Dubai: With just one more race to go, Dubai teenager Kristen De Sousa is optimistic she can push herself to the limit and achieve the unique record of running seven marathons on as many continents in just three months.
Tired, exhausted and drained after completing the Antartica Marathon on January 26, De Sousa boarded her flight to Chile for Friday’s Punta Arenas Marathon — her seventh and final race.
The 15-year-old recounted the travails of her feat competing on the White Continent last Sunday.
“Temperatures of -18 Celsius, steep hills, slippery conditions, wind chills...just about everything made the race in Antartica very difficult. It was cold and windy and that did not help at all. There were times when I thought I would just stop,” she said.
“Finally, when I finished the race I thought it was so such an accomplishment just completing the course. It’s simply such an amazing feeling,” she added.
Joined by her proud mum Sharon, the Dubai College student has kept her eye on the mission, possibly even unaware that her efforts have so far raised nearly $19,000 (Dh69,400) in donations to her cause from across the world.
Friday’s run in South America is the last one before they turn back to Dubai with a brief stopover at home in Toronto by the end of the first week of February. “It has been one long journey and I am relieved that this will come to an end soon,” Kristen said.
“One more time and I will be done,” she added.
The Dubai teen has been running on behalf of Children of the Mountain, an UK-based charity dedicated to supporting the education of children in the poorest areas of Nepal.
De Sousa started her challenge with the Hamilton Road to Hope Marathon in Ontario, Canada in November last year.
After Ontario, Kristen travelled to Australia for the Mingara One Central Coast Marathon which she completed even after a missed flight and a chest infection. Her best time so far was at the marathon in Pisa, Italy, where she timed 4:34:18, just one week after completing the Aspen Marathon in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
In December, Kristen completed the Doha Marathon where she finished in a time of 4:44:53 despite knee and Achilles injuries.
Since its founding in 2009, Children of the Mountain has overseen the design, funding, build and start-up of three new primary and higher secondary schools. The flagship project catered for 600 pupils from kindergarten to grade 12.
The overall project included the building of 25 classrooms and a new washroom block, provision of 600 specially-designed bilingual books, installation of electricity and set-up of 10 computers, 500kgs of school supplies, 300 uniforms and provision of hot, daily meals for the kindergarten children.
In a couple of days, Kristen will also have the added recognition of officially getting her name in the World Record books as the ‘Youngest Female to complete seven marathons on seven continents in the fastest time’ from The Alternative Book of Records.
Donations to the charity can be made at http://www.justgiving.com/kristen-De-Sousa
