Teen travels the world to run 7 marathons on 7 continents

A remarkable mom-and-daughter duo ran seven marathons in seven continents over just three months.

Earlier this month, CityNews reporter Avery Haines introduced us to the pair. Kristen De Sousa, 15, ran on behalf of Children of the Mountain, an organization dedicated to supporting the education of children in the poorest areas of Nepal.

They completed their seventh marathon on Thursday.

De Sousa says she’s the the youngest Canadian to do it and the youngest in the world to do it in such a short amount of time.

After missing their connection to Punta Arenas, Chile, due to a delayed flight, the pair got on a midnight flight only to arrive to find out that a window of favourable weather in Antarctica meant that they’d leave that very night for Antarctica, postponing the run in Punta Arenas.

After missing two nights of sleep, they arrived in Antarctica at 3:30 a.m. to face a gruelling marathon. The temperature was -18 C with windchill and they ran on hilly gravel terrain covered in ice, snow and mud.

“We had no feeling in our fingers and toes after three hours,” Kristen’s mother Sharon wrote in an email. “Veteran marathoners that have done over 100 marathons said it was the most difficult marathon they have done. It was torture!”

After three days of rest, they ran in Punta Arenas.

The family checked with the Guinness World Records, but it does not acknowledge anyone under 16 years of age.

The family only knows of two other girls who have completed the marathon, but did it over a year’s time.

Sharon says The Alternative Book of Records and The Official 7 Continents Marathon Club have confirmed that indeed Kristen is now the youngest to run seven marathons on seven continents in the shortest time, which is 89 days.

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