Murray Bridge man Todd Hillam walks marathon in Mount Gambier COVID-19 medi-hotel
Stuck in hotel quarantine at Mount Gambier’s Southgate Motel for a fortnight, this Murray Bridge man has just done a 42km marathon. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
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It has been a long journey home for Murray Bridge’s Todd Hillam.
After heading to Melbourne for work it has been 112 days since he saw his family but Mr Hillam is now 52,205 steps closer to being reunited with wife Alice and children Isabel, 6 and Peyton 4.
The father-of-two was not going let a 14-day stay at the Mount Gambier Southgate Motel medi-hotel, derail his marathon training.
With plenty of time to kill, Mr Hillam set himself a target of 20,000 steps a day from the confines of his room.
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“You can only watch so much Netflix,” he said.
“I just get up in the morning, have breakfast, make the bed and get into my steps, get them done.
“I’ve tried a little bit of running but there’s too many turns.”
It was a comment from a police officer during a twice-daily ‘proof of life check’ that inspired Mr Hillam to kick it up a gear.
He did the maths — he needed to do around 52,000 steps to complete a full 42 km marathon.
Mr Hillam said he did not intentionally set out to walk a marathon on Thursday but around 8 hours later he hit that magic number.
“I got up early in the morning before breakfast and I thought I‘ll just put a few steps in now,” he said.
“Then it got about to lunchtime and I thought I’ll sit down have lunch and then I’ll keep going.
“I was at maybe 30,000, I was over halfway so I thought let’s give it a crack today.”
Now Mr Hillam is on the final straight with one last night in hotel quarantine before being reunited with his family who have travelled to Mount Gambier to meet him.
“They’re waiting for me to get out tomorrow,” he said.
“My kids don’t know that I’m here.
“I’ll meet them for breakfast down at one of the cafes and surprise them there.
“I actually missed my six year old’s birthday while I was away with a so I’ll have to make it up to her.”
Then he has his sights set on his first official marathon; the Murray Bridge Marathon on Sunday, November 1.
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Contact Jessica Ball at jessica.ball@news.com.au
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