LOCAL marathon runner Clay Dawson returned home to Ipswich last week after completing the Trail to Triumph,with funds raised going towards awareness and research for lung diseases.
The ultramarathon is run over 250km between Moranbah and Mackay across three days, with Clay looking at it with his trademark passion and humour.
“It feels like a fever dream,” he said.
“The trick is to go in with a low IQ and very little planning and foresight!”
The previous longest distance covered by Clay was 191km, making the Trail to Triumph something to be especially proud of.
“Being able to manage the 300km, I am pretty stoked with that,” he said.
“I was able to double my fundraising goal too, so wins all round.
“Especially seeing as my body has been able to run every day since.”
The event proved brutal, as Clay told Local Ipswich News.
“It took 2.5 days, but it wasn’t a race though, so I was limited a bit there,” he said.
“The aim was to get as many of the 16 that started to finish.
“We managed to get four in the end.”
By day, Clay is a teacher, and on the track there are not many lessons he has not taught, with his results speaking for themselves.
“I did pick up national titles in the 100km in 2019 and 2021 – they were special.”
In 2017, he completed three long distance events in a seven-week span, winning the Sunshine Coast Marathon, Brisbane Marathon, and the Gold Coast Marathon, where he won his age group and the Australian Masters title in a personal best time (2hrs 26mins).
In that same year he also took out his first Ipswich Mile Gift, and likes to give different distances a crack, including the 10km Ipswich Park2Park, 5km park runs on a Saturday morning, and he even hiked 96km with his school team at the Kokoda Challenge.
His love of Ipswich and passion and commitment to his sport have come together in the past with him winning the Masters Sportsperson of the Year award at the Ipswich Sports Awards in 2020.
