Andre Jones is a man on a mission with a lot of kilometres to get under his feet.
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On March 10 Jones started his solo run around Australia, totalling 15,134kms.
On Monday, March 25, and Tuesday, March 26, Jones will run through the Eurobodalla Shire. He is due in Moruya at 5pm on Monday, before running from Moruya to East Lynne on Tuesday.
Jones, 57, is doing the run around Australia without any support using a four-wheeled buggy - 'Intrepid II' - to house all his gear for the next year because that's how long the journey is expected to take.
Why is he doing it?
"First and foremost, I'm doing it for charity. The Australian organisations I'm representing do great work across all of the community, hindered mostly by lack of funds. My goal is to raise $60,000 - $1 per kilometre for each charity," Jones said.
"Secondly, and in the words of Sir Edmond Hillary, 'Because it's there'.
"Only 10 people have ever run around Australia, some more than once, and while this is a great feat in itself, they all had a support crew of some sort. No one that I can find has done it solo. Yet," he said.
Jones is aiming to become the first person in history to achieve the feat unassisted by a support vehicle. He will be running to raise funds for four charities (GO Foundation, beyondblue, Royal Flying Doctors, The Smith Family).
He is a retired Royal Australian Navy veteran, who ran solo from Melbourne to Darwin in 2017, plans to run an average of more than a marathon a day for about 350 days, and all the while pushing a buggy weighing up to 100kg carrying food, water and equipment.
But he says it's not a race and he is happy to chat to any traveller willing to say g'day - and even happier to share a few kilometres with runners of all levels.
"At 57, I've also learnt to listen to my body. With no back-up or support of any kind, when it hurts, I slow down and walk. There's no point breaking anything, as I'll be doing it all again the next day, the next week, the next month ... and for an estimated total of 343 days, assuming reasonable weather and manageable injuries," Jones said.
Jones leaves Tilba Tilba on Monday morning for his run to Moruya. He's expected at the Bryn Glass B&B at 5pm.
If you would like to donate visit his page.
Facts about the run:
Total kilometres planned: 15,134, which is equivalent to more than 358 marathons
Days on the road: 341
Days running: 328
Days off: 13
Total elevation: 45,122 metres which is more than five times the height of Mt Everest
States visited: six, towns stayed in: 219
Longest day: 68.3km from William Bay to Albany in WA on November 14
Pairs of shoes required: 15.
