Runners smash Bibbulmun record

A venomous snakebite threatened but could not stop a new record being set on the 1000km Bibbulmun Track which was completed on foot in just 11 days yesterday.

Perth exercise physiologists Shane Johnstone and James Roberts were aiming to break the seven-year record of 15 days, nine hours and 48 minutes when they set off from Albany on April 14.

But the mental and physical endurance battle suffered a setback when Mr Roberts was forced to withdraw from the team effort after sustaining a bacterial infection in his ankle.

He had to return to Perth for treatment and later discovered it was from a dry bite from a venomous snake.

But Mr Johnstone powered on and crossed the line on Anzac Day in 11 days seven hours and eight minutes with Mr Roberts and support team co-ordinator Kyle Christie, smashing the previous record set in 2011 by Bernadette Benson.

The two runners took on the challenge to raise funds for the Be Inspired Foundation, a not-for-profit charity enhancing lives of youths living with long-term health impairments along the way.