I know two people who came out of the London Marathon vowing “never again”. Euphoria at having completed such a feat did not spark a desire to attempt it again, indeed serious blisters, blackened nails, muscle fatigue and the memory of just how tough it had been added to their conviction that it was a “once in a lifetime achievement”. But some people seem to get the bug; marathon running becomes an addiction as they vie to complete all the most famous marathons across the world. Belgian runner Stefaan Engels is an extreme form of the marathon addict, having run 365 marathons in a single year. The Telegraph reported that the 49-year-old world record breaker clocked up 9,569 miles in a year, running across seven countries and averaging four hours per marathon with a fastest time of 2 hours 56 minutes. Engels who regards the running as his “regular job” was told as a child to steer clear of sport due to bad asthma. This seems only to have fuelled his determination to walk all over the previous record, a mere 52 races in a row!
Photo by Chris Brown (originally posted to Flickr as Marathon Runners) [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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