104 and no more: Amputee wraps up marathon record quest

Jacky Hunt-Broersma, amputee, says that her mantra is “I can do difficult things.” She’s not lying when she says that Jacky Hunt-Broersma has run 104 marathons in a matter of days using a carbon fiber prosthesis.

Hunt-Broersma (46), completed the epic journey Saturday near her suburban Phoenix home, setting an unofficial record.

“What a journey!” she tweeted.

The South African native, who had lost her left leg below the knee due to a rare form of cancer, received worldwide attention after she attempted her record attempt in January 2017.

Brick Runners, an organisation that supports athletes raising money for charity, designed a Jacky-inspired Lego character complete with her favorite T-shirts. reads”Strong Can Take Many Forms”

Hunt-Broersma also raised over US$67,000 for fellow amputee blade runners to get the prostheses they require. The cost of prostheses can be more than $10,000 and is not usually covered by health insurance.

She ran the classic marathon distance of 26.2-miles (42.2-kilometres) every day starting in January.

Her original goal was 100 marathons in 100 consecutive days to beat the record of Alyssa Amos, a nondisabled runner who ran it as a pandemic strategy. Hunt-Broersma realized that she needed to run at least 101 marathons after Kate Jayden, a nondisabled British runner, broke Clark’s record of 101 in 101 days.

She talked to The Associated Press about the interview. saidShe hoped that people would be inspired by her quest to overcome physical limitations.

Amanda Marcus is Guinness World Records spokesperson saidHunt-Broersma was known to the Britain-based group, and it took 12 to 15 weeks for them to review the evidence.

Guinness lists Enzo Caporaso, an Italian man who set the record for consecutive daily marathons for men at 59.