- Nedd Brockmann has battled several injuries over the last 12 days
- He says he didn’t have a single moment of joy during the grueling race.
- Widely praised for raising $2.7 million for homeless charities
After completing a 1,000-mile run to raise funds to combat homelessness in just 12 days, an emotional Nedd Brockmann has spoken openly about the horrible effects it has had on his body and mind.
Brockmann crossed the finish line at 6.15am on Wednesday, having covered the distance by running 4,000 laps of the Sydney Olympic Park athletics track in just over 12.5 days.
He began his epic endeavor on October 3, aiming to break the world record of running 1,000 miles in 10 days, while raising money for homeless charity We Are Mobilise.
Although injuries and subsequent crippling pain prevented him from breaking the record, Brockmann, famous for running from Perth to Sydney in 47 days, managed to raise more than $2.7 million for the cause.
He broke down in tears as he completed his final lap around Sydney Olympic Park before hugging his mother Kylie and father Ian.
After having run the equivalent of more than 38 marathons in less than two weeks, the cult hero collapsed to the ground.
“I’ve been feeling pretty overwhelmed, I haven’t had any fun the last 12 days,” Brockmann said in a TikTok livestream.
‘Usually in these things I can find some joy and some moments of respite, but in reality I found that there wasn’t a minute of that.
Nedd Brockmann battled injuries throughout the race (pictured with shins tied and nipples taped to prevent irritation)
The Australian long-distance running legend says he had no fun as he battled a series of agonizing injuries for 12 days.
‘If I was in the shower getting ready, I was wasting my time. If I was on the physio table, I was wasting my time. There was never calm.
‘The last 12 and a half days have been without a doubt the hardest of my life, 10 times harder than crossing Oz.
“I’m glad it’s over.”
Brockmann suffered a serious injury to a muscle around his shin in August that affected his preparation, and the same injury occurred again just three days after the challenge.
Soon his other shin was giving him pain, his feet had swollen so much that he went up three shoe sizes, and ‘tendinitis everywhere’ reduced him to shuffling.
The former electrician had his share of celebrity guests during the event with Olympic champion Jess Fox, UFC fighter Israel Adesanya and boxer Harry Garside among the athletes who ran alongside him.
Brockmann also invited year nine student Hugo Russell to run a lap with him after Australia’s peak athletics body banned the boy from running because he has a form of dwarfism.
Brockmann suffered a serious shin injury in August that flared up just three days after the challenge, leaving him in agony.
His feet swelled so much that he went up three shoe sizes, making something as simple as simply standing up incredibly painful.
Australian writer Jill Stark faced intense backlash for labeling Brockmann’s career “renowned toxic masculinity.”
He argued that the charity runner’s inspiring feat reflected the tendency of men to rebrand their struggles with mental health issues as “toughness”.
While he applauded Brockmann’s “admirable work” in raising money for charity, Stark said he was also concerned about the way men view torment as an opportunity to prove their worth.
His official running time was 12 days, 13 hours and 45 seconds, making him the second-fastest Australian to run 1000 miles and placing him in the top 10 in the world over that distance.
“I’ve never been through anything like this before,” he said as he lay on the track after the race.
“I’m fucking proud of that.”