New York Marathon: Buddy Franklin completes epic run in under 4 hours
AFL legend Lance “Buddy” Franklin has issued a challenge to rugby league great Johnathan Thurston after the pair completed the gruelling New York Marathon. SEE THE VIDEO
AFL legend Lance “Buddy” Franklin says competing the gruelling New York Marathon was “the toughest thing I’ve ever done”.
The former Hawthorn and Sydney Swans star ran the famous course on the weekend with rugby league great Johnathan Thurston on behalf of the Indigenous Marathon Foundation.
The IMF uses running as a means to drive and empower people from First Nations communities to strive for greatness.
The super-fit Franklin finished the run around Manhattan with an incredible time of three hours and 49 minutes.
On his Instagram page, a jubilant Franklin shared footage of his run while issuing a throwdown to bestie Thurston for their next challenge.
“Berlin next,” he wrote with a laughing face emoji, tagging Thurston.
The cheeky comment implies that Franklin is looking at competing in the 2026 Berlin Marathon, which will be next September, for his next fund-raising challenge.
Franklin posted an image of himself hugging a relative after the New York Marathon, while overcome with emotion.
“Sums it up. That absolutely broke me,” Franklin wrote on Instagram.
“Hardest thing I’ve ever done but so cool to experience.
“Respect to all runners.”
Thurston, who ran the marathon in three hours and 43 minutes, posed for a snap alongside Franklin as they held the Aboriginal flag aloft on the streets of New York City.
ALEXA LEARY FINISHES EPIC RUN
Alexa Leary danced her way through the gruelling New York Marathon declaring “fuelled by the music all the way”.
The Queensland Paralympian has shared videos taking in the party atmosphere of the legendary event after completing the 42.2km stretch.
Leary, 24, can be seen singing and dancing as she passes live music sites along the way.
She raises her arms up victorious as she crosses the finishing line before resting in a wheelchair clutching her aching legs.
Leary was among hundreds of Aussies to enter the event including AFL premiership winner Matthew Bishop, and Emma Carey — a woman once told she would never walk again after she was paralysed in a horror skydiving accident.
Every person who took on the punishing course through New York’s five boroughs has an inspiring story or a special “why” that brought them to the Big Apple.
Three years ago Tasmanian Jen Clingly suffered a devastating stroke and at the age of 49, she had to learn to walk and talk again.
On Monday (Australian time), she laced up her shoes to take part in her first ever marathon.
“As I recovered from the stroke, I thought jogging would be a lovely passive way to improve my health and get my brain kind of rewired by having to communicate with my feet,” she said.
“So as part of that rehab, I got into jogging, and then decided to set some goals and then I was like, if I’m ever going to run a marathon, then I’m going to go to New York and do the biggest, greatest marathon in the world.
“I don’t do things in halves.”
It’s a trait shared by a fellow competitor — Leary, who captured the hearts of Australians when she won gold in Paris last year following a traumatic brain injury in 2021.
Ms Leary and dozens of family members and close friends signed up for the race after her dad Russ saw the award-winning documentary I’m Not a Runner which told the story of six ordinary Australian women who took on the New York Marathon.
The film was made by Anna Liptak, an avid runner from Adelaide and the CEO of Adventure Time Travel, one of the few Australian companies allowed to offer tour packages for the prestigious New York race.
“I (told Anna) I’m not a runner but I’m doing the New York Marathon,” Mr Leary said of his reaction after watching the documentary.
But it wasn’t just himself he signed up.
Wife Belinda, Alexa, and about 30 other family members also took part – despite their initial reactions of “devastation” when Mr Leary broke the news.
“But guess what, they’ve all lost weight, they’ve all trained and they had a reason to get out of bed,” he said.
“Some of the family have lost up to 13 to 17 kilos, so it’s changed a lot of people’s lives.”
Ahead of the event, Mr Leary said it would be a strain for Alexa but they would work together to get her across the finish line.
It was a similar challenge for fellow Queenslander Em Carey — known to many as the girl who fell from the sky.
In 2013, she was told she would never walk again after a catastrophic skydiving accident that left her paralysed.
“When I was in hospital after becoming paralysed, I remember being more upset at the prospect of never running again, even more than never walking again, because I used to love running so much, and I had always imagined that I would do a marathon one day,” Ms Carey said.
“When I was in hospital and hearing this devastating news, in the back of my head I had this goal that I didn’t tell anyone, that if I was ever lucky enough to get better, that I would do a marathon.”
Ms Carey defied the odds and learned to walk again but with her legs still partially paralysed, she is unable to run.
“So I kind of just gave up that dream of running a marathon, because I thought, ‘what’s the point in running a marathon if I can’t run,?” she said.
“But I then kind of flipped the switch on that, and was like, well, I can’t run a marathon, but I can walk, and I’m so lucky to walk. And who says you can’t walk a marathon? So I decided I’m going to walk the New York Marathon instead.”
Ms Carey used the event to raise funds for the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation’s efforts toward finding a cure for paralysis “so one day, other people can have opportunities like this as well”.
It was fundraising for a good cause that also led Adelaide doctor Jack Fuller to New York.
Dr Fuller, who works in sports medicine, was inspired to raise money for the Little Heroes Foundation to support children diagnosed with neurodegenerative conditions.
“Personally for me it’s something I am really passionate about because I work in healthcare,” he said.
Dr Fuller spent a year studying in New York during university and said it was a special way to return to the city, running all five boroughs for a good cause.
Former AFL player Matthew Bishop from Melbourne, who won the 2004 Premiership while playing for Port Adelaide, took up long distance running for mental and physical health about two years ago.
After conquering the Sydney and Melbourne marathons, the footy player turned real estate agent said he was excited to take on New York where millions of people line the streets to cheer on the runners in an electric party atmosphere.
Asked what lessons he’s taken from AFL to help his running career, he said discipline was the most important thing.
“It’s very easy, especially in winter time, to say, ‘oh well I’d rather just lie in bed and not do it’ but you’ve just got to tell yourself, ‘you’ve got to if you’re going to make it, you’ve got to actually do this preparation’,” he said.
He was “really looking forward” to the experience in New York and had been for months.
When Madeleine Carter lost her beloved parents in quick succession, her best friend had some words of wisdom to help her navigate the grief — “put on your sneakers and come for a run”.
Those shoes and that advice carried her 16,000kms from Sydney to the US where she will took part in the marathon.
When the Sydneysider strapped on her running shoes, she also donned another special keepsake – a photo of her parents Margaret and Michael O’Rourke.
In honour of the advice of her friend Suzy Mussara — a breast cancer survivor — to strap on her shoes to move through her grief, she raised money for cancer research as part of her marathon mission.
“Grief can cripple you and so I just want to carry love with every step,” she said.
“I know my mum will be proud of me — she was such an enthusiast for life.”
Ms Liptak said the stories of those running with her Adventure Time Travel group this year were proof ordinary people could achieve the extraordinary.
She has competed in 42 marathons around the world, including seven times in New York and said nothing matched the electricity of the Big Apple.
“From the moment you step off the plane, everyone celebrates you,” she said.
“They really celebrate like no other place in the world.
“It makes everybody feel special. Every shape, size, age, and no matter if they’re running two hours or they’re running nine hours, they’re still celebrated. And I think that’s what the Americans do beautifully.”
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Originally published as New York Marathon: Buddy Franklin completes epic run in under 4 hours
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