{"id":173780,"date":"2026-03-01T11:31:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/173780\/"},"modified":"2026-03-01T11:31:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T11:31:07","slug":"7-marathons-7-days-7-continents-orlando-runner-places-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/173780\/","title":{"rendered":"7 marathons, 7 days, 7 continents: Orlando runner places first"},"content":{"rendered":"

Imagine running one marathon, an impressive feat by anyone\u2019s standards. Now try to envision running seven marathons in as many consecutive days, all on different continents.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what Orlando resident Beth Reed<\/a> did, and she made quick work of it too. With an overall average time of 3 hours, 39 minutes and 28 seconds<\/a>, Reed placed first among 16 women competing in the World Marathon Challenge<\/a>, which celebrated its ninth edition this year with more than 50 total entrants.<\/p>\n

The races began<\/a> at Ultima Basecamp, Antarctica, before continuing to Cape Town, South Africa, then Perth, Australia. The challenge then headed to the Middle East for a race in Dubai, then Madrid, Spain, then Fortaleza, Brazil, finally wrapping up in Miami.<\/p>\n

As someone who has run 31 marathons, including all six of the original world marathon majors, Reed, 42, was no stranger to going the distance. Still, there\u2019s a big difference between running one marathon in a week versus seven.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was doing 90-100 miles a week,\u201d she said of her training regimen. \u201cIn typical marathon training, you\u2019ll do a long run every weekend. For this one, I was doing back to back long runs most weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OrlandoOrlando resident Beth Reed runs in Antarctica during the World Marathon Challenge, which had runners completing seven marathons in as many days on all seven continents. (Kyle LaFerriere\/Courtesy of World Marathon Challenge)<\/p>\n

Reed ran in junior high, then fell in love with the sport again while living in New York City, where her run club convinced her to run the New York Marathon in 2010. More than a decade later, she signed up for the World Marathon Challenge as a 40th birthday present to herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a once in a lifetime thing,\u201d Reed said. \u201cI had some idea of what was going to happen but I really didn\u2019t, actually, as it turns out.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s quite the contrast going from frigid, blustery Antarctica to Australia, where the temperature soared into triple digits.<\/p>\n

\"OrlandoOrlando resident Beth Reed runs in Perth, Australia, during the World Marathon Challenge, which had runners completing seven marathons in as many days on all seven continents. (Richard Ducker\/Courtesy of World Marathon Challenge)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went through some extreme temperatures,\u201d Reed said. \u201c[Perth] was my favorite because you\u2019re running along on a bike path along the water. You had the sunsets and the moonrise with the city just absolutely beautiful and stunning in the background.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each marathon had an 8-hour time limit, and Reed was done in under four hours in all but one race, Antarctica. That gave her a little extra time to pack and dine out in each place, but with a new continent to visit every day, there wasn\u2019t much time to spare.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can only see so much of a culture through one dining experience, but I was able to get out a little bit,\u201d she said, highlighting the experience of eating Manchego cheese in Spain.<\/p>\n

\"OrlandoOrlando resident Beth Reed runs in Cape Town, South Africa, during the World Marathon Challenge, which had runners completing seven marathons in as many days on all seven continents. (Richard Ducker\/Courtesy of World Marathon Challenge)<\/p>\n

Even though the experience of running back-to-back marathons is exhausting, sometimes sleep was hard to come by on this epic journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re meeting all these new people and you\u2019re excited. When you\u2019re done running and you get on the plane, you almost want to just chat all night or hang out. You have to remember the plane is where you sleep,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThere\u2019s people who I met who I\u2019ll probably be in touch with for the rest of my life. Some of us have already talked about, \u2018When\u2019s our next marathon?’\u201d<\/p>\n

The runner\u2019s fastest and final marathon of this challenge was run close to home in Miami. Finishing with a time of 3 hours, 20 minutes and 55 seconds, Reed crossed the Florida finish line around 2:30 a.m. on the last day with her husband and mother-in-law there to celebrate with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey sprayed me with champagne and brought flowers, then we got cheeseburgers at like 5 a.m. It was one of the best nights in recent memory,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a nice little bonus to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OrlandoOrlando resident Beth Reed shows off her medal collection following the World Marathon Challenge, which had runners completing seven marathons in as many days on all seven continents. (Max Moody\/Courtesy of World Marathon Challenge)<\/p>\n

On her adventurous journey, Reed brought home life lessons in addition to her medals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one example of remembering to live and not just exist. It sounds so simple but it\u2019s something that\u2019s hard to do,\u201d she said. \u201cI think that\u2019s an important reminder. You don\u2019t always know when you\u2019ll be injured or sick. When you\u2019re healthy and you can do things, you should definitely capitalize on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Find me\u00a0@PConnPie on Instagram<\/a>\u00a0or send me an email:\u00a0pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. Stay up to date with our latest travel, arts and events coverage by subscribing to our newsletters at\u00a0orlandosentinel.com\/newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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