Week Ending - 2024/03/03

MARKS MAJOR ACHIEVEMENT

Mark Repton became the first Badger ever to complete the six world major marathons with a terrific run in Tokyo, Japan. The Dosthill-based athlete ran a magnificent 3:07:55 in the land of the rising sun to wrap up the full set of six spread around the globe. The former men’s vice-captain took the best part of five years to achieve his goal, although the running element only took a mere 19 hours and eight minutes combined!

His journey began in 2019 when he took on the London marathon and finished in a very respectable time of 3:12. A global pandemic somewhat interrupted his plans but he re-emerged to chalk off the trio of Boston, Berlin and New York in 2022. Chicago was completed in 2023 in a time of 2:59:26, his best of the six before completing the set at the weekend. Running 26.2 miles is one thing but getting into these events is no easy feat as demand for places vastly outstrips supply. And while Mark has been a keen runner for many years now, he has only run seven marathons in total – the six majors plus the Dorney Lake marathon near Windsor which he ran in 2021 in what is still his personal best time of 2:57:05, making him one of only a small handful of runners in the club to have achieved the holy grail of marathon running. 

Mark’s major marathons summary:

LONDON – 28.4.2019 3:12:15

BOSTON – 18.4.2022 3:15:01

BERLIN – 25.9.2022 3:06:49

NEW YORK – 6.11.2022 3:27:37

CHICAGO – 8.10.23 2:59:24

TOKYO – 3.3.2024 3:07:55