After Ryan Holmes from Whitstable, Kent in England finished the marathon in New Year’s Eve at Betteshanger Park, he knew then and there that he has done quite an accomplishment: he became the youngest person to complete 100 marathons. His hundredth run recorded a time of four and a half hours.
This milestone was completed in only two and a half years, with an age of 21 years and 172 days. Holmes had to run two marathons a week and many 100-mile ultra marathons once in a while. That covered a total of more than 2,600 miles of running.
Holmes participates in marathons when he is not working as a control systems engineer on the London Underground.
Ultimately, he beat Adam Holland who was 23 year and 220 days old when he set the record.
But this feat is not without inspiration. Holmes, who is an endurance runner, did this for Paul Denton who was diagnosed with blood cancer, or multiple myeloma, back in 2014. He’s running to raise funds for his 48-year-old family friend.
“It’s pretty amazing, to be honest. I cannot believe I have actually done it,” he says.
As of his hundredth marathon, he had raised more than £2,000 for Bloodwise honoring Denton, who suffers from the inability to produce healthy blood cells. It’s unfortunate that there is currently no cure for multiple myeloma.
“Paul is very proud of me. He is definitely a big part of my inspiration. It might be painful to go through 100 marathons, but it is not as painful as cancer treatment,” the runner shares.
Holmes became slightly emotional upon realizing what he achieved in his hundredth marathon. He tells that he feels good that he had made a little bit of a difference.
The engineer-runner is looking to run more marathons in 2017.
Source: Telegraph UK
