Beginning this coming Sunday, I will be heading out on an around the world journey that will be a major adventure. I have written about this months ago and mentioned it numerous times since then (including posts about segments of the planning) but I wanted to write about it to fully explain to you that may have not known about it before – it is almost here!
On September 6th, I will begin running 1 marathon distance (26.2 miles) on each of 6 continents in less than 5 days. Of course, all of the travels have been booked with miles and points! To make the travel portion as easy as possible (because I have done something similar before in coach and know the agony!), I am booked in first/business class for the entire journey.
Washington, DC – The Final City & 6th Marathon
I will be having a separate post tomorrow about the final run in Washington, DC. I am very honored that Glenn from Military Frequent Flyer will be accompanying me on that final run. We will be running as much of the actual Marine Corps Marathon route as possible. You can come out and run 1 mile with us or all 26.2!
When And Where Is It?
This event will kickoff on the afternoon of September 6 (local time Eastern Europe) and will conclude in the early afternoon of September 10 (local time East Coast USA). Here is the schedule and locations of the runs:
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Why Do This?
The answer to this is actually three-fold. Here they are in no particular order:
Show How To Travel The World For (Almost) Free
I am really excited to use this opportunity to show other runners what is really possible with miles and points for travel around the world. I will literally be flying around the world for under $250 – and doing so in mostly business and first class cabins (not to mention flying the longest segment in the best first class cabin in the sky!).
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Show What Part Running Can Play In Travel And Endurance
I am excited about using this trip to show those who may not have the running bug yet how fun and exciting running can be. It really opens up a lot of the world through a different lens as you take it all in from the ground. Not only is it a great way to cover a lot of ground in a short time, but many marathons give you the opportunity to see cities in ways that are only ever possible on race days.
Though I will not actually be running in official marathons, I look forward to showing some of that through my runs. In addition to all of that, I also look forward to sharing along the way as running marathons can really show you what you are made of. Running an event like this accelerates that education quite a bit so hopefully my experience will help you realize how much fun it can be!
Raise Money For Wounded Warrior Project
Finally, but certainly not least, I am excited to be using this event to benefit the wonderfulWounded Warrior Project, a non-profit that works with and helps our nation’s veterans who have “incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound, co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001 and their families.”
As an asthmatic, I would never have been able to join the military as I had to use an inhaler. But, just because I was never able to serve next to our brave soldiers, it does not mean that I cannot do my own small part in helping to demonstrate my appreciation for their sacrifice and service. I have purposely designed to have this event end in our nation’s capitol on the eve of the 14th anniversary of 9/11. That day drove many young men and woman to join the military to do their part and I want to honor that service by raising money to help them.
wounded warrior project fundraising link
My fundraising goal for this event is $17,000, the cost that I would have had to pay had I desired to book all of these tickets using cash instead of miles and points. That is a huge difference compared to what I am actually spending and I think that number is a good goal to set. Please help me help our veterans by contributing to this worthy charity. I do not receive anything in return for raising money for them other than the satisfaction that I am able to do a little something to say thanks. If you are unfamiliar with the Wounded Warrior Project, please check this page for more information.
What This Is Not
This is not a world-record attempt. I am, obviously, skipping the most difficult and expensive continent to reach – Antarctica. That is entirely intentional. As stated above, one of the goals is to show what is possible with miles and points. It is not that feasible to use miles and points for travel to Antarctica. Since I am not hitting Antarctica, this would not be considered any type of a record.
This is not an organized event or race. These marathon-distance runs are just that – marathon distances and not races. This is not an organized event in the sense that other runners can join for the sake of winning a race. I do want other runners to join me but it will be for the run and companionship and not for competition as there is no race.
If you want to participate in a race even that touches all continents, consider the world marathon challenge (they completed 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days as a group this year) or the triple 7 quest (they were held up by weather on the last leg so completed 7 marathons on 7 continents in 11 days). Of course, it is not possible to book those trips with miles so you will need to pay – over $34,000 for the World Marathon Challenge (all flights are in business class) and the Triple 7 Quest is $14,000 (flights are in coach). Note: While the World Marathon Challenge is set for 2016, the Triple 7 Quest will not be run until 2017.
Summary
A lot of training, planning, and preparation has gone into this. I am really excited to share this journey with you along the way and would greatly appreciate you telling your running friends/family about this so they can see an example of how running and almost free travel can be combined!
I will be tremendously honored and humbled if you would donate to the Wounded Warrior Project on behalf of this event. There are so many veterans that have given a lot in honor of the USA. As someone who was unable to serve due to my asthma, I have a deep appreciation for our armed forces and take this as a special opportunity to do a little something to try and help them. If I could have your help with this as well, I would be so thankful! – wounded warrior project fundraising link
way to go! so proud of you!
Amazing, maybe a little crazy, defnitely very cool! Good luck and be safe!
Good luck, particularly with that Abu Dhabi heat. Look forward to reading about it.
do you have an IG to follow?