Bibbulmun Track speed record broken twice in 40 hours by Aaron Young, Mackenzie Burgoyne

In fewer than 40 hours a new record was set and broken on WA’s gruelling Bibbulmun Track.

On Friday afternoon, Aaron Young completed the 1000km trail from Albany to Kalamunda in nine days, three hours and 22 minutes.

By 5.14am Sunday morning, Mackenzie Burgoyne crossed the finish line in eight days, 22 hours and 44 minutes, about four hours faster than Young.

Mr Burgoyne’s time is still yet to be ratified by officials but the back-to-back runs have together set a new benchmark for endurance on arguably the State’s toughest trail.

“This is something no one is going to be able to take, it’s something I’ve worked so hard to keep out of reach of anybody so I’m feeling incredibly confident now,” he said.

Mr Burgoyne’s exhaustion was evident over the phone. He credited Mr Young for visiting him on Saturday after only finishing the run himself on Friday morning, to wish him luck on the final few hours of his run.

“Special shout out to Aaron Young who lowered the record earlier this week, that gave me the stimulus to push even harder and make sure this is going to be mine for good,”

Mr Young’s drive behind completing the run wasn’t only about the record but to raise money for the mental health charity This Is A Conversation Starter after his own personal struggles.

In 2016 he tore his anterior cruciate ligament which he says was when he hit rock bottom.

“Exercise was always a big outlet for me so when I was doing my rehabilitation I stopped. I wasn’t exercising and my mental health took a big dive,” Mr Young said.

“One of the big things from this run is I’ve had so many people message and share their stories. So the run itself became a lot more than just a run, it became something I was pretty blown away by.”

Outside of setting new records, Mr Burgoyne coaches other runners and as he approached the finish line many of them joined in to run alongside him.

“About 15 of them rocked up this morning to come and run me in, it was an absolutely magical experience, for them to be a part of it was super special.”

Mr Burgoyne said the experience pushed him to a new level, “I don’t know what the next thing is gonna be but I feel like I’ve got something bigger to give the world,” he said.