Today I want to surprise with the story of a simple Australian shepherd who won the Sydney-Melbourne supermarathon at a distance of 875 km. He ran without sleep in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes. He was 61 years old!

Today I want to surprise with the story of a simple Australian shepherd who won the Sydney-Melbourne supermarathon at a distance of 875 km. He ran without sleep in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes. He was 61 years old!

Today I want to surprise with the story of a simple Australian shepherd who won the Sydney-Melbourne supermarathon at a distance of 875 km. He ran without sleep in 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes. He was 61 years old!

The Australian Ultramarathon was held from 1983 to 1991. Each start was attended by experienced athletes who trained for months in order to successfully cover the distance of 864 km from Melbourne to Sydney. Most of the runners were under 30. 

They were sponsored by major international brands, providing quality sneakers and comfortable equipment. Imagine the surprise of the athletes when 61-year-old Cliff Young appeared on the track of a large-scale race. In overalls and with galoshes over boots.

Clifford - that's how Young's full name sounds - was born in 1922 into a poor family. The boy spent all his childhood on a family farm in Victoria, a state in southeastern Australia. The area of ​​the property was just over eight square kilometers.

Neither in his youth, nor when he grew up, Cliff was not fond of sports. The man's sudden love for running woke up, it would seem, too late to reach great heights in a new business for himself. The farmer plunged into the conquest of long distances at the age of 57.

In 1982, when Young was 60 years old, he tried to run a thousand miles (about 1.6 thousand kilometers) around Memorial Square in Colak. The man wanted to break the world record, but could not. Fortunately, failure did not stop him on his way to impressive results. A year later, Cliff entered the Australian Super Marathon to cover the distance from Melbourne to Sydney.

On the day of the race, world-famous athletes were perplexed when they saw a 61-year-old man in the area for athletes. At first, everyone thought Young had come as a spectator. Conjecture was dispelled when the man approached the registration desk to obtain the competitor's number. Some eyewitnesses thought that the farmer was simply out of his mind, while others were seriously worried about his health and safety. Indeed, at this age, the body may not withstand such colossal loads.

Young safely got the 64th number and stood in line with the other runners. The film crew, who were at the start, rushed to interview an unusual participant. When the journalists found out that Cliff really intends to run the ultramarathon, and besides, without sponsors and special training, they told him bluntly: "You can't." But the farmer was not taken aback.

“No, I can. I grew up on a farm where we could not afford horses or a car until very recently. Only 4 years ago I bought a car. When the storm was approaching, I went out to herd the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep grazing on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I caught sheep for 2-3 days - it was not easy, but I always caught them. I think I can participate in the race, because it is only 2 days longer and is only 5 days, while I run after the sheep for 3 days. "

When the marathon began, the pros left Cliff far behind. Spectators from all over Australia watched the man, worried and even prayed for him: if only he would finish alive. Moreover, every experienced athlete knew that a distance of 864 kilometers takes about five days of travel. To do this, you need to run for 18 hours every day and sleep for 6. The farmer was not aware of this running plan.

The morning after the start of the race, people learned that Young had not slept and had been running all night. But he still lagged behind other athletes. Every night, Cliff caught up with his rivals, until on the last day he pulled ahead and finally went into a significant lead.

The Australian farmer triumphs in the ultra marathon. It took him 5 days 15 hours and 4 minutes to finish. 10 hours less than the result of the nearest rival! To the surprise of the public, Cliff did not take any prizes for himself. The man refused the $ 10 thousand and distributed it to the rest of the runners, dividing it equally. At that moment, the whole country fell in love with the new national hero.

A year after winning the ultramarathon, 62-year-old Cliff married a 23-year-old girl named Mary Howell. Their wedding was paid for by a chain of stores that sponsored the iconic race. True, after five years the marriage broke up.

In subsequent years, Young did not abandon his favorite business. He continued to run and in February 1990 took part in the first international 24-hour championship in the English city of Milton Keynes. And in November he covered 648 kilometers in the Australian Campbelltown.

In 1997, Cliff gained public attention again. He intended to run 16,000 kilometers to raise money for homeless children. Unfortunately, the man had to interrupt the race after 6.5 thousand kilometers, because his teammate fell ill.

After that, Young faced a terrible disease - cancer. The man fought her for five years. His most recent running achievement was a world record in a six-day marathon in 2000. And in 2003, Cliff died, he was 81 years old.