Locations
7 Marathons 7 Continents 7 Days
WORLD MARATHON CHALLENGE
The World Marathon Challenge ® is a logistical and physical challenge to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
SUMMARY FACTS ABOUT THE WORLD MARATHON CHALLENGE
  • The World Marathon Challenge ® is the only annual event that offers the opportunity to run 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days.
  • The first marathon occurs within the Antarctic Circle on mainland Antarctica and the final marathon takes place in Miami, North America.
  • The global route is Novo (Antarctica), Cape Town (Africa), Perth (Australia), Dubai (Asia), Madrid (Europe), Fortaleza (South America) and Miami (North America)
  • After the initial marathon in Antarctica, competitors fly by charter plane to every marathon location around the globe.
  • Finishers are recognized by the Intercontinental Marathon Club ®, which provides the definitive list of people who have run 7 marathons on 7 continents within 7 days.
  • There is a competition element within the trip - the fastest combined marathon times, or average marathon time, for male and female categories are declared the outright winners of the overall challenge.
  • There will also be a team competition in the 2025 World Marathon Challenge. The fastest combined marathon times of the top three team scorers, who finish all seven marathons, will be declared the winners. Teams can be composed of more than three people but must have both male and female runners amongst their scoring three. As part of a team you are also included in the individual competition.
  • Participants run 295 km (183 miles) over the seven-day period and spend about 68 hours in the air.
  • The Book of Alternative Records recognises the event for world record purposes, including fastest average marathon times for 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days and shortest duration to run 7 marathons on 7 continents.
  • The Guinness Book of Records also acknowledges the event for record setting purposes.
  • The 2015 - 2020 World Marathon Challenges were resounding successes.
CURRENT WORLD RECORDS FOR 7 MARATHONS 7 CONTINENTS 7 DAYS
  • Shortest Average Marathon Time (Men) - Michael Wardian (USA): 2:45:57 hrs
  • Shortest Average Marathon Time (Women) - Kristina Schou Madsenl (DEN): 3:25:57 hrs
  • Shortest Duration (Men) - Kyle Vogt (USA): 3 Days 9 Hours 38 Minutes
  • Shortest Duration (Women) - Becca Pizzi (USA): 6 Days 7 hours 58 Minutes
  • OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
  • First Blind Athlete – Sinead Kane (2017 World Marathon Challenge)
  • Oldest Man (76 years old) – Dan Little (2019 World Marathon Challenge)
  • Oldest Woman (67 years old) - Gloria Lau (2019 World Marathon Challenge)
  • Fastest Married Couple – Catherine Sun & Eric Xin (2017 World Marathon Challenge)
LOCATIONS