By Cindy Yin
At 3.45pm on a humid Sydney Thursday afternoon, endurance runner Nedd Brockmann took his first steps in a long, arduous 1600-kilometre journey during which he will try to run four marathons a day for 10 days.
The 24-year-old electrician from Forbes became an online sensation two years ago when he ran the breadth of Australia, from Perth’s Cottesloe to Bondi Beach, in 46 days and 12 hours.
That trip saw Brockman clock up an astonishing 3953 kilometres. This time he has set himself the daunting challenge feat of covering 1610km between October 3 to October 13, which equates to 403 laps a day at the Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre, where he is attempting to beat the current Guinness World Record set 35 years ago by Greek ultra-marathon runner Yiannis Kouros, who did it in 10 days, 10 hours, 30 minutes and 36 seconds.
Brockmann, who will aim to run for about 16 hours a day, announced the challenge on Instagram in May “We only get one chance at this life and I’d hate to die wondering,” he wrote. “There’s no turning back now, the fun is just about to start.”
So how does Brockmann stay in the zone for that length of time? James Ward, his support team leader, said there was no trick beyond completely blocking out all forms of mental stimulation, such as listening to music, until those desperate times when “he needs it the most”.
Nedd Brockmann starts his challenge, a 1610km run around Sydney Athletics Centre over 10 consecutive nights.Credit: Janie Barrett
“He won’t have music, he won’t have podcasts or anything, and then later in the run he’ll reward himself with that to make it a bit easier,” Ward said.
Asked why Brockmann was attempting the feat in the first place, Ward said he was interested in learning where his true limits lay.
“He doesn’t sit there and go, ‘I love running,’ but he loves the state it puts him in when he pushes himself to the limit,” Ward said. “He is confident that he’s going to have a red-hot crack.”
Brockmann’s mother, Kylie, told 2GB radio on Thursday her son’s robust mentality helped him endure the seemingly endless repetition of running laps around the track.
“I don’t know how your brain wraps itself around that ... but he finds that a bit therapeutic, apparently,” she said.
Brockmann was greeted by huge crowds at Bondi Beach at the conclusion of his record-breaking run in 2022. Credit: Edwina Pickles
“He’s trying to go nocturnal. He’s trying to work his circadian rhythm around so he can run through the night rather than through the heat of the day if he can avoid it.”
Brockmann is running with the goal of raising $10 million for homeless charity We Are Mobilise.
The attempt is being livestreamed on TikTok and the track will be open to public from next Thursday.
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