men's results
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Antarctica
africa
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James has completed a few multi-day events, including the Marathon des Sables, as well as several extreme marathons such as the North Pole Marathon, Antarctic Ice 100km and, Volcano Marathon. He previously finished the World Marathon Challenge in 2016. As a long- time supporter of Cerebral Palsy charities, James and his running partner Steve Birnie will be helping Johanna Garvin complete 777 in her wheelchair to allow her to showcase what is possible for people who live with disabilities.
Nick, aged 51, started to set himself challenges when he turned 40. He has had the World Marathon Challenge on his radar since completing the Antarctic Ice marathon in 2015. Other challenges include climbing Kilimanjaro, running three London marathons, completing The North Pole Marathon back in 2009 and Marathon Des Sables in 2012. Nick admits to being a plodder when it comes to running so is expecting not to break any records unless of course it is a competition to see who can be out on the course the longest!! When asked what makes these events so special he always says it's the people, the wonderful camaraderie and the sharing of these life changing experiences.
Byron G. Ball A.K.A. “Fire Ball”, as his mentor Chief Master Sergeant (Retired) Vanessa Smalls-Bryant calls him, is a Master Sergeant in the Air Force with 19 years of experience. He is the First Sergeant for the 319th Security Forces Squadron at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Before this job he was an Air Force Firefighter for 16 years. He has deployed to Iraq three times and twice to undisclosed locations. Byron will be running for the Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) Richard L. Etchberger Foundation, http://www.chiefetchbergerfoundation.org/. CMSgt Etchberger received the USA’s highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during a Vietnam War battle atop a remote peak in Laos. The Foundation supports service and leadership awards for Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) and Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and Hamburg Area High School where CMSgt Richard Etchberger graduated. They also seek to assist those serving in today's United States Air Force.
As part of "Team Johanna", Steve, along with James Alderson, will be supporting Johanna Garvin in her attempt to be the first person to complete the World Marathon Challenge in a wheelchair and raise money for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in Australia in the process.
Jared has always used running as his connection to the world. Growing up with dyslexia, he had limitations placed on him. Through running, Jared found his path and learned how to approach obstacles as opportunities. He has earned a Masters in Communication from USC, an MBA from Seattle Pacific, and worked 12 years in collegiate athletics, including Director of Football Operations for the University of Washington and the University of Southern California. Jared is fortunate to have qualified for, and run the Boston Marathon, earn a top ten finish in the San Francisco Ultra Marathon and achieve a top five finish in the Runner’s World Grand Slam. He will now chase his new dream of running the World Marathon Challenge: 7 Marathons on 7 Continents in 7 Days. He is doing so while fundraising and raising awareness for the International Dyslexia Association as part of Team Quest. Learn more by going to www.inmotional.run
Heather ran her first marathon on 2002 and became hooked on endurance races. Her favorite marathons include Big Sur, Napa, and Le Marathon du Médoc (completed in full chef's costume) while studying at le Cordon Bleu Paris. She switched to triathlon in 2008 and has competed at all distances. She has completed 4 full ironman races, including the Ironman World Championships in Kona in 2013. Her motto is "Not fast, not last," although finishing all 7 races and coming in last in the WMC would be a win! Heather has been the Head Coach of the Team-in-Training Greater Bay Area Tri team since 2009, training others to race triathlons while raising money to cure blood cancers. Until recently, she was the COO/CCO for a Berkeley-based Hedge Fund, and now is an independent consultant, serves on several non-profit Boards, including Court Appointed Special Advocates of San Mateo, and is very active in her community. She is running the WMC to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and as a 40th birthday present to herself. She is supported by her husband, Chris Battles, and kids Sébastien and Kona, all also triathletes, who have put up with all her training and will be cheering her on from home.
Andrew C. Brooks is a repeat technology entrepreneur, angel investor, fiction author, endurance athlete, husband and father of two. Currently living in Palo Alto, CA, in addition to multiple marathons, 50Ks, and 70.3 triathlons, Andrew has recently completed the 2015 Houston Ironman, 2017 Marin Ultra Challenge 50 Miler, Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, 2017 Trans Rockies 120 Mile Stage Race, and 2017 Spartan Iceland Ultra World Championship. In addition to the 2018 World Marathon Challenge, Andrew is competing in the Ultra 520K triathlon in Canada in August. Andrew blogs at www.andhesays.com and recently published his first novel, The Clown Forest Murders. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewcarrollbrooks/. Twitter Account: @andrewcbrooks. Instagram: @acbrooks
Deb earned her D.D.S. degree from The University of Iowa College of Dentistry in 1992. After graduating she practiced general dentistry in Cedar Rapids and Center Point for a few years before going to North Liberty, IA in 1995. Dr. Carneol has been practicing dentistry since 1992. Her North Liberty Dental practice staffs 21 women and continues to help those in the community. Through high school and college, Debra was always involved in sports, but she is relatively new to running and races. She used to say “I don’t run!”, but over the past six months several people have inspired her to run and complete her ultimate goal of finishing the 2018 World Marathon Challenge. She has completed five “Tough Mudder” events, 2015, the first GORUCK Tough Challenge (20 miles/12 hour Military Team Building event, the Dopey Challenge in 2016 and this past year the Chicago and Marine Corps marathons.
