A. OH ITS BEEN VERY EXCITING REALLY BECAUSE I'VE HELPED HIM IN MOST OF HIS VENTURES AND THERE'S LITTLE THINGS THAT NO OTHER PERSON EXPERIENCE THAT I EXPERIENCE BEING A LONG DISTANCE RUNNER'S WIFE.



Q. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU. YOU FOLLOW HIM ON MANY OF HIS RUNS. THIS SO.



A. MEANS A LOT OF ADDED BURDEN I SUPPOSE ON ME BUT I JUST TAKE IT IN MY STRIDE AND CONQUER THINGS AS THEY COME ALONG.



Q. EACH TIME HE GOES FOR A MEN RECORD WHAT SORT OF PRESSURES OR TENSIONS DO YOU SEE IN TONY.



A. I THINK THE BIGGEST PRESSURE OR THE BIGGEST TENSION IS WILL HE OR WILL HE NOT MAKE IT. THIS IS ALWAYS THE QUESTION AND IF I GIVE HIM ALL THE MORAL SUPPORT THAT THE NEEDS AND THE RIGHT DIET AND HE DOES HIS TRAINING WHICH I KNOW HE DOES AND SPENDS HOURS AT IT, I FEEL THAT THERE SHOULD BE A HUNDRED PER CENT SUCCESS.



TONY RAFFERTY SAYS HIS SEARCH FOR PHYSICAL SELF-IMPROVEMENT HAS BROUGHT A SENSE OF WELL-BEING THAT IS DEEPLY REWARDING. HE ALSO BELIEVES HIS DEDICATION CAN SET EXAMPLES FOR A SOCIETY WHICH PAYS TOO LITTLE ATTENTION TO FITNESS AND GOOD HEALTH.



A. IF YOU TRAIN REGULAR OVER MANY YEARS ITS ONLY BUT NATURAL YOU'RE GOING TO FEEL GOOD AND FEEL HAPPY AND CONTENTED AND EXTREMELY FIT AND I DON'T LIKE FEELING AND OTHER WAY. IF I COULD ONLY GET PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND JUST HO??? GOOD IT DOES FEEL. THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO OUT EVERY DAY AND DO A MARATHON LIKE I DO BUT NEVERTHELESS IF THEY SPENT just TWENTY MINUTES ON PHYSICAL FITNESS EACH DAY THEY COULD FEEL TERRIFIC JUST THE SAME AS I DO.



Q. WHAT DO YOU SEE YOURSELF DOING EVENTUALLY AFTER THIS RUN IF YOU ACHIEVE THIS WHAT DO YOU SEE YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL.



A. WELL WE'VE HAD OFFERS TO DO TO AMERICA. I'D LIKE TO GO TO AMERICA AND RUN ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND POSSIBLY A RUN IN BRITAIN AND POSSIBLY ANOTHER RUN IN EUROPE BUT THIS WILL HAVE TO TAKE PLACE IN THE NEXT TWO OR THREE YEARS BECAUSE I DON'T THINK I'LL BE INTERESTED IN DOING MARATHON RUNS SUCH AS THIS THREE YEARS FROM NOW. BUT I'LL BE CONNECT WITH PHYSICAL FITNESS ALL MY LIFE BECAUSE IT IS MY LIFE, I'VE BEEN IN IT FOR SEVENTEEN YEARS AND I'LL CONTINUE IN IT, ITS MY PROFESSION JUST LIKE THERE A CAMERAMAN OR LIKE THERE A DOCTOR OR A DENTIST OR A LABOURER.



TONY RAFFERTY SAYS THE QUESTION HE'S ASKED MOST IS "WHY DO YOU DO IT". THE ANSWER HE GIVES IS THAT HE'S DISCOVERED SOMETHING HE DOES WELL, AND HE'S EXCITED BY THE PROSPECT OF NEW GOALS TO CONQUER. THESE TWO FACTORS COMBINED, HE SAYS, ARE ENOUGH TO ADD SPICE TO LIFE ITSELF.




