Like thousands of Sydneysiders, Jermaine ran a marathon last month. But he didn’t stop

Like tens of thousands of Sydneysiders, Jermaine Jones ran a marathon last month.

But, instead of finishing his race, posting a picture on Instagram, and taking the week off from the gym, the construction worker from Marrickville woke up the next morning and ran another marathon. Then he woke up the following day and did it again, and again, as he set out to complete 34 marathons in as many days.

As he approaches his final run on Saturday, 37-year-old Jones has an injured right ankle and is dealing with significant bruising and swelling on his toes. But he seems unfussed.

“It’s to be expected with this many marathons,” he said.

Jones has run the 11-and-a-half laps around Centennial Park needed to hit a 42.2-kilometre distance every day since August 25, with a brief relocation to the Bay Run during that other marathon last month. The feat is to raise money for Black Dog Institute’s Future Proofing Study, a longitudinal research project on adolescent mental health.

Incredibly, Jones’ greatest obstacle has not been his physical fitness, but his leave balance.

“I work full-time. I’m not an athlete or anything like that. I took the first two weeks as annual leave, but I’ve been back ever since,” he said.

“In a way, I want to show that someone with a full-time job can do something like this.”

Returning to work has pushed his weekday runs from mornings to evenings. He usually starts between 4.30pm and 5pm, and finishes about 11pm. His girlfriend joins him for the last couple of kilometres, and then drives him home, where he fits in whatever recovery he can manage before getting up early for work the next morning.

“If I have time, I go home and put on recovery boots,” he said. “But, honestly, often I don’t have time to do that, so my recovery is pretty minimal. It’s hard on the body.”

The weekend runs still take place in the morning, and are followed by a more befitting schedule: a mix of ice baths, saunas, and physio appointments.

Only starting to run seriously two years ago, Jones began preparations for his marathons in late 2024 under the guidance of endurance athlete Sean Bell, who last year clocked the fastest ever lap of Australia on foot.

In April, Jones completed a “test run”: 21 half-marathons in 21 days.

He was looking for a way to raise money for mental health research after losing three of his friends to suicide across four months in 2019 and 2020. Having struggled with depression himself, Jones said he wanted to specifically raise money for youth.

“My parents were great when I was growing up, but they didn’t necessarily have the tools to help,” he said.

The cause behind the run is why Jones doesn’t wear headphones.

“The thing that keeps me motivated is people coming down and talking about their own experiences,” he said.

Jones’ final marathon will begin at 7am at Centennial Homestead on Saturday.

If you or someone you know needs support, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.

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