The Current - Running 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

Could you run seven marathons in seven days? What if those marathons were in drastically different climates, say running in Antarctica, and the next day running in South Africa? That's the challenge Marcel Kasumovich has set for himself, as he attempts the world marathon challenge, the only Canadian competing.

Hi there, I'm Nala Ayyed, host of Ideas. Ideas is a podcast where we dig deep into the why to understand the what. Here you can find out how an enslaved man mailed himself to freedom, or why the yellow traffic light was designed to be ambiguous. The Ideas podcast has something for everyone. With episodes every weekday and a vast archive, the choices are endless. Listen now to ideas wherever you get your podcasts. And tell a friend. There is a friend. There is a something here for them too. This is a CBC podcast. Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. It's a sound of feet hitting the icy ground in Antarctica.

Those feet belong to a unique group of runners, people hoping to complete the 777 World Marathon Challenge, seven marathons on seven different continents in seven days. I'm exhausted even saying that it's all kicking off next week in Antarctica. Russell Kasumovic is one of the 55 runners participating. He's the only Canadian in the group. Marcel, good morning. Good morning, Matt. How are you today?

Well, I'm okay, but as I say, I love running. I run every day. I'm tired even thinking of what you're about to do. Why would you do such a thing running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days? Well, you know, you go through your midlife crisis. Do you have a choice? You want the fancy car?

Do you want to run around in circles? And running around in circles was a way to go. I'm not really a big car guy. So, yeah, you know, I've always been a runner as well, and I was looking for a distraction. And the run buck characters who put this together are really amazing group. And I signed up and started talking about it, and then I started hitting the pavement. So it's going to be something, I tell you. It is going to be something.

This starts for you. Tell me about running in the North Pole Marathon in 2006. What was that all about? So that was long enough ago that I forgot about it. So then that, which made the opportunity to do this one so much clearer, so much more compelling. But in 2006, shortly after my son was born, I had the bright idea of going to the North Pole and running a marathon.

And that's where I was introduced to these types of extreme runs. And it took 20 years to convince myself that I should do something a little broader. And this is a little broader. So I'm really excited about it. What was that like? What was it like to run up there? Oh, my goodness. It was, you get there by plane in the spring.

You're at some form of a Russian base camp. There's only a brief period of time where the plane can land, where the ice is solid enough. And it's effectively some form of a cargo plane, so it's not particularly glamorous. The plane leaves, and you're looking around saying, what am I doing here? And it's like a nice desert.

I mean, it's gorgeous. It was an amazing experience. But boy, oh boy, when that plane leaves, you were really feeling quite alone. And the run itself was quite challenging. You're running in snow shoes and there's these icy hillocks and the sun's sitting on the horizon, kind of like it is now in a lot of the northern parts of Canada. So it was interesting. I'm super happy I did.

I met some lifelong friends, but it was a challenge. It was a challenge. And so how do you go about training? for something like what you're about to do. There are those, you know, 5K in six weeks kind of apps that you can get. This is very different than that. You're running seven marathons in seven consecutive days. How does one prepare for this?

Well, you run a lot. That's for sure. So I tell you that the hardest part of it, the mental journey is real. So if you ever want to find and poke around your weaknesses, you go out running for 25 hours over the course of a week, that'll do it. So the mental journey is a big one. But recovery. So it's really not about speed, not about endurance.

It's the recovery that's the hardest part because you're finishing a very long run. And the daunting task is mentally you have to get up the next day and do another very long run. And that is a journey. But there are very clear stages of recovery where you can accelerate your recovery mechanisms and be fine. I mean, you're still going to feel it, and it's still going to be a challenge. But if you're disciplined enough on the recovery side, you'll be fine.

You are going to feel it. Oh, I'm going to feel every step, my friend. What do you love about runner? The solitude? You know, I mean, there are very few things you can do where your phone is down. And I don't run with the phone. I don't run with music. I don't run with fuel.

I just get the gear on and get out the door. And sometimes it's beautiful out and sometimes it's awful. And sometimes you're out at 4 in the morning because the humidity is 90%. You just got to get out before the sun's up. But the solitude is lovely. And then you just, you know, it's funny. You talk to the Zen crowd. And they say, well, just let things feel.

Let things come through you. kind of like Bruce Lee, right? Let things come through. And I tell you, the thing, so I'm visualizing Antarctica and I'm saying, well, it's going to be cold and it's going to be icy. And then what comes in my head for the one long run, but vanilla ice. And I'm like, I just, I have to get this run over with. I cannot listen to the song in my head any longer. So it's a lot of, it's not always deep thoughts, you know what I mean? It's not, and I'm like, okay, I'm drawn on something of my childhood. And I'd like to just park that and think bigger things. But so it's not always that you're sitting out there on your own in solitude and thinking big thought.

Sometimes it's silly little things that pop up too, but it's lovely. I really, really like the ability to just be alone and force myself to just, you know, think, think from the inside. And there is something, I mean, we're almost at a time, but let me ask you just a couple of quick things. The one is there is something about pushing yourself to or beyond your limits that's really intoxicating, right? Oh, I mean, look, I've, I did, uh, in, in, At my peak simulation, I ran 150 miles in the week. And the fastest of those was the last one. I only know the person at my building tells me the time when I walk in,

so it was faster than the others. And it is definitely the feeling that not only the mental journey of having completed it, but just the endorphins that are running through your body at that point. Now you go for a 10K run. The downside is you go for a 10K run, you kind of don't feel anything. which is unfortunate, but it's a lovely feeling. You're going to start in Antarctica. How does one wrap their head around that?

Oh, you know, I think visualization helps a lot. Having done the North Pole, helps a lot, even though it's a distant memory. And, you know, you run in the cold in Toronto in December, and I tell you it was cold. and in Kitchener and in Stony Creek and Hamilton Mountain, and you've got some pretty good winds there. So I feel like the cold, look, as a Canadian, I'm going to finish Miami with the Canadