Running News Daily

Australian runs a marathon in gumboots while repairing a canoe

Runner and filmmaker Beau Miles says the best idea he’s ever had was running a mile an hour over 24 hours. “I ran one lap of my perfect mile-long block every hour for 24 hours, and in between did a bunch of odd jobs and made things,” the bizarrely charming adventurer explains. “It’s an idea that’s been copied all over the world. I thought, why don’t I copy myself?” In this short film, Miles sets off on a slightly different 24–hour marathon–in gumboots–and, as always, the Aussie leaves you laughing and feeling inspired.

“We’re all familiar with the daily allotment of 24 hours,” Miles says. “My revelation as a mid-life ginger is that exploiting yourself within it is life-affirming.” The ever-creative Miles sets out to repair a canoe and makes a list of things that need to be done between laps. “This time I’ll do lots of jobs within one, by renovating a banged-up-old fleet canoe, and instead of running around the block, I’ll run two laps every hour, in gumboots, around my paddock,” Miles says.

Known for sewing up his runners rather than purchasing new ones, Miles is all about repairing, reusing and repurposing. He calls the runs in between repairs a “circuit breaker” and explains that running has always been a way to reboot for him. “I think I have a really good sustainable life, because I run,” Miles says.

Between moments of boat repair, bread-making (with pesto) and gorgeous shots of the landscape around Miles’s farm, you can’t help but want to see what he will tackle next. He doesn’t disappoint, sharing the beloved “beauisms” his fans adore: “Changing your underpants is like starting a whole new week,” he surmises, when he suddenly feels refreshed while running through the long night.

Miles explains he loves the mix of going for a run every hour and then problem-solving using his hands, “using the two hemispheres of Beau.” But why the gumboots? That remains a mystery that even Miles’s wife can’t solve. “I’m intrigued, she says. “I personally would not choose to run 26 miles in gumboots.”

“It turns out copying yourself ain’t such a bad idea,” Miles says. If you haven’t completed your own 24-hour marathon, you’ll be inspired to try one after watching this.

Australian YouTuber Beau Miles runs marathon in a hotel

Australian YouTuber Beau Miles was looking for a change of scenery on his morning run in Seattle, so he decided to run a marathon inside the Hyatt Hotel, where he was staying.

Miles’s goal was to run every inch of the hotel, including hallways, stairwells, conference rooms, lobby, pool deck and bar, and anywhere else that was remotely runnable. 

“When I asked for permission from the hotel manager, I was shocked when she said yes,” said Miles. “I even asked: Are you sure about that?, and she replied, “Yes, that’ll be fine.”

In the video, Miles (an ideal last name for a runner), jogs around the hotel and is seen even making pit stops at the continental breakfast, referring to it as his “unsanctioned aid station.”

Running around in the same building may seem a little tedious, but according to Miles’ calculations, each lap (every floor and room) was around 10 kilometres. “The novelty of running a marathon in a hotel did not wear off,” said Miles. “I had a bloody good time, and I got to run in a place I normally wouldn’t get the chance.”

Miles is an Australian outdoorsman and YouTuber with over 500,000 subscribers, who does quirky outdoor challenges around two activities that usually don’t go together, like running a marathon in a hotel. He’s also done other outlandish running challenges on YouTube, such as running a mile an hour for 24 hours, and a 90-kilometre work commute.

What’s the one piece of running gear that you never want to part with?

Have you ever had a pair of shoes, special socks or a lucky shirt that you just couldn’t imagine parting with? In this short film, Australian outdoorsman, runner and filmmaker Beau Miles pays tribute to an extraordinary hat. 

“My magnificent hat has lost the will to live,” says Miles. “After 15 years of sun and body fluids, with a heavy heart and a head full of memories I take my favorite, thread-bare, stinking, beyond-repair hat for one last run.” In an “ode to his stuff” that will have you laughing and quite possibly shedding a tear (yes, over a hat), Miles’s tribute to his hat is surprisingly powerful.

Miles is known for being a fixer–he doesn’t like to waste anything, and in the first moments of the film you see him stitching up a favourite pair of shoes: “what a therapeutic thing to do before going for a run,” he says. His entire running outfit, he says, is probably on its last legs, but he sets out for a 40-km run anyway, to bid adieu to his hat and honour the adventures he’s been on with it.

While it might sound silly, Miles delivers some insightful reflections, sharing that a good piece of gear allows you to completely forget you’re using it and be immersed in the experience you’re having. If you’ve ever had a piece of running kit that you’ve carted around everywhere, you’ll relate, and if you don’t, you’ll find yourself feeling the need for one.

“As I move through life, I’m realizing that what I wear and make and fix until it can no longer be fixed are things worth spending time with,” Miles says. Those beloved running shoes that you simply can’t get rid of and insist on taking out for the occasional nostalgic run? Miles says they’re important, and he does so in a beautiful way.

Australian athlete Erchana Murray-Bartlett runs record-breaking 107 consecutive marathons

On a very warm August morning Erchana Murray-Bartlett began running from Cape York, Australia, to Melbourne (the tip to the toe of Australia, inspiring the name of her fundraiser, “tip to toe 2022”). On Sunday, Dec. 3, 107 days later, she achieved one of her goals–setting the Guinness World Record for running the most marathons in a row by a woman.

After meeting her parents at the finish line to celebrate, she rested and re-fueled so she could start again in the morning, raising money for endangered animals along the way. She’s not stopping until she hits 150.

Murray-Bartlett, 32, has a master’s degree in nutrition and has been an elite runner for a decade. “The sport has provided me with many opportunities to travel, meet new people and push my physical boundaries,” she says, adding that she runs every day regardless of conditions. She credits her partner, Ryan, with helping get her project rolling, taking video footage, and supporting her along the way.

