British runner sets world record for fastest 1,000 marathons
Steve Edwards has averaged a marathon every 13 days for the past 36 years
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Steve Edwards
While many runners are happy to complete a single marathon, Steve Edwards of Gloucestershire, U.K., has taken his passion for running to the next level. Over the past 43 years, Edwards, 61, has completed the fastest 1,000 marathons on record, capturing a Guinness World Record, all while raising funds for a charity close to his heart, as reported by BBC News.
On Monday, Edwards crossed the finish line of the Milton Keynes marathon and was presented with his Guinness World Record certificate. “Today was the finale to what has been an incredible 43-year journey, the end of an era for both of us and we can’t quite believe that it’s now all over,” Edwards said in his post-marathon speech, his wife Teresa by his side.
Running the numbers
While 50 other runners have reached the 1,000-marathon mark, Edwards stands out for his remarkable average finish time. Clocking in at 3:21:47 (with an aggregate time of 3,363 hours, four minutes and two seconds) he has surpassed his predecessors, who all had average finish times of more than four hours. “I’ve run a marathon, on average, every 13 days for the past 36 years,” Edwards explains. He says he trained most days over the last five decades, despite swearing he would never run another marathon after his initial experience, at age 18.
Edwards’s first 500 marathons had an average finishing time of three hours and 18 minutes, and took place over two decades, when he was between the ages of 25 and 45. The next 500 marathons had an average finishing time of three hours and 24 minutes and were completed from 45 to 61 years of age.
Moving his feet to raise funds
Over the past 12 years, Edwards has raised more than £10,000 for Kate’s Home Nursing, a palliative nursing care charity in Gloucestershire. He says the charity is close to his heart: “For many years Teresa was part of their incredible nursing team, offering specialist palliative care to end-of-life patients in the comfort of their own homes.”
Edwards calls Teresa his biggest support throughout his record-breaking marathon streak. “What I find so amazing about him, is he’s held down a full-time job [before retiring] and been back at work the Monday mornings after a weekend of running,” Teresa says.
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Overwhelming support
Edwards was astounded by the support he felt from the running community throughout his journey. “I was born with a deformed left hand and was bullied so I felt excluded, but with running when you’re on that start line with thousands of other runners, it doesn’t matter who you are in life,” he explained. “It’s overwhelming, the adulation and support of people coming up to me, telling me they’d followed me for years and were so inspired and how massive this is for the running community.”
Tackling such a feat has not been easy. Edwards persevered through a hip injury in his 996th marathon, a situation that normally would have called for some recovery time. “I don’t mind admitting that it’s been extremely difficult in recent years with wear and tear and injury all taking its toll,” he said post-race.
After Monday’s marathon, Edwards said he was focused on taking some time off and going on a holiday. He’s not finished running, though. “I’d like to run into old age, just for wellbeing, but maybe more for the social aspect of a marathon than to be competitive and chase my best time,” he told the BBC.
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