Bladerunner Jacky Hunt-Broersma completes 104 consecutive daily marathons
The amputee has clocked more consecutive marathons than any other woman in the world and raised almost $200,000 for amputee runners in the process
What’s another couple of marathons, when you’ve already run 102 in a row? On Thursday, Jacky Hunt Broersma of Gilbert, Ariz., achieved her goal of running more consecutive marathons on consecutive days than any other woman–an astounding 102. But, to give herself a comfortable cushion for the record, she ran a marathons again on Friday and Saturday, so her total is now 104. In due course, her achievement will be ratified by Guinness World Records.
Before losing her left leg to cancer over a decade ago, Jacky was never a runner. But since taking it up, she’s fallen in love. “Since moving to the U.S. from South Africa in 2006, I’ve picked up running, and ever since, I’ve wanted to keep pushing boundaries,” the 46-year-old told NBC News.
On April 18, Hunt-Broersma ran the Boston Marathon–her 92nd consecutive daily marathon–taking third place in the new Para division for amputees.
Her original goal was to run just 100 consecutive marathons. But when news emerged on April 10 that a woman in Britain, Kate Jayden, had completed 101 consecutive marathons (beating Alyssa Clark of Vermont’s previous record, set in 2020, by six days), Hunt-Broersma extended her goal to 102, but hinted she might go even farther. In the end, she completed 104.
As anyone who has run the Boston Marathon can attest, the idea of running a marathon the day after running Boston is tough to imagine. Hunt-Broersma did it on a treadmill in her hotel. If you follow her on Instagram, you’ll know that some days were easier than others, and on some days, she did a fair amount of walking.
Her marathons before and since Boston have been a mix of running on the streets in her neighbourhood and on her treadmill.
Thank you so much NBC Nightly News for having me on the show last night?. Here's the link in case you missed the interview? #marathonhttps://t.co/q1So0rVsCA
— Jacky Hunt-Broersma (@NCrunnerjacky) May 2, 2022
There is a purpose behind all these marathons; Hunt-Broersma was an experienced ultrarunner before taking on this particular challenge, and all the marathons serve as training for the Moab 240, a 240-mile ultra in Utah in October. So although she can rest a bit after her marathon odyssey, it won’t be for long, as her training must continue.
She is using her challenge to raise money for Amputee Blade Runners, an organization that provides running blades for amputees. “Running blades are very expensive, but people have reached out to me to say they’ve run the most miles of their lives since watching me. It’s phenomenal,” she says.
Hunt-Broersma has raised almost $200,000.
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