The legendary farmer who did the impossible
A story of endurance and exceeded expectations
I teach at a number of trainings for those serving around the world in the nonprofit sector. One of the lessons I’ve learned over the years is the incredible ability of humans to endure well past the physical limits I assume are reality. Whether its refugees fleeing war zones, aid workers helping in disasters, or sleep deprivation from traveling around the world on a mission, the study of the extremes of human existence is a fixation of mine. In my research, I stumbled on a gem of a story that I have since incorporated into various teachings. That is the story of Cliff Young, the man who did the impossible.
The year is 1983. Its first Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultramarathon, a race of 544 miles across Australia. That’s the distance from where I live in southern Tennessee all the way to Washington DC. It is considered one of the hardest ultramarathons in the world and draws world-class runners from across the global. It takes nearly 6.5 days to complete. Professionals train for years to work up to this race, often having elaborate support crews and sponsorships with major athletic brands.
As the world-class runners in the latest and greatest gear were getting ready for the race, officials were surprised when a farmer arrived. Cliff Young was 61, dressed in big floppy pants he had cut holes in “so I’ll have ventilation”. He was from the far reaches of Beech Forest, Victoria Australia. He had never competed in a professional race, never formally trained, and was a potato and sheep farmer. He had spent the last month “training” by running around his farm in gumboots and overalls. Not knowing what else to do, the event coordinators put him on the starting line with the other runners, looking extremely out of place. When the pistol sounded, the runners sprang off the start line. That is, all except Cliff Young. He was left in the dust, and didn’t even attempt to ran; he more shuffled than anything. The race continued through the length of the day, and though he was dead last everyone was stunned that Cliff Young was still in the race, albeit very slowly.
As the first night came, the professional runners did as they had trained: they stopped by the roadside, slept for six hours, and continued racing at dawn. But remember, Cliff Young didn’t know much about racing. Instead of stopping for the night, he kept running; no one had thought to told him to do otherwise. Through the wee hours of the morning, he passed up the other runners in their fancy gear with their expensive support teams. Imagine the immense surprise when they woke to learn a farmer was now in the lead. With vigor they were back in the race, and before long Cliff Young was in last place once again.
The second day came and went; night fell. The runners once more stopped to get much-needed rest. The standard running wisdom of the day said to run for 18 hours, and sleep for 6. Everyone stopped; that is, except Cliff Young. He still didn’t know stopping for the night was what you were “supposed to do”, so he just kept going. This time, within a few short hours he was in the lead again. By the time the other runners and their support crews woke up, he was miles ahead of them. So far ahead, in fact, that on day three they couldn’t catch up to him before night fell, and they stopped to get a few precious hours of sleep. But Cliff Young continued to run through the third night, never sleeping, never stopping.
By this point TV and radio networks were having a field day with the story of Cliff Young. As he ran through the third day, reporters asked more about this mysterious figure. He told them that he ran without his false teeth because “they rattle when I run.” He captured the hearts of viewers, though many were concerned about his safety. When asked how he was doing he said: “Its not easy, you just have to keep going. I like to finish what I start doing. I like to see it through, to the best of my ability.” When asked what kind of runner and training he had, he said “born in the bush. No science, really.”
He had always run in his gumboots, but at a press conference before the race he said “somebody had given him a new pair of runners that were so good it took him 200 metres to slow down and stop.” During the race, a gumboot manufacturer found out about Cliff Young and offered him a 10 years' supply of gumboots.
You see, Cliff Young had a farm and lived with his mother. They were too poor to afford proper equipment so he rounded up the sheep on foot, across an area of 2,000 acres. He often ran for 3 days without stopping when trying to beat a storm. So, while he ran this race, he kept pretending he was outrunning a storm, rounding up sheep on his farm.
Cliff Young continued, without stopping or sleeping, running straight for 5 days, 15 hours, and 4 minutes, breaking the previous record for running from Sydney to Melbourne by nearly 2 days. When he was given the $10,000 prize for winning he said “Now that’s a whole lot of potatoes!” He waited at the finish line and gave each of the 5 other runners (the only ones that managed to complete the grueling race, out of the original 11 runners) an equal share, keeping none for himself. “They worked just as hard as I did”, he said.
Said one ultra marathoner: “Cliff wasn't necessarily the best runner, but Cliff did things differently. He went out and beat the rest of the field because everyone believed they had to go to bed at night-time, and Cliff didn't read the book where it said you're supposed to sleep, and he just kept going.”
Later, a bunch of scientists studied his running technique and it was discovered to be extremely energy efficient and favored endurance. The technique was named the “Young Shuffle” and was used by at least three other ultra marathoners to win that same race in later years.
Cliff Young continued running, setting six outdoor world endurance records. At the age of 63 he ran 150 miles in a 24 hour period. Another runner who worked with him over the years said: “One of my fondest memories of Cliff was at the 1999 Coburg 24 Hour Carnival when he completed 147km. A storm came through in the evening which sent most of the competitors scurrying for cover, but not the 77 year old Cliff. He was leaning forward and kept going through the wind, rain and sleet. I finished about 30 kilometres behind Cliff, but he inspired me to keep going through the bad weather when I could have taken the easy option and headed for the tent.”
On his farm, he often ran 15 to 30 miles before breakfast every day. “The doctors once told me I had arthritis in my joints and to take it easy, so I said ‘I'll fix that up, I'll run it out.’” And that’s what Cliff Young did.
In 1997 he tried to circumnavigate Australia (a distance of 10,000 miles, roughly the distance from Sydney, Australia to London, England) to raise money for disadvantaged homeless orphans, but the 76 year-old had to drop out after 3,800 miles (roughly the distance from Key West, Florida to Whistler, British Colombia) when his only crew member (his trainer following in a car) passed out from illness. In 2000, at age 79, he became the oldest man to finish a six-day ultramarathon, and he did it while he was dying of cancer.
He passed away in November 2003 at the age of 81, still running his family farm. He had run over 12,500 miles during his racing career. It is said he never kept any of his prize money, but instead donated it to charities or giving it to friends as gifts.
May we learn the lesson of endurance, grit, and tenacity from a humble potato farmer from the bush of Australia.
Stay curious.
Reagan
