As a Vietnam veteran Mr Hebel’s Anzac run has special meaning for him.

“My general called me the meanest little scrawny bugger he ever met,” Mr Hebel said.

Mr Hebel has proved that at 167cm “scrawny” is a distance runner’s asset. And judging by Mr Hebel’s friendly manner, the meanness must have been run out of him long ago.

Mr Hebel said when he first began running up Mt Kosciuszko in the 1960s a postal worker was stationed at the top to mark his letters: “Top of Australia”.

Much has changed since then but Mr Hebel said as long as he picks up one foot and then the other he can run anywhere.

“My doctor just checked me out and said my physical age was 35. That means when I’m 140 I’ll only be 70,” Mr Hebel said.

Mr Hebel’s next running adventure will be to set off on his 71st birthday and run across 27 countries in two years. Mr Hebel calls it a Pacers for Peace ultramarathon.

Mr Hebel runs without a support vehicle and carries his swag. Runners are welcome to run alongside him when he passes through but his journey will be solo.

To set a world record of 20,000 kilometres, Mr Hebel said he would have to run the equivalent of 500 marathons in 500 days.

Whether or not the record is in his sights, Mr Hebel intends to pick up one foot and then the other to complete his running circumnavigation of the globe.