Woman to attempt 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents

TAMPA, Fla. - Mikayla Wingle is setting out to run seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days. Wingle will run 184 miles in 168 hours as part of the World Marathon Challenge, which begins January 30th in Novo, Antarctica.

After running her marathon in Antarctica, the Tampa, FL native will depart via cargo plane for Cape Town, South Africa where she will run her second marathon in two days. She will then run marathons on subsequent days in Perth, Australia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Lisbon, Portugal; Cartagena, Colombia; and finally Miami, Florida.

Wingle and her 16-member team, Hold the Plane, are running in the event to raise money for 11 different charities. 

“I’ve been training, probably since March,” Wingle told Fox 13. “It began as sort of just, you know, a couple miles here and there, and now it’s, you know, 20 mile runs, 18 mile runs, and everything in between.” 

Wingle, who has previously competed as a bodybuilder and in the Lingerie Football League, started training for the event last year when she was looking for a new adventure.

Said Wingle, “Why wouldn’t you want to just take a challenge, see if you can do it? And while you’re at it, raise some money.”