By Jena Carr
Torquay runner Peter Fuller, 76, has completed his 27th marathon after a weekend-long run along areas of the Great Ocean Road.
Mr Fuller competed in the 2023 RACV Solar Great Ocean Road Running Festival on Saturday, May 20, and Sunday, May 21, and said he started the race strong.
“I was okay up until about 28 kilometres,” he said.
“I was starting to struggle from then on and… I got to the stage where my right calf had just seized up, and I could only walk.
“A couple of blokes who were near me, saw me struggling and very kindly assisted me to walk for close to 100 metres. One of them actually had his arm around me, physically supporting me.”
Mr Fuller is a dedicated runner and said he used to compete with his brother, occasionally with his sons, and currently runs with local clubs.
“I’ve been fortunate that my body has held up and I haven’t got any long-term injuries,” he said.
“I haven’t run with a club until I moved down to the coast. I thought of running as very much a solitary pursuit.
“I told my general practitioner when I visited him just a couple years ago that he wasn’t to tell me to stop running because I was going to run to my funeral, and I was going to turn up late.”
Mr Fuller said he took more than five hours to complete the marathon and felt he hadn’t done the preparation he would have liked to beforehand despite tackling the festival’s 44 kilometre track.
“It’s been very rewarding, and I loved being involved in it,” he said.
“I encourage anybody inclined to run or feels they might want to take up the challenge to do it.
