When amputee athlete Jacky Hunt-Broersma says, "I can do hard things," she means it: the amputee has raced 104 marathons in as many days, all while wearing a carbon-fiber prosthetic.
Hunt-Broersma, 46, finished the journey on Saturday near her home in Phoenix's suburbs, breaking an unofficial world record in the process.
"What an adventure," she said on Twitter.
After commencing her record attempt on Jan. 17, the South African native, who lost her left leg below the knee to a rare malignancy, attracted international attention and a large social media following.
Brick Runners, a charity that helps runners who collect money for charities, even created a Lego-style character inspired by Jacky, replete with one of her favorite T-shirts, "Strong Has Many Forms."
Hunt-Broersma also collected almost $67,000 to assist other amputee blade runners in obtaining the costly prosthesis they require. The cost, which might approach $10,000, is usually not covered by health insurance.
She has run the traditional 26.2-mile (42.2-kilometer) marathon distance every day since mid-January, either on a loop track near her house in Gilbert, Arizona, or on a treadmill inside.
Her original objective was to run 100 marathons in 100 days to break Alyssa Amos Clark's record of 95 established in 2020 as a pandemic coping tactic by a non-disabled runner from Bennington, Vermont. Hunt-Broersma recognized she'd need to run at least 102 marathons when non-disabled British runner Kate Jayden unofficially beat Clark's record with 101 marathons in 101 days last month.
She told The Associated Press that she believed her mission would inspire others all throughout the world to push themselves beyond their physical limits.
Her original objective was to run 100 marathons in 100 days to break Alyssa Amos Clark's record of 95 established in 2020 as a pandemic coping tactic by a non-disabled runner from Bennington, Vermont. Hunt-Broersma recognized she'd need to run at least 102 marathons when non-disabled British runner Kate Jayden unofficially beat Clark's record with 101 marathons in 101 days last month.
She told The Associated Press that she believed her mission would inspire others all throughout the world to push themselves beyond their physical limits.
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