Couple in 60s Sets New Marathon Record!

[drghfx]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/01/01 ... hole-year/

Couple in their 60s set world record after running a marathon every day for a whole year

Jonathan Pearlman, The Telegraph | January 1, 2014 | Last Updated: Jan 1 8:32 PM ET

A couple in their 60s have finished running a marathon each day, every day, for the past year.

The pair ate up to 30 bananas each a day as they completed a trek of almost 16,000 kilometres around Australia.

The couple, both raw vegans from New Zealand, ended their journey with an extra marathon to their home in Melbourne at 5 a.m. on New Year’s Day to set the world record.

Janette Murray-Wakelin, 64, and Alan Murray, 68, rose at 4 a.m. each day and ran 366 consecutive marathons with no days off. Ms. Murray-Wakelin said she was looking forward to a break and planned to sleep in, do some gardening and spend time with her grandchildren — and then go running the next day.

“You don’t stop doing something that works,” she told Fairfax Media.

During the run, the couple skirted a cyclone, floods, a bushfire and a hail storm near Perth, during which they took a half-hour break and drank a vegetable smoothie before continuing through the heavy weather.

Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray ate up to 30 bananas each a day as they completed a trek of almost 16,000 kilometres around Australia. The couple, both raw vegans from New Zealand, ended their journey with an extra marathon to their home in Melbourne at 5 a.m. on New Year's Day to set the world record..Ms. Murray-Wakelin missed the birth of her fifth grandchild in June, but was running in south Queensland when a motorcycle rider called out her name and revealed he was a cousin she had not seen in 45 years. He apparently said “Good to see ya” before rushing off to work.

The couple’s standard day involved eating 10 bananas, a grapefruit, and a date smoothie for breakfast, then another 10 bananas at 8 a.m., a green smoothie at 9 a.m., a fruit salad at the 19-mile mark, three oranges at the 23-mile mark, before finishing at 4 p.m. and eating an avocado, vegetable juice and a salad for dinner.
“The first few weeks we were sore, breaking ourselves in,” Mr. Murray told ABC Radio. “After that, it actually became easier every day. I really don’t think we’ve had any days when we didn’t think we could make it. But we had a few longer days through extremes of heat. We had some 44 [C] degree days going up into Canberra.”

The run is understood to have beaten the world record set in 2011 by a Belgian, Stefaan Engels, who completed 365 marathons in a year.

Ms. Murray-Wakelin and Mr. Murray were assisted by volunteers who helped with supplies and driving a support van. They used the run to raise money for charity.

[ian]

I think I'd be torturing my body less by trying to run a marathon every day than by trying to eat ten bananas at a time three times every day.

[Habs4ever]

I think I'd be torturing my body less by trying to run a marathon every day than by trying to eat ten bananas at a time three times every day.

I was thinking along those same lines. I would need a truck towing a port-a-potty!

[5km]

I think I'd be torturing my body less by trying to run a marathon every day than by trying to eat ten bananas at a time three times every day.

I was thinking along those same lines. I would need a truck towing a port-a-potty!

30 bananas per day .... Crikey!

[jamix]

I think I'd be torturing my body less by trying to run a marathon every day than by trying to eat ten bananas at a time three times every day.

I was thinking along those same lines. I would need a truck towing a port-a-potty!

30 bananas per day .... Crikey!

10 bananas as a single meal isn't as enomorous as one might think. It's a tad over a 1000 calories and 30 would be about 3300 calories or so. The average person takes around 2000 / day, and some athletes like Micheal Phelps are reported to have ingested over 10,000 calories per day during training; http://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/14 ... -everyone/

If you really want disgusting, check this out; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttC7KbE_uDo

[Jwolf]

This couple's running accomplishment is hugely impressive! I want to do that when I'm 60.

[DLS]

This is my friend Alana's parents -- they are the COOLEST. They spent years living with their kids on a sailboat in Papua New Guinea, then decided to run a barge in the canals of Europe for a change of pace. In 2000, they ran the length of New Zealand. Because of all that history, I didn't think this was very strange for them. I expect to see them pulling all kinds of cool stuff like this until they're 100.

Alana's mum had breast cancer about 10 years ago I think, and that caused a big change in their diet and lifestyle: more running, and a raw food diet. they seem to be thriving on it, so even though it's not something I think of doing (at least not until I live in a sub-tropical climate!), it seems to be working for them.

[Jwolf]

This is my friend Alana's parents -- they are the COOLEST. They spent years living with their kids on a sailboat in Papua New Guinea, then decided to run a barge in the canals of Europe for a change of pace. In 2000, they ran the length of New Zealand. Because of all that history, I didn't think this was very strange for them. I expect to see them pulling all kinds of cool stuff like this until they're 100.

Alana's mum had breast cancer about 10 years ago I think, and that caused a big change in their diet and lifestyle: more running, and a raw food diet. they seem to be thriving on it, so even though it's not something I think of doing (at least not until I live in a sub-tropical climate!), it seems to be working for them.

Very cool.

[Dr. S]

That's awesome!

[Pat Menzies]

There could be so much more to this story apart from food intake.

[Jwolf]

There could be so much more to this story apart from food intake.

I really wish that hadn't been the focus of the article.

[Pat Menzies]

It always is the focus when it comes to raw food and veganism. They also wore Vibram five fingers so minimalism would be the next topic before any actual running was mentioned.

[DLS]

True enough -- and they are a bit focused on the food thing. Their website is "Running Raw", so they likely directed the interviews in that direction.

I just think it's cool that at 64 and 68, they aren't saying, "Maybe I should slow down..."

[Robinandamelia]

Truly amazing...good for them.

I got hung up on the 30 bananas a day too though...If I eat more than 1 it plugs me up!