At least one amazing duo rang in the new year by meeting and completing their 2024 resolution, and it was a lofty one! About this time last year we learned about a couple who planned to run a marathon each day and make their way around the continent of Australia. Long story short: The couple ran into 2024 by finishing their 366th consecutive marathon.
Here’s a bit of background on the undertaking in case you missed our initial post: Last January 1st, Alan Murray and Janette Murray-Wakelin left Melbourne on foot for their first marathon of 2024. The 60-year-old grandparents set out to break a record, raise money for charity, and simply draw awareness to healthy living.
The couple woke daily at 4 AM and ran 26.2 miles each and every day, covering almost 10,000 miles around Australia. During their journey, they dealt with cyclones, floods, brushfire, and as The Telegraph reported, a hail storm in Perth that forced them to take a 30-minute smoothie break.
Speaking of smoothies, the two runners completed this journey on a completely raw vegan diet. The daily wake-up call came with a breakfast of 10 bananas, a grapefruit, and a date smoothie. Per The Telegraph, their days were chock-full of fruits: The runners had 10 more bananas at 8AM, a green smoothie around 9, fruit salads about 19 miles into the run, oranges around the 23rd mile mark, a finish-line treat of avocado and vegetable juice, and a salad for dinner.
While their diet raised a lot of skeptics eyebrows last January, it apparently worked. The couple reported feeling sore the first few weeks, but felt great toward the end. They ran an extra day to complete 366 consecutive marathons, breaking the previous world record. After their 366th marathon in Melbourne on January 1, 2024, the couple stated they planned to take off the following day, then start running again.
The Murray’s goals were lofty. They had the time and assistance to pull off such a big running goal. As 2024 is settling in, consider some more attainable goals to get you where you’d like to be next New Years Eve. Consider joining Jantastic, a social movement to help runners of all levels get through the first 3 months of winter with month long goals. The first round of goals starts on January 6 and last until February, where another goal is then set. The social chatter and hashtags can help the most novice of runner stay accountable to the community and get through those tough first weeks of a new habit.
You don’t have to take on running an entire continent to be accomplished when the next New Year’s ball drops. Set your goals, put the accountability in place and make 2024 your best year yet.
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