Erchana Murray-Bartlett just completed 150 marathons in 150 days. One marathon is 26.2 miles, so that means she ran 3,900 miles; her route took her from the “tip to the toe” as she has named it. The previous record was 106 days of consecutive marathons by Kate Jayden. While both of these women had great achievements in running, they also did something greater for our world—Kate completed her streak to raise money for refugees; Erchana took a different approach and used her Instagram account to raise awareness of the threat to Australia’s biodiversity. She ended up raising $70,000 for her cause.

Erchana has been professionally running for many years, but it wasn’t until she missed qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics that she went for her next goal—a Guinness World Record. Erchana has been training for road races at a high-level, so she had to back off of her current training. Before the race, she even focused on putting MORE weight on, to ensure that she would be strong enough to battle the potential weight loss that she would face. She took in about 5,000 – 6,000 calories a day, and still lost weight. This shows how hard she was working through these 150 days. She still struggled mentally and physically, as one would assume. However, after working through the first three weeks with injuries, her body adjusted to the added mileage, and they subsided. She ran to her goal through changing terrain, rain, and heat. She went through 10 pairs of training shoes, and her feet swelled an entire size by the finish, but she never gave up.

Erchana didn’t only raise awareness for Australia’s biodiversity, she inspired many along her journey. In an Instagram post from Day 150, she wrote, “Make me one promise – follow your dreams. Please please please follow your dreams…” A man who ran 24 marathons in 24 months posted on his Instagram page, “wethefame”; in part of the caption he wrote, “The sheer thought of this accomplishment amazes and inspires me. This is not to say that everyone can accomplish this if they put their mind to it, but it does make one think, what if I’m not living up to my full potential?”