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Irish man runs seven marathons from Antarctica to Miami

Teacher Gary Thornton triumphs in World Marathon Challenge which lasted seven days

Gary Thornton winning the 2018 World Marathon Challenge. Photograph: Facebook

Wed Feb 7 2018 - 15:56

An Irish teacher has won a world marathon competition by completing seven races on seven continents in seven days.

Gary Thornton from Co Galway came out on top in all seven events in the men's category of the World Marathon Challenge.

At total of 35 men and 12 women took part in the competition in which they ran marathons in Novo, Antarctica; Cape Town, South Africa; Perth, Australia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Lisbon, Portugal; Cartagena, Colombia and Miami in the United States.

Competitors had to run a total of 294km (183 miles) and travel more than 38,000km by aircraft in between races. The event began on January 30th, with the final finisher crossing the final line six days, 11 hours and 34 minutes after the first starting gun rang out.

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“It was way tougher than I had thought. It was brilliant. The different courses had all different aspects to them, but it was all a mind game, it’s all just about getting through the different stages of the races,” Thornton said, after crossing the finish line at the final race in Miami.

American runner Becca Pizzi triumphed in all the races in the women’s category, becoming the first person to win in the event more than once, having also taken the women’s top spot in 2016.

Thornton finished with an average time of 3:12:19, across the seven events, while Pizzi earned an average time of 4:04:41.

The event, which was first held in 2015, costs entrants €36,000 to enter. – Reuters

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