Runner Tim Franklin ends 576-day run around the world in Brisbane

Runner Tim Franklin has crossed the finish line of a personal marathon that has taken him across four continents and back home to a hero’s welcome in Brisbane.

The long-distance runner set off in December 2022 with ambitions to beat the record of 434 days to run 26,232 kilometres.

Instead, it took 576 days, after a brief stop home to be with his dying father, who urged his son to “finish this damned race”.

And on Sunday, he did.

“I’m lucky that everyone on my team thought I could do it and knew I could do it and kept pushing me because there were plenty of times where I didn’t think I was going to get through it,” Mr Franklin said.

Mr Franklin’s mother Roslyn Franklin was there to greet him at the finish line, her arms thrown open to give him her son a hug.

Four continents in 576 days

Mr Franklin’s run official launched in Brisbane before he hit the road in New Zealand, running north from Queenstown to Auckland.

Next, he travelled to the United States, however, his put his run on hold after receiving the devastating news that his father had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

Mr Franklin told the ABC earlier that year his decision to interrupt his run to return to Brisbane to spend time with his father was the “easiest” he’d ever made.

He said his father’s final words to him were: “No matter what happens, get back out there and finish this damned race.”

So, the former lawyer pushed on, flying back to America to finish the US leg – running from San Francisco to New York City — before heading to South America and running from Santiago to Buenos Aires.

In Europe, he ran from Lisbon to Istanbul, dodging semi-trailers roaring across an unfenced bridge – and one stage meeting up with his friend Steve Gamble, who spent two days running with Mr Franklin through Romania.

Mr Gamble was at the finish line on Sunday under the Queensland sun, far different conditions that confronted them in Eastern Europe.

“It was minus five, snowing, 50km winds on his last day of running,” Mr Gamble said.

Of his friend, he said: “He was super positive, really focused on getting to the next stage, which is heading to Asia.”

In Asia, Mr Franklin ran from Malaysia to Singapore before heading back to Australia and finishing the journey with a mammoth leg from Perth to Brisbane, via Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

“I’ve met so many amazing people along the way while they are travelling pursuing their life goals, while I pursue mine — and with many of those, we’ve kept in touch, and I continue to feed off their support,” Mr Franklin said.

During the journey, Mr Franklin raised tens of thousands of dollars for three partner charities: Inspiring Brighter Futures, which offers wellbeing mentoring programs to disadvantaged people; the Lung Foundation Australia, which funds research into lung diseases; and Wings for Life, which supports spinal cord research.

The world record for the fastest circumnavigation on foot over the same distance is held by Serge Girard, who completed it in 434 days. 

The record for the longest circumnavigation is held by Marie Leautey, who covered 28,249 kilometres in 825 days.

Mr Franklin ran in five continents, but only four counted to his effort. Under the rules of the World Runners Association, four continents must be run from coast to coast to qualify for an around-the-world run.

Asia didn’t count — he completed North America, South America, Europe and Australia.

On average Mr Franklin ran more than a standard marathon each day and wore out a total of 21 shoes.