Sydney radio presenter Gus Worland has completed the New York City Marathon in just over six hours after being challenged to take part by his best friend Hugh Jackman.
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"I'm feeling awful. I feel just so bad. It was really hard out there. It hurt for the whole six hours," the Triple M Sydney presenter said of the event, which was almost cancelled due to strong icy winds that reached up to 70km/h.
Worland was met at the Central Park finish line of the 42-kilometre race by an emotional Jackman and his young family.
"Gus' life has changed forever. I had tears in my eyes," Jackman said.
"He cried like a baby when he crossed the line, he made it, he crushed it."
Jackman set 46-year-old Worland the challenge earlier this year saying he was concerned his childhood friend would suffer a heart attack due to his insatiable appetite for chocolate and cheesecake.
After weighing in at 140 kilograms, the former star of reality series An Aussie Goes Barmy, took part in a training regime in Sydney and lost about 25 kilograms before heading to New York last week. Foxtel filmed his journey for a documentary called Marathon Man, which will go to air on Monday night.
Australian wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley, who won the 37.2-kilometre wheelchair event, his fifth NYC Marathon title, completed the race in just over 90 minutes and said it was the toughest race of his life due to icy wind chill.
Despite it being the second coldest marathon on record – the mercury hovered between 5 and 6 degrees – more than 2 million people lined the track around Manhattan to cheer on the 50,000 runners.
Two other Australian media personalities also took part in what is considered one of the most gruelling running events in the world. Channel Nine reporter Tom Steinfort and his colleague, producer Lachlan Spark, ran to raise funds for Team for Kids, a charity that establishes fitness programs in schools in the US.