Californian crushes record for fastest time to run an ultra marathon on every continent
A California runner has taken an extreme endurance record for the fastest aggregate time to run an ultra marathon on each continent (male), after spending a week travelling the world and completing a 50 km (31 mi) race in every region.
Battling through the African heat and Antarctic chill, Christian Johnson (USA) raced through the finish line of the Great World Race in Miami, Florida last 21 November. He finished with a record-setting aggregate time of 31 hours 25 minutes and 37 seconds, nearly seven hours faster than previous record holder Hendrik C. Moen (South Africa).
With this accomplishment, he also set the record for the fastest time to run an ultra marathon distance on each continent (male), with a mind-blowing total time of six days 10 hours and 24 minutes.
Yet somehow, this incredible moment was made even sweeter after the appearance of Christian’s grandfather at the end of the race.
The ultra marathon runner had partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation during his competition, and fundraised $10,000 (£7,530) to the organization for Parkinson’s research. His grandfather had been diagnosed with the disease, and seeing him at the finish line made this truly a full-circle moment for the pair.
“It’s cool to see the accolades from the hard work and dedication that went into [the record], but the real weight and power behind earning these was taking my grandpa across the final finish line, and telling the world about him and Parkinson’s,” said Christian on Instagram after the attempt.
“I’ve got memories to last a lifetime, and knowing that I made my grandpa proud, is the biggest accolade of them all.”
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The race officially began on 15 November in Cape Town, South Africa, at a sea point outside of a hotel. Christian easily finished his first run in less than 4.5 hours – yet he hardly had any time to relax before the group made their way south to Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica.
Once they arrived in the snowy climate, the group set off for their run at 2 a.m., and Christian watched the sun rise over the brutal – yet frigid – domain through his heavy layers of running gear.
They next made their way to Perth, Australia before heading northwest to Abu Dhabi, UAE for runs in significantly warmer environments.
Finally, Christian and the team travelled to Altura, Portugal and Cartagena, Colombia for their last two stops before the finish line.
By the time they reached Miami, he had ventured 217 mi (350 km) on foot and nearly 25,700 mi (41,360 km) on an airplane in just one week – no doubt making the trek an exhausting, yet rewarding, experience for the determined runner.
Nevertheless, as Christian approached the banner at his final race, we are sure that he felt incredibly proud of himself as soon as he saw his grandfather. Taking his hand, they ran through the tape together, cheering as they celebrated his journey.
“Christian gave this 110%,” said his grandfather – and we couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
So congratulations, Christian – you are Officially Amazing!