Jacky Hunt-Broersma thought to herself, "Well, that would be interesting to try and do." Especially running on a leg that isn't made of metal.
The Guinness World Records could take up to a year to approve, as Hunt-Broersma broke the record with 104 marathons in 104 days, including the Boston Marathon.
Her original challenge was 100 in 100, but a British woman set that record just days before Hunt-Broersma finished, so she added two more days. For fun.
Hunt-Broersma lost her lower left leg to a rare form of cancer in 2001 and lives in Arizona with her husband and children.
As part of her challenge, she raised over $192,000 for Amputee Blade Runners, but her primary ambition was simply a personal challenge, and to put in some base miles for an ultra run in Utah later this year.
In the US, running blades are expensive and health insurance doesn't cover them, so they see it as a luxury. I thought it would be a good way to raise money for charity and give back, Hunt-Broersma said.
Even though I wasn't doing it before surgery, you kind of take for granted, because you could just put a pair of shoes on and go.
Hunt-Broersma always lived a fit lifestyle, but she thought running ultras was crazy.
After her surgery, she found motivation in the same place that helped her fight cancer. She says amputees are often told by medical professionals that they can't do certain things.
She said, "You kind of get put in this box of being disabled and it's really annoying and I'm super stubborn and I want to try it."
She took the plunge and invested $10,000 in a running blade because regular prosthetics are unsuitable and she enjoyed having fun with it.
Running gave her something to be proud of, as she found that running changed her life and gave her a sense of acceptance of her body.
I am more proud of who I am and what my body looks like, and I am grateful for running because it definitely has changed my perception.
She was careful not to lose weight even though she was running a lot.
The challenge involved 2728 miles and an excess of 250,000 calories, but Hunt-Broersma could not eat what she wanted. There is a lot of trial and error in the fueling process for long distance running.
She realized she had to fuel for recovery and load for the next day, as she was running across lunch time most days, to make sure she ate enough.
She said that she gained weight, but it was more muscle.
You make peace with the pain.
Hunt-Broersma is a coach by day, and reduced her commitments while taking on this challenge, which became a full-time job.
She got the same heavy-leg feeling every day. Sometimes the fatigue would stick around for a few days, and other times she would feel fresh again, in the same way all runners experience good days and bad days.
The South African said that he gets used to it and that his body is feeling tired.
You just suck it up and you know what you need to get on with, because you have a target.
Getting up in the morning was the hardest thing to do. You just kind of motivate yourself. You get out of bed and think, "I just want to do something else today, I didn't want to run." I would be happy to go to the store and just walk around.
There are days when you don't want to go to your job, but you have to get paid in the end. It is forcing you to do it because you know what you want to do.
There were ugly points during the runs. She said that one day she sat down and cried some ugly tears, and that she was done with it.
You know how disappointed you would be to give up and the other part is to just focus on getting to the next step. You get to the next mile and then at the end you know you have done a marathon.
It has been a roller coaster, sometimes I feel terrible, but other days I feel great. I don't know why, I don't know how I'm doing it, and I thought I'd just get it done.
I hate quitting on anything so I just need to do it.
If you can train your brain to keep pushing through, then you are ok, because running is so much more mental than anything.
She had a tread on her artificial limb in the last few days. She had to phone her husband to bring some glue because of the long challenge and how much load it could take.
Every day is the same.
At the end of every day, Hunt-Broersma would be pictured holding a sign up with her total count and post on social media where she built up a growing following. She was always smiling and focused on one day at a time rather than the bigger picture.
It is like you are sleepwalking a little bit. She said that every day is the same and that it is the strangest sensation.
She had more than one job to manage. As her husband prepared for his own race, parenting became a tag-team effort.
The routine was to get up, get ready, take her two children to school, run a marathon, and finish in time to pick them up or be there when they walked home.
I had to make do with what time I had, so it was just literally just putting it in, some days I started a little later.
Her routes were different. From a time perspective road running was quicker and easier to fit into the day compared to running trails. She was often joined by other people, which was a good distraction.
The heat in Arizona was in the middle of the day. Her stump, which was swollen by road running, attracted many questions from other amputees.
She ran laps around a long gravel track near the school so as to not stray too far from home, and threw in some treadmill days which have a softer impact. Her children would show their peers that she really was running.
She said that they would tell their friends at school, but their friends wouldn't believe them. My mom can run 100 marathons in 100 days.
The inspiration filters down and sets a tone for the children.
She said she hopes it will teach her children that it is good to push the limits.
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