Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty three, the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne Ultra
Speaker 1: Marathon was one of the world's most grueling foot races,
Speaker 1: spanning five days and eight hundred and seventy five kilometers.
Speaker 1: On the first day, the experienced competitors turned up in
Speaker 1: their name brand athletic gear and running shoes, well prepared
Speaker 1: for the long distance event, except one man named Cliff Young,
Speaker 1: who appeared to be a little out of his depth.
Speaker 1: Cliff was a sixty one year old potato and sheep
Speaker 1: farmer from regional Victoria, and here he was at the
Speaker 1: starting line, ready to compete, wearing overalls and gum boots. Hi.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the poolroom, where we celebrate the winners, losers
Speaker 1: and the weird stuff between. Tony Armstrong. Cliff Young decided
Speaker 1: to take up running when he was fifty six years old,
Speaker 1: at a time when fun runs were just becoming popular
Speaker 1: in Australia. Cliff's first ever race was a sixteen kilometer
Speaker 1: event in Melbourne in nineteen seventy nine. People didn't take
Speaker 1: him seriously, but he managed to complete the course in
Speaker 1: sixty four minutes. That was just the start, though Cliff
Speaker 1: entered more and more races they got longer and more difficult,
Speaker 1: but an ultra marathon would be an entirely different challenge.
Speaker 1: They're grueling, multi day races where runners only stopped to sleep.
Speaker 1: Cliff's preparation for the marathon wasn't typical for this kind
Speaker 1: of event. Without a fitness trainer and having limited experience,
Speaker 1: he only had friends and locals from his community supporting him.
Speaker 1: Cliff's training involved jogging around his town and staying active
Speaker 1: on his farm, tending to his cows and sheep. Cliff's
Speaker 1: diet for the race was potatoes, oatmeal, pasta, and ice cream.
Speaker 1: When you're doing an ultramarathon, runners can expect all kinds
Speaker 1: of weather conditions. To do well, you need to adapt
Speaker 1: on the fly, but that usually doesn't mean running in
Speaker 1: overalls and gum boots. When Cliff turned up on the
Speaker 1: first day of the Sydney to Melbourne race wearing his
Speaker 1: farmer's clothes, people were confused. Is this guy lost? They thought,
Speaker 1: But Cliff shrugged it off and lined up with his
Speaker 1: ten fellow runners. As the race got underway, the pack
Speaker 1: was quickly split into two groups. About twenty kilometers in,
Speaker 1: the five leading runners took a wrong turn and thended
Speaker 1: up a kilometer off course. At this point, Cliff nearly
Speaker 1: followed them, but another runner in the second group called
Speaker 1: out to let him know he was heading the wrong way.
Speaker 1: As the evening approached on day one, most of the
Speaker 1: runners had covered about ninety kilometers before stopping for dinner
Speaker 1: and asleep, but Cliff kept going. It was around two
Speaker 1: am in the morning when he fell over and hurt
Speaker 1: his shoulder. This could have been game over for Cliff,
Speaker 1: but fortunately the pain wasn't too bad. He finally decided
Speaker 1: to rest and grabbed some sleep in the caravan, which
Speaker 1: his support team of friends were towing behind him. Just
Speaker 1: two hours later, though Cliff was awake, one of his
Speaker 1: crew members had set the wrong time on the alarm,
Speaker 1: so Cliff was up and running again. While his competitors
Speaker 1: were sleeping. He was pushing on and even overtaking them.
Speaker 1: I'm just an old tortoise, said Cliff. I have to
Speaker 1: keep going to stay in front. As the race continued,
Speaker 1: Cliff adapted to the conditions. He changed into a tracksuit
Speaker 1: and went through several pairs of running shoes, but still
Speaker 1: his technique and race strategy were completely out of the ordinary.
Speaker 1: Cliff realized he could survive on minimal sleep, and that
Speaker 1: gave him an edge over his competitors. Cliff also had
Speaker 1: a unique running style, which was dubbed the Cliff Young Shuffle.
Speaker 1: It was kind of a cross between a powerwalk and
Speaker 1: a jog. No one had ever seen anything like it
Speaker 1: in a marathon before, but it appeared to help Cliff
Speaker 1: run further for longer. By day three of the race,
Speaker 1: one runner had already dropped out. Cliff was still going, though,
Speaker 1: and not only was he still going, he gained a
Speaker 1: thirty five klum a lead. I'll show these jokeers a
Speaker 1: thing or two before I reached Melbourne. He said, no
Speaker 1: one thought Cliff had a chance, but he was beginning
Speaker 1: to prove them wrong. By this point, news of his
Speaker 1: unlikely lead began to make national headlines. He was interviewed
Speaker 1: on TV as he ran, and people lined the streets
Speaker 1: to cheer him on as he passed through towns. On
Speaker 1: day four, a second competitor withdrew nine runners remained. Cliff
Speaker 1: was still leading when he reached the town of Aubrey
Speaker 1: and decided to take a nap for a couple of hours,
Speaker 1: but he was awoken suddenly by a voice at the
Speaker 1: door of the caravan. Hello, old buddy, I've caught you
Speaker 1: sleep tight. It was one of the other runners who
Speaker 1: had finally caught up to him. Cliff was startled. He
Speaker 1: got up immediately, quickly got dressed and started to run,
Speaker 1: determined to catch them. Eventually, his opponent needed to rest,
Speaker 1: so Cliff kept going and regained his lead. Cliff's progress
Speaker 1: was being followed very closely now, and as he approached Melbourne,
Speaker 1: he realized he'd become somewhat of a celebrity. Everyone wanted
Speaker 1: to get a glimpse of Australia's new national hero. Cliff
Speaker 1: just smiled and waved and kept on shuffling. On the
Speaker 1: final day, Cliff passed through Melbourne as thousands lined the
Speaker 1: streets to cheer him towards the finish. Police closed off
Speaker 1: roads to clear the path, but they couldn't do much
Speaker 1: to hold back the crowds. Some locals even joined Cliff,
Speaker 1: running alongside him for moral support. Nothing could stop Cliff now.
Speaker 1: It was shortly after one pint thirty in the morning
Speaker 1: when Cliff finally crossed the finish line. To everyone's amazement,
Speaker 1: he completed the Ultra marathon in five days fifteen hours
Speaker 1: and four minutes across the whole race, he only slept
Speaker 1: about twelve hours. A large crowd gathered for the presentation ceremony.
Speaker 1: Cliff was awarded a check for ten thousand dollars, most
Speaker 1: of which he donated to charity and gifted to his
Speaker 1: support team and other runners in the race. After the presentation,
Speaker 1: Cliff was carried off stage his legs had finally given up.
Speaker 1: Over the following days, Cliff made endless public appearances, meeting
Speaker 1: fans and giving interviews. He assured people that success and
Speaker 1: attention would never change him. He'd go back to his
Speaker 1: normal life on the farm, and that's exactly what he did.
Speaker 1: But he also left a legacy for the sport. The
Speaker 1: Cliff Young Shuffle was recognized as a running style that
Speaker 1: expends less energy, and to this day it's the preferred
Speaker 1: technique for long distance runners around the world. I'm Tony
Speaker 1: Armstrong and you've been listening to the poolroom and iHeart production.
Speaker 1: Catch you next time for more incredible sports yarns