This followed his friend receiving a shock diagnosis and passing away from the disease.
“One minute we were all laughing and messing about, passing our kids over the back fence to each other’s houses and then in a short space of time in 2015, my neighbour Frank was gone and we were all lost,” Avery said.
Running helped bring Avery out of the darkness and gave him hope.
“It was in my darkest moment that I decided to run from Brisbane to Sydney,” he said.
“When I started to prepare I was introduced to a passionate ultra-runner called Luca Turrini.”
Outrun Cancer charity founder Turrini previously held the world treadmill record, running 261km in 24 hours in 2017.
The pair then went on to plan for Avery to break Turrini’s record, while raising vital funds for cancer prevention.
Cancer Council NSW Community Lead, Ben Chinnock says: “We’re so incredibly grateful for the support of Mark, Luca and everyone who takes part in Outrun Cancer fundraisers. To date, they have raised over $1 million for our vital cancer programs.”
He’s enjoying a rest at the moment but Avery plans to run again soon.
“It will probably be another run around the country,” he said.
“I’m doing this in honour of those who won the battle, those who are still fighting the battle and those who unfortunately lost the battle to cancer.”
Make a donation at outruncancer.com.au/mark.