GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Triple 7 Quest is an event only 35 people in the world have set out to accomplish; Seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days.
One of those athletes is 58-year-old Don Kern from West Michigan, otherwise known as Marathon Don. However, this is not the first time Don has taken on the world circuit.
"I've done marathons on seven different continents five times now, three of the times were trying to break the world record," said Kern.
Don broke the world record in 2011, running seven continents in 25 days, 18 hours and 10 minutes. His tenacity has pushed him to break his own record, hoping to accomplish the Triple 7 Quest.
The first marathon was held in Melbourne, Australia. Race number two was in Abu Dhabi, located in the United Arab Emirates. Next stop was Paris, followed by a fourth marathon starting at 1:30 a.m. the next morning in Tunisia.
"So I actually had 2 marathons done in a 24 hour period," said Kern.
Race number five took the team back to New York City, with race six on the southern tip of South America in Punta Arenas, Chili.
"I found out something about myself, I ran marathons on six continents in six days and I felt good.
The seventh and final marathon was held in Antarctica. Unfortunately, weather related issues delayed his trip four days.
Despite the set-back, Don crushed his former records at eleven days and seventeen hours.
"I broke my previous record by almost 2 weeks, so that was pretty exciting," said Kern.
183.4 miles later, Don has now finished 265 marathons in his life. And he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon.
