I, Hugh Thomas, am an ordinary Australian! Unfortunately, like 54% of Australians, I am overweight!

I have always been amazed that some people can run marathons or, even crazier, can run across an entire country! So instead of just trying another diet or new exercise routine, I thought I'd try to run... across Australia... in a year! I decided to run between Adelaide and Darwin, straight through the center of Australia. It's 3000 km which breaks down to 8.2 km a day for a year!

However, I have a PhD I need to complete, a mortgage and more, so I can't just pack up and start running it for real. Instead, I will do it on a treadmill at my local gym.

You can follow my exploits on http://www.runhughrun.com or on twitter: @run_hugh_run

I am doing this to try get fit and live a happier and healthier life.

However, I am also doing this for charity, mainly Cancer Research, particularly Prostate Cancer. So if you feel like donating some money, all of it will go to cancer research. You can donate now, or base your donation on if I can finish it or not!