Paul Box completes World Marathon Challenge: seven marathons on seven continents in seven days
- Charity Fitch
- Aug 21, 2023
- 5 min read
For seven days, all Paul Box of Waxahachie did was eat, sleep and run.
From Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, he completed the World Marathon Challenge, running seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days – a feat less than 200 people in the world have accomplished.
Box placed third overall, with an average marathon time of 3:25:43, averaging 7:49 per mile for 183.4 miles.
The World Marathon Challenge, created in 2015 by Robert Donovan, has participants run multiple-loop courses (equaling 26.2 miles) in Novo (Antarctica), Cape Town (Africa), Perth (Australia), Dubai (Asia), Torrelaguna (Europe), Fortaleza (South America) and Miami (North America). Following each marathon, participants would board a charter plane and fly to the next continent, spending about 68 hours in the air.
“We never knew what time of day it was,” Box said. “It was just eat, sleep, run.”
In between marathons, Box would recover by doing yoga with other participants, using a self-massage gun, eating as much as he could to reload calories and sleeping.
The challenge showed Box what his body could do. He expected to feel “beat up” as the week continued, but he found himself feeling good and ready to go at the beginning of each marathon.
“As the week progressed, I would say I definitely got more in shape,” Box said. “Many of us felt like there was no reason we couldn’t have run another (marathon) the very next day. It’s amazing how much stronger we are than we really think we are. God made us to do some pretty crazy things, and our bodies are more capable than what we give them credit for.”
Box found a community of “love, support and care” among the other 50 participants, all of whom were from a variety of countries and running for different causes.
“We became so close,” Box said. “You do life together. You suffer together. You struggle together.
“It was truly life changing,” he said. “I did not expect it to be that impactful.”
The friendships Box made running the World Marathon Challenge are ones he will never forget, he said.
Box was surprised by and grateful for the amount of support he received from the Waxahachie community.
“The community made a difference,” he said. “The community was unbelievable. The support was not something I had anticipated or imagined. Every day I turned on my phone, and I’d have people that texted me prayers or people that just messaged me to encourage me. The community of support was awesome and overwhelming, and it truly was inspiring.”
Box first learned about the World Marathon Challenge at the Boston Marathon in 2017.
“I can’t win Boston, but I can do that,” Box recalled thinking at the time.
He placed the challenge on his bucket list and forgot about it. As a runner, Box said he’s always thinking about what’s next, so following a race, he recalled the challenge and sent an application in the summer of 2021, having no idea what they required and expecting a “no.”
Several weeks later, he received an acceptance email.
“How can you pass this up?” Box said. “It’s the adventure of a lifetime.”
Due to COVID-19, the race got pushed back a year.
“You would train, train, train, and then you’d get an email six to eight weeks out saying they moved the race,” Box said.
Training for seven marathons on seven different continents in seven consecutive days consisted of back-to-back long days every week: four days of 10-15 miles and three days of 6-8 miles.
“It was just getting used to pounding a lot of pavement,” he said.
Finally, on Jan. 31, Box began the World Marathon Challenge in Novo, Antarctica.
“The cold – you couldn’t be ready for it, and you can’t explain it because it radiated from the ground up,” Box said. “It was just bitter, but it was also awesome. It was memorable for a million reasons.”
Covered in winter gear from Run United in Mansfield, he ran in -11 degrees with 30 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 50 mph. For the runners’ safety, they ran 1.3 miles, turned around a pole and ran another 1.3 miles back to the first pole for 10 laps.
“There were times that the sky was clear, and you could see forever,” Box said. “Then, 10 minutes later, the winds were blowing so hard you couldn’t see 30 feet in front of you.”
For half of each lap, Box said running against the wind was like “hitting a brick wall.” Box and another runner, Pit Van Rijswijck of Luxembourg, worked together to block the wind from each other. Box would run in front of Rijswijck, then they would switch. Within a couple laps, Box’s water bottle froze in his hand.
It was the hardest marathon he has ever run, Box said, and it was his slowest in the challenge with a time of 3:54:42.
The very next day, he ran in Cape Town, South Africa, where it was 85 degrees, sunny and windy.
“We ran right next to the ocean, real close to where the Indian and Atlantic oceans come together, which was awesome,” Box said.
In Perth, Australia, it was 95 degrees when the marathon started. As the race progressed, the sun went down, and it cooled down to about 75 degrees.
“It was super hot, but it was gorgeous.” Box said.
Because they had to wait a certain amount of time before flying again with the charter company, Box said they were out barbecuing and doing yoga together at 3 a.m.
“But 3 a.m. didn’t mean anything to us,” Box said. “Truly, you didn’t know what time it was. Your body got used to: I get on the plane, I fall asleep.”
Next, they ran along the Persian Gulf in Dubai, Asia, as the sun was setting, where it was about 65 degrees.
“We had prayer sirens going off from the mosque,” Box said. “That was really unique, and it’s just such a diverse culture than we see in Texas.”
In Europe, they ran about 30 minutes from Madrid, Spain, in a small town called Torrelaguna, where it was 55 degrees.
“The mayor came out, and the whole town came out,” Box said. ‘They like rolled out the red carpet and gave us gifts.”
The course was the hilliest of the seven, allowing Box to use different muscles and making him feel fresher. He ran his fastest marathon with a time of 3:09:23.
Rijswijck’s family members had messaged with Box to surprise Rijswijck at the marathon in Torrelaguna.
“Pit (Rijswijck) and I ran all of Spain together, and we even crossed the finish line holding the Luxembourg flag together,” Box said. “That’s just one of the best memories.”
Next, they ran in Fortaleza, South America, where it was 85 degrees with about 80% humidity.
“Brazil was hot, humid and miserable,” Box said. “It was the only day that was not fun. Everyone had a tough race.”
Besides the hot weather conditions, they had to run through a crowded path of people since it was held in the morning.
“As tough as it was, I’m not sure I’d change any of it,” Box said. “That’s part of the adventure.”
The last marathon began in Miami at midnight, with Box saying the weather was great. Box’s wife, Natalie, his parents and other family members were there to support him as he completed the World Marathon Challenge.
“It was a perfect ending to have my family there,” Box said.
Following the challenge, Box said his legs never felt sore; it was mostly his head and body that were exhausted from the trip.
“Life is an adventure, but sometimes you have to go find the adventure,” Box said. “Now, I just have to go find the next one, whatever that may be.”
Next for Box is the Boston Marathon and the Hachie 50, an ultra-marathon benefitting the Waxahachie Lions Club in April, but he said he wants to do other marathon adventures in the future, like the North Pole Marathon.
For more information on the World Marathon Challenge, visit https://worldmarathonchallenge.com/the-event-2/. For more information on Hachie 50, visit https://www.hachie50.com.
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