A Mount Gambier man completed a marathon over the weekend with a lockdown twist, running the equivalent of more than 42km in his backyard and driveway. Michael Mustart was preparing for a 65km race in the Grampians, to be held at the end of August, when South Australia introduced lockdown restrictions, among which was a requirement that South Aussies exercise within 2.5km of their homes.

But that did not stop Mr Mustart from staying fit and bashing out a long-distance race, completing 266 laps of his property. Mr Mustart said began running at 9.30am on Sunday and finished after 2.30pm, running 42.02km in just over five hours, while averaging a pace of 7 minutes and 28 seconds per kilometre.

“It’s been on my bucket list for a while,” Mr Mustart told The SE Voice. “I needed to get a long run in as part of my training, and I thought it was a good opportunity … because I could not go more than 2.5km from my home and for any longer than 1.5 hours. “I thought if I do it on my own property, then I’m within the lockdown guidelines.”

Mr Mustart said he is currently running between 50km to 80km per week. However, he set himself the goal of running every day of the South Australian lockdown, posting on social media all the while to motivate his friends “in a bit of a tough time for everyone”.