Blade runner and cancer survivor Jack Hunt-Broersma is a beast. On Thursday, April 28, Hunt-Broersma ran her 102nd marathon in a row since mid-January. The accomplishment broke the record for the most marathons run on consecutive days by a woman.
And she kept running — on Saturday, April 30, she ended the project after completing her 104th marathon.
“I’m so grateful for this journey. I truly believe we are capable of more than we think and I’m hoping this journey will inspire others to get out of their comfort zones and truly to see what they are capable of,” she stated after finishing on Saturday.
View this post on Instagram
A significant part of what drives Hunt-Broersma is charity. By mid-morning Sunday, May 1, she’d raised more than $67,000 for Amputee Blade Runners, a nonprofit that provides sports prostheses free of charge to amputees who want to live an active lifestyle.
This weekend, nutrition bar company RXBAR is backing her fundraising effort. The brand has pledged to match donations made to Hunt-Broersma’s GoFundMe through the end of Sunday, May 1st, up to $104,000.
Hunt-Broersma’s team notes that donations are key for amputee runners. Many insurance companies define running as a luxury for amputees and will not cover running prostheses, which can cost as much as $20,000.
Remarkably, Hunt-Broersma, who lives in Arizona, didn’t pick the sport up until after losing her lower left leg to cancer. When she isn’t pushing boundaries at the marathon distance, she’s running ultras.
“I moved quickly from five kilometers to half marathons to full marathons, and the only way up from marathons was ultras,” she told iRunFar. “I am very stubborn, and I always want to push myself further.”
Congratulations to Jacky on her phenomenal accomplishments — both in running and fundraising!
Jacky Hunt-Broersma. All photos courtesy of Jacky Hunt-Broersma.
