14-Year-Old Runs Marathons On Every Continent
Youngest person to do so
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On Sunday, 14-year-old Winter Vinecki completed the Athens Classic Marathon in 4:03:53. She finished 160 out of 1,284 women, but even more impressively, she became the youngest person to complete a marathon on all seven continents.
And, because her mother ran each of those marathons with her, Vinecki and Dawn Estelle became the first daughter-mother team to complete a marathon on each continent.
According to the Statesman Journal, Vinecki began running at age five, but got serious in 2009 after her father passed away from an aggressive form of prostate cancer—that’s when she decided to honor his memory by running a marathon on every continent before her 15th birthday. She also started a nonprofit, Team Winter, and has raised nearly $1 million for prostate cancer research.
Vinecki’s first—and fastest—race was the Eugene Marathon in April 2012, followed by the Amazing Maasai Marathon in Kenya where she ran a 4:04:00 to place third overall. She’s also completed the Antartica Marathon on King George Island, the Inca Trail Marathon to Machu Picchu in Peru, the Sunrise to Sunset Marathon in Mongolia and the Wharf to Wharf Marathon in New Zealand.
“I know that I’ve done something amazing here, but I can’t really put into words how it feels yet; I guess the word would be magical,” she told the Statesman Journal.
Vinecki says she doesn’t have another marathon planned, but this is not last you’ll hear of her. The high schooler is living with a host family in Park City, where she’s training to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics as an aerial skier.