The kid who could probably legitimately lay claim to being the fittest kid in Australia just happens to be my 18 yo nephew Jack.
Jack running the Brisbane Half Marathon
Jack is, very, very surprisingly, the son of my brother Brendon – the wimpiest, weakest athlete and bloke you’ll ever meet! (The rest of my brothers and I tell people that Brendon’s our sister!)
Brendon used to be a Nursing Sister at St Johns and St Helens Hospitals for goodness sake! he ain’t exactly a manly man!
Anyway, Jack’s list of endurance achievements is almost unbelievable. They include:
- At 15, Jack became the youngest person to cycle across Australia – 4,500 kms in just 30 days
- At 16, he ran his first full marathon
- At 17, he won the schoolboy 96 km Kokoda Challenge – breaking the old schoolboy record
1,200 km Solo Run Around Tasmania
Next up is a staggering 1,200 km solo run around Tasmania that he started this morning at 9 am.
He’s running with a 6.5 kg backpack! (3 litres of water + clothes, etc) His only real bit of equipment (apart from his runners, shorts and shirt) is his heart rate monitor – we sell these here at Sinclairs.
Taking just 27 days, 18 year old Jack plans to run more than a marathon a day to raise money for youth mentoring charity Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia (BBBS).
My 15 yo son Matt and I ran with Jack out of Hobart (we left from the GPO) this morning for about 10 km as he headed on.
I’ve just spoken with him and he’s in Sorell getting something to eat! (Sorell’s about 25 km out of Hobart.)
So if you see a young guy running by himself along a road anywhere up the East Coast over the next few days, be sure to give him a toot and a wave.
Cheers
Bryan
P.S: Jack finished the run right on schedule 27 days after he started – his longest run was 68 kms between Exter and Devonport.
His first day was a staggering 56 kms from Hobart to Buckland! Read more about Jack here.
