From the tip of the Cape to the Tan, this woman has made it to the record books the hard way
Erchana Murray-Bartlett is utterly exhausted on the last leg of her mission to run 150 consecutive marathons, but also sad it’s coming to an end.
Murray-Bartlett plans to submit her final distance to Guinness World Records on Tuesday to be officiated as the world record holder with 150 marathons in a row. (Image: Supplied)
The 32-year-old nutritionist set off on her 150-day pilgrimage from Cape York in Queensland’s far north on August 20 last year. She will finish up at Melbourne’s Tan Track on Monday having run 42.2 kilometres each day.
Murray-Bartlett broke the world record for most consecutive daily marathons run by a woman on day 107, and will end her mission with 6330km under her belt.
The runner plans to submit her final distance to Guinness World Records on Tuesday to be officiated as the world record holder with 150 marathons in a row.
“I’m very excited that it’s coming to an end because my body needs it, but I’m going to be very sad,” Murray-Bartlett told AAP on Monday.
“I’ve loved meeting people, I’ve loved running with communities, being shown around … meeting wildlife volunteers and parks representatives and members of parliament.
“There’s definitely going to be a lot of stuff that I’ve learned from this that I’m going to take into the next part of my life.”
At the 150-day mark, Murray-Bartlett’s feet had swelled by a whole shoe size, her hips and knees hurt with every step, and her head pounded as she ran. But still, she was grateful to not have any injuries.
She coincidentally started her trek a few days before Nedd Brockmann set out on his 4000km charity run.
“I’m going to finish at 6pm at the Pillars of Wisdom and then I’m going to have a chardonnay and put my feet up,” Murray-Bartlett said.
She ran the marathon mission via a circuitous route, inviting the community to join her on every run, and raised more than $101,000 for the Wilderness Society along the way.
In a bid to showcase Australia’s environment to national and overseas social media followers, Murray-Bartlett’s journey took her “off the beaten track”.
She’s trekked along Cape York’s Old Telegraph Track, the Daintree Rainforest and Victoria’s High Country among other places.
“So, I’ve seen a lot of terrain – I don’t have a particular favourite,” Murray-Bartlett said.
“They’re all beautiful and necessary in their own unique way.”
Murray-Bartlett planned to stay in Melbourne until mid-February, when she had to return a donated camper to Brisbane.
The trip up north would almost be like a “victory lap” going back through the places she ran, but without having to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning, she said.
As for what’s next, Murray-Bartlett said she hadn’t had time to think about it, but was sure it would make more ground towards protecting the environment.
