Two American endurance athletes have just redefined the meaning of the term “globetrotter.”
Daniel Cartica, of Chicago, and Becca Pizzi, of Belmont, Massachusetts, won the World Marathon Challenge, completing seven marathons in seven days on all seven continents.
Each did it in world-record time, and both became the first U.S. competitors to win the strength-sapping event.
Cartica is a U.S. Marine Corps captain, and Pizzi is a day care center operator.
They and 13 others began Jan. 23 with a marathon in Antarctica and on consecutive days ran the 26.2-mile distance in Chile, Miami, Spain, Morocco and United Arab Emirates. They finished Friday with a marathon in Sydney.
Cartica averaged 3 hours 33 minutes per marathon, while Pizzi’s average was also well under 4 hours (her fastest was 3 hours 41 minutes in Miami).
“We just made history,” Pizzi told The Associated Press. “I believed in myself since the moment I signed up for it. I went for it and got it done. When you believe in yourself, anything is possible.”
Cartica, 27, dedicated his run to the four Marines and sailor killed in July when a gunman attacked a U.S. Naval Reserve Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Pizzi, 35, was the first woman across the finish line in all seven races.
They now join a club more elite than those who have voyaged into space or scaled Mount Everest.
To learn more about the World Marathon Challenge click here.