JP started his running journey In 2008 with a simple challenge: to run a mile. That simple, yet arduous challenge sparked a passion for running. Fast forward 10 years and he’s run 37 half-marathons, 24 marathons including the six World Marathons Majors, 3 Ultramarathons up to 50 miles, a 6-day 96 mile adventure run in Costa Rica and in total over 170 events. In 2017 he qualified for Boston with a personal best of 3:10:39. He is celebrating 10 years of running and his 40th Birthday by running the 2018 World Marathon Challenge. He is also raising money and awareness for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network in honor of his grandmother whom he lost 10 years ago to this terrible disease. When not running, JP is an IT Consultant and enjoys making and sharing Craft Beer with friends.
Pushpa is a Vancouver Canada based Naturopathic Physician with a passion for running since grade one. Her running began when she used to run to school to save her bus fare money for popsicles and she has continued for 5 decades. Pushpa has run in all 7 continents including the Antarctic 100km, the North Pole Marathon, Mt. Everest Marathon and a few multi-day stage races including Madagascar 250km, Gobi 250km and Marathon Des Sables 250km. She is one of only 21 women in the world who have completed the North Pole Grand Slam and in 2009 was the female winner of North Pole Marathon. The 777 will be a commemoration of her 60th Birthday in which she will fundraise to enroll 60 children in school for her program “Schools on Wheels.” It’s an alternative program in India where a school bus reaches out to street kids and starts them in a school program. Once these kids have reached an academic standard of grade one they are placed in mainstream school. Education is the most powerful tool to change the world! See Pushpa’s mission for change via her website: shiftworkershealth.com and there is a link to donate.
Scott spent his first 30 years in Australia spending most of his non-school/work time playing various sports including cricket, tennis, soccer, and rugby. As all good Australians do, the only real running he did was for last orders at the bar. He moved to England around the millennium to work as part of the “evil empire ruining the world in Banking and Finance”. Since moving to the UK Scott has completed 18 Ironman events with a goal to complete his 25th on his 50th birthday on the 28th November 2022 in Cozumel Mexico – pending his body holds together. He has been lucky enough to race the World Championships in Kona but his favourite race is always the next one! Scott has completed several multiday stage races around the globe including Bhutan, the Rockies(x3), the Alps, Kona Hawaii and the Grand Canyon. He is taking on the World Marathon Challenge to raise money for a very personal and important charity for Breast Cancer and a group called Breast Cancer Haven. His goal is to help those fighting and beating breast cancer. Please visit the website here: https://www.breastcancerhaven.org.uk/fundraisers/scottcoey
Joshua (Josh) has completed 17 marathons, including Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Marine Corp., Twin Cities, Flying Pig and Mystic Places. He is a partner at Day Pitney LLP and is Chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy and Restructuring Practice Group. He has a national practice handling bankruptcy, creditors’ rights, real estate, lender liability, commercial contract and fraud cases, receiverships, workouts and distressed business and asset transactions. Josh has extensive experience handling complex Chapter 11 cases and regularly represents secured and unsecured creditors, creditors’ committees, buyers and sellers of assets, trustees and receivers in bankruptcy cases, receivership cases and out-of-court workouts and restructurings. He has been selected to the list of Connecticut Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), Bankruptcy, 2007, 2009-2010, 2013-2017. Josh is the President of the Connecticut Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association. He also serves on the boards of directors of the New Haven Road Race and the Norwalk Youth Symphony.
Jeffrey enjoyed a 17-year Major League Baseball career and was a valuable member of both Florida Marlins’ World Series Championships during two separate stints with the Club, from 1993-97 and 2003-05. After retiring from baseball, Conine trained for and completed the 2008 Ford Ironman World Championship, becoming the first former Major Leaguer to finish the endurance race. He was a two-time All-Star (1994-95), and was twice named the Marlins’ MVP by the South Florida Chapter of the BBWAA (1994-95) and was the MVP of the 1995 MLB All-Star Game. He has completed two marathons.
