In late 2011, I looked in the mirror and didn\u2019t like what I saw. I was overweight, unfit, and coasting through life without any real fire in the belly. Something had to change. So in early 2012, I decided to start running; slowly, awkwardly, one step at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June 2013, I completed my first marathon: the Perth Marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It took 18 months of hard work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not just training, but showing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Persevering through setbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Learning to stick with something far outside my comfort zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And somewhere along the way, everything changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They say, \u201cI dare you to train for a marathon and not have it change your life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That was true for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t just about running. It was about setting a huge goal – something that once felt impossible – and then proving to myself that I could do it. The self-belief, the quiet pride, the sense of transformation\u2026 it lit a fire in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fire I wanted others to feel too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because what I discovered is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The road to those feelings isn\u2019t exclusive. It\u2019s simple. Ordinary people can feel extraordinary – if they give themselves permission to try.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n So I started wondering: What else could I do?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What would happen if I aimed even higher? Not to prove something to others, but to inspire something in them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a few conversations, a few daydreams, and a joke post from a friend online, an idea took hold:<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if I ran across Australia?<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Perth to Brisbane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thousands of kilometres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On foot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For myself, but also for something bigger than that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That question, half joke, half dare, soon became a plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the plan became a promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rest of the story?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, it happened, between May and September 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n