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Man runs seven marathons on seven continents in seven days at record speed

Michael Wardian broke the three-hour mark in each of the seven races. 

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Running seven marathons in the span of seven days on seven continents wasn’t enough for Michael Wardian. He had to go and break the world record, too. 

Wardian was one of 30 competitors in the World Marathon Challenge, in which runners attempt to complete a marathon on every continent in just a week. The competitors start in Antarctica, then go to Chile, Miami, Madrid, Morocco, Dubai and finally Australia. 

Incredibly, Wardian broke the three-hour mark in each of the seven races, even down in Antarctica, where he finished in 2:54:54 despite running in sub-zero temperatures. Over the course of the seven races, Wardian averaged 2:45, breaking the record of 3:32. Granted, it’s only the third time that the World Marathon Challenge has been held, but that’s still incredibly impressive. 

A marathon is practically a walk in the park for the 42-year-old Wardian. He runs marathons all the time (including a personal best 2:17:49 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials), but he also runs ultra marathons, like 135 miles in Death Valley and 150 miles in the Sahara desert. 

Wardian had stiff competition in his races this week, too. Among the other competitors was former U.S. Olympian Ryan Hall.