Daniel Head, a 2004 graduate of Rhodes College, was a recipient of the Thomas J. Watson Research Fellowship to pursue an individualized research project around the globe for 12 months. The Watson Fellowship is awarded each year to 50 graduating seniors to pursue a self designed research project overseas to provide fellows an opportunity to test their aspirations and abilities, to view their lives and American society in greater perspective and to develop a more informed sense of international concern.

Head chose to visit seven countries to explore his project entitled "From Messenger to Masochist: Cultural Motivations of Marathon Runners." The choice of countries -Australia, Greece, Egypt, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, and South Africa-was designed to give a thorough comparison of motivations of runners stemming from different classes, religions, and backgrounds. During his visit to each country, Head explored the running scene through local running clubs and races, while learning about local cultures and peoples. His reports provide a glimpse into each country's running scene, but perhaps more important; provide insight into our world's rich cultures, sometimes strange customs, and engaging people.


At first glance, the Aussies seem to do everything backwards. They ski in July, they call the conservative party the "Liberals," their "bugs" are not insects at all, rather crustaceans, they drink at "hotels," not pubs, and they actually like vegemite. But, in the running arena, they could not be more on target. The sports scene here in the land of tracky daks and togs simply cannot be beat. What cheese did for France, fashion did for Italy, and sushi did for Japan, sport has now done for Australia. It has created a cultural rallying point atop which its citizens can sit and sneer at the failed attempts of other cultures to match their own and in Australia's case, at least, rightfully so.

The Aussie running culture impressed and delighted me in every way. I had chosen Australia for my marathon study because of the dedication to its sports culture, with dozens of marathons sprouting all over the country in the last decade. And dedicated, indeed, are these people to their running. I spent most of my stay in Sydney, which had a seemingly infinite number of running groups. Sydney is the marathoner's Promised Land, an urban utopia for those who want city life and a variety of runs at their fingertips. My personal favorite was the 10K stretch along the beach cliffs between Bondi and Maroubra beaches. You cannot beat the world-class views along the cliffs, feeling the warmth of the sun as it rises over the Pacific, admiring the buff Sydneysiders out for their morning surf session, and listening to the waves crash against the cliffs while gazing down at the bright turquoise surf. If for some reason that does not sound like your cup of tea, no worries mate! The Sydneysiders have much more to offer. How about jogging along Circular Quay, past the Opera House, through the botanical gardens, then straight through an avenue of palms downtown in Hyde Park, with the kookaburras laughing overhead in the trees above? And for the triathlete in the bunch, why not run across the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge then go for a swim in the North Sydney Olympic pool!

Better yet, for those who do not enjoy running alone, Sydneysiders have their pick of friendly, active running clubs. I joined the Sydney Striders, by far the most prominent at all nearby races, and quite a jolly bunch at that. They won't hesitate to give you a good dose of the true Aussie nature, humor, and culture. Every Sunday morning they have a run, either as part of their 10K series, or more often, a longer training run at varying lengths and paces. It is a great way to meet some locals, and if you are lucky, you might even be there for their 30K "10 Bridges Run," taking in all the good sites including running over the Harbour Bridge, and the Pyrmont Bridge over the quaint Darling Harbour (along with, of course, eight other bridges of equal splendor but less eminence). During the week, I also took advantage of their nightly training runs in the suburbs. Whether it was running through Lane Cove National Park on Fridays, or around Canada Bay with the "Marathon Training Group" on Wednesday nights, a good time was had by all. Some executive Australians working in the city's central business district have even organized a run called "Pain in the Domain," a gruelling interval session on Tuesday lunch breaks, cleverly named after the downtown park where the run is held, the "Domain."

Not only did I get my fair share of training runs in the last two months, but little did I know that during this time I would also go to enough races to last a normal marathoner a few years. I framed my Oz experience around two races, the Townsville Marathon in sunny Queensland and the famous Sydney Marathon down in New South Wales. But once I arrived and word got out what I was studying, I had invitations to races I did not even know existed. I kicked off the year of never-ending marathons with a surprise invitation to the Warrumbungles Marathon, a race through a national forest 400 miles northwest of Sydney in the "bush." No one, not even Australians, really knows where the bush begins and ends, but it is a vague term to describe the green and liveable part of Australia, far from the coasts but before you reach the deserted barren center: the Outback. This was my first time to venture into the bush and lucky for me I was taken to the very heart of it all, right into kangaroo country. The course was through lush forests, surrounded by tall gums and eucalypts, all in the shadows of enormous rock formations. All sorts of Aussie wildlife abounded as well; there were plenty of emus, kangaroos, and wombats to go around. If you are a kangaroo lover, this is your race. Around mile 20, I stopped to hang with a couple 'roos that would let me pet them, even one with a joey in her pouch, then they bounced alongside me on the course for a few meters before returning to whatever it is kangaroos do. I am not sure any other running experience in Oz came close to topping that one, but what could?

The next weekend took me 1000 miles to the north for the Townsville Marathon. If you can picture a run exactly the opposite of Warrumbungles, this run is it. There is no forest or wildlife along the course, nor are there any hills. The entire course runs along the beaches of tropical north Queensland, and, even though it is in the middle of winter; it has a 5:30 am start to avoid the 90-degree afternoon heat and humidity. The course is 100% flat, along the coastline facing the Pacific and tropical Magnetic Island. One tip: if you do decide to run this race, call ahead. If the race director knows you are coming to his marathon from the States, you might even get a surprise visit from him and a TV crew at the airport. The race staff will take care of you, foreigner or not, and you really cannot find a bunch more hospitable and friendlier than the Queenslanders, even if they are "madder than cut snakes," as they were so aptly described to me.