Jason, aged 49, lives in Sussex, England and works as a Facilities Director in London. He has run many marathons and several Ironman triathlons, the last in Zurich in July which took 12 hours. In the last 12 months he had a best marathon finish time of 3 hours 20 minutes and finished Hadrian's Wall Ultra Marathon (69 miles) in 13 hours. Jason has always tried to challenge himself mentally and physically. The World Marathon Challenge is on another scale and he knows it will test both mind and body to the limit! Jason is lucky to be supported by various sponsors. He supports the youth charity, The Prince's Trust, which creates opportunities for vulnerable young people to thrive, take responsibility for their lives and work towards a future they can be proud of. Founded by HRH The Prince of Wales over 40 years ago, the charity has helped more than 870,000 young people since 1976 and supports 100 more each day.
Alain will be 68 years old in July. His first marathon was the 1997 New York Marathon, just one year after he started running. In 2006, after 45 marathons on all continents including the Antarctic Ice Marathon, Alain started running ultramarathons. He finished second in the Antarctic 100k and also completed ultras such as Badwater in 2007 & 2008, the Marathon Des Sables in 2015, taking 3rd place in the Antarctic 100k in in 2010, and finishing other ultras in Siberia, Finland and the ultimate ultra at Comrades. In 2018 his desire is to finish the World Marathon Challenge regardless of the ranking. Alain is a business owner and married father of one.
Renee is a 52-year-old elementary school Physical Education Teacher and mother of two grown daughters who hails from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Before she started running, Renee was a soccer player. Each summer she plays in an over 30 coed soccer league and she continues to coach youth soccer. Renee has completed 11 road marathons, but prefers trail running having completed a number of trail marathons and various ultra distances including 50k, 50 milers, and her first 100 miler. For the World Marathon Challenge, Renee is running for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Cape and Islands and also to raise money for a running path at Carver Elementary School where she teaches. She has been a mentor for the past 3 years with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization which matches adult mentors with a child in need. At Carver Elementary, she leads an after school running club with 150 kindergarten to grade 5 students, but the group is losing most of their running path to new construction. Her goal includes making a path that is more accessible to students who have physical and visual challenges. Her favorite races are the Boston Marathon, the Vermont 100, and the Eiger Ultra Trail 51K (Grindelwald, Switzerland). Her favorite race experience was running a 50K trail race with her 21 year old daughter.
Gulzhamal was born and grew up in the Ural Mountains of Russia, and graduated from Magnitogorsk State University as a teacher of German and English languages. She started running a few years ago, just to be fit, to be able to pass a PT test while serving in the US Army. In May 2015, Gulzhamal completed her first marathon on the Great Wall of China: she loved the whole experience and signed up for the North Pole Marathon to make more beautiful memories to share with family and friends. She subsequently won the 2016 North Pole Marathon and is now dedicating her World Marathon Challenge to Alexander Orlov who founded North Pole ice camp Barneo in 2002 but passed away in 2017. When not running, Gulzhamal enjoys traveling, dancing, hiking, acrobatic yoga. As to her identity: Gulzhamal says she is a Kazakh, who was born and grew up in Russia but lives in the USA now. Kazakh blood, Russian spirit and American independence, she can’t separate these characteristics and they are all part of her.
Gareth started running x-country at school in the UK and has consistently run since , completing over 20 marathons including in London, California, New York, the North Pole and Antarctica, raising money for charity across all events. Currently residing in Miami, Gareth is looking at running in the Volcano Marathon later in 2018 and taking part in his first ultramarathon as well as some triathlons. Gareth is raising money for the Best Buddies charity.
Martin is the Founder and CEO of Mariposa Capital, a Miami based family investment firm focused on long term value creation across various industries. A father of four, he resides in Miami, FL with his wife Julie. He is an avid endurance sports enthusiast and an active supporter of a number of charities including the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Wounded Warriors Project. Martin is also an endurance sports enthusiast, having completed multiple marathons, 100 mile ultramarathons, and triathlons, including the Ironman Championships in Hawaii in 2003, 2005 (in 10 hours and 55 minutes) and 2017. In 2007, he completed the Badwater Ultra marathon in 41 hours and 29 minutes. In 2009, he finished the Leadville Trail 100 Run in 27 hours and 45 minutes and in 2011 he completed the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race in 10 hours and 30 minutes. In 2013, Martin not only raced in Jarden’s Westchester Triathlon, completing the race in 2 hours and 33 minutes, but also led a team of Jarden employees to compete in the Tri-State Tough Mudder, a hard core obstacle course event that has raised more than $5 million for the Wounded Warrior Project. In 2014, he competed in the Yam2Yam, which translates to “sea to sea” a 144km ultramarathon race in Israel from Jaffa to Jerusalem which he completed in under 23 hours. Prior to founding Mariposa Capital, Mr. Franklin founded Jarden Corporation in 2001. Under his leadership, Jarden grew from approximately $300 million in revenues to more than $10 billion, comprised of over 120 global brands and 35,000 employees before it was acquired by Newell Brands in April 2016.
