Photo: presto_rae11 // Instagram
An Australian runner took the wrong turn to end all wrong turns this week. Bodhi Jackson was taking part in a five-mile run in Kosciuszko National Park for a triathlon camp, when he got lost. The 17-year-old Sydney local ended up running over 30 miles through rugged terrain in New South Wales’ Snowy Mountains before he was rescued.
“I went a bit too far and forgot to turn around and kept on running,” explained Jackson to ABC News Australia, elaborating that he had been distracted by the “very loud rap music” he was playing at the time. It was only after traveling another 7.5 miles that he realized his error.
Rather than turn back, he kept on going, explaining that, “I wasn’t going to turn around there because then you have to do 24 kilometers.” His hope was to eventually come across a road, where he could hitch a ride back.
Meanwhile, his campmates sounded the alarm, kicking off a seven-hour-long search effort. NSW Police, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the NSW Rural Fire Service collaborated in the search, which also included a text blast to nearby phones to keep an eye out for Jackson.
Eventually, a mountain biker came across him and used her phone to alert authorities, who transported him back via helicopter.
“I just wanted to go home and have a choccy milk,” he told ABC, adding that he felt alright, apart from having very tired legs. In a recent Instagram story, he elaborated that, “I am very lucky to be all okay. It was very stupid what I did, learnt lots. That definitely won’t be happening again.”
