Whangārei woman completes 1000 consecutive ultra-marathons

A Whangārei woman has just completed her 1000th consecutive ultra marathon and is eyeing up becoming a Guinness World Record holder.

Criminal defence lawyer Shannon-Leigh Litt ran 51km everyday for two years and nine months, through nine different countries and extreme weather events.

"Different weather conditions made it quite tough," she told Breakfast.

"I was in a flood, I almost got hypothermia in Austria, extreme heat around up to 40C."

Despite the length of the challenge, Litt said the nearly three years passed quickly.

"I just got into a routine."

To fit the ultra runs around work, she often started between 1am and 4am.

"Initially, the first 18 months or couple of years it was taking 5.5 to 6.5 hours, but the last few months I've had to allow eight hours to do it."

While her body remained strong, she said the mental challenge became harder towards the end.

"I just wanted it to finish. I wanted to not have to do that 51kms every day."

To meet Guinness World Records requirements, Litt had to stay within New Zealand's 24-hour clock, even while travelling overseas.

"I started at maybe like 6-7am on January 1 2023, I had to stay within that timezone, so if I've travelled, I have to get it done.

"Like in Bali, for example, you have to finish at 8pm their time."

The previous record was held by Candice Burt from the US, who ran for 200 consecutive days.

"Initially, I never planned to do the 1000 [days]," Litt said.

"It was really when I applied to Guinness World Records a few months earlier ... I applied for 250 days, but then decided to keep going."

While the challenge is officially over, Litt's first "day off" on Sunday still involved running a marathon.

"It wasn't actually a day off. I ran a marathon as a taper, and it felt so much shorter. I could go faster."

She said its hard to just stop after so long: "You can't really go cold turkey."

Litt may even attempt another record break over the next few months. She said Guinness reached out about another marathon record they could verify.

"That's always tempting, but it won't be past the end of the year."

"I'll do a marathon for a couple of weeks, see how I feel, no pressure."

Litt said she is looking forward to a "complete change next year" with some new hobbies.