On Saturday 3rd December 2022, Australia's Erchana Murray-Bartlett claimed a new Guinness World Record (GWR) for the most consecutive marathons run by a woman. The self-styled 'Adventurer; Athlete and Wilderness Seeker' – according to her Instagram page – is just over two-thirds into her Tip to Toe 2022 run for Australia's at-risk wildlife.

The planned world record run started at Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, and ends at Naarm, Melbourne, after more than 6,200K in 150 days – that's a marathon a day for five months! Erchana hopes to raise $10 for every kilometre, a total of $62,000, for the Wilderness Society to help educate communities, support nature and protect natural ecosystems.

Erchana (32) is a force of nature herself – as you will see in this short promo video below – and has already surpassed the $50,000 benchmark on her way to her target.

This year has been a record one for this particular GWR, previously held by American Alyssa Clark since 2020 at 95 consecutive marathons. This was improved in 2022 by Kate Jayden, from Derbyshire, who completed 106 marathons in 106 days in April despite a fractured knee. This feat, apart from the injury, was equalled by Scottish fitness trainers Fay Cunningham and Emma Petrie, from Aboyne in Aberdeenshire, on 6th June.

This is now the officially verified GWR and the effort raised over £40,000 for MND and Macmillan Cancer Support charities. However, this may not be the maximum number of consecutive marathons ever run by a female. On 14th July 2013, Annette Fredskov ran a double marathon at Næstved on the Island of Zealand, Denmark, to complete 366 marathons in 365 days!

What about the men, we hear you cry. Well, the official GWR for a male running consecutive marathons is a mere 62 days/marathons by Vishak Krishnaswamy (India) in Dombivili, India, from 1st September 2022 to 1st November 2022. 

However, according to Wikipedia, the Spanish ultrarunner Ricardo Martinez was the first man to run 500 marathons in 500 days from 1st October 2010 to 12th February 2012. When he finished his 500th marathon he announced he would try to double that already enormous number but eventually abandoned his quest at 607 consecutive marathons on 29th May 2012!

Meanwhile, Erchana Murray-Bartlett's odyssey continues and you can follow her progress here...

Image courtesy Erchana Murray-Bartlett profile pic on Tip to Toe 2022 website