Johanna has Cerebral Palsy and will be attempting to complete the World Marathon Challenge in a specially designed wheelchair. While she has made it to the top of Mount Kosciuscko in Australia and to Machu Picchu in Peru, this will be a grueling step up for her. She is raising funds for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in Sydney, who have greatly supported Johanna all her life. During the WMC, she will be supported by Steve Birnie and James Alderson who will have to put up with her very dark sense of humour on every continent.
Graham says he is a 58-year-old, grumpy old man who runs marathons so he can complain about the pain in his hip and back. He ran his first marathon in 2005 after retiring from the French Foreign Legion and said never again. His second marathon was in 2008 and he now has some 90 marathons under his belt. He says that without a doubt his marathons with Richard Donovan have been the most interesting: the North Pole Marathon, Volcano Marathon and Antarctica Ice Marathon, although he finds that marathons like the Cognac, Beaujolais, the Blaye Wine, the Alsace Wine and the Medoc marathons are becoming more suitable for him of late. Graham’s wife Brigitte likes to support him in these adventures depending on the destination. Next March Graham hopes to complete his 100th marathon at the 1st edition of the St Tropez marathon.
Terry is a 54-year-old, 200 pound Clydesdale competitor. He has completed over 10 marathons and in 2010 ran the North Pole Marathon. He has completed several 70.2 Ironman races and most notably finished the RAAM, the bicycle race across America, in 2012 and an Ironman in 2007. When Terry started training this year, he hadn't run a marathon since the North Pole seven years ago. He had become a “middle aged out of shape slob”. In August, after trying to run for five months, he was 230 pounds and could not do more than 100 miles per month! Since August Terry has run over 1000 miles and dropped 30 pounds. Terry lives in Cabo San Lucas , Mexico and owns a sales and marketing company representing Diamante,CSL, a Tiger Woods, Davis Love golf and spa resort on the Pacific Ocean. His wife of 30 years, Jenny, will be meeting him in Dubai and at the finish in Miami. Terry is running for mental health awareness as most people think he is crazy to attempt this....
David started running at 57, after a long sedentary life. For no particular reason he simply felt he should develop a fitness habit but then uncovered a modest talent. He improved over time and after three years, ran his first marathon. With two more attempts, he qualified for and ran the 2016 and 2017 Boston Marathons and is registered to run Boston in 2018. To date, he’s run 20 marathons, the most recent was last November, where he set a PR for that distance. David has run a few ultramarathon races, including three 24-hour races. His most unique running event has been the Allen (TX) Double-Double, running a 5K followed by a marathon an hour later on both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. David is retired from self-employment as a software developer and manager. He occupies himself with running, hobbies, and volunteer work in Adrian, Michigan.
Michael has been a part of the Miami Marlins organization since 2002 and is currently the President of baseball Operations, a position he has held since 2013. He was drafted in 1993 by the Texas Rangers in the 31st round. He made his Minor League debut in 1993 with Class A Short-Season Erie and remained with the club when it relocated to Hudson Valley in 1994. He played two seasons (1993–94) in the Rangers system and one year (1995) in the Reds organization before joining the Tampa Bay Devil Rays front office in 1995. Mike commenced his front office career spending five seasons (1995–1999) as an assistant in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' scouting and player development departments. In 1999, Baseball America named him as one of 10 people in baseball whose prominence would increase significantly in the first decade of the new century. It quoted strong sources who said he would turn into a successful general manager before the 2010 season. At the age of 32, Hill was named to the "Hot List" by the Black Enterprise magazine in their December 2003 issue, a list that represents the best and brightest African American executives under the age of 40. A 1993 graduate of Harvard University, Michael was elected senior class marshal (the equivalent of class president) while starring as the Crimson football team's top rusher and the baseball team's captain. He was born and raised in Cincinnati, where he played football, baseball and basketball at the city's Country Day School.
Jason is a banker, a challenge seeker and a father of two amazing sons. He recently injured his Achilles tendon, however, and is entering WMC with fear and trembling yet with great excitement because the experience will make his 50th birthday a memorable one. Jason has completed a few multi-stage desert races and ultra-marathons since he started running five years ago.
