“From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!” Forest Gump.

“Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I’d catch them. I believe I can run this race; it’s only two more days. Five days. I’ve run sheep for three” Cliff Young.

What comes to mind when you hear marathon? Or, Ultra Marathon? For me, Hell on earth. In the land down under, Australia had a race called the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon. The who’s who of runners attended this grueling race in hopes to prove to everyone they were best long distance runner; and by long distance I mean 875 kilometres (544 miles)!!! Most runners hoped to finish the race in a weeks time. Sweet Moses, count me out!

Well after months of preparation, the excited runners showed up in their fancy running gear, top of line shoes, well equipped to begin this exhausting trek. Within the group of runners there was one that didn’t fit the mold of the other 150 runners. By the looks of this old codger everyone thought he was just a spectator. He didn’t have fancy running shorts, rather a pair of work overalls. His running shoes were not Nike Air, but Gumboots. And while most runners were in the prime of their life, Cliff Young was at the rip old age of 61. Folks thought that this was nothing more than a publicity stunt gone wrong.

Cliff had never ran a race in life and wanted to try his luck with Ultra Marathon. For the better part of Cliff’s life he herded sheep about 2,000 of them. His farm did not have any horses or fancy four-wheelers, so Cliff would have to play the part of being the sheep dog and round up the sheep.

The officials at the race almost didn’t let him run, he didn’t have any backers (sponsors) and they told him, "You're crazy, there's no way you can finish this race." But he explained to them. “I believe I can run this race; it’s only two more days. Five days. I’ve run sheep for three.” So for whatever reason they let Cliff run. As the race begun, the runners left Cliff sucking on their dust. Spectators even smirked because he didn’t even run properly. Rather he appeared to run leisurely, shuffling like an amateur; this style of running became known as the “Young shuffle.”

Almost all of the professional runners trained to run 18 hours a day and sleep for the remaining six. Cliff had his own agenda, he just ran all through the night. As the morning of the second day came, everyone was surprised. Not only was Cliff still in the race, he had continued jogging all night. As the days went on Cliff came a little closer and closer to the world class runners. And on the fifth and final night of his race, he had surpassed all of the other athletes. (I remember a story similar about a Tortoise and the Hare.) He was the first competitor to cross the finish line with a record setting time of five days, 15 hours and four minutes setting a new course record. Cliff received $10,000 dollars for winning the race, but didn’t keep a cent for himself. He gave five other runners $2,000 each, which further endeared him to all of Australia. For the next 20 years of his life Cliff continued to be an inspiration to all, he past away on November 2^nd 2003 at the age of 81.

What a wonderful story! So many life lessons to learn from this humble farmer.