Nedd Brockmann is an Australian tradie from Forbes, New South Wales who completed a mammoth run across Australia from Perth to Bondi Beach, Sydney in 47 days. Nedd completed his run to raise money for We Are Mobilise, an Australian charity that helps people experiencing homelessness. Upon completing his run, Nedd was given a cheque revealing he had raised AU$1.5 million for Mobilise, but this has since increased to $1.7 million at the time of publishing.
But who is Nedd Brockman, where is he from and just how did he manage to prepare for his huge 3952km run across Australia?
Who is Nedd Brockmann?
Nedd Brockmann is a 23 year old electrician from Forbes, NSW who completed a 3,952km run across Australia from Perth to Bondi Beach, Sydney. The run took Nedd 47 days to complete.
Nedd said he wanted to complete the run for the Mobilise homelessness charity specifically because, “coming from country NSW, I was really disheartened when I came to Sydney, to see the number of homeless people on the street.”
Nedd admitted he always did his best to help out homeless people, either buying them coffee, giving them money or even giving them clothes, but he accepted he could only do so much “with that amount of money.”
So, he wanted to find a way of being able to raise a more substantial amount of money to give to charity.
Nedd grew up in Forbes in New South Wales’ Central West region and attended Kinross Wolaroi School in Orange, NSW and graduated in 2016. He then moved to Randwick, Sydney, to work as an electrician, and it was at this time he noticed the high number of homeless people in the city.
50 marathons in 50 days
It was only during the Covid pandemic that Nedd started taking up running seriously. He started off with short runs, before eventually running half-marathon and marathon distances, and then moving onto 60km, 80km and 100km distances.
It was at this time he said he started thinking of some crazy things he could do for money. He added he heard about someone else “running 50 marathons in 50 days and I thought ‘why can’t I do that?'”
He did do that, completing the feat in 2020 and raising just under $100,000 for Red Cross whilst doing so. Following this success, Nedd then wanted to run across Australia and hopefully set a new world record (the current record is 45 days) and raise $1 million for charity.
Nedd’s Record Run
Nedd set off on his Record Run from Cottesloe Beach, Perth on September 1 and had to run around 100km a day in order to beat the world record. On his first day, Nedd completed 103km, which he followed up with another 102.9km on day 2.
In fact, the first few days were successful for Nedd, which saw him run over 100km every day during the first week, despite him having to run in “blistering rain” and with headwinds of 50kph. His week 1 total distance was a huge 708km.
By day 12, Nedd made the tough decision to cut his run short at 42.2km, instead of pushing for a full 100km. He said at the time on his Instagram account, “I could have pushed today and got the hundred out no problem, but tomorrow would have been a long shot.”
“So today, my crew and I made the hard decision to call it at 42.2 and get a good afternoons/nights rest and hit the ground running/walking tomorrow.”
Injuries & Maggots
On day 13, Nedd posted an update saying he’d been “ordered to get scans tomorrow by people who have full brain capacity (not me). I have not taken this lightly. But the crew is here for a reason. If they weren’t, I’d probably be buried on the Nullarbor.”
The decision to get scans meant he missed a day of running, so on day 15, his next update came, and at the time he said “My shin/ankle looked like it has grown testies and I couldn’t move my toes or ankle so we thought it was best to scan the bad boy. Thankfully the nearest MRI was only 13 hours away.”
“Ankles scat but we get TF on with IT! We don’t quit, I never have and I never will.”
On day 20, he provided a more in-depth update as to what exactly was wrong with his ankle, as he had been getting a ton of questions from supporters.
He said he had “quite marked extensor tenosynovitis.” He added he had to make one of two decisions, “Either pull the pin on it all, get in a boot and immobilise the joint for 6 weeks until it healed. Or, sack it up, get 2 cortisone injections and buy an orthopaedic rubber band that pulls my foot off the floor every step I take.”
“Of course we chose option 2.”
On day 27, Nedd provided another injury update, admitting he has “severe tenosynovitis in my shins, Achilles tendinitis, pussed up blisters, maggots growing in toes, patella femoral pain, IT band rubbing, hip flexors shot, biceps can’t straighten because they’ve been in the flexed position for the average 100k steps a day.”
Finishing in Bondi
Nedd Brockmann crossed the finish line in Bondi Beach, Sydney on Monday 15th October at around 5.30pm. The run took him 47 days, meaning he is now the second-fastest person to ever run across Australia.
Upon finishing, in true Australian fashion, Nedd performed a shoey to celebrate his momentous achievement.
Post-run Celebration
Celebrating his 24th birthday, Nedd cracked 24 nuts in January 2023. He is grateful for reaching the finish line at Bondi, a milestone many wouldn’t attain in their lifetime. As a result of his achievement, Nedd began speaking publicly more frequently, as organisations invited him to deliver keynote speeches.
Posischools, a movement advocating for the importance of a positive mindset, contracted Nedd as the face of the event. He shared that some of the actions he took before the run included going for simple runs and gradually expanding them beyond his comfort zone. His foundation was an “I can do it” positive mindset. He also hung out with the boxer, Israel Adesanya, in mid-2023.
Reflections
Reflecting on his feat, Nedd noted that on the first day, his knees and Achilles were hurting. On the second day, he encountered multiple local police officials who were proud of his attempt and encouraged him. One officer even asked him to stop running in the evening, explaining that he had recently lost someone on the same route. On day 3, Nedd reflected on his mother’s impact on his achievement while wishing her a Happy Women’s Day.
What’s Next for Nedd?
It took Nedd approximately 10 months to recover from his run. He then participated in his first official run, a 28km Sydney race. He also launched a brand called “Nedd’s Milk,” which sold out as soon as it was launched. His next run was unofficial; he embarked on a 161km run around Centennial Park. Nedd usually goes for early 4am runs where many people join him in Melbourne. He believes that with relentless pursuit, one can conquer all limitations. Another principle he follows is controlling what you can and leaving what you cannot control. Philanthropy remains one of Nedd’s driving forces, even today.
Nedd Brockmann Strava
Nedd recorded all of his runs on his Strava account where not only can you view his running distances, but also the running route Nedd took, should you ever feel compelled to mimic any of his daily runs. The majority of his 100km+ runs took him over 11 hours to complete, but he said in some of his Instagram posts that he took nap breaks to regain some energy and give his body some time to heal.
Nedd Brockmann Girlfriend & Family
Nedd’s parents, Kylie and Ian Brockmann and his girlfriend, Jemma Griffin, a Sydney-based personal trainer and keen runner herself, accompanied Nedd throughout the duration of his run. It’s not clear how long the couple of have been together, but the pair do appear in photos together in 2020. It’s claimed Jemma is the one who asked Nedd out, and they’ve been happy together ever since.
Australian of the Year?
Because of Nedd Brockmann’s incredible feat, many Australians are calling for him to be crowned Australian of the Year. However, Nedd won’t be able to be considered for the 2023 edition of the Award, since the cut-off date for nominations was July 31st. He can, however, be nominated for the 2024 Australian of the Year Award, and applications are now open.