Run, fly, repeat: A Utah woman prepares for 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents

Melissa Walker needs chocolate chip cookies and Coke for her trip around the world. She probably can find the cola anywhere, but she plans to bake the cookies herself before she leaves.

Cookies and Coke are her go-to foods after running a marathon. And she’s going to run seven marathons on this crazy excursion. In seven days. On seven continents.

Walker signed up for The Great World Race, a fledgling test of endurance in which runners hopscotch the globe in a chartered plane to run 26.2 miles in Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia. There are no hotels or spas. They’ll eat, sleep and recover on the plane between continents.

Even Walker, a 50-year-old married mother of four, admits it’s beyond crazy.

“I’m certifiable,” she said.

Maybe, but in the best possible way.

The Great World Race

Irish physician and former international runner David Kelly founded The Great World Race in 2024, drawing on his experience supporting endurance events in Antarctica and the North Pole to organize seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.

Walker and a limited field of about 60 runners from various countries will meet in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 12 for briefings before taking a charter flight to the first destination. The 2026 schedule is as follows:

• Nov. 15: Antarctica: Wolf’s Fang
• Nov. 16: Africa: Cape Town
• Nov. 17: Australia: Perth
• Nov. 18: Asia: Singapore
• Nov. 19: Europe: Algarve, Portugal
• Nov. 20: South America: Cartagena, Colombia
• Nov. 21: North America: Miami

“Who it’s for: Those who desire an adventure that’s seldom found in our modern world, have the training, time and resources to embark on the most ambitious marathon on earth,” according to its website. And it’s not cheap, coming in at about $55,200 per runner.

A crazy thought

After running the New York City Marathon in 2024 — her 26th marathon — Walker felt burned out and decided to “retire” from races. For the next year, she stopped training and just ran for fun. Everything changed when she ran the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon in 2025. She realized how much she enjoys running with other people. And she finished with a much faster time than she expected. Something started percolating in her brain.

Walker saw that Peloton instructor and marathon runner Becs Gentry had run the inaugural intercontinental race and told her husband, Paul, how crazy that was. “Who would ever do that?” she asked him. “So I looked at him, I said, ‘I think I might want to do The Great World Race.’ He looked at me, he’s like, ‘You should totally do that.’”

Walker got on an informational call with the race director in Ireland. He told her “regular people” do the race, including moms and even an 82-year-old.

“It’s the only time I’ve actually ever been scared to sign up for something,” she said. “I actually had to close my eyes and just hit the registration button.”

Once she did, her training regime was on again starting last December. With guidance from one of the race’s coaches, she started building her base miles, topping out with a stretch of 80 to 100 miles a week, including back-to-back-to-back 20-mile runs. She is tapering now.

We caught up with Walker on a recent 8-mile run as the sun came up near her home in Draper. Dressed in a long-sleeve dark blue top, pink shorts, light green running shoes and a dark blue hat with a ponytail out the back, she was chipper and optimistic about what lies ahead on the seven continents. Still, she wonders what she has gotten herself into.

Walker’s biggest concern is jet lag and hydration. “I’m a Texas Tab drinker for water, so I’ve been working on that,” she said, referring to one of Swig’s dirty sodas. She’s also worried about the heat and humidity in Singapore and Colombia, but not the below-freezing temperatures in Antarctica.

She plans to wear a different pair of shoes for each race, including trail shoes for the Antarctic snow. She’s also packing a pair of compression recovery boots and a roller ball for her feet to prevent plantar fasciitis.

Walker won’t have her usual family support during the race, except when Paul meets her for the final marathon in Miami. She has gotten to know the other runners through video conferencing. They’ll have to rely on each other to get through the grueling schedule. While some runners will be competitive, Walker isn’t running for time. She just wants to enjoy the run and finish each day.

A slow walk to running

That she’s a runner at all is surprising given her disdain for it earlier in life. Early in her marriage, Paul liked to run at the BYU track, “and he would drag me there, and I would walk as slow as possible in protest.” But after the birth of their second child, she threw on a pair of tennis shoes and started running.

To keep with it, she needed a goal. Unaware of shorter distance races like 5Ks and 10Ks, she ran the St. George Marathon in 2005. Two more kids and five years later, she ran St. George again. She finished her second-ever race with a better time, and was hooked. She ran St. George in early October as a training run, marking her 27th marathon.

Running is now a lifestyle.

“I think it’s kind of shown me that I’m a lot stronger than I thought,” Walker said. “I think running gives you confidence and strength and a lot more grit when you realize what you can do. And what your body’s capable of that you didn’t think you could do. Honestly, most people are like, ‘I can’t run a marathon.’ Then you see all these people who do.”

And women account for a majority of U.S. recreational road race participants. She said it’s great to see girls running as well as cheering on their moms. “I wish I had seen one of me when I was a teenager,” she said.

Running around the world

Walker isn’t unfamiliar with running outside the U.S. She ran in Tokyo, Berlin and London to complete six world marathon majors, which include Boston, New York City and Chicago. That earned her the Six Star Finisher Medal.

Even with all his wife’s experience, Paul didn’t see The Great World Race coming.

“But, you know, honestly, I’m actually really excited for her. She’s in a position to do it. She’s got a body that can do it. She’s healthy enough to do it. So few people have ever done this. I’m just kind of proud and excited for her,” he said.

Walker said Paul actually egged her on. “If he says I’m crazy, he like totally supports and encourages the crazy.”

Though he won’t be there to watch, Paul will follow the races on YouTube. “I suspect I’ll get a phone call at some point along the way that’ll be a little emotion-filled,” he said.

Walker has no illusions about what she’s about to embark on. And she’s up for the challenge.

“It’ll be a cool thing,” she said. “It’ll be super hard in the moment and super cool to look back on.”

When Walker crosses the finish line in Miami, she’ll have completed 34 marathons. So, what’s next?

“This could really break me,” she said.

Walker will take some time to think about it while lounging on the beach. Maybe she’ll retire again. But maybe she won’t. The six major marathons have added three more races, possibly including the Shanghai Marathon. She might like a Nine Star Finisher Medal to go along with a Coke and some cookies.