Man nears halfway of 18,000-mile run

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PRINCETON, Australia, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- An Australian man on a globe-trotting mission, averaging about 31 miles per day, said in New Jersey he is nearing his halfway mark.

Tom Denniss, who has made it his goal to travel the world, running until he reaches 18,000 miles upon his return to his hometown of Sydney, said Wednesday in Princeton he is about halfway done, and will visit New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts before taking a plane to South America to continue his 700 consecutive days of running, The Times of Trenton, N.J., reported Wednesday.

"I'm really good. Things are going better than expected," Denniss said. "It's really nice in New Jersey. There's lots of nice forests and countryside and certainly Princeton is very nice."

Denniss, whose wife is accompanying him on his journey and acting as his support crew, following him in her car, said his run is raising money for the international charity Oxfam, which aims to help communities become sustainable.

"I'm a little bit homesick, but I'm approaching the halfway mark," Denniss said. "I'm just starting to get a sense of that 'being over the hump feeling' coming through."