General News
7 May, 2025
He made it! Travis conquers 303km in three days
It was a mighty performance from Travis McElligott in his Stride for Strength run for men's mental health.
Despite aches, pains and fatigue, Travis McElligott said the thought of quitting never crossed his mind during his epic mission to run from Mount Isa to Gregory in the space of three days.
“No, definitely not,” he said when asked if he had considered throwing in the towel.
“We were getting here one way or the other. The support crew even said to me ‘if we have to drag you across the line, we will’.
“Day one was OK but it started going downhill on day two.
“Getting out of bed on day three and putting the boots on and getting on the trail was very hard.”
Travis started at 2.30am on Saturday to give himself the best chance of arriving at the Gregory racecourse while there was still a crowd there.
He’d originally hoped to arrive in the late afternoon, but didn’t get in until about 8.15pm, although hundreds were still on track enjoying the live band.
Travis drew a massive applause and plenty of hugs when he finally made it in.
His Stride for Strength run was to raise money and awareness for men’s mental health causes, but Travis admitted his own mental health took a beating during the last couple of days.
“I had a support crew with me for just about the whole time. It was only on the last morning at 2.30 when I was out there on my own,” he told North West Weekly.
“A few times (on the run) I had to put my earphones in and get into a zone where I sort of blocked everything out. Apart from that, mate, the support crew was beside me the whole way.”
Travis, who also ran up and down Mount Isa’s Telstra Hill for 24 hours straight last year, said he was blown away by the level of support from the community.
“I’m definitely surprised by it,” he said.
“The support we got when we came in was unbelievable. There have been so many donations come in; it’ll be over $20,000 once we add it all up.”
Travis, who has a six-week-old baby at home, admitted that he went into the run under-prepared.
“I didn’t put enough Ks under the legs beforehand, so I actually did struggle,” he said.
Capping off his weekend, Travis joined friends as part of a team to paddle in the Gregory River Canoe Marathon, completing the last 6km of the course. “That was super easy compared to running 300km! It was quite enjoyable,” he said.
Travis said he would now spend quality time with his family and work on ways to continue to spread the mental health message.
“If we have inspired somebody to get off the couch, or to get help along the way, then I have done my job,” he said.
“It will have been worth it.”
