Don't do it. Nobody should walk that far unless they're being chased by police.

If you're going to cover the full 96k and not do a short relay distance like a 10k with 9 other teammates, then there's a simple question:

Are you a marathoner or in the mood train up to be in marathon condition?

Yes? Then DO IT.

No? You will injure yourself. Because even marathon training is not good enough for this race.

I'd do it it it wasn't Australia. You guys have some especially nasty creatures down there.

Oh man, I hurt just looking at that website.

Do it or die trying.

Those are both better options than wishing you had.

This strikes me as one of those oh-I-should-try-this things that usually leaves me thinking, man, I shouldn't have tried that.

But then I'm an unmotivated loser who wouldn't run to catch a bus.

On the other hand, I would greatly enjoy reading about the horrible suffering you will no doubt endure, so, yeah, g'head. Do it.

It probably won't kill you.

Probably.

If you want to do it, start training now and do it next year or (more realistically) the year after. 6 months and change is not enough time to train for an ultra, and you will injure yourself, maybe permanently.

Start training now. Train for a 5k, then a 10k, then a half marathon, then a full, and then start your ultra training. Wolfdog's right, accomplishing this goal would be awesome, but there is zero chance you will be ready for this by July without putting yourself through significant pain and injury and many resulting doctor visits. If it's good enough to accomplish, it's worth working for. Endurance sports are not about instant gratification.

I know whereof I speak -- I was totally thrown off my running regimen after severe IT band injury running my first marathon, and I took a whole goddamn year to train. Several months, several doctor visits, and two rounds of physical therapy later, and I'll be up to doing two mile runs again in a couple of weeks, that's how bad it was. What you're talking about is more than double marathon distance, nonstop, over uneven ground, in weather that drops below freezing. Your joints, muscles and tendons are not ready for this, much less your heart and lungs. Not even at a walking pace.

I would encourage you to do the training, though, and to make this a long-term goal. Distance is hard, the kind of hard that most people are afraid to even think about tackling, and when you cross your first marathon finish line, you realize you're capable of more than you previously suspected. Something like this would be a grueling march in which, even with proper training, you will suffer much, but when you emerge from it, you'll emerge stronger and wiser and very proud of yourself.

Do it, definitely do it, but not this year.

Marathons scare the heck out of me, but 60 miles at 2 mph? Dude, you can do it.

Do it.

Do it! This sounds awesome. You were just saying how you wanted to cultivate different parts of your personality in the New Year. This is something different and you don't know why you want to do it but you kind of want to. That's that part of you talking! Go for it. It'll give you some great stories and you'll feel good about the accomplishment - and set a great example for your kids of how you can just up and do something.

What did your doctor say?

Anything that uses the word "hinterland" is off of my list of things to do.

OK, maybe not in this case. This sounds fabulous.

Wise words, middleclasstool and, if I was capable of setting goals 18 months ahead and sticking to them, I'd certainly heed your advice. I do have a (very) small head-start on training, which is some small comfort to me - I ran a 10k a couple of months ago and managed a pretty respectable time for someone who doesn't run regularly. I'm also already ramping-up for training for a half marathon. This (for me) would be a walking challenge, not a running one, which makes it (relatively) a little bit more reachable. I also wouldn't commit to it without a visit to my doctor for a check-up.

My biggest concern is that, being a team event, I would hate to let other team members down if I don't finish, because all team members must finish for the team to be considered a finisher. About 50% of teams that start the event finish ...

Seeing that you do run makes me feel better, and yes, walking is much easier than running. But I'd advise that the distance from nothing to a half marathon is much, much shorter than that from a half to a full. Wisdom has it that the real halfway point of a marathon is actually about mile 20, in terms of effort, and this has been my experience. The longer you go, the harder it gets.

Walking makes it more reachable, but this is walking for 60 miles straight, even at a slow pace, and probably at least 24 hours with no sleep. In the cold. In the dark. Over uneven ground.

I don't want to dissuade you, and I admire those with the can-do spirit in here, I just want you to know exactly what you're getting into. Walking or no walking, this is an ultramarathon you're talking about. If me being 33 and spending a year training to run a marathon leaves me with serious joint and tendon issues, then you being 48 and not even ready to run a half, going after an ultramarathon on only half a year of training? I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't do it, I'm saying you need to do more than believe in yourself to do this. Even walking 60 miles at a stretch without proper training can seriously fuck you up. Though I'm glad to hear you'll be consulting a doctor.

About 50% of teams that start the event finish ...

This should tell you something.

Again, I'm not trying to talk you out of it. I'm trying to talk you into a lifestyle change that will make something like this be no big deal at all.

Yeah, I'm well aware that self-belief won't get me anywhere in an event like this. I can run 10k on little preparation and not suffer any ill effect, but that is not even close to approaching the same ballpark as this event and I'm acutely aware of that. One of the people at work who has already committed to this runs marathons a few times a year and trains about 40km a week and he's scared shitless about what he's getting himself into here, so I'm under no illusions about the task ahead of me. I'm also familiar with most of the terrain (the course crosses the road not far from my home and traverses the State Forest behind my place) and it's not an easy course, even ignoring the length. I need to give the decision a lot of thought and have and will do that.

I appreciate your honest feedback a lot - it's easy to encourage people to do things that are beyond them when there are no repercussions on you.

If you do go for it, dg, I wish you a happy and life-changing experience. Pushing yourself to your limits and beyond can change you -- I've gone on long runs and experienced something not unlike auto-hypnosis. It's quite wonderful.

And of course I'll want a full report when you get back. :)

Do it or die trying.

Those are both better options than wishing you had.

No offense, but if it were me, 'die trying' would definitely fall far below 'gee, I wish I had' on the list of desirable outcomes, as would 'permanently injure or cripple yourself trying.' MCT speaks truth, and I like the idea of setting increasingly difficult goals to keep you motivated while you get to that level. Do go for it, dg, but not this year.

This looks fantastic! Did you decide to do it?

In my unprofessional opinion, I think it would be possible to walk this starting from your physical condition and training until the event. I did something somewhat similar but a lot shorter (well, "similar" like a newborn kitten is similar to a cougar - same idea, way different animal).

Honestly? If these kick-ass Kiwis had trouble in 2001, you might have trouble now.

No-one enjoyed the Kokoda track.

Just saying.

I put my name down. We still have to be sure that we can fill two teams (each team has to consist of four people and you have to nominate them when you enter), but it looks like I'm doing this thing. Now I need to work out a training regime that works for me. I'm doing a 10k race in a few months and a half marathon several weeks after that, so I'll have a chance to test my progress to some extent.

Thanks for the advice, everyone!