Record breaker to run around Australia

By Kristen Cookson:
Going for a run around the block is pretty hard work for some, but try going for a run around Australia. Sarah Mycroft is attempting to set a new world record as the first woman to race around Australia on foot and we were lucky enough to meet her as she passed through Karratha last week.

Mycroft is raising money for the children’s charity Mindd Foundation www.mindd.org who promote an integrated approach to healthcare for the whole family and focus on the paediatric disorders of Autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies, chronic illness, learning and language delay and digestive and behavioural disorders, commonly arising from such synthetic food that we are told is "normal" to feed to children.

Mycroft from NSW set off on her inspirational journey from the Sydney Opera House and headed North on the 4th April 2010 and aims to be back in one piece by mid December. Her route is the highway number one so when she completes her journey she will have run over 16,000km and she has already passed the halfway mark. Her daily target is to run about 60 to 70 kilometres a day which is split between a morning run at 4am and an evening run to miss the Australian heat.

During the day Mycroft returns to her other role as ‘Mummy’ to her two children Bonnie aged 4 and Austin 20 months. This mission is hard enough but to be doing it as a single mum to two young children really shows you can do anything you really put your mind to. Whilst Mycroft is running, her support crew consisting of 3 travellers mind the children as well as drive alongside her and assist in cooking and setting up camp.

Mycroft will be passing her competition Deborah de Williams who set off 8 days before Mycroft in the opposite direction. When asked why she wanted to run around Australia she said “Basically to be the first woman to do it and to show how much energy you can have from a good organic diet”. Mycroft wants to promote the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, in particular healthy eating and regular exercise. She said she will only feed her children food that has no synthetic colours, additives or preservatives.

Mycroft hopes to inspire people to not only follow their dreams but to live a healthy life. “Getting up in the morning and going for a run makes you feel better for the rest of the day. It may be a struggle for the first few days but you’ll soon get into a routine and feel so much better for it” she said. Mycroft has been sponsored by many companies including Mizuno, Beaurepairs and Solar Springs Health Retreat to name a few and also people have donated on her website which has helped her along her journey.

She would like give a big thank you to Big Four Pilbara Holiday park in Karratha and Dampier Caravan Park who she said were amazing whilst she stayed in the area. If you wish to donate and contribute towards this cause you can do so online at www. onelapnoexcuses.com