I’m a sucker for completing something. I love the feeling of achieving a goal, and adore researching and obsessing about the next thing. When I saw the list of possible marathon challenges for Marathon Maniacs it sent my head into overdrive and I had many productive hours thinking and researching ways in which to achieve their different levels.

Marathon Maniacs criteria

When we returned from Chile I thought I could do 13 marathons in 13 different states and/or countries in 365 days. That’s their Ruthenium level. I had a back up plan for running nine and calling it quits if that was all too much – Iridium level.

The marathons completed for the 13 were as follows:

1. La Rochelle marathon
2. White Continent Marathon
3. Punta Arenas Marathon
4. Wangaratta marathon
5. Bayleys Mountain to Surf marathon
6. Canberra marathon
7. Ultra Trail Australia 50
8. Christchurch Airport Marathon
9. Perth marathon
10. Gold Coast Airport Marathon
11. Australian Outback Marathon
12. Adelaide Marathon
13. Ross Marathon, Tasmania

BUT then I realised I still had two months left in the 365 days and decided to aim at the next level, Osmium, with 16 marathons in 16 different states and/or countries. I worked out I could run three marathons in eight days in Japan, in three different prefectures. They were as follows:

14. Kobe marathon

15. Fukuchiyama marathon

16. Fujisan marathon

And for Marathon Globetrotters, Full Membership is granted when 10 countries are completed, while Provisional Membership kicks in at five marathons. I finished the 10th country with England in 2018.

Marathon Globe Trotters qualification

The countries I’ve done are:

1. New Zealand
2. Greenland
3. Australia
4. Japan
5. Namibia
6. France
7. Antarctica
8. Chile
9. Germany
10. England
11. USA