Another good race is a point-to-point course in the Blue Mountains, a bush run called "Mount Wilson to Bilpin," just a couple hours outside Sydney, but a world away. It is not an official marathon, clocking in at just 36K (23 miles), but might as well be; it is definitely tougher than any 42K road marathon I know. To say this race's hills are a good workout is an understatement. After this race, you will not have to do hill work for years. Most of the Striders I went with used this race as their last long run before the Sydney Marathon, which is just a few weeks later.

After running and living in Sydney for two months, the Sydney Marathon felt like a hometown event, and for me was a great way to say "G'day" and "G'bye" to Sydney on the day before my departure. Even if you have not ever lived in Sydney, you will develop a strong affinity for this world-class city in the few hours you are on the road. As with all other runs in the city, you are treated to world-class views: running over the Harbor Bridge free of traffic, down through the nightlife on Oxford Street, and finishing on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. For this race, I had the unique opportunity of being a Runner's World pace team leader, with the mission of guiding marathoners to the finish line in less than four hours. While the pressure of running exactly a four-hour race is tough, the reward of helping someone else achieve his marathon goal is incredible.

So now it is time to leave and I am left with the daunting task of answering the question I came here to answer: "Why is it that the Australians run marathons?" It is hard to generalize about any society, even one as small as Australia, with 20 million people, so I offer only my observations, not meant in any way to be a stereotype of an entire culture. I spoke with hundreds of runners from all over the country, and one theme emerged again and again. These people are as social as the kangaroos that greeted me in the forest. It is obvious to any visitor in Australia, even big cities like Sydney that these people do not hesitate to stop and be friendly, always ready for a chin-wag. Just look at the number of running clubs. I remember from my Econ 101 class that huge supply is a response to huge demand; these people want company on their runs and company they get! The locals were always up for a yarn on the run, and I always enjoyed the good ear-bashing. But do they run marathons just because they like to chat? Of course not. Many Aussie runners began running because someone close to them encouraged them. Ian started so he could run with his brother, Graham's best friend pretty much forced him to start running with him, Darren started because his wife Karin was marathon mad (and still is), and Brian who works with mad Karin has also been sucked in.

Besides being a social little bunch, the Aussies seem to run out of their devotion to obsession. Australia is a land of extremes. Its most popular sport, Aussie Rules Football, is a classic example that these people are hardcore. As it was explained to me before I went to my first brutal match, it is "80 minutes of mayhem that makes American football look about as rough as badminton." On the other hand, the other sport they are most passionate about, cricket, makes even golf look exciting and action packed. Or take vegemite -- actually you are better off not to. The Pacific Ocean barely supplies enough salt for an average Aussie's lifetime intake. Or maybe they just strain all the salt out of their cereal. Their version, Weet Bix, is more like a brick that tastes vaguely like shredded wheat but with even less taste. The list goes on. And these runners have learned from their extreme surroundings. Lorraine started running because she quit smoking at age 50 and needed a new obsessive habit. Right this very minute, David is doing a triathlon in Hawaii that is ten times the length of an Ironman; the cut-off time is in days, not hours. Sixty-four-year-old "Mountain Man" was at every marathon I attended; the Sydney Marathon being his 296th -- and he only did his first one at age 46. Wow! This list too, goes on.

I thought that health and fitness might play a bigger role in Australian motivations. Many cited getting fit as a reason, but without fail, every time there was a deeper reason. Chris told me he started running to get rid of his gut, but turned out he had just gotten divorced and started running because it was so soothing and cleared his mind of stress. Neil, who used to be an ultra-swimmer until his shoulder was injured, first said he ran so he would not put on the pounds he had been shedding while swimming, but it just took about two more hours of running with him when he told me about his use of ultra swims and now marathons to raise money for lupus research, a disease his fiance has been diagnosed with. Francis said he wanted to get fit so he gave up smoking and started running, but after another hour of running with him he told me that the moment he realized he needed to get fit and quit smoking was when he could no longer play with his five-year-old daughter. How any Aussie bloke can cite losing the gut as a reason for running baffles me? After every marathon or group training run, these people would never partake in our normal orange, banana, and Gatorade routine. Nope, in Oz, at the end of 42kays, you will find a good ole Aussie barbie with runners and their families all stuffing themselves with sausage rolls, cake, steak sandwiches, and occasionally you might even find some "bugs." I thought I saw Gatorade once, but turns out it was just the normal steaming pot of coffee and tea waiting at the finish line for those who craved a cuppa. With all this bloody coffee, cake, steak, snags, cola, and candy bars at the end of the runs, I probably would have put on about 40 kilos had I not run myself silly while Down Under. Yes, there is always another reason behind the "lose the gut" excuse. I should have known better from a country that prides itself on its local meat pies.

The marathon is fierce and its victims' motivations come in all shapes and sizes. Whether for stress relief, social reasons, health, or pure obsession, the truth is that these Aussie runners are now all hooked. I do not know if the Australian motivations mirror those around the rest of the world -- yet. But one thing is for sure, it will be hard to find a group of runners anywhere as friendly and welcoming as these good ole blokes and shielas. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!