Initials


REPORTER: JOHN CRIBBIN

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: January 1973. Long distance runner Tony Rafferty completes in just 15-days a run of 653 miles from Sydney to Melbourne. It was only one in series of feats of remarkable ???urance he's undertaken in the past three years. Now Tony Rafferty is about to attempt the world's longest run, from Perth to Sydney, LEARNING NEXT SATURDAY. John Cribbin reports....
SYNOPSIS: EVER AFTER THE MOST PUNISHING RUNS, TONY RAFFERTY, AGED 34 AND IRISH-BORN, RARELY SHOW SIGNS OF EXHAUSTION. HE'S MADE A VOCATION OF MATCHING MIND AND MUSCLE AGAINST THE ODDS. THE EXHILARATION OF ACHIEVEMENT, HE SAYS, IS RICHLY REWARDING. IN THE QUIETNESS OF THE HILLS OUTSIDE MELBOURNE, RAFFERTY PREPARES FOR THE LONGEST RUN HE'S EVER ATTEMPTED - 3000 MILES ACROSS AUSTRALIA. HIS TRAINING SCHEDULE AVERAGES 30 MILES A DAY.THESE DAILY RUNS ARE DESIGNED NOT ONLY TO TOUGHEN THE BODY, BUT ALSO TO ATTUNE THE MIND TO THE PUNISHING PAN AND LONELINESS OF GREAT DISTANCES. RAFFERTY IS ALREADY LISTED IN THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS FOR PREVIOUS FEATS OF ENDURANCE.

HIS PLANNED RUN INVOLVES TRAVERSING SOME OF THE MOST FORBIDDING MAIN ROADS IN AUSTRALIA. HE SAYS HE'S WANTED TO MAKE THIS JOURNEY FOR TEN YEARS. THE PREPARATIONS FOR IT HAVE GONE ON FOR SIX MONTHS. THE RUN IS DUE TO START FROM PERTH ON AUGUST 1st AND CONTINUE FOR 75 DAYS. TO COVER THE DISTANCE IN THAT TIME RE WILL HAVE TO AVERAGE 40 MILES A DAY. RAFFERTY SAYS THE MOST EXTREME TEST WILL BE THE BARREN KALGOORLIE TO PORT AUGUSTA SECTION WHICH INCLUDES THE NULLARBOR PLAIN.

THE SEARCH FOR PHYSICAL EXCELLENCE INCLUDES GYMNASIUM TRAINING TO PERFECT THE GREAT STRENGTH NEEDED FOR THE LONGEST RUN EVER ATTEMPTED IN AUSTRALIA. THE STEADY DRAIN ON STAMINA DURING A RUN OF TWO-AND-A-HALF MONTHS CALLS FOR ENORMOUS RESERVES.

AS A FORMER INSTRUCTOR IN PHYSICAL FITNESS THESE ARE FAMILIAR ROUTINES FOR TONY RAFFERTY. NOW HE'S GIVEN UP THE JOB OF TEACHING FITNESS IN ORDER TO DEDICATE HIMSELF ENTIRELY TO RECORD-BREAKING. HE CAME TO AUSTRALIA FROM BELFAST IN 1960. BEFORE TURNING TO DISTANCE RUNNING, HE WAS AN IRISH SCHOOLBOY SOCCER INTERNATIONAL AND LATER HELD JUNIOR WEIGHTLIFTING TILES.

YEARS OF TRAINING HAVE ALSO DEVELOPED GREAT STRENGTH OF WILL AND ABSOLUTE DETERMINATION.

RAFFERTY'S OFFICE IS A FLAT IN THE MELBOURNE SUBURB OF ST. KILDA, WHERE HE LIVES WITH HIS WIFE ELAINE.... THE BUSINESS OF ORGANISING THE PERTH-SYDNEY HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MONTHS. COMMERCIAL SPONSORSHIP HAD TO BE SOUGHT. SO DID THE HELP OF OTHERS WHO WILL TRAVEL WITH HIM BY CAR AND CARAVAN. RAFFERTY READS EXTENSIVELY, MOSTLY ABOUT PHYSICAL FITNESS, BUT ALSO OTHER ASPECTS OF ACHIEVEMENT AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT. HE STUDIES YOGA TO ESTABLISH THE QUIETNESS OF MIND WHICH HE SAYS IS ESSENTIAL TO THE ATTAINMENT OF HIS GOALS. HE DRINKS MODESTLY, BUT DISAPPROVES STRONGLY OF SMOKING.

PLAIN FOODS, WITH ONLY MINOR EXCEPTIONS TO THE NORMAL DIET, ARE REGARDED AS SUFFICIENT NOURISHMENT.

RAFFERTY HAS THE ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT OF THE AUSTRALIAN BORN WIFE HE MARRIED THREE YEARS AGO. SHE WILL TRAVEL WITH HIM FROM PERTH, RUNNING BY HIS SIDE SEVERAL MILES AT A TIME, OR ACCOMPANYING HIM ON A MOTOR CYCLE. THIS IS HER VIEW OF A LIFE MARRIED TO A PROFESSIONAL RECORD BREAKER.