Not many people run grueling ultramarathons and even fewer of them try to run seven of them in seven days on seven different continents. And only one of them, Michael Wardian, a 51-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, now holds the record for the fastest time accomplishing the feat.
Wardian and dozens of other motivated runners spent last week pounding ice sheets, asphalt and trails across the world. The first run took them to Ultima Base in Antarctica, where they trekked along a several kilometer loop over a dozen times to complete the distance.
“It was weird because it was during the snowpocalypse here in the D.C. area. So, it was actually colder in D.C. from average temperature than it was in Antarctica,” Wardian said.
Still, he dealt with subfreezing temperatures and 30-mph winds on the icy landscape, where he won the ultramarathon event before packing up with the other runner and traveling to race again in Cape Town, South Africa.
“It’s one of those epic experiences,” he told WTOP. “You wanted to feel like you did something, and you definitely felt when you got done with the run in Antarctica that you had put yourself out there and you’ve done something kind of epic.”
Just two days after running in frigid temperatures near the South Pole, Wardian and other runners were sweltering in 107-degree heat in Perth, Australia.
“I suffered a lot that day,” Wardian said.
The heat was not as severe at their next stop in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, but it still neared 90 degrees.
“I was just trying to survive both those days. I got my big Teva bucket hat on and just tried to douse myself in icy water as much as possible,” Wardian said.
From there Wardian flew to Madrid, Spain, running on an F1 track and then jetted to Fortaleza, Brazil, before ending in an unusually chilly Miami, Florida.
“I continued to expand that winning tradition, winning in Miami, and ended up winning the overall marathon by about eight minutes,” Wardian said.
He also broke the record for the fastest time of all his combined 50Ks for the World Marathon Challenge by over four hours. According to the race organization, he completed the seven roughly 31-mile races in a blistering average time of three hours and 48 minutes.
Wardian has completed this challenge before and even holds the fastest average marathon time for men that he set in 2017.
He said that the toughest part about this race is the travel with flights after each race ranging from eight to 11 hours. The race has its own chartered flight with what Wardian described as semi-lie flat seats, making it a little tough to get good rest.
“There was the ability to kind of get some sleep but then deal with everybody in the plane moving about and you have to calm yourself down after each race because you do get kind of fired up,” Wardian said.
He said, “You just got to be water. You’re not worried about time zones; you’re not worried about how much sleep you’re getting. You just do the best you can recover as much as you can, eat as much food as you can, and then you get ready to do it again.”
His favorite part of the event is the bonding with like-minded people hoping to accomplish something amazing.
“You get to see people grow throughout the event. You get to see people struggle. You get to see people have emotion, either good or bad, but you become like a big family,” Wardian said.
He said doing something really difficult together bonds people rapidly.
“I think that that’s one of the great things about adventures like the World Marathon challenges. like there’s no way that you’re going to ever have the opportunity to bond with people so closely in such a short amount of time,” he said.
And while there is a competitive mood, everyone wanted to see each other succeed.
“I’d have little cheers for different people, and they would cheer for me. And so, it’s a really nice community,” Wardian said.
The song Wardian constantly plays in his headphones when he needs a boost on the course is AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.”
“I think that’s the song that we walked out to when I played lacrosse when I was growing up, and it still gets me in the mood. Feels like I’m locking in my helmet and getting ready for a battle,” he said.
Wardian is no stranger to tough challenges, whether it is running the Appalachian Trail or 100-mile races in the mountains of Colorado or even the local Taco Bell 50K. He will continue his pursuit of ambitious accomplishments by attempting to run the Pacific Crest Trail this year and next year attempting to solo row across the Atlantic.
His advice to anyone looking to accomplish a goal others may think are crazy: “I think the biggest bit of advice I could suggest for people is commit to do something. I think that’s the biggest thing. And then once you commit, don’t get overwhelmed. Keep it small … Just focus on what you need to do and work through the process and you’ll get the results.”
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