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Welsh woman to run 1,000th consecutive half-marathon

For 996 days in a row, Helen Ryvar has laced up her shoes at 4 a.m. and logged a 21.1-km (or longer) run on Strava

Helen ryvar 996th half-marathon Photo by: Helen Ryvar

Welsh runner Helen Ryvar, the Guinness World Record holder for most consecutive half-marathons, is just seven runs away from reaching an entirely new milestone, a news outlet reported. The athlete has run 21.1 km or longer every day since May 1, 2022; as of Monday, she’s completed her 996th iteration of the distance–but isn’t stopping until she reaches 1,000. While raising money for charity, Ryvar runs in honour of her late ex-husband, who died tragically in 2020.

 

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Ryvar’s 1,000th run is set for next Friday, Jan. 24, and, as always, she is welcoming local runners to join her. Her usual, early-morning routine still applies for the long-awaited finale, which will begin at 4:15 a.m. local time. In her Instagram pictures, Ryvar often sports a headlamp and bright clothing to increase her visibility on the dark streets.

“All ages & abilities are welcome,” she wrote in a post. “However, you need to be able to run a 5K in approximately 30 mins to participate.” She reveals that her route will consist of four five-kilometre loops, and encourages runners (who should bring their own high-visibility gear) to join her for one or more laps. On average, Ryvar completes her 21.1-km runs in about two hours and twenty minutes.

 

 

“We will be running at a steady pace, and the route will be a mix of trail and road around my village of Llay,” Ryvar wrote.

For the past two years and nine months, Ryvar has gotten her run out of the way first thing in the morning to ensure she can fit it into her daily schedule–she has three teenagers and works full-time.

After each run, the 43-year-old takes a picture with the daily newspaper, joined by the friends or family who accompanied her, if any. She hasn’t skipped a single day, venturing out into the rainiest, snowiest, iciest or chilliest weather–no matter what. “It felt tropical today at -1 C for me,” she wrote in a caption earlier this week.

The only injury she’s reportedly faced during her streak was a glute tweak after switching running shoes.

 

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Sometimes Ryvar doubles her distance (or more). In 2024 alone, she ran in the Corsa Malta Marathon, the Brighton Marathon and the 50-mile Chester Ultra Marathon. On Dec. 15, for her 960th run, she raced the Malaga Marathon in Spain, where she clocked four hours and four minutes. She’s also completed some sections of her run streak in Miami, Italy and the deserts of Petra, Jordan.

Between her first and 670th run, the ultrarunner raised more than £5,000 (CA$8,800) for the U.K. mental health charity Mind. Since her 671st run, Ryvar has collected more than £1,598 (CA$2,813) for Cancer Research U.K.

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