"Ultramarathon Legend: How a Farmer at 61 Won Because He Didn't Know He Could Stop"

But Cliff Young didn't take home any prizes.

The Australian Ultramarathon was held from 1983 to 1991. Each start was attended by experienced athletes who trained for months in order to successfully cover the distance of 864 km from Melbourne to Sydney. Mostly, the runners were under 30 years old. They were sponsored by large international brands: they provided high-quality running shoes and comfortable equipment. Imagine the surprise of the athletes when 61-year-old Cliff Young appeared on the route of the large-scale race . In overalls and with galoshes over his boots.

Who is Cliff Young?

Clifford, Young's full name, was born in 1922 into a poor family. The boy spent his entire childhood on the family farm in Victoria, a state in southeastern Australia. The property covered just over eight square kilometers.

Neither in his youth nor in his adulthood was Cliff keen on sports. The man's sudden love for running seemed to have awakened too late to achieve great heights in his new endeavor. The farmer plunged into conquering long distances at the age of 57.

From chasing sheep to winning an Australian ultramarathon

In 1982, when Young was 60 years old, he attempted to run a thousand miles (about 1,600 kilometers) around Memorial Square in Colac. The man wanted to break the world record, but he could not. Fortunately, failure did not stop him on the path to impressive results. A year later, Cliff took part in the Australian Super Marathon to overcome the distance from Melbourne to Sydney.

On the day of the race, world-famous athletes were perplexed when they saw a 61-year-old man in the athletes' area. At first, everyone thought that Young had come as a spectator. The guesses were dispelled when the man approached the registration table to receive his competition participant number. Some witnesses of what was happening thought that the farmer had simply gone crazy, while others were seriously worried about his health and safety. After all, at such an age, the body may not withstand such colossal loads.

Young successfully received number 64 and stood in line with the other runners. The film crew, who were at the start, hurried to interview the unusual participant. When the journalists learned that Cliff really intended to run the ultramarathon, and without sponsors and special training, they told him straight out: "You can't." But the farmer did not lose his head.

No, I can do it. I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or a car until very recently. I only bought a car 4 years ago. When a storm would come, I would go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would round up the sheep for 2 or 3 days, it wasn’t easy, but I always got them. I think I can do the race because it’s only 2 days longer, 5 days, whereas I run the sheep for 3 days.

When the marathon began, the professionals left Cliff far behind. Spectators from all over Australia watched the man, worried and even prayed for him: if only he would finish alive. At the same time, every experienced athlete knew that the distance of 864 kilometers takes about five days of travel. To do this, you need to run every day for 18 hours and sleep for 6. The farmer was not aware of this running plan.

The next morning after the race began, people learned that Young had not slept and had been running all night. But he was still lagging behind the other athletes. Cliff caught up with his rivals every night until he pulled ahead on the last day and finally had a significant lead.

An Australian farmer won the ultramarathon. It took him 5 days, 15 hours and 4 minutes to finish. 10 hours less than his closest rival! To the public's surprise, Cliff did not take a single prize for himself. The man refused the $10,000 and gave it to the other runners, dividing it equally. At that moment, the entire country fell in love with its new national hero.

Young's life after his running triumph

A year after winning the ultramarathon, 62-year-old Cliff married a 23-year-old woman named Mary Howell. Their wedding was paid for by the chain of stores that sponsored the iconic race. However, the marriage fell apart five years later.

In the following years, Young did not abandon his favorite activity. He continued to run and in February 1990, he took part in the first international 24-hour championship in the English city of Milton Keynes. And in November, he covered 648 kilometers in Campbelltown, Australia.

In 1997, Cliff again attracted public attention. He intended to run 10,000 miles to raise money for homeless children. Unfortunately, the man had to abandon the race after 4,000 miles because his teammate fell ill.

After that, Young faced a terrible disease - cancer. The man fought it for five years. His last running achievement was the world record in the six-day marathon in 2000. And in 2003, Cliff died, he was 81 years old.

His unique running style was called the Young Shuffle. It is considered energy-saving and is still used by modern ultramarathon runners. In 2013, a documentary about the Australian farmer was released called Cliffy. Running enthusiasts and people looking for motivation still admire Cliff Young's abilities. But once upon a time, he just wanted to win and was free of prejudice. He imagined a fleeing sheep and tried to catch it.