Bleached blond mullet flying, legs pumping, almost soaring with the news helicopters buzzing overhead, Nedd Brockmann was near the finishing line. There were people everywhere, dangling out of cars, pumping their fists, urging him on as police held back the traffic.
The crowds were a blur until, suddenly, Nedd caught sight of some familiar dreadlocks near Sydney’s Central Station. It was his homeless mate, Dave, whose plight first inspired the young electrician’s epic charity run from coast to coast across Australia. A “goosebumps” moment.
“Dave was just sitting where I’d met him three years before,” smiles Nedd, whose marathon effort raised more than two million dollars to help put a roof over people’s heads. “We locked eyes and kind of saluted each other while I continued down the road that changed my life.
“It was quite symbolic, because that stretch of Eddy Avenue was where I’d made a connection with the homeless, just chatting and handing out coffee on my way to TAFE. I had to return to where it all started, to keep my feet on the ground and remind myself what it was all about – making a difference.”
Now, after 46-and-a-half days and around 4000 kilometres, the end was in
