Jacky Hunt-Broersma, a native of South Africa, set her goal in mid-January. And since then she has run 26.2 miles every day, about the distance of a marathon. On Saturday, she completed her 104th consecutive(连续的) marathon—an achievement she expects to be confirmed by Guinness World Records. A spokesperson said confirming the record would take around three months. If confirmed, she would then hold the world record for completing 104 back-to-back marathon runs, two more than her original goal. The current world record of 101 marathons was set April 10 by British runner Kate Jayden. The 35-year-old Jayden does not have a disability.
Hunt-Broersma lost the bottom half of her left leg to a rare form of cancer in 2001. “The biggest struggle was accepting that part of my body was gone,” she said. Hunt-Broersma said that until five years ago, she was not very active. But then she looked into running and decided to give it a try. The sport ended up being quite costly. Currently, she runs on a prosthetic(假肢的) leg made out of a strong, light material known as carbon fiber. The carbon fiber blade(刀锋) she uses, which is designed specifically for running, costs about $10,000.
But Hunt-Broersma says her investment has been well worth it. “Running really changed my life,” she said. “It helped me accept myself as an amputee(被截肢者). It gave me a sense of freedom. I fell in love with the process of pushing my body further just to see what I could do.” However, she faced both physical and mental difficulties during her record-breaking attempt. One day, Hunt-Broersma said she felt near collapse at 24 kilometers and began to cry. In that moment, she felt like her planned goal might not happen at all.
Hunt-Broersma is hoping to inspire a single thought in others, regardless of their own physical limitations. She tells people, “You’re stronger than you think and you’re capable of so much more.”
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