Multiple marathons
As marathon running has become more popular, some athletes have undertaken challenges involving running a series of marathons. The 100 Marathon Club is intended to provide a focal point for all runners, particularly from the United Kingdom or Ireland, who have completed 100 or more races of marathon distance or longer. At least 10 of these events must be United Kingdom or Ireland Road Marathons.[68] Club chairman Roger Biggs has run more than 700 marathons or ultras. Brian Mills completed his 800th marathon on 17 September 2011. Steve Edwards, a member of the 100 Marathon Club, set the world record for running 500 marathons in the fastest average finish time of 3 hours 15 minutes, at the same time becoming the first man to run 500 marathons with an official time below 3 hours 30 minutes, on 11 November 2012 at Milton Keynes, England. The records took 24 years to achieve. Edwards was 49 at the time.[69] Over 350 individuals have completed a marathon in each state of the United States plus Washington, D.C. and some have done it as many as eight times.[70] Beverly Paquin, a 22-year old nurse from Iowa, was the youngest woman to run a marathon in all 50 states.[71] A few weeks later, Morgan Cummings (also 22) became the youngest woman to complete a marathon in all 50 states and DC.[72] In 2004, Chuck Bryant of Miami, Florida, who lost his right leg below the knee, became the first amputee to finish this circuit.[73] Bryant has completed a total of 59 marathons on his prosthesis. Twenty-seven people have run a marathon on each of the seven continents, and 31 people have run a marathon in each of the Canadian provinces. In 1980, in what was termed the Marathon of Hope, Terry Fox, who had lost a leg to cancer and so ran with one artificial leg, attained 5,373 kilometres (3,339 mi) of his proposed cross-Canada cancer fundraising run, thus maintaining an average of over 37 kilometres (23 mi), close to the planned marathon distance, for each of 143 consecutive days.[74] On 25 September 2011, Patrick Finney of Grapevine, Texas became the first person with multiple sclerosis to have finished a marathon in each state of the United States. In 2004, "the disease had left him unable to walk. But unwilling to endure a life of infirmity, Finney managed to regain his ability to balance on two feet, to walk – and eventually to run – through extensive rehabilitation therapy and new medications."[75] In 2003 British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes completed seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.[76] He completed this feat despite suffering from a heart attack and undergoing a double heart bypass operation just four months before.[77] This feat has since been eclipsed by Irish ultramarathon runner Richard Donovan who in 2009 first completed seven marathons on seven continents in under 132 hours (five and a half days).[78] Starting 1 February 2012 he improved on this by completing the 7 on 7 in under 120 hours or in less than five days.[79][80] On 14 December 2008, 64-year old Larry Macon set a record by running 105 marathons in a single calendar year.[81]