On September 1, Mr Brown (38) will set off from Stewart Island to run the length of New Zealand, covering 2600km in about 69 days - an average of 50km per day, six days a week.
Mr Brown splits his time between Australia and Japan working as a plumber, an English-Japanese translator and a ski and snowboard course builder.
The idea to return home to New Zealand and travel its length on foot "just to have a look around" struck him midway through a routine treadmill workout last year. With no car or bike, running seemed the obvious and most economical option.
The next step was choosing a charity to benefit from his unconventional sightseeing plans. Enter Dunedin man, and now close friend, Nick Chisholm, who has "Locked in Syndrome" after a series of brain stem strokes following a rugby accident in 2000 left him unable to walk or talk at age 27.
Mr Brown was so inspired by Mr Chisholm's determination and positive outlook on life, he devoted his running challenge to raising public awareness of stroke survivors, while fund-raising for The Stroke Foundation's rehabilitation programme.
Ironically, in June, eight months into planning for the run, Mr Brown's Wanaka-based father Ron had a stroke, which "upped the motivation" considerably.
"[The run] was going to be a good, fun thing. Now it's got massive meaning ... the timing of it is pretty crazy."
Completing a Gold Coast marathon in 2007 spurred Mr Brown's interest in long-distance running. He has since competed in two 100km ultra-marathons in Japan, run a marathon at Mt Everest Base Camp and is now running between 20km and 30km several times a week in Wanaka to improve his fitness.
"Mentally, I think I'm going to be all right. It's whether my body can keep up."
In April, Mr Brown completed a 100km run on a treadmill, raising $40,000 to fund two recumbent bikes for Mr Chisholm, so he and a guide can participate in part of the run through New Zealand.
Mr Brown hopes to get as many people as possible involved along the way, either running or biking sections of the course with him or holding events in towns along the way.
He has almost finished driving the length of the course and mapping out his planned stops.
His route through Otago will take him to Queenstown and Wanaka, then south through Central Otago to Dunedin and north up the east coast. He has chosen an indirect route to enable him to visit some of his favourite places and people in New Zealand.
This run has been planned to coincide with both National Stroke Awareness Week, September 6-12, and World Stroke Day on October 29.
