Sarah Mycroft is the first woman to run continuously around Australia – and she did it with her children by her side.
When Sarah Mycroft set off to run around Australia she wasn’t sure what to expect. But 14,772km, 238 days and 15 pairs of running shoes later, it’s fair to say she’s had one heck of an adventure. And so too have two-year-old Austin and four-year-old Bonnie, who were at their mum’s side the entire time.
An experienced marathon runner, it had always been 32-year-old Sarah’s dream to run a lap of the country.
“I was 19 when I first dreamed up the idea,” says single mum Sarah, who lives on her organic farm just outside Tumbarumba in southern NSW. Last year she decided it was time to turn her dream into reality.
“I came across this old school bus for sale,” she says. “We took all the seats out and had it all converted. We put the kitchen in, some bunk beds, and made some little rooms at the back that had a corner bath, a proper flushing toilet and some carpet.
“It was a place the kids could call home.” Sarah knew she couldn’t do the journey on her own, so she advertised to find backpackers to accompany her on her trip, acting as support crew. The plan was to swap teams in every major city, picking up new friends along the way.
