Brazilian runner breaks Guinness World Record with 366 consecutive marathons
After quitting his job in tech sales a year ago, Hugo Farias, 44, completed a marathon-distance run every day for an entire year
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Hugo Farias/Strava
A Brazilian ultrarunner has set a new Guinness World Record for the most consecutive marathon-distance runs in 366 days. On August 28, Hugo Farias of São Paulo completed his 366 consecutive 42.2-kilometre runs to finish his Projeto Propósito in front of a crowd of 2,000 people.
Farias, 44, started his journey on Aug. 28, 2022, after quitting his job at IBM. He set out on this challenge with the goal of completing 365 marathons in 365 days to show people that anything is possible. He did not decide to do a 366th until recently, as he wanted to eclipse the Guinness World Record and surpass the accomplishments of Belgium’s Stefan Engels and England’s Gary McKee, both of whom completed the full calendar year.
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Farias tracked the entire project on Strava, where he wore daily bib numbers according to the marathon number he was on. After completing his 366th run, Farias joked, “I think I will start reducing volume now.”
The father of one covered an astonishing 15,443 km, which is equivalent to a flight from New York to Singapore, and 123,000 metres of elevation gain, or roughly 14 times the height of Mount Everest. According to his Strava, Farias went through 27 pairs of running shoes during the challenge and had 10 shoes on rotation (over 10 days) for the first five months.
His Projeto Propósito required extensive planning, and Farias had support from a team of health professionals which included running coaches, a physical trainer, a physiotherapist, a psychologist, a nutritionist, an orthopedist, a dermatologist (his wife), plus cardiologists and physiologists. Farias also dedicated three months to physical and mental preparation before undertaking his marathon journey.
His incredible achievement ties with Danish ultrarunner Annette Fredskov, who completed 366 marathons in 365 days, a feat made even more incredible by her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Fredskov managed to run two marathons on her final day.
Although his Projeto Propósito may be over, Farias insists there is more to come. He plans to write a book on his project/record and says he hopes to start brainstorming new challenges for the upcoming year.
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