Man wins seven marathons in seven continents race

A runner has become the first British person to win a seven marathons on seven continents in seven days challenge.

Paul Holborn, 40, from Sunderland, won the World Marathon Challenge, which saw him run 26.2 miles (42.2 km) in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, UAE, Spain, Brazil and USA all within a week.

Mr Holborn, who now lives in Texas, had never completed a marathon before signing up for the event 19 months ago, but felt "depressed" after giving up on his fitness.

A former professional boxer, he said the challenge "seemed so impossible" and that "just the thought of doing one marathon was always crazy".

Mr Holborn gave up boxing at 27 after 15 professional fights and moved to Canada, where he said his "fitness just went".

Eventually moving to Texas, he said he could not work out why he was "so depressed" before putting it down to a lack of exercise.

So, Mr Holborn decided to search for the hardest event he could find and along came the World Marathon Challenge.

"It seemed so impossible," he said.

"That was 19 months ago. There was no way I could run that far, never mind seven."

The 40-year-old said he immediately "lived a better life" and, as preparation, ran his first marathon in three hours one minute.

"I thought I was going to go there, show up and maybe get 25th position," he said.

"But I found out I was competitive here after two races, I was ahead by a few minutes."

Starting in Antarctica, Mr Holborn and the other 35 male competitors flew to Cape Town then Perth, Dubai, Madrid and Fortaleza, before finishing in Miami.

"I went into it just to have fun, but now I was on the start line feeling sick, like I might lose this advantage."

But after the Dubai marathon, a win started to feel realistic.

He finished with an average time of 03:22:36.

Mr Holborn said despite travelling across all seven continents, he did not get to see much of them.

"A lot of these places sound great, but you don't see any of them," he said.

For most races, it was straight off the plane, on the bus and to the start line.

He recalls starting the Perth leg in the early hours of the morning.

But he said he loved the "silence and beauty" of Antarctica, where the temperature was about 5C (23F).

"It actually felt hot when we got off the plane because the sun's hitting you from every direction," he said.

"Someone asked me how Antarctica was different to Sunderland, and I said it was the sunshine."

Mr Holborn raised nearly £4,000 for Age UK Sunderland in the process.

Mr Holborn crossed the final finish line in Miami on 6 February with his friends and family waiting for him with a Sunderland AFC shirt.

But he said he still did not know how he managed to run seven marathons.

"I have no idea, I just haven't had the chance to digest it," he said.

"A lot of people say it's downhill when you're 40. Honestly it's not.

"I'm fitter now in the running world than I was when I was 27.

"It's never too late."

Two weeks on, Mr Holborn said his body felt OK after the challenge - albeit with very tight hip flexors.

"I don't know how. My body showed up for me," he said.

"When I finished the last run, I felt like I could go running again the next day."

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