Feibao is an explorer and mountaineer who was born in Kunming, Yunnan, China,. He completed the “7+2” (7 summits on 7 continents, South Pole and North Pole) in 18 months, and explored through the Sahara Desert and Greenland. As Kunming Mayor’s messenger, Feibao passed friendship on bike to six countries in Southeast Asia, and cycled from Boston to Los Angeles. Feibao will be running 100 consecutive marathons from April to August 2018 in his home province, the Fairyland Marathons, and welcomes runners from the all over the world to join him (in one or a few marathons).
Sarah, 32, currently resides in Marion, Iowa with her husband Wyatt and 2 ½ year old son Knox. Sarah has been a Police Officer with the Cedar Rapids Police Department since 2006 and currently works Investigations. She is well known as being a contestant on Survivor: Cagayan and the winner of Survivor: Game Changers. Sarah was a 4-sport varsity athlete in high school competing in track, cross country, soccer and golf. She attended Wartburg College where she ran track and cross country for 3 years. After graduating college with a degree in social work, Sarah accepted a position as a Police Officer. Her duties have included Patrol, School Resource Officer, Narcotics Investigator (DEA) and Financial Crimes Investigator. Sarah has also been a Defensive Tactics Instructor, PT Instructor, Chemical Munitions Instructor and a member of the SWAT team. From 2008-2011 Sarah competed as a mixed martial artist. After two amateurfights she turned professional and holds a professional record of 4-1.
Carrie, 54, is the Chief Counsel for the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. She started running 5 years ago and ran her first marathon 4 days before her 50th birthday. In preparation for the Challenge, Carrie has completed 9 full marathons and 2 fifty mile ultramarathons since April. She is running to raise awareness of human slavery around the world and to raise funds for Hope for Justice to end it. Carrie is paying for all her costs associated with the Challenge so that 100% of all donations made at give.classy.org/runningtheworld will go to fight slavery.
Xiaobo is the partner of FengHe Capital, and an accomplished investor with more than 25 years of experience that has led to many successful investments with high returns. As a passionate philanthropist, Xiaobo has been the President of the Beijing Lions Clubs between 2008 and 2009. He is also an avid marathoner and successfully completed the World Marathon Majors in the last two years. Xiaobo is running to raise funds for the 57th Southeast Asia Annual Meeting of Lions Clubs International
Jianhong is an entrepreneur from Xinjiang, China. He runs the largest ski resort in China among a few other businesses. He is a passionate mountaineer and marathoner since 2012. Jianhong survived the 2015 Mount Everest avalanches at the Base Camp of Mt. Everest, which is still on his to-do list as the last challenge of his “7+2” (7 summits on 7 continents, South Pole and North Pole).
P.J. is a senior-level management executive with extensive experience in brand building through public relations, communications, broadcasting, community outreach and social media. He spent the last 25 years in professional baseball, with his last 16 being with the Miami Marlins from 2002 – 2017. He was named Senior Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting in November 2005 after spending four seasons as the club’s Vice President of Communications and Broadcasting. P.J. holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing from Montreal’s Concordia University. An avid golfer and runner, P.J. completed five marathons including the Marine Corps (2017), Chicago (2017), New York City (2010), Boston (2009) and Miami (2008).
Dave is perhaps best known for his run across the United States in 1978 when he ran a total of 3,452 miles in 80 days from Medford, OR to Medford, MA averaging 45 miles a day while raising money for the Jimmy Fund of Boston. In May 2004, Dave ran across the country again, this time with nine other veteran marathoners, in relay style, from San Francisco to Boston as part of TREK USA, an event which he founded and raised over $300,000 for five children’s charities. He is also the Race Director of the world’s oldest and most famous road race, the B.A.A. Boston Marathon for which he has worked tirelessly for 31 years. Dave is owner and President of Dave McGillivray Sports Enterprises, Inc. For over 35 years, “DMSE,” as it’s known, has produced or consulted on more than 1,000 mass-participatory athletic events nationally and internationally including the TD Beach to Beacon 10K and the New Balance Falmouth Road Race. Personally and through all the charitable events he has founded and managed, he has helped raise millions of dollars for number charitable causes. Dave has personally run 147 marathons, including the Boston Marathon for the past 45 consecutive years; the last 30 at night after his race director duties have been completed. He has run his age in miles every birthday since he was 12 years old and completed nine Hawaii Ironman Triathlons. Dave has also written two books, The Last Pick and a new children’s picture book, Dream Big.
