A woman who lost one leg to cancer is seeking to break a world record by completing 102 marathon-length runs in 102 days.A marathon is a race that goes 42 kilometers.
Jacky Hunt-Broersma, who lives in the western American state of Arizona, set her goal in mid-January.And every day since then, she has been running the distance of a marathon.
Most of the time, she runs on roads and trails near her home in Gilbert, Arizona.Sometimes she completes her runs on a running machine called a treadmill.Hunt-Broersma averages just over five hours to complete the runs.
If she keeps successfully completing marathon-length runs every day, she will reach her goal by April 28.She would then hold the world record for completing 102 back-to-back marathon runs.
The current world record of 101 marathons was set April 10 by British runner Kate Jayden.The 35-year-old Jayden does not have a disability.
Hunt-Broersma, a native of South Africa, lost the bottom half of her left leg to a rare form of cancer in 2001."The biggest struggle was accepting that part of my body was gone," she told The Associated Press.
Hunt-Broersma said that until five years ago, she was not very active.But then she looked into running and decided to give it a try.The sport ended up being quite costly.Currently, she runs on a prosthetic leg made out of a strong, light material known as carbon fiber.The carbon fiber blade she uses, which is designed specifically for running, costs about $10,000.
But Hunt-Broersma says her investment has been well worth it."Running really changed my life," she said."It helped me accept myself as an amputee.It gave me a sense of freedom.I fell in love with the process of pushing my body further just to see what I could do."
However, she has faced both physical and mental difficulties during her record-breaking attempt.On one recent day, Hunt-Broersma said she felt near collapse at 24 kilometers and began to cry.In that moment, she felt like her planned goal might not happen at all.
"I had a total emotional breakdown.I was like, ‘I just cant do this. What was I thinking?" she said."The trick for me is just to break it down into little goals, she added.
One of her recent runs was the world-famous Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts.She finished that race, held April 18, with a time of 5 hours, 5 minutes.
Hunt-Broersmas main support team is her husband and their two young children.She is documenting her progress online and has also gained a large social media following.
As she nears the end of her goal, Hunt-Broersma is hoping to inspire a single thought in others, regardless of their own physical limitations.She tells people, "Youre stronger than you think — and youre capable of so much more."
翻译:
一名因癌症失去一条腿的女子正准备打破世界纪录,她将在102天内完成102次马拉松。马拉松是一场42公里的比赛。
杰基·亨特·布罗尔斯玛住在美国西部的亚利桑那州,她在1月中旬设定了自己的目标。从那以后,她每天都在跑马拉松。
大多数时候,她在亚利桑那州吉尔伯特市,也就是她家附近的道路和小路上跑步。有时我会在跑步机上跑步。亨特·布罗尔斯玛的平均水平只需要5个多小时就能完成整个过程。
如果她每天都能成功完成马拉松长跑,她将于4月28日实现目标。未来,她将保持102连续马拉松的世界纪录。
目前101场马拉松的世界纪录是英国选手凯特凯特的·杰登于4月10日创立。但35岁的杰登身心健康,无残疾。
亨特·布罗尔斯玛是南非人,2001年因罕见癌症失去了左腿的下半部分。“最大的困难是接受我身体的一部分消失了。”她告诉美联社。
亨特·布罗尔斯玛说,直到五年前,她才很活跃。但后来她开始考虑跑步,并决定试一试。这项运动最终花了很多钱。目前,她使用了一种叫做碳纤维的轻质材料。她使用的碳纤维刀头是专门为跑步定制的,价格约为1万美元。
但亨特·布罗尔斯玛说,她的投资是值得的。“跑步真的改变了我的生活,”她讲。“它让我接受了我是一个截肢者,给了我一种自由的感觉。我爱上了在跑步过程中不断挑战极限,激发更大潜力的感觉。”
然而,在她试图打破纪录的过程中,她面临着身心上的困难和障碍。最近的一天,亨特·布罗尔斯玛说,她在24公里处感到几乎崩溃,开始哭泣。那一刻,她觉得自己的目标可能根本无法实现。
“我的情绪完全崩溃了。我想,‘我做不到。我在想什么?”她说。她补充说,“对我来说,秘诀是把最终目标转化为小目标。”
她最近参加的长跑比赛之一是在马萨诸塞州波士顿举行的世界著名的波士顿马拉松。她在4月18日的比赛中以5小时5分钟的成绩完成了比赛。
亨特·布罗尔斯玛的主要支持团队是她的丈夫和两个小孩。她正在网上记录自己的进步,并在社交媒体平台上赢得了大量的粉丝。
随着她的目标即将结束,亨特·布罗尔斯玛希望她能唤起更多人的独特想法,而不受自己身体的限制。她想告诉人们,“你比你想象的更强大,你能做得更多。”