Running 295K on seven continents in 168 hours: New challenge for Patrick Charlebois

Trois-Rivières, Que. resident Patrick Charlebois will be the first Canadian to partake in the World Marathon Challenge next January. The event involves running seven marathon, on seven continents, in seven days.

“As soon as I learned of this challenge, I knew I had to do it, especially after doing all six world marathon major races,” says Charlebois, a 45-year-old portfolio manager with the National Bank of Canada.

For next year’s World Marathon Challenge, he says that despite a $53,000 race fee (36,000 euros), which includes flights, meals and race costs, money was not a deal-breaker in his decision to commit to the challenge. In addition to running, competitors will be on the plane for approximately 59 hours in either business class or on a chartered flight.

Charlebois is, however, looking for additional sponsors to help cover the costs of the trip. His goal is to average four hours for each of the seven marathons.

The World Marathon Challenge begins on Jan. 23, 2017 with the Antarctica Marathon and finishes in Australia on Jan. 29. The races are not official events but are professional organized runs put on by race officials so competitors can arrive at their destination, start immediately and depart within the allotted time.

The 36-hour stretch between Miami, Madrid and Marrakech (a full list of cities can be found at the bottom of the page) is expected to be the toughest part of the challenge as runner squeeze in more than 126 kilometres of running within two days.

According to Charlebois, there’s potential that certain destinations may change. The Jan. 2017 series of races will be the third edition of the event and Charlebois has been in touch with the 2016 winner, Becca Pizzi, for some helpful tips.

To prepare for the seven-day challenge, with the application process being on a first-come, first-serve basis, Charlebois says he’s been training between 100-150K per week in addition to strength training to help prevent injury. With the help of his wife and with the support of his co-workers, Charlebois is able to balance running, work, and family commitments.

A runner for more than 30 years, Charlebois has already completed the world marathon majors challenge, which involves running the world’s largest races: Boston, New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin and Chicago. His average time from all six races is the fastest among Quebec-based athletes who have submitted their times to world marathon majors database and Charlebois says that Boston was the highlight.

“Running at my age requires being smart and listening to your body, eating well, and staying injury-free,” says Charlebois. The father of four has a nutritionist and is coached by two-time Olympian and 1999 Pan American Games gold medallist in the men’s 3,000m steeplechase Joël Bourgeois.

As someone who has been running for his entire adult life, Charlebois has some helpful advice for other runners.

“Everyone has what I call a ‘book of excuses,’ with a lot of good reasons not to do something,” explains Charlebois. “Every day it’s hard to be disciplined and it’s a long journey to work towards your goals. But you have to take that book, which is full of reasons like having a headache or a lack of time, and throw it away. Make a plan and follow it.”

Charlebois adds that he will likely be doing plenty of races this summer ahead of next January’s daunting challenge.

The schedule of the event can be found below:

Jan. 23 – Marathon in Antarctica
Jan. 24 – Marathon in Punta Arenas, Chile
Jan. 25 – Marathon in Miami
Jan. 26 – Marathon in Madrid
Jan. 27 – Marathon in Marrakech
Jan. 28 – Marathon in Dubai
Jan. 29 – Marathon in Sydney

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