39-year-old mother of 8 completes marathons on 7 continents in one week

Estefania Unzu wins the 100 km ultra-marathon tournament Campeona Espana in 2024. Photo by Reuters

The 39-year-old's remarkable journey culminated in Miami on Thursday, where she clocked a time of 3 hours, 35 minutes, and 15 seconds. Although Unzu finished second in the final race (she finished first in the previous six marathons), behind Japanese athlete Tomomi Bitoh, she still secured her place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Unzu's journey included impressive finish times at each location: 3 hours, 38 minutes, and 53 seconds in Antarctica; 3:10:14 in Cape Town, South Africa; 3:10:30 in Perth, Australia; 3:09:46 in Dubai, UAE; 3:11:30 in Madrid, Spain; 3:12:28 in Fortaleza, Brazil; and 3:35:15 in Miami, USA.

After finishing in Miami, Unzu reflected on the challenge: "This race was tough. My biggest victory was finishing this and overcoming its challenges. My body felt like it was going to explode, and I couldn't stop vomiting throughout the race," AS reported.

Unzu is an accomplished runner with a marathon personal best of 2.49 hours and a title in the 100-km ultra-marathon championship Campeona Espana. She is known in Spain as a famous vlogger with over 2 million followers on both YouTube and Instagram, sharing content on daily life with her husband and children.

Unzu’s record-breaking journey across 7 continents captured global attention, not only for its athletic achievement but also for its purpose: raising funds for 6-year-old Claudia from Barcelona, Spain who suffers from Menke-Hennekam syndrome. Only 81 people in the world have this disorder.

According to MalaCards, Menke-Hennekam syndrome is a rare genetic condition characterized by intellectual disability, developmental delays, short stature, and microcephaly. Other potential symptoms include feeding difficulties, vision and hearing impairments, frequent infections and epilepsy. This syndrome primarily affects the brain.

Claudia's battle with the syndrome created motivation for Unzu throughout her journey. The funds raised will support Claudia's physical therapy, medical supplies and scientific research to find a cure for the syndrome.