On November 30, 22-year-old Thirroul lad Jonathan Seager took on the massive challenge to run 100km from Sydney to Wollongong to raise money and awareness for Movember. I sat down and had a chat to ‘Jonno’ about his epic journey.
How far was it and what charity was it for?
I ran from Blues Point in Sydney to Wollongong Harbour on the 30th of November representing Movember, a charity organisation dedicated to promoting men’s health, specifically men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
This run was 100km and I took it on with some of my best mates joining me along the way.
I started at Blues Point, running over the Harbour Bridge and past the Opera House then all the way down to Cronulla.
Once at Cronulla I caught the ferry across to Bundeena, where I started the run through the Royal National Park and popped out at Otford.
From there I followed to Coast to Thirroul and then finally to Wollongong. All up it took ~15hours and 40 minutes to complete, starting at 4:15am and finishing just before 8pm.
What inspired you to do this?
The inspiration came from a couple of different places.
First was about two years ago when Need Brockmann was running across Australia. I had recently torn my ACL and was recovering from surgery watching this man break all odds.
Secondly, after a few drinks at the pub talking about Ned’s run with my mates. We figured out that every day he would run the equivalent of running from Sydney to Wollongong every day. The question was asked if we even knew anyone who could do that, I said that I thought I could. He wasn’t very convinced and challenged me by telling me to go out and do it. Almost a year later I did.
The last is that over this year, my friends and family have helped me out so much and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. What started as a personal challenge turned into a dedicated run to give back to my mates through such an important charity.
What training goes into this?
The training was as you would guess, lots of running. I started properly training for this at the start of August this year but had been training with this goal at the back of my mind for quite a while.
I would typically do around three to five runs a week with the focus of keeping as much “time on the legs” as possible by running long and slow for majority of my runs.
Towards the last couple of months before the run, I was averaging around 25 to 45km a week running. I would also do 2twosessions on the bike at the gym and a legs session to strengthen up my legs for the run. I actually only ran my first marathon three weeks before doing my 100km run and when my legs pulled up fine the next day I knew I could finish the 100km.
What goes through you mind when running for hours and hours?
Most of the time I was talking to my friends running alongside of me or thinking about the next refuel station set up along the way for me. Getting to those refuel stations meant that I had a fresh pair of socks and dry clothes which didn’t last long but was still a massive comfort when you have been wet and on your feet for hours, so a fair bit of thought went towards that. I also made sure that a tasty snack or drink was waiting for me at each station so that I would have something to look forward to.
In terms of music, we put on a few tunes on the speaker here and there when running together with my friends but most of the time we talked, caught up and had some good laughs.
The weather was horrendous – did you think about pulling out?
The weather was for the most part reasonably good. Conditions changed between overcast, misty and light rain till the 95th kilometre when it opened up with torrential rain. At this point you didn’t even notice it and the rain just became another pain you had to put up with. No thoughts of pulling out throughout the day. Rain, hail or shine you give it your best.
Is it true your dad held the ferry up at Cronulla to make sure you got on?
Luckily yes, otherwise I probably would have been screwed. Held it up for about five minutes while I finished my 38th kilometre in Cronulla. Luckily the guys running the ferry were very on board with what I was trying to accomplish and very supportive when I did jump on.
I believe you had your own cheer squad who braved the weather to support you?
The support crew I had was the most important part of the day for me. I wouldn’t have been able to finish without having them there and having them get around me the way they did.
Lots of family, friends and coworkers supported me all week and on the day, I received a tremendous amount of messages keeping me going.
Had a lot of close friends joining me along the way with most running with me or riding alongside me for hours and doing long distances of 15km+ with me.
After 15 and a half hours of running and battling the elements, what were you thinking when you crossed the finishing line?
Running for that long was a big challenge so when I finally crossed the finish line I felt relieved and very appreciative. I was extremely proud and happy with myself, but also could not have done it without all those who had helped me along the way.
How long did it take you to recover?
The next day I spent most of my time resting up but still managed to get down for a dip in the ocean. Surprisingly, I didn’t pull up as bad as I thought I would and there weren’t any major injuries that surfaced.
Recovery has probably been hindered a little bit by a few celebrations since, however, I think I’m 90% back to normal two weeks after the run.
How much did you raise?
The final tally for the amount of money raised was $7435! With 109 donations.
