Edwin Broersma, marathoner Jackie Hunt-Brorasma trains at San Tan Mountain Regional Park on August 28, 2021, in San Tan Valley, AZ. Hunt-Borsma lost her left leg below the knee to a rare form of cancer, but that didn’t stop her and continues to try to cover the classic 26.2-mile marathon distance at least 102 times in 102 days Will set a new world record. The Boston Marathon on April 18 is expected to be number 92 in her run.
“The first thing I did after running today was my legs. Feeling great,” she tweeted. “Marathon turns 69. 31 marathons to go. ,
That was last month, and she’s still running—the classic 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometre) marathon distance day in, day out, rain or shine, sometimes on a treadmill, but mostly at her home in Gilbert, Arizona. On nearby roads and trails. , If his streak continues at the Boston Marathon on April 18, it will be marathon number 92.
Jackie Hunt-Borsma began her unusual pursuit in mid-January, covering the classic 26.2-mile marathon distance every day. The South African native runs on a special carbon-fibre blade, completing most of her marathons on a loop near her home or indoors on a treadmill. She will run the Boston Marathon on April 18, number 92 in her streak. Hunt-Borsma says she hopes others will realize they are stronger than they think.
“You make peace with the pain,” she said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I think my pain threshold is probably pretty high at the moment. It’s one step at a time.”
Boston is the only certified marathoner she is embracing in her quest. The other is running near her house or indoors on a treadmill at one of two ends—a monotonous machine many runners call a “treadmill.”
In 2001, while she and her Dutch husband were living in the Netherlands, Hunt-Brörsma was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, rare cancer most commonly seen in children. Overnight, a golf ball-sized bulge appeared on an old trail that had become tender. A biopsy confirmed the worst-case scenario, and within weeks, his leg was amputated below the knee.
Until five years ago, she wasn’t athletic at all, but getting started was expensive. Carbon-fibre blades designed for walking cost about $10,000 and are not covered by health insurance. Survivors of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, which killed three spectators and injured 260 others, ran into the same problems as they sought to reclaim their lives.
“Running really changed my life,” she said. “It helped me accept myself as a crippled person. It gave me a sense of freedom. I fell in love with the process of moving my body to see what I could do.”
She worried that her stump would become raw and painful, and the first two weeks were rough. Since then, however, she has settled into a sustainable rhythm, taking care of the ice and massaging the stump. When it swelled, she moved into a running prosthesis with a little more room.
But there are also mental challenges on the road to 102, which began on January 17. On a recent outing, Hunt-Borsma—who has averaged a little over five hours per marathon—felt close to falling at 15 miles (24 kilometres) and burst into tears. Suddenly the whole Odyssey was in doubt.
