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Jesse Dale Riley and Don Winkley: off and running across Australia
8 August 1998 - Mundaring, Australia
Jesse Dale Riley of Key West, Florida, has begun his latest transcontinental adventure. Accompanied fellow American multi-day runner, Don Winkley of Corpus Christi, Texas, Riley set out in clear sunny weather Saturday to run across Australia. Others who had hoped to join them were unable to do so for various reasons.
The two men, crewed by Riley's brother, John, (a 2:38 marathoner driving their Toyota Landcruiser support vehicle), plan to run a rambling route of about 5,000 kilometres, starting from Perth, on the West Coast of Australia, and ending Melbourne, on the southeast coast. Originally, they had planned to cover about 60 kilometres a day, taking 65 days to reach Sydney. Now they hope to lengthen the distance to about 75 kilometres a day, and continue on from Sydney to Melbourne.
"Don wants to go to Melbourne," Riley said in a telephone conversation after a liesurely 45-kilometre first day that took them from Cottesloe Beach, on the ocean at Perth, to this community, just to the east of Perth. "We still plan to arrive on October 11, we'll just run a little farther each day."
Riley arrived in Australia on July 27 and drove with his brother to Perth. Winkley flew to Perth on Friday. Their route will take them to Kalgoorlie, about 600 kilometres away, then along the jeep road that parallels the Indian Pacific Railway and passes through Cook, Port Augusta and Adelaide.
"The weather is gorgeous," says Riley, who turned 35 on June 28. Winkley is 60. "It's mid-winter here but it was 20 degrees (Celsius) today, a great day to run. We took it easy and enjoyed ourselves. Australia is an incredible country -- a bit like Africa. It's a very easy-going country, big and open, almost empty. It's shocking, really. We drove for 300 kilometres (en route to Perth) and only saw one other vehicle. The roads are great, very well maintained. Every road you see you want to go down it because you know it leads somewhere interesting."
The start of the run was quiet. There was no fuss, no ceremony and no press. "We decided to leave the media stuff until the end," Riley said. "We just wanted to get going." The two runners hope to send reports every week or so from the road. Anyone wanting to send messages can do so by calling Jesse's voice-mail number in Florida (305) 745-8241, or by using this e-mail address: rhelene@clemson.edu
Back to CoolRunning Trans-Australia Footrace HomePage (includes links to other Trans-Australia Footrace articles)
This article has been provided with permission by UltraMarathon World, the foremost authority on Ultramarathons in the world, for which CoolRunning Australia is very grateful.
