This year marks a significant milestone for me: I have now completed 5 of the 7 continent marathons that I set my sights on back in 2016.
Many people ask why I pursue this goal, and I thought it fitting to share my experience. After moving to Germany, I was inspired by the vibrant culture of nature and sports. I began running, starting with a few 5Ks and 10K and running quickly became a meditative experience for me. In 2017, I challenged myself to run my first marathon. It wasn’t easy. Around the 35K mark, I hit the proverbial wall and vowed never to do it again. But by the 42K finish, the idea that I pushed myself beyond what I thought I can had me hooked, and I knew I’d be signing up for more.
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Marathons have taught me that thriving in life requires stepping beyond our comfort zones. "No pain, no gain" is a truth I have come to understand deeply. Our potential often exceeds our expectations. Marathons, with their ups and downs, mirror life’s journey. Sometimes the mind gives up before the body, and other times the reverse happens, and they have to teach each other to keep going, as long as possible. Running teaches resilience, a lesson I’ve come to value greatly.
Around this time, I watched this TED talk about two people making a record journey to the South Pole and back—equivalent to ~70 marathons in ~100 days. As a side note, I wondered why only one of them was in the video. I started imagining what it would be like to run a marathon in Antarctica. The speaker described the expedition as an exquisite form of torture, pushing to the point of starvation day by day. His message was clear: goals, determination, and self-belief take you farther than you think. More importantly, happiness isn’t just at the finish line; it’s also in the journey. This resonated deeply with me - in spite of pain or problems, there is purpose during the challenge, and hence a drive or motivation which feeds into happiness. After you finish the challenge, it is the happiness of finishing and being a better person. I have also noticed that my overall happiness is optimized when I keep switching between these two states. It is possible and even necessary to be happy in both states, that means any time, any moment, but perhaps just one state will not make us happy forever. After all, we as human civilization did not come to where we are without challenges, but because of it.
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While researching, I discovered the 7-continent marathon challenge: running a marathon on every continent, including Antarctica. Given my frequent travels to Asia, my residence in Europe, and my trips to the USA for conferences, I thought it was feasible with careful planning. After my first marathon in 2017, I ran the San Diego marathon in the US in 2018. Morocco was on my bucket list, so I timed my trip to coincide with the Marrakech marathon in 2019. In these years, I also started running a bit trail runs and ultra marathons, this is another story altogether, I will write more about this in another blog in the future.
As a side note here, of course, I thoroughly enjoy the travel aspect as well. I love traveling to new places, seeing new things and hanging out with new people. So the idea of clubbing the marathon with travel, though logistically non-trivial, was something I totally looked forward to. I wholeheartedly recommend the sportcation concept to anyone who loves both travel and sports. I learned a lot while travelling around, but I am digressing here, and the travel part of the experience, is again, a content worth another blog. All these experiences have made me a better person. I hope to run a marathon in Asia in the near future and, someday, to travel to Antarctica for that ultimate marathon. Below is a timeline of my 5-continent marathon journey:
🇩🇪 Rhein-Ruhr Duisburg Innogy Marathon
🇺🇸 San Diego Marathon
🇲🇦 Marrakech Marathon
🇦🇺 Sydney Marathon
🇧🇷 Sao Paulo Marathon
By early 2020, I planned to run the Tel-Aviv Marathon and the São Paulo Marathon. Then, the pandemic struck, bringing everything to a halt. During those challenging years, I wondered if I would ever complete the remaining marathons. I continued to train and hoped to resume in 2021, but it remained unsafe and irresponsible to travel.
Come 2023, I decided to fully resume my goal. I trained diligently, running several 10Ks, half marathons, and a marathon to prepare. I aimed to complete marathons in Oceania and South America. In late 2023, I finished the Sydney marathon and enjoyed traveling around Australia and New Zealand. Determined to maintain my momentum, I completed the São Paulo marathon in early 2024.
Looking ahead, my next goal is to complete a marathon in Asia. This is a work in progress, and I'll keep you updated right here. Stay tuned!