Nik Davies described a 200-kilometre run he finished on Tuesday in the same way that he described the disease that took his dad's life.
"Absolutely horrendous," Nik said.
His father - Ian Stanley Davies - died almost five years ago. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) 18 months prior.
About 60 to 80 people live with MND in the Hunter. National data shows 450 males and 328 females died of MND in Australia in 2021.
"It's a condition where the average from diagnosis to death is only 18 months. My dad's was exactly that," Nik said.
"It was torturous for the family and my dad. Picture yourself being in a cage where you can't control your body, but your mind is sane. That's kind of what it's like."
Nik said this was why "the run was designed to be so tough".
"It's actually more of a mental toughness than a physical toughness," he said.
"I couldn't count the number of times I said 'you've got to keep going'."
Nik and a group of friends finished the Sydney to Somersby run on Tuesday afternoon at the Australian Reptile Park, which supported the cause.
He said the run involved "four days in the crazy heat".
"When you add it up with the elevation, it's something like half of Mount Everest," he said.
"I'm still hobbling and I've got three ankles now."
Runner Salim Nathwani said "I never thought we'd make it".
"It was extremely hard, but I'm so proud of Nik and the rest of the boys. We were pushed to our limits, but we did it for an amazing cause," he said.
Nik said the camaraderie and support he received for the run was "really humbling".
"We've raised lots of money for charity," he said.
Nik, who moved to Australia from Scotland a decade ago, is a cosmetic physician with a practice on the Central Coast.
He set up a gofundme page for his "Mind Over Matter Run". It raised $35,300 for Scottish rugby legend Doddie Weir's foundation called "My Name's Doddie".
Doddie died of MND last year.
"He was diagnosed a year before my dad," Nik said.
The foundation supports MND research.
"There's not enough money, I feel, that goes into research for MND. We need to find a cure," Nik said.
He will hold an additional fundraising event on October 14 at Drifter's Wharf in Gosford.
Not at first apparent
The Nobel Prize in Physics was due to be awarded early on Wednesday morning.
We know this because University of Newcastle senior lecturer of physics Karen Livesey had a piece on the matter published in The Conversation on Tuesday.
It was titled, "What has the Nobel Prize in Physics ever done for me?"
"To take just a few examples, Nobel-winning physics has given us portable computers, efficient LED lighting, climate modelling and radiation treatment of cancer," Karen wrote.
Karen reckons we can be sure that when the winner of the 2023 prize is announced, "the awarded research will likely end up affecting our lives in extraordinary ways that may not at first be apparent".
