2 Americans Just Shattered Records For 7 Marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Days

The U.S. Marine and single mother won the World Marathon Challenge.

21 March, 2018
2 Americans Just Shattered Records For 7 Marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Days

​We're tired just reading about this: Two Americans just ran seven marathons in seven days on all seven continents as part of the World Marathon Challenge—​and they did it in record time. Daniel Cartica, of Chicago, and Becca Pizzi, of Belmont, Massachusetts, became the first U.S. competitors to win the World Marathon Challenge on Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune. Cartica and Pizzi finished with a race on the beach in Sydney, Australia, early in the morning on January 30 (still January 29 in the U.S.).

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The challenge began January 23, when Cartica, a U.S. Marine captain, and Pizzi, a single mother and day-care worker, joined 13 other endurance athletes from various countries to complete the marathons in a span of 168 hours. Fifty-nine of those hours were spent recovering aboard charter flights that took them 23,560 miles around the globe. They ran more than 183 miles, completing 26.2 miles at each destination: Antarctica, Chile, Miami, Spain, Morocco, United Arab Emirates, and Australia.​ 

Cartica averaged 3:32:25 per marathon, beating the event average of 3:39:26 established last year by David Gething. Pizzi averaged 3:55:11 per marathon, beating the 2015 record set by Marianna Zaikova by nearly 13 hours. She is the first woman from the United States to complete the event, according to Runner's World, and was the first woman across the finish line in all seven races.

"We just made history," Pizzi told the Associated Press. "I believed in myself since the moment I signed up for it. I went for it and got it done. When you believe in yourself, anything is possible."

From Esquire

Credit: Cosmopolitan
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