The 25-kilometre mark of this year's Hobart Marathon marked a particularly poignant milestone for one of its competitors.
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While for most it simply meant another 17km to go, for Michael Booth it saw the completion of another phenomenal running achievement.
Not content with having run a marathon in every Australian state and territory and then on each continent, this was the moment when the Riverside grandfather could legitimately claim to have run around the world.
Those 25km around his state capital took Booth's 16-year running distance to 40,075 - the length of the equator.
He knew this because the retired accountant has meticulously recorded his running achievements since the day in 2002 when, aged 48, in his own words: "I threw on my running shoes and went for a run up Cormiston Road."
Thus began a personal voyage that took him around the world both numerically and actually, completing 83 marathons including the global odyssey of Oceania, Africa (Durban, 2007), North America (Boston 2009), Europe (Athens 2010), Asia (Great Wall of China 2011), South America (Rio de Janeiro 2012) and Antarctica (King George Island 2014).
"It was at the beginning of 2003 that I started to take it seriously, run four days a week, and commence recording my runs," explained Booth, who said the adventure would not have been possible without the support of his wife Christine and their four children and seven grandchildren.
"As I was experienced in excel, I designed a spreadsheet that would not only record the raw data, but also give me averages and running totals.
"I examined a map of the world, and plotted a line from Launceston, 147.1441 longitude, to the equator. I landed just north of Papua New Guinea. I turned right and commenced my epic journey."
With some impressive research, Booth worked out that he would figuratively run through Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, the Maldives, Indonesia and Kiribati along the line first mapped by French explorer Charles-Marie de La Comdamine in 1736.
Running partners David Booth (older brother), Steve Proctor and David MacFarlane joined the crusade, with MacFarlane introducing bush running.
This was to include many iconic Tasmanian events such as the Overland Track (85km), Bruny Island Ultra (65km), Convicts and Wenches (50km), Three Peaks, Freycinet Challenge, Triple Top and Point to Pinnacle plus additional excursions to such locations as Mount Ossa, the Walls of Jerusalem and Frenchmans Cap.
Never donning his running shoes for a distance of less than 10km, Booth, who turns 65 in May, said running helped him greater appreciate the seasons and wildlife, but he denies his hobby ever became an obsession.
"Contrary to what many people have said, my running has never been an obsession for me," he explained.
"It is a calming past-time that takes me away from the pressures of everyday life in to a world of thinking, of dreaming, of learning about myself and the world around me, of the natural world that many of us do not see for looking, of instant camaraderie with people I will never again meet but learn of their journey while washing away the kilometres behind us."
His first marathon was in Hobart in 2003 and he has returned for the same race every year since while also completing all seven editions of the Sunshine Coast Marathon and the inaugural Kangaroo Island and Launceston marathons.
Booth said he has run on 15 islands and up 19 mountains, while wearing out three running watches and two running partners.
With a total of 2818 recorded runs in those 16 years (at an average of 14.2km each), Booth's next goal is to complete 100 marathons.
But until then is happy reflecting on where the passion has taken him.
"I have run on the Great Wall of China and through nearby ancient villages; through the streets of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots Day and been gobsmacked at the huge number and range of people dressed in law enforcement and military uniforms; from the hills of Pietermaritzburg down to Durban while witnessing the subtle remnants of apartheid; from the village of Marathon in the footsteps of Pheidippides to finish by running around the ancient stadium in Athens; through the affluent suburbs and past the slums of Rio de Janeiro; through many cities and towns and along many trails in Australia; and left footprints in the ice, mud and penguin poo in Antarctica."
With the Earth conquered, Booth has begun figuratively circumnavigating the Moon and reports he is already 645km into the 10,917km journey.