Woman with fractured knee runs 106 marathons in 106 days!
With hard work and dedication, you can achieve any goal; this British woman has proved that right and how! Kate Jayden recently broke the Guinness World Records by running 106 marathons in 106 days consecutively! She now holds the record for most consecutive days to run a marathon distance (female). Read on to know more about her incredible journey.
Jayden started running marathon distances of 26.2 miles in 2021
The 35-year-old woman from Derbyshire in England began running marathon distances of 26.2 miles (42.1km) every day from December 21, 2021. Finally, the athlete completed her power run 106 days later on April 15, 2022. The most interesting and inspiring part is that Jayden was raising funds for refugees while juggling a full-time job and aiming to complete her record-breaking run.
Initially, Jayden planned to run only 100 marathons
Jayden told the Guinness World Records, "Knowing I'd need to continue for 6 hours after 8-9 hours of a work day was overwhelming at times, but discipline and commitment to the reasons I began, overtook when motivation waned." Initially, she planned to run 100 marathons covering 4216.5km between Aleppo, Syria, and the United Kingdom, a route often used by shelter-seeking refugees.
She managed to raise Rs. 41.5 lakh for humanitarian causes
Jayden said, "I believe in a world where people shouldn't have to make a choice between cleanliness or hunger no matter what their circumstances are." The runner raised Rs. 41.5 lakh for humanitarian causes when she broke the records with 106 marathons in 106 days. Jayden started gaining popularity on social media which further helped promote her fundraising efforts.
It was humbling to run the distance of a refugee's journey: Jayden
"To run this distance of a refugee's journey was incredibly humbling. It felt such a privilege and honor to have been able to experience that and to be able to take the record back to those charities and supporters who facilitated the journey," she said.
Jayden completed the marathon despite a fractured knee
Running 106 marathons is not everyone's cup of tea, and neither was it so for Jayden. Besides fatigue and the tremendous grueling job of running every day, things became more difficult after her knee started hurting. On day 46 of her run, she complained of knee pain but continued running anyway. Late, in May, an MRI scan revealed that she had a fractured knee.
Jayden's record has been equaled by a Scottish couple
After undergoing surgery for her fractured knee, Jayden was already thinking about her next targets. "Of course, I'll be attempting more records... just once I manage to rehab and recover!" she said. Jayden's current record has been equaled by Scottish couple Fay Cunningham and Emma Petrie who ran for 106 days from February 19 to June 4, 2022, to fundraise for a dementia charity.
