{"id":203990,"date":"2025-10-10T22:32:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T22:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/203990\/"},"modified":"2025-10-10T22:32:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T22:32:18","slug":"indigenous-elder-alby-clarke-remembered-for-ultramarathon-and-cycling-feats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/203990\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous elder Alby Clarke remembered for ultramarathon and cycling feats"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the image and name of a person who has died, with the permission of their family.<\/p>\n

Thirty years ago, Alby Clarke got a shock message: either get healthy or die young.<\/p>\n

Sixty years old at the time, the respected Gunditjmara elder took this directive to the extreme.<\/p>\n

He transformed into a long-distance runner and cyclist, using his endurance feats to advocate for Indigenous reconciliation and health.<\/p>\n

Also known for his flash of electric blue hair and mischievous grin, Mr Clarke died aged 90 last month, on September 16.<\/p>\n

From poor health to endurance athlete<\/p>\n

Mr Clarke was born in Melbourne in 1934 but relocated with his family to the Framlingham Aboriginal Reserve, near Warrnambool, as a 10-year-old when his father died.<\/p>\n

His family said he discovered cycling as a youngster and won local competitions as a teenager.<\/p>\n

\"sepia<\/p>\n

Alby Clarke began cycling as a teenager, before picking up the sport again in later life. (Supplied: April Clarke)<\/p>\n

In his 60s, Mr Clarke was battling type 2 diabetes and was warned by a doctor that he risked an early death if he didn’t improve his health.<\/p>\n

It was the wake-up call he needed.<\/p>\n

Driven by the desire to have more time with his family, he immediately quit drinking alcohol and began exercising.<\/p>\n

“I had to get that big belly off,” he told the ABC in 2017.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/p>\n

Alby Clarke has been described as the “endurance athlete with a heart of gold”.\u00a0 (Supplied: April Clarke)<\/p>\n

“I had a choice, whether to exercise and do something about it, or die \u2026 so I done [sic] something about it.<\/p>\n

“You want a good life? A happy life? Do something about it, it’s up to you,” he told the ABC before his death.<\/p>\n

Everything changed when he hopped on the bike again and started pedalling, riding a 6-kilometre circuit around the Framlingham settlement where he lived.<\/p>\n

“Back in the day, when I had diabetes, I couldn’t even walk it, my feet were hurting that much,” he said.<\/p>\n

Record-breaking feats<\/p>\n

Those loops at Framlingham were the first of thousands of kilometres Clarke would cover in his later life.<\/p>\n

Aged 66, he became the first Indigenous rider to complete the 275km Melbourne to Warrnambool Classic bike race in 2001.<\/p>\n

\"man<\/p>\n

Alby Clarke cycling across the Nullarbor in 2002. (Supplied: April Clarke)<\/p>\n

The following year, he cycled 3,000km across the Nullabor from Perth to Warrnambool.<\/p>\n

Dubbed the Ride For Reconciliation, Mr Clarke completed the journey dressed in a blue outfit covered in sequins, matching his trademark dyed-blue hair.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The bicycle Alby Clarke rode from Perth to Warrnambool is on display at the National Museum of Australia. (Supplied: National Museum of Australia)<\/p>\n

In 2005, the 70-year-old swapped the bike for running shoes and covered 347km in the Cliff Young Ultra Race in Colac for his first official effort.<\/p>\n

And he kept running up until he was 88, when he completed his final half-marathon near Warrnambool in 2023.<\/p>\n

His endurance and advocacy efforts earned him a number of awards, including a Medal in the Order of Australia for his contributions to Indigenous health and sport, a Victorian Senior of the Year award, and an induction onto the Victorian Indigenous Honour Roll.<\/p>\n

\"Man<\/p>\n

Alby Clarke was awarded a Medal in the Order of Australia in 2015 . (Supplied: April Clarke)<\/p>\n

‘Rode and ran to freedom’<\/p>\n

At his funeral in Warrnambool last month, his daughter, April Clarke, spoke of how her father’s resilience was evident beyond his athletic feats.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

People attending Alby Clarke’s funeral were encouraged to wear a touch of blue. (ABC South West Victoria: Jean Bell)<\/p>\n

“Dad exceeded all expectations as an Aboriginal man,” Ms Clarke said.<\/p>\n

“Firstly, he survived until the age of 90. Not only did he survive, but he lived, and not just existed.<\/p>\n

“Dad was advocating for our people to be seen, to be celebrated, to be equal in their own country, to be treated as human beings.”<\/p>\n

She touched on her father’s struggles with alcohol and how transforming his lifestyle required leaving old habits and old friendships behind.<\/p>\n

\"funeral<\/p>\n

About 200 people turned out to celebrate Alby Clarke’s life at his funeral in Warrnambool. (ABC South West Victoria: Jean Bell)<\/p>\n

“What you don’t hear is how hard that journey was for him,” Ms Clarke said.<\/p>\n

“He told me numerous times how lonely it was to create a change in your life.<\/p>\n

“Your circle of brother boys changed because you \u2026 no longer want to sit around drinking.<\/p>\n

“Dad said you had to be tough and courageous to do it alone, but you can do it.<\/p>\n

“So he rode and ran to freedom.”<\/p>\n

Moyne Shire Councillor Jordan Lockett was among the community members who attended Mr Clarke’s funeral.<\/p>\n

Cr Lockett said Mr Clarke’s life illustrated how resilience and determination can overcome health issues and age.<\/p>\n

“To have that kind of health warning, but then turn [health and fitness] into his life mission is a remarkable story,” he said.<\/p>\n

“He’s a national treasure \u2014 if anyone is deserving of a statue, then it’s this man.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains the image and name of a person…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18485,126882,64,63,784,134,18484,2432,126881],"class_list":{"0":"post-203990","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-aboriginal-health","9":"tag-alby-clarke","10":"tag-au","11":"tag-australia","12":"tag-cycling","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-indigenous-health","15":"tag-marathon","16":"tag-ultramarathon"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}