactics needed to run 70+ miles after having already ran over 2000 miles."
The alarm, as usual, was set for 5am. Naturally with his mind in overdrive during the early hours Mark was feeling tired. I took the time to assess his feet and the good news was that they were slowly starting to heal. I added some extra padding underneath the dressing to give some extra support which would hopefully alleviate the pressure around the area of raw skin.
Around midday Mark returned to the RV looking more exhausted than usual. He complained of feeling weak and tired so we agreed that it would be better for him to rest and avoid the ever rising temperature.
After 3 hours Mark was ready to face the afternoon:
"Back in the game now. Typically bad day after poor nights sleep and mozzie bites."
"Looking at rescuing day 60 with at least 33 miles. May run into night or may choose rest. Important tactical decision will be made later."
"It's 504 miles to #Bondi. Another 16 miles today means 1.6 miles less to run over each of the last 10 days."
"9 solid days are required after today and 1 spectacular day of 70ish miles. I don't want this one to go to the wire."
"How to approach the remaining days is now constantly on my mind. The weather forecast is unbelievably challenging next week."
"I'm very happy with 30 Celsius. I'm used to it now. The surge to 40 Celsius next week is a concern."
"Tomorrow's 31 Celsius could be the coolest day that I have left. I feel all the old worries and anxieties from the USA run returning."
"I've got to remain as focused and composed as possible. It's going to be no easy task. Nothing I haven't been expecting."
"If anyone is looking forward to seeing Christmas Day more than I am I'd be very surprised."
Mark continued until just after 7pm. Throughout the course of the afternoon he was stopped by people passing by who very kindly offered a lift to the next town, Hay.
"Friendly couple just stopped and asked "Do you want a lift to Hay?". I explained what I was doing and handed them my leaflet."
"It must be like "Would you like a million pounds?" "No thanks I don't like money".
"Rightly or wrongly I'm stopping on 28 miles today. There are 495 miles to run in 10 days. It's a huge ask."
"Tomorrow (Day 61) is a 49.6 mile run to #hay. Fail that and I'm in serious trouble."
"Some stats after Day 60: 1973 miles ran. 245,000 calories burned. Average daily distance 33.44 miles. Average time 09:55:52."
"Some stats after Day 60: 34,158ft climbed. Maximum distance 46.1 miles. Total time 585 hours 55 minutes. Approx number of steps 4.5 million."
The end point of day 60 - fairly apt…
"Friendly couple just stopped and asked "Do you want a lift to Hay?". I explained what I was doing and handed them my leaflet."
"It must be like "Would you like a million pounds?" "No thanks I don't like money".
"Rightly or wrongly I'm stopping on 28 miles today. There are 495 miles to run in 10 days. It's a huge ask."
"Tomorrow (Day 61) is a 49.6 mile run to #hay. Fail that and I'm in serious trouble."
"Some stats after Day 60: 1973 miles ran. 245,000 calories burned. Average daily distance 33.44 miles. Average time 09:55:52."
"Some stats after Day 60: 34,158ft climbed. Maximum distance 46.1 miles. Total time 585 hours 55 minutes. Approx number of steps 4.5 million."
The end point of day 60 - fairly apt…
