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Everybody’s A Winner

The competitors in the Trans Australia Foot Race started off today’s stage with great expectations. Pleasant weather, friends and relatives in the finish and a great number of people celebrating 100th anniversary of the federation, made their hearts beat faster as they headed towards their final destination – Canberra. Although everything was more or less decided, the runners took this last stage of the competition seriously. Anatoliy Kruglikov, running with an amazing average speed of 15 km/h, has shown the world once again who the best ultra-marathon runner in the world is.

Mihaly Molnar put up the best performance of the competition since his win on stage 17, and "buried" Mick Francis’ hopes of reaching overall fourth place. Mihaly outclassed his main opponent and managed to beat him by 31 minutes. The last part of today’s stage which led to the parliament and to Glabe park was merely a formality and was not time-measured. Every last competitor crossed the finish line with a smile on his face. Stefan Schlett stopped at the finish line on the highway, kneeled down, took his shirt and shoes off, and waited for his friends to pour champaigne all over him. Helmut Schieke came into the finish a few minutes later with his usual "Yoodlyoodldoo!" and announced straight away that this was his last ultra-marathon race. "I’m too old for this kind of stuff, I’ve had enough," said the German. The last one in the finish was George Audley, who had problems with injuries on the last stages, but still felt like a winner.

The afternoon was an award for everything that these brave competitors had gone through in the past 65 days. The organizers picked them up by the parliament and drove them to Glebe park, where the ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the federation was held. A big crowd was witness to the arrival of the competitors in the order of their final position in the competition. Kaname Sakurai walked the 100 meters with the help of crutches and was loudly applauded. Kaname couldn’t hide his tears as Bernie Farmer handed him an award for his perseverance. Others received certificates and cups from the hands of their ambassadors and other representatives of their countries. Paul Every was in tears when he received the Brian Smith medal for fair-play and gave a moving speech to his family and friends. "This is the biggest achievement of my 17 year long career," said the Australian. Helmut Schieke yelled his last "Yoodlyoodldoo!" and along with all the rest of the runners praised Australia’s beautiful landscape, which the competitors have been able to get to know well in the past 65 days. Even the modest, honest and open Australians, who came across the caravan, made a big impression on the runners. Dusan Mravlje thanked the public with the following words: "I love Australia! I’m definitely coming back, but not to compete in this competition."

Bernie Farmer, who along with his crew successfully carried out this demanding competition, thanked everybody at the end of the ceremony. "We had some hard times, but we lived like one big family and I’m very happy that we’ve made to Canberra," said Bernie with tears in his eyes. The evening party was cheerful and booming. The runners and their friends talked about the toughest stages, which made this competition the hardest ultra-marathon race in the world.

The final length of the Trans Australia Foot Race is 4355 kilometers, which Anatoliy Kruglikov managed to complete in a little over 305 hours. Some of the runners immediately started to make plans for the future, but all of the racers will certainly take a long well-deserved rest before putting on their running shoes.

Results

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