With marathon a day throughout 2024, this Belgian runner has Guinness world record within her grasp

GHENT, Belgium (AP) - Finally coming to a halt on Tuesday - the last day of 2024 - Belgian ultra runner Hilde Dosogne felt she had done all to take the world record to become the first woman to run a marathon every single day of the year.

Weary but seemingly far from exhausted from the weight of relentless marathon running, Dosogne emerged from the cold, grey light to cross the line amid a throng of fellow runners all celebrating an extraordinary feat.

"I’m glad it’s over," she said after crossing the line on the last day, leaving the last crash of many behind her when she collided with a spectator during her final run.

On top of the reward for her perseverance in running at least 15,444 kilometers in a single year, the 55-year-old also raised some 60,000 euros ($62, 438) in funds for breast cancer research.

Now comes the filing of GPS data, photo and video evidence and independent witness reports she had to collect daily to meet the requirements of the Guinness World Records organization. If approved, the record should be officially hers in about three months.

The 55-year-old would join Hugo Farias, the Brazilian who holds the male record of 366 days, which he achieved in São Paulo, Brazil, on 28 August 2023.

In the female category, Dosogne would be in a league all her own, since the current record, achieved by Erchana Murray-Bartlett of Australia, stands at 150 days since 16 January 2023.

One thing is sure: she doesn’t want her feat to become a shining example of healthy living - more one of personal persistence, as she had to fight off the flu, COVID, a dozen-plus crashes, blisters and even bursitis. Overall though, the brain took the toughest beating.

"The mental strain is harder than the physical. Of course, physically, everything has to be okay. Otherwise, you can't run for four hours every day. But it was more mental to be to be there at the start-line every day," she told The Associated Press.

And as marathon races go, Dosogne was able to do the majority of her marathons on a flat loop around a stretch of water, just outside the university town of Ghent, where, apart from sometimes dreary Belgian weather, a strong headwind could be her toughest competitor.

Even there, she said, she would not take any statistical risks and instead of the 42.195 kilometers (26.2 miles) a day, she made sure her run stood at 42.5 km - just for safe measure with the Guinness administrators.

Dosogne wishes she could have stretched her days the same way though.

As a bio-engineer at a chemical firm, she had to start her days especially early so she could squeeze in a marathon every afternoon. And because she could not run at top speed every single day, she stuck to an easy (for her) 10 kilometers per hour, which also allowed friends and witnesses to run along.

Her husband is a marathon runner and their four kids, in their teens and twenties, are into sports too, making the single-minded obsession easier to deal with.

The only time when her daughter Lucie felt she might not make was the day she crashed after 27 kilometers, had to be taken to the emergency ward with a dislocated finger, and spent far too much time there to be allowed to finish the marathon by the regulation. The solution? "She started from scratch again," said Lucie.

"It’s still a little bit crooked," said Dosogne.

It is another reason she would never advise anyone to try this. “To do it? No, I wouldn't. Definitely not. It's yeah, it's not for everybody."

During Dosagne’s relentless quest, she is also collecting money for the Breast International Group, an international not-for-profit organization that seeks to sponsor breast cancer research. She knows several friends and fellow runners who had cancer, recovered or went into remission - all stories that had a big impact on her.

So, now, she will take it easy for a few weeks in the new year. Not too long though.

In September, she has the Spartathlon planned, a 246-kilometer (153-mile) race in Greece.

A small challenge to what she has done this year.

“I don't think I will do anything more crazy than this," she said.