Aussie mates complete 80 marathons in 80 days to raise money to fight cancer

Four Australian friends are close to completing 80 marathons in 80 days along the east coast of the United States, raising more than $144,000 for the Cancer Council.

The epic* 3376km journey has involved a tornado in Georgia, a meeting with former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in New York, and a series of painful injuries.

But 23-year-old Jasper Gotterson says he and Max Cutrone, Sean Stuart and Rory Cheal – none of whom were long-distance runners before the gruelling* challenge – have learned that “you’ve just got to shoot for the moon”.

“It’s obviously a big challenge but then you break it into granular* little pieces, one marathon every day,” he said.

“It’s never looking at it thinking whether we can run 70 more, because that’s ... overwhelming.”

The mates from Sydney in NSW started running 42.2km a day on February 18 in Florida, passing through 13 states before they were due to reach the Canadian border just south of Montreal on May 9 (US time).

Their run was inspired by the affects cancer has had on their family and friends, and Mr Gotterson said they hoped to raise money as well as awareness about the disease.

“Before we left, we were injured and I personally didn’t have a lot of belief that we’d be able to get this far,” he said.

“It’s just proven to me that once you put your message out there and tell people what you’re doing, and you find a group of people willing to go the distance with you, then you can push the boundaries so much further than you’d initially think.”

Their self-funded trip – completed mostly without a support crew – has been helped by Americans and Australian expats* offering them accommodation as well as homemade meals as they consumed a whopping 6000 calories per day.

“There’s so many people we’ve met along the way who have had experiences with cancer and have opened up … There’s this shared community of people who are touched by the cause, and it’s so special and so empowering*.”

GLOSSARY

epic: heroic
gruelling: difficult to the point of exhaustion
granular: small pieces like grain
expats: short for expatriates, who leave their native country to live elsewhere
empowering: process of becoming stronger or more confident

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QUICK QUIZ
1. How far did the mates run across the US?
2. Where did they encounter a tornado?
3. How many kilometres is each marathon?
4. Which Australian state are the mates from?
5. How many calories are they eating a day to fuel their runs?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Fundraising Importance
What do you think the most important message from this story is?
Is it the money raised for cancer research or the extraordinary effort by these four mates in raising awareness of the disease and its effects?
How would you feel if your friends did something amazing to raise money for a charity close to your heart?
Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and social, Critical and creative thinking.

2. Extension
Why is it important to break big goals down into smaller parts to help you achieve them?
Can you think of any big life goals you’d like to break down into smaller parts?
Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and social.

VCOP ACTIVITY
To sum it up
After reading the article, use your comprehension skills to summarise in a maximum of three sentences what the article is about.
Think about:

• What is the main topic or idea?
• What is an important or interesting fact?
• Who was involved (people or places)?

Use your VCOP skills to re-read your summary to make sure it is clear, specific and well punctuated.