Running The 'World's Hardest Marathon'

Content Executive2 years ago

Testing the physical limit of his body is just another day in the office for Stan Browney. So with no prior running experience, why wouldn’t he choose to run the world’s hardest marathon?

To make it worth his while, Stan roped best friend Arjen in on the ‘fun’ and hired them a pretty cool pad for the duration of the challenge, set in a forest with what looks like endless running routes from their doorstep.

For 24 straight hours Stan and Arjen will run a mile every hour – the mathematicians among us will realise that's 24 miles – around the length of a marathon.

At just two hours into the challenge, with two miles under their belts it was time for some fuel. And expecting to burn a whopping 5,000 calories each, they needed it.

With daylight fast disappearing, running wasn’t the only thing on their minds.

A safe route to run while it was pitch black was now top priority. Especially considering it would be dark for 12 hours and 12 miles.

By 7pm the darkness was taking hold. Run eight required flashlights and head torches.

And while blood wasn’t required, it arrived nonetheless due to Stan’s middle toe opening up. But the show must go on – after a dip in the hot tub of course.

10pm rolled around and the attire changed to include thermals. At least motivation increased when the run included picking up a takeaway.

Watch the guys in action:

You may have made the mistake thinking that running one mile an hour would be easy, however proper sleep is not on the cards in this event. Staying awake consisted of playing connect four, and dreading the next run.

After a long, cold night of interrupted sleep, sore calves, soup, and dread, motivation kicked in again when the sun reappeared plus their host put together a feast for the runners.

With 24 miles under their belt, all that remained between them and completing the world’s hardest marathon was 2.2 miles.

Stan and Arjen completed the final distance within the allotted 24 hours. As if it was ever in doubt…

Take Home Message

Do not try this at home. 24 miles in 24 hours sounds easy on paper. Reality hits different though. While Stan Browney, and best friend Arjen, didn’t explicitly say they regretted it, the injuries, the exhaustion, and the looks on their faces said it all.

Another major challenge checked off for this duo – be sure to follow Stan on YouTube for more of his fitness adventures and antics.

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Emily Wilcock

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After completing an internship with Myprotein, Emily returned to university to finish her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Marketing. With experience in lifestyle writing, Emily aims to entertain and educate through her work. Her focuses include recipes, real and inspiring stories, and working with writers to help provide easy-to-digest evidence-based research. Her work on recipes has been previously featured in The Supplement magazine, with a particular focus on high-protein, nutritious meals, plus advice on how to properly fuel your body. Outside of work, Emily’s top priority is food. She’s a self-professed star baker and a connoisseur of all things baked. In her spare time, she’s either cooking up a storm, our looking out for the opportunity to try out Manchester’s newest restaurants. But as a huge fan of carbs, if it’s not pasta or pasta-adjacent, she’s not interested. If she’s not in the kitchen, she’s tucked up with a book for an early night, or you’ll find her in the gym working up a sweat. Afterall, all those carbs require quite the appetite.