Archie Arenson: “Did we train for this? Absolutely not! We weren’t sure what would give out first, our legs or our minds, but we knew Townsville would show up. It’s The People’s Marathon.”

On Friday August 1, Star 106.3 breakfast hosts Archie & Donny officially completed the Townsville Sign Marathon clocking 42.2 km in 4 hours, 1 minute, and 6 seconds, across 1,000 laps of the 30-metre track at Central Park.

The epic stunt,  created to support Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), drew a huge show of community support and raised a significant amount of money to help families with seriously ill or injured children. Optus pledged $1 for every lap completed.

High-profile locals stepped up throughout the morning to lend a ‘lap’ including Glenn “Minty” Mintern, MC of the Townsville Running Festival, who kicked off the event, the state MPs, North Queensland Cowboys legend Matt Bowen and rising Olympic hopeful, athlete Olivia Ford.

The completion of the race saw local legend Ray Nicolls joined Archie & Donny for their final lap. 89 year old Ray (see below) is the show’s resident tipster.

The challenge was part of the lead-up to the 2025 Townsville Running Festival which took place on Sunday August 3 along much more standard roads and circuits. What made the Star 106.3 marathon truly unique was its repetitive oval-shaped 30-metre loop that turned every step into an additional dizzying test of endurance and spirit.