On the last day of an epic five-day running challenge, Daniel Bartlett's left achilles heel had literally become his Achilles' heel.
But Daniel, of Cooks Hill, was determined to complete the challenge he set himself to run five kilometres every five hours for five days.
As we reported previously, Daniel did the challenge to raise awareness of the need to manage mental health.
The challenge amounted to more than a half marathon a day on average, including running through the night.
"The achilles started hurting on my first run on day five. I had to push through that pain for another three runs on that day," Daniel, 31, said.
After each run, he found it hard to wind down. His body was running on adrenaline. The most sleep he was able to get at a time was 2.5 hours.
"I got 12 hours' sleep in those five days," he said.
Aside from the trouble with his achilles, he said his body felt good during the challenge.
Those who joined him on stages of the run were surprised he was maintaining fast times, running the five kilometres in under 30 minutes - even at the end.
Eager to finish, his last run was unexpectedly fast - taking only 27 minutes.
"My second last run was probably my hardest," he said.
"I was facing a lot of demons with my achilles. It took me three kilometres to get my achilles out of my head."
On one of his runs, his mind was telling him to "walk and take it easy".
"I looked at my friend who was running with me, giggled and sprinted up this hill. The only way I knew how to squash it was to sprint up that hill and laugh at it.
"It was great to squash those demons - those negative thoughts."
On another occasion, his mind told him "you don't need to run, you're sore, just stay in bed".
"I just threw myself out of bed straight away. As soon as I put my shoes on and got out the door, I knew what I had to do.
"I was in the zone. I could bring up any energy I needed."
He felt energised when friends and other people joined him on his runs.
"I wasn't expecting that and not on the level it was either," he said.
"On one day, one of my best mates joined me for 24 hours. He's not a runner. He's a crossfitter. For him to run 25 kilometres in 24 hours was amazing."
Some friends even joined him for a 3am run. "When I had people with me, their energy just drove me. It even drove me for the next run, when I was running by myself.
"There were blokes I hadn't met before who joined me. It was really good."
He was overwhelmed with messages of support.
"Mates I hadn't spoken to in years or just random people said I'd inspired them to get off their arse. It was really cool."
One of his friends who hadn't run for a while struggled through a run.
"She hated me all through the run, saying 'I can't believe you made me do this'. I didn't make her do it, she did it herself. She finished and now she's getting back into fitness."
His achievement hadn't sunk in much, although he did celebrate with a "big juicy pizza" while watching Netflix on the sofa.
"I feel like I can do something bigger, something more. My mindset has gone to a whole new level. I was able to control my mind even when I was tired and couldn't think."
