“It’s actually pretty good at the moment,” he said in the afternoon when the thermometer was around 10 degrees.

“Cold weather is better to run in because you sweat less. You cramp less, you need less water and need less salt. So winter is the best running season.” 

The 26-year-old spoke as he made the last minute-preparations before setting off on the first leg of his 217km ultra-long distance run, starting in Tathra and finishing at the top of Australia’s highest mountain. 

After leaving Brisbane on Wednesday night, the Sunshine Coast resident had driven down to the Far South Coast overnight with his support team, arriving around 1pm and setting off running soon after. 

He hopes to finish the trip in three days or faster and had begun planning the run six months ago.

“I liked the idea of going from the ocean to the top of the mountain,” Mr McAlloon said.

“Today will be one of the harder days I think. Getting onto the hinterland will be very steep.

“And the last day, probably because of pure exhaustion, that will make it hard.” 

When asked why he enjoys running, he said it was just something he had always done.

“The more I do, the more I like it,” he said. 

“I just enjoy doing it for a long time at a slow pace rather than run fast in a race.” 

Before Thursday, the longest run he had done was 70km, and that was to practice for his trip up to Mount Kosciuszko. 

Once he has made it to the top of the mountain, he does have an idea of what he would like to do in celebration. 

“I’d like to have a meat pie and a beer, that’d be great,” he laughed.