All those who are sitting and sulking about going for that early morning run, take this 70-year-old American woman as an inspiration – she ran 7 marathons, on 7 different continents, in just 7 days!
Chau Smith, who celebrated her 70th birthday earlier this year, didn’t want to sit at home and laze around, which most people of her age do. She wanted to challenge herself, so, she joined a group of runners attempting to run seven marathons in seven days on seven different continents. And in January 2016, she accomplished that goal. And she totally nailed it!
Smith competed alongside nine other participants in the Triple Seven Quest, put on by Marathon Adventures. Between January 25 and January 31, Smith ran marathons in Perth, Australia; Singapore; Cairo, Egypt; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Garden City, New York; Punta Arenas, Chile; and King George Island, Antarctica. Smith was the oldest in the group and each day, Smith woke up and ran 26.2 miles.
Running a marathon takes a lot of training and for someone at her age, things can get very tricky. But Smith achieved it with her spirit.
“It took me eight months to really train. The last four months, I really put in long, long runs. Every week, I ran from 15 miles to 130 miles,” she said in an interview.
“I always try to train in my mind the good things. So even when I’m really in pain, I’m able to think about something else positive. So you don’t think about, ‘Oh my god, it hurts so bad.’ You just think about, maybe, the waterfalls, the streams, and the lake,” she added.
Smith, who works 10 hours a day at a dry-cleaning business, has been running marathons since she was 48, but with this incredible feat she topped off her own record. She also took part in the Boston Marathon race in 2013, but could not finish the race as police stopped her because of the bombing. Smith estimates that she’s run close to 70 marathons across the globe now.
“The reason I am running the Triple 7 Quest is that I’m turning 70 next month – I thought it would be a perfect challenge to run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents to celebrate my seven decades,” she said in a video posted on her YouTube channel.
Watch Smith’s inspiring video below:
For Smith, it seems no challenge is too small. When she retires, she’d like to hike the Appalachian Trail. For now, she’s interested in the Triple 8 Quest. Smith also plans to apply to the Guinness Book Of World Records as the oldest person to run seven marathons in seven days.