Pte ‘Pappy’ Kleiner, 6RAR, during and after the battalion’s cross country competition. Pte Kleiner has won the event for 19 consecutive years. Photo provided by 6RAR

19 wins and Pappy’s still going strong

By Cpl Alisha Welch and
Pte Benjamin Mosedale
UNBEATEN in the 6RAR Cross Country competition for 19 consecutive years, Pte Tony (Pappy) Kleiner has proved that approaching 40 is no excuse to get slack.

1985 was the initial year Pte Kleiner crossed the line in first place and this year, as a 38-year-old, he finished the 7.5km course 28 min 30 sec ahead of the pack.

But he is not satisfied by simply winning – this year, after crossing the line, Pappy turned around and ran back to the start point in order to encourage other runners on their way to the end.

During a normal week, Pte Kleiner runs between 80 and 100km. Impressive, however, in his younger years he ran between 100 and 150km on a weekly basis.

He has competed in a number of running events and performed remarkably, including:

Pte Kleiner said his most memorable moment was representing Australia in New Zealand at the 100km Championships in 1994 and 1995.

In his running diary he has recorded more than 80,000km since 1987 and participated in 29 marathons, 16 ultra-marathons, 22 triathlons and 20 half-marathons. He has an impressive trophy and medal collection numbering 313.

It wasn’t until March last year that Pte Kleiner was forced to slow down after an operation on his back was required to fix two discs. In a feat we should all aspire too, only two months after his operation he was back on the road complaining he was recording times just under 8 minutes for the 2.4km BFA run.

Definitely someone all soldiers should look up to for sporting inspiration.