7 Feb 2011

Belgian runner completes year of marathons

7:34 pm on 7 February 2011

A Belgian runner has set a new world record, completing 365 consecutive marathon races in 365 days.

Stefaan Engels, 49, began his extraordinary challenge in Belgium a year ago.

Since then he has run a marathon every day in seven different countries.

Engels crossed the finish line at an event in Barcelona, Spain, after running 15,000km (9,569 miles) in a year.

"I don't regard my marathon year as torture. It is more like a regular job," he said.

Engels averaged about four hours to complete a marathon and his best time was 2 hours 56 minutes.

The BBC reports he had asthma as a child and was told by doctors to avoid sport.

Before Engels, the record marathon man was Akinori Kusuda of Japan - who ran 52 races in a row at the age of 65 in 2009.