Jamie McDonald smashes 7-day treadmill record
Donning his signature Adventureman costume for the start and end of the quest, the British ultrarunner logged 833K in 7 days–on a treadmill
British ultrarunner Jamie McDonald has successfully decimated the seven-day treadmill running record in Gloucester, UK by running 521 miles (833.6K) in seven days. The existing record was 513.97 miles (822K), set in 2015 by Marcio Villar of Brazil.
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Decked out in his Adventureman superhero costume for the start and the end of the run, McDonald ran in a large tent set up for the purpose in an outdoor mall, where people could come to watch and encourage him, and even run alongside him on an adjacent treadmill. He slept only two or three hours a night while logging an average of 73 miles (116.8K) per day.
On reaching 521 miles in 7 days – here’s a huge shoutout to you @53Marathons, massive respect for what you achieved!!! pic.twitter.com/ZxnMDJtzIc
— Adventureman (@MrJamieMcDonald) May 6, 2019
The treadmill run is only the latest in a string of astoundingly ambitious quests for McDonald, who had only been back in the UK for a few weeks after running across the US unsupported.
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McDonald was very ill as a child with syringomyelia, a rare disease of the spine, that had him in and out of hospitals for the first nine years of his life. He eventually recovered, regained some mobility and gradually became more active, eventually taking up running.
He’s done it!!!
Jamie is now the (unofficial, until verified) holder of the @GWR record for the greatest distance covered in 7 days on a treadmill ???
As Jamie said when he equalled the record though… records aren’t just there to be broken, they’re there to be SMASHED!!! pic.twitter.com/FCvkdyfyLL
— Adventureman (@MrJamieMcDonald) May 6, 2019
As an adult, McDonald was so grateful to the hospitals where he received treatment that he has mounted a steady stream of quests and records to raise funds for them. His Superhero Foundation has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals around the world.
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