Kelly regards running the World Marathon Challenge as a surreal and truly once in a lifetime opportunity. Having just completed, and won, the 2017 Antarctic Ice Marathon, she is looking forward to returning to the beauty of Antarctica on the first stop of this unbelievable journey! Her first ever marathon was her hometown race, the Boston Marathon. She has completed 51 marathons around the world, but this will be a true testament of mental fortitude. She believes there is nothing better than exploring the world by foot and through running she has gained a lifetime of learning and friendships. Kelly believes this next adventure is the ultimate education on so many levels. She works as the International Program Manager for Spartan Race Inc. in Boston and resides in Beverly, MA with her husband John McLay and one-year old baby, Scarlett.
Brad co-founded and owns Shore Excursions Group, the largest shore excursion company in the travel industry. Prior to founding Shore Excursions Group, he was an executive with a global cruise line and later headed mergers and acquisitions for an international luxury travel company. Brad has completed a variety of endurance races including three Ironman triathlons, three half Ironman triathlons, six marathons, and numerous adventure and mountain bike races.
Mitch says he is not a runner. Having only once run longer than 3 miles before August of 2016, Mitch got mixed up with the wrong crowd and completed his first marathon in January of 2017. After taking an immediate two month hiatus from all physical activities, he was then signed up for the 2018 World Marathon Challenge without his knowledge. Mitch has practiced product liability litigation at Quarles & Brady LLP since 1991. Mitch focuses his community service activities on youth development and engagement. He has served as an advisor of Nivayim AZA, a BBYO (high school youth group) chapter since its inception 25 years ago. In addition, he has served on the Camp Committee of Camp Interlaken JCC in Eagle River, Wisconsin for much of the last 25 years (excepting term limits), and recently became Camp Committee Chair. For 15 years Mitch also coordinated and ran the Milwaukee Bar Association’s middle school tutoring program, recruiting and matching up volunteer attorneys with struggling middle school students for weekly one-on-one tutoring assistance throughout the school year. He has also served as Campaign Chair and organized and implemented an 18-month Young Leadership Development program at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
Cara attended college at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in History. She received her Masters in Adolescent Education from Dowling College and is currently a 7th Grade Social Studies Teacher at East Hampton Middle School, in East Hampton, NY, where she also coaches the Girls Soccer, Basketball, and Lacrosse teams. Cara has spent time volunteering and working in countries abroad: She was a 1st Grade Teacher in Arusha, Tanzania, an ESL Teacher to college students in Hanoi, Vietnam, and spent time as a soccer trainer in Bali, Cameroon as part of a coaching exchange with Rush Soccer. In 2017, she completed her first marathon, running in the Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World and has since completed Chicago and Marine Corps marathons. In addition to running the World Marathon Challenge, Cara is also excited to be simultaneously implementing an interdisciplinary virtual classroom with her students! Utilizing Google Apps for Education, she will be posting and blogging continual updates during the WMC while students will be tasked with analyzing race data and researching how geography and climate influence the development of culture in each of the seven marathon locations.
Meghan has always found joy in competition and adventure and has dreamed of racing around the world since age five. With her family’s support, she excelled in swimming, soccer and triathlon. She earned a podium finish at Collegiate Triathlon Nationals representing Columbia University, won a silver medal at AG Triathlon World Champs in Budapest, Hungry representing Team USA and competed in the Ironman World Champs in Hawaii. She’s dashed to the top of Rockefeller Center & the Empire State Building, run the NYC & Boston marathons, cycled the coast of California from San Fran to San Diego and ascended the elevation equivalent of Mount Everest. Meghan cherishes the relationships that are cultivated through sport and continues to learn from each triumph and challenge experienced during an endurance endeavor. She works in New York City at the Hospital for Special Surgery with orthopedic surgeon Constantine Demetracopoulos treating patients with foot and ankle ailments. She also coaches at Asphalt Green and volunteers at First Descents. Meghan is running the World Marathon Challenge to raise acts of kindness in memory of Coach Cyril Charles. To learn more visit www.bencouragedbymeghan.com.
Robert is embarking on his 5th major endurance event since last May when he completed “The 300 of Sparta March,” a 238 mile 8 Day run-walk across Greece from Sparta to Thermopylae. The event re-enacted King Leonidas and his 300 soldiers fight against the Persians in 248 BC depicted in “300” the movie and was a fundraiser for the four Navy Seals at Benghazi. Since then he has finished a 23 mile run-Swim-Run-Swim pier to pier from Southern Orange County to Newport Beach in 9 hours and completed SEALFIT’s Kokoro (Sealfit.com) where he was the oldest person to both attempt and finish this challenge. Kokoro is a 50 Hour non-stop Crossfit Games style Endurance Event put on by a group of Navy Seal Instructors. In November he followed up on Kokoro by doing Ironman Mexico – his 12th Ironman - and is now ready to take part in the World Marathon Challenge. Robert enjoys challenging himself physically. Not only do these endurance events provide that challenge, it also allows Robert to speak and mentor pro-athletes, University-athletes and military servicemen. You can learn more about Robert and his adventures at: www.roberthamiltonowens.com
Bret was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease nearly 11 years ago, at the age of 38, a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder. He “outed” himself in a blog on the Forbes website in 2012 http://www.forbes.com/sites/randalllane/2012/03/12/the-last-workplace-secret/. Fast forward and today, at 49 years old, he is on the Patient Council of the Michael J. Fox Foundation and has raised awareness and funds for research through various runs (including a marathon), a skydive, a triathlon and a mountain climb. Bret is Executive Director of the New York City Bar Association. He attended the University of Pennsylvania and Fordham University School of Law. Since becoming an attorney over 20 years ago, he has worked in private practice and at various companies (including Elizabeth Arden and Colgate-Palmolive).
Becca is 37 years old and lives in Belmont MA with her husband Joe and 10 year old daughter Taylor. Having been the first American female to run – and win - the 2016 World Marathon Challenge, she is beyond excited to run it again in 2018, and it is her honor to be an ambassador to a race that she loves so much. Her current goals are to complete a marathon in all 50 states and to run all of the Global Running Adventures series. Becca says she loves these marathons, they are life changing, and very well organized endurance competitions.
Sarah is an Ironman triathlete, Paralympian, author, motivational speaker, mentor, spokesperson and amazing racer. Sarah stepped onto the world stage after making sports history in one of the toughest endurance events in the world — the Hawaii Ironman, becoming the first woman to finish an Ironman on a prosthetic leg. A year later, she raced around the world on “The Amazing Race,” the Emmy-award-winning CBS reality TV series. Sarah’s story has been covered in many national newspapers and she has graced the covers of many magazines, including Runner’s World, ESPN, Triathlete, and Competitor. In 2009, GPP Life published her book, “In A Single Bound,” an honest, touching and funny memoir about how a feisty, one-legged girl struggling to fit in with her two-legged friends grows up to become a world-class athlete and TV personality. Sarah has completed 7 marathons and has broken multiple world records, and won numerous awards, including the 2006 ESPN ESPY for best female athlete with a disability.
Josh still isn’t sure what he’s running from after 20 years and thousands of punishing miles, but he’s not stopping to find out! He has completed numerous marathons including Boston, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as several multi-day race events in Disney World. Through these races, Josh has raised thousands of dollars for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Between training runs, Josh works as a professional photographer specializing in product, commercial, and portrait photography.
David spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball and 16 as President of the Miami Marlins. In 2017, he was the second-longest tenured team President in MLB and was one of only seven current Presidents to preside over a World Series champion. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s in Economics in 1990 and received a Juris Doctor from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York City in 1993. Following law school, Samson became President and Founder of News Travels Fast, the first company to deliver the New York Times to Europe on a same-day basis. In 1996, David joined Morgan Stanley, an investment bank in New York City, a position he resigned in 1999 when he joined the Montreal Expos as Executive Vice President. David was also one of 18 contestants on the 28th season of Survivor ™. He is the only active major sports executive to appear on the show. He additionally starred as Lorne Michaels in the 2014 production entitled “Not Ready for Primetime.” This full-length feature play detailed the beginnings of “Saturday Night Live” was performed in 2013 at the New Theatre in Miami. He has completed 13 marathons, including a double marathon, and in in 2006 became the only major sports team President to complete the Hawaiian Ironman.
John will be entering his 42nd season as a Major League equipment manager, his 17th with the Miami Marlins. He began his career in 1977 with the Toronto Blue Jays before joining the Montreal Expos on December 22, 1980. John started in baseball as a clubhouse man at JarryPark in the summers from 1969-73, while studying at Baron Byng High School and Dawson College. He is a veteran marathoner having completed Chicago and Marine Corps in 2017, as well as the Goofy and Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World and the Miami, NYC and Boston marathons.
Thomas is a Financial Services Provider from Vienna, Austria. In midsummer of 1999 (at the age of 35) he quit smoking and started running instead. He has since finished 35 marathons on four continents. The first was in scenic Honolulu in December of 2000, his PB is from Chicago in 2014 (3:36h) and his latest marathon was Medoc, France in September. Thomas has also participated in four ultra races: Woerschach 24 hours, Austria in 2006, the Two Oceans and Zermatt, Switzerland in 2015, and the Karwendel-March in Austria in 2017. His proudest achievement, however, was finishing the major marathon series early: In October of 2009 he was the 6thperson in the world to finish the Major Five and in 2014 he was the fifth person in the world to finish the BIG SIX World Marathon Majors in one calendar year. He first heard of the WMC directly from the former Australian participant Douglas Wilson, who had crossed his jogging path in Coogee, Sydney in January 2015. It then took a full 18 months to let the idea sink in deeply enough to fully commit and another 18 months to prepare physically for the task ahead. As of 2014 he is a proud member of Run2gether, the Austrian/Kenyan running project (www.run2gether.com). The last ten days of training will be with the experienced hands of his Run2gether friends in an altitude camp in Kiambogo, Kenya.
Jonathan, 55, has completed 25+ marathons and multiple triathlons, including two full Ironman events. He is running the World Marathon Challenge to increase awareness of Children’s National Health System in Washington, D.C. His goal is to raise $1 million towards upgrading the hospital’s inpatient mental health unit to create a new nationwide model for addressing the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Jonathan is President of KCIC, a privately held consulting firm that helps companies manage their product liabilities. You can follow his training progress on Instagram and learn more about his race mission here.
Gary is a teacher and 2:17 marathoner, which was inside the qualifying standard for the Rio Olympics. He has won the Irish 10,000m track championships on two occasions in addition to winning many Irish titles at underage level as well as Irish and British universities championships. He has represented Ireland at track, hill running, x-country and road running. Gary won the 2013 North Pole Marathon, the 2014 Volcano Marathon, and the 2016 Antarctic Ice Marathon, which are the three sister events of the World Marathon Challenge. Overall he has 22 years of running experience and looks forward to the ultimate endurance test of mind and body over 7 marathons in 7 continents in 7 days.
Dorn has run various international marathons and ultra-marathons and was the winner of the 2016 North Pole Marathon. He’s running the World Marathon Challenge to support the non-profit Amigos de las Americas and bring awareness to cross cultural awareness. (www.dorns7continents.run). During the races, when he land in Dubai, it will be the 99th country that Dorn has visited, and he’s attempting to receive donors from 99 countries. Dorn and his family live in Mexico City, where Dorn is the Vice President of Perishables for Walmart Mexico.
Mikayla, a New Jersey native, moved south to enjoy the Sunshine State in 2007. Her background in athletics and natural talent landed her a spot playing for the Tampa Bay Breeze in the Lingerie Football League. Soon after she found herself in L.A. on the cover of Playboy February 2011, where she caught the eye of casting agents for CBS Survivor: South Pacific (season 23) and became one of the contestants. With the LFL no longer in Tampa, she looked for her next challenge and left the turf for the stage, falling in love with NPC bodybuilding. Competing in Bikini Class, she took first place in her regional show qualifying for Nationals and placed third nationally in her very first national show! She has completed one marathon.
Brian resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona and is a father of three girls, entrepreneur, endurance athlete and global speaker on a broad range of high performance topics including fueling creativity, overcoming obstacles and achieving dreams. Brian has completed over 50 marathons and ultras including 5 marathons in 5 days in 5 states, the American River 50-miler, Javelina Jundred 100-miler and TransRockies 120-mile stage race. After the 2018 World Marathon Challenge, Brian will be training to compete in the Triple Crown of 200s--the Bigfoot 200, Tahoe 200 and Moab 200 in August, September and October this year. When Brian isn't training or speaking, he spends his time advising the management team of his digital marketing firm, Pyxl, and traveling with his three girls.
Nick has run the Boston Marathon three times and the New York City Marathon once with a personal best (17 long years ago!!) of 2 hours 46 minutes. He was inspired to do the WMC by first year participant Ted Jackson and 2016 winner Becca Pizzi. Nick lives near Providence, Rhode Island with his wife, Amanda, and their 2-year-old daughter, Cole, and works as a real estate appraiser. Amanda will be joining him on the trip and together they are raising money for the race and three local charities: March of Dimes, RI Community Food Bank and RISPCA.
The 2018 World Marathon Challenge started in Antarctica on January 30th at 10:13 Miami time and the final race finisher in Miami completed the event on February 5th at 21:47 Miami time, or 6 days 11 hours 34 minutes (the final race started at 14:20 Miami time). Becca Pizzi (USA) , who already holds the women's record since 2016 for the best average marathon time (3:55:11 hrs), set a new women's world record of 6 days 7 hours 58 minutes for fastest duration to complete marathons on all 7 continents. Gary Thornton (IRL) won the men's race with an average time of 3:12:19 hrs, and running sub 3 hours in Antarctica and Australia along the way. The effective temperature fluctuation between the first two races was about 70 F, with it dipping to 5F windchill in Antarctica and climbing to 75F in Cape Town, Africa, the following day.
