One of our most recent finishers of Run Down Under is Mat Grills - an ultra running, plant based athlete based in Bundaberg. Later this year Mat will be running across Australia completing 100km a day for 50 days! Run The World will be part of this in some way so stay tuned. You can find out more about the challenge at Adventures and Activism.
"I started running about 15years ago to do something with my dad who was already running half's and marathons. I kicked off Run Down Under as some friends were doing it and I thought it would be something cool to do through Covid and I promoted it as a way for people to keep active and healthy when their worlds were being thrown upside down.
My drive. I have always had an excessive personality. If I am going to do something I will do it to its full degree. I started with half's and marathons and quickly moved to ultras. I am on a constant quest to find my limits, next adventure and story to tell. Running to me has become more than just 'something I do' for fitness or weight management. It has become a part of my every being, who I am and what I am. I philosophy on running and how integral it is to every part of my inner most being.
I first blogged on my website about running across the country in 2013 so it has nearly been a 10year vision quest! In 2020 I ran 100 half marathons in 100 consecutive days. In 2021 I ran 10x 50k and 40x marathons in 50 consecutive days and this year, starting on the 22nd of September, I will be running from the western most to the eastern most points of Australia, 100k a day for 50 consecutive days setting a new record.
I am driven by intrigue. To find out who I am, what I am made of and how far I am willing to go to achieve my goals. I aim to inspire people daily through my Instagram and by living each day as full and best I can. I constantly fail but though running two specialty coffee shops, having a wife and two daughters and running big volume a week, I hope to show that an everyman can achieve the un-imaginable.
