Shrills were on hand to greet a dawdling Andrew Thorpe through a quiet Melbourne Airport gate like a rockstar.
The combative runner who treks harder than most to advocate for mental health sheepishly grinned in a manner of acknowledgment while nonchalantly tuned into headphones over his bouffant locks.
Thorpe's young children dropped their custom-made welcome home signs at the sight of their worse-for-wear dad, running over one by one to in search of an absorbing hug.
The noise from family and closeknit friends signalled the delight of Thorpe's eighth and final flight in as many days after completing one of the more remarkable running feats: seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
The Gunnai Gunditjmara man became the first Aboriginal Australian to finish the Great World Race event across every continent, including the only marathon on Antarctica's ice.
"This was by far the hardest running event I've done," Thorpe, affectionately nicknamed Googzy, said after completing the last of the seven international marathons in Miami.
"It was an amazing experience.
"It was something I'll never forget.
"It was an adventure that I'm still processing."
The Great World Race started in Antarctica before flights took runners next to Cape Town in South Africa, onto Perth in Western Australia before marathons on either side of the Istanbul, Turkish transcontinental border that straddles Asia and Europe ahead of the flight to Cartagena in Columbia and then onto Miami, Florida to run what was for 26 hours, 40 minutes and five seconds.
Thorpe is now one of only 502 athletes over the past 18 years, including 48 men and women this year, to attempt seven 42.195 kilometres runs effectively every 24 hours.
Having taking up running marathons less than five years ago through the Indigenous Marathon Program in a 2020 pandemic year, Thorpe finished 13th overall under what was essentially non-competitive race conditions, while eighth amid the 33 men that started out on a bitterly cold Antarctic course.
For any runner that has trudged over a snow-covered track, the Antarctica marathon time of 3:47:57 was expectedly slower than his next four races.
In the more familiar surrounds of Perth, the building supervisor by day ran a sharp 3:13:03 time that came only faster during the following European leg of Istanbul at 3:04:56.
Despite being tucked up in a bed for the first time in four nights at Istanbul, Thorpe's times drifted slower each race towards a low of 4:56:53 in Cartagena before he picked up half an hour on crossing the line for a last time in Miami.
Days after his wife Jaclyn finally kissed her loved husband in a supportive tribute at the Tullamarine terminal, the proud Indigenous man who has always said he runs for his family, understood the connotation of family and connection better among his new kinship of like-minded warriors.
"I am a part of a group of people that met nine days ago and yet we feel like we have known each other forever," Thorpe said.
"We have seen the amazing in each other and we have seen each other struggle.
"We became a family with a very strong bond."
It was not the first time Thorpe could utter out the phrase 'another day, another marathon' after the Victorian once ran seven marathons in seven consecutive days across all of states of Australia and the national capital back in 2022.
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The cause behind that challenge was for the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The Great World Race that cost an astonishing $45,000 to enter delivered Thorpe a platform to raise funds and awareness for The Black Dog Institute's First Nations research to reduce suicide rates in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men, and for mob's mental health to improve their spiritual and emotional wellbeing.
Thorpe analysed the marathon runs like a metaphor for the support people need in life to battle many of every day's problems.
"It's not the medals around our necks (nor) the fact that we completed each run, the amazing places that we travelled to, the business-class planes or the VIP treatment we received that creates the bond," Thorpe said.
"It's the kind words, the support for each other when we were at our lowest, the hugs when they were needed, it was the selflessness that was put forward when you were struggling, it was the check-ins when they could see you were not coping.
"This is what made the week so special and this is what everyone needs in life.
"We don't need to be told to smile all the time or good vibes only.
"We need to have support that helps validate you are doing it tough, but they're there for you to help.
"Your support isn't there to do it for you; they're there to help you get through and when you come out the other side, they're the ones patting you on the back."
Despite Thorpe's mental resilience to push through a race barrier every time the diminutive competitor's juices start to flow, the 32-year-old was also open enough to admit he never presumed completing all seven marathons in a week.
Trouble with his feet running in Cartagena had an almost desperate Thorpe ready to pull off his sneakers and simply throw them into the Caribbean Sea.
He all but had enough of it, however realised what the symbolism of such actions may look like, let alone finishing the torrid course in humidity in bare feet.
After Thorpe almost bounced over the finish line, pulling off his top entirely to drape his bare chest in the Aboriginal flag for what was the last time at the 2024 Great World Race, the host of its social media coverage asked, "Googzy, talk to us, talk to the people of Australia".
The man, who has a brave yet tough exterior, let down his guard once realising family and friends were observing one of the more amazing human accomplishments.
"It was a rollercoaster – a scary one," Thorpe said while gasping for breath before his strong advocacy voice began to crack.
Pushing up his sunglasses above his nose, he had to wipe away tears that had been building for most of the last race.
"(I have got) every emotion thinking just about everyone at home supporting me," he said.
"Everyone that has been right behind us on suicide (prevention) make sure you donate to my fundraiser.
"It's tough out there, but if I can do this, you call can all do anything – you can survive it and be a survivor."
Donations to Andrew Thorpe's charitable cause can be made via the Black Dog Institute.