“I have always wanted to cross the country on foot, but the real kicker started when I watched a documentary of Beau Miles running 650km through the Australian Alps when I was stuck in hotel quarantine during the covid pandemic,” Murray-Bartlett explains. We caught up to Murray-Bartlett after Sunday’s record-breaking run.

CR: What inspired you to start this record attempt (and to go for the 150 days)? 

I love Australia’s native animals. I think they’re incredibly unique, with fun personalities and interesting characteristics. We have some globally iconic wildlife, yet Australia is a world leader in biodiversity loss. We have almost 500 native animals currently sitting on the endangered list. This number has risen by 8 per cent since 2016.

Extinction is a choice and we need to educate our policymakers to ensure we are making the right one. So, I’m running to be the voice of our native animals and the wild places they call home. I wanted to counteract a bad world record (Australia being a world leader in biodiversity loss) with a good world record (breaking the GWR for most consecutive marathons by a female).

CR: What does it feel like to run 107 marathons in a row? How is your body doing?

To be honest, I’m exhausted. My hips, feet, legs and back ache. I feel a little bit emotionally exhausted too after reaching the record last Sunday–the challenge is now to just keep going, and I’m excited to see what my body can do.

The hardest part was the first month. My body was still adjusting and I found myself with three injuries, all on my left leg. Now, the daily grind is a familiar feeling and I’m finding I’m actually feeling stronger and stronger as time goes by. Mentally, I’m very motivated and extremely excited to continue the journey to Melbourne. There are some incredible places to see in my immediate future and some great people to meet!

CR: What does a typical day look like? 

I wake up really early to avoid the intense Aussie sun and hit the road after a quick coffee and bowl of oats with banana. I’ll run south for around four hours, passing through national parks, coastal paths, and taking gorgeous backroads, until I hit the 42.2 km mark.

The afternoons are what vary–we set up camp, eat a big meal, and shower in any body of water. Then I spend the afternoons visiting schools, grassroots volunteer programs, or engaging with the media about the cause. I try and spend a little bit of each day recovering, but sometimes this actually gets pushed down the priority list.

What do you eat to keep you going out there? Any favorite fuel?

I eat loads! About 5,000 calories per day, with a big breakfast, coffee, and then snacks throughout the run. This includes fruit, Clif bars, Hydralite, and anything else I can get my hands on. I have lunch, and then often a second lunch (a wrap, a burger, or nachos) and a giant dinner.

Since we’re camping it has to be anything that can be cooked on a gas stove top. And always, without fail, some dark chocolate for dessert. I’ve actually sampled every ice cream down the East Coast of Australia so far!

So far you’ve raised nearly $50, 000 AUD for at-risk wildlife. How can our readers learn more about your fundraiser?

 I’m taking donations via my GoFundMe page. Funds will go a long way towards helping the Wilderness Society continue its amazing work fighting extinction. Let’s work together to keep wild places wild!

Man Runs a Marathon in 24 Hours While Doing Home Repairs Along the Way

Beau Miles of Great Britain documented his challenge in the film A Mile an Hour.

For many of us, it can be hard to find time to run each day. On some days, we have a spare 30 minutes to squeeze in a few miles; other times, when we’re lucky, we have a full hour to devote to training. Most of the time, running comes second to all of our other obligations. But maybe that doesn’t have to be the case.

For Beau Miles, a British runner and filmmaker, his chores and other duties are scheduled around his running.

Last year, Miles decided to take on a challenge: in the span of 24 hours, he would run 26.2 miles and also check off various chores around the house. The distance around his property in England was about one mile, so to cover the marathon distance, he would run three laps in the first hour and one lap every hour for the next 23 hours. When he wasn’t running, he planned to finish tasks such as woodworking, gardening, and cooking.

The inspiration behind Miles’s challenge was to have the “ultimate day of running and fixing and being,” he said in A Mile an Hour, the documentary that captured his 24-hour run.

“The marathon itself is not the guts of this project, merely a skeleton,” Miles wrote on his blog. “In between each lap, in the barn, and around the farm, I’ll be keeping busy with a variety of projects.”

Miles, a skilled carpenter as well as an experienced trail runner, began his 24-hour marathon at noon. After he finished his laps, he changed and began tackling his list of chores, which included everything from a two-minute task (fixing a key ring) to a day-long project (building an outdoor table). When his alarm signaled the top of the hour, he laced up and headed out for another mile around his home.

Staying laser-focused on both running and working made Miles extremely productive. By the time he’d finished five miles, he’d also planted six trees, made a canoe paddle, picked up trash along his route, and painted a fence. To fuel his run, he ate licorice each hour. Around dinnertime, he cooked homemade bread and soup for himself and his wife, Helen, then sat down to eat dinner and drink a glass of red wine after mile 11.

Though eating a full meal—plus wine—midway through a marathon sounds like a recipe for disaster, by spacing out the miles, the runner could digest and keep moving. “My body feels fine with all of the resting and eating,” Miles said in the film.

Miles slept for a total of 30 minutes, broken up into two 15-minute increments. Instead of doing chores during the wee hours of the morning, he dozed, rising each hour to do a lap in the dark.

“Getting up is horrible,” he said in the film. “But once you’re up, you’ve started the lap, and there’s no turning back.”

In a blog post later, Miles reflected on his challenge.

“Aside from about 30 minutes of sleep, the 24-hour period was the busiest, most diverse day of my life,” he wrote. “Running, as a circuit breaker each hour, was the perfect way to re-set how I felt, what I would do next, what I was doing (and feeling), and what I’d just done.”