14-Year-Old American Girl Becomes Youngest Ever to Run a Marathon on Every Continent
In March this year, Winter Vinecki, a 14-year-old girl from Michigan, USA, completed her seventh marathon in Athens, Greece, finishing in 4 hours, 3 minutes and 53 seconds, with races on all continents under her belt. Since then, she has become the youngest person ever to complete a marathon on every continent. She is now intensively training in freestyle skiing in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Winter started running at the age of 5. In 2009, her father passed away from prostate cancer, prompting her to establish the non-profit organization “Team Winter” to raise funds for cancer research. She also decided to run a marathon on every continent before her 15th birthday in honor of her father. Upon completing the challenge, she humbly said, “Although what I’ve done is amazing, this is just the beginning.” Winter’s mother, Dawn Estelle, accompanied her daughter throughout the long and grueling journey.
In fact, the mother-daughter duo have run marathons together in various parts of the world, including North America, Africa, and Asia. Winter also braved temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius to run a marathon in Antarctica, finishing third among women with an impressive time of 4 hours and 49 minutes. Of course, these extraordinary achievements are inseparable from her rigorous daily training—Winter trains 4 to 5 days a week, for 2 to 3 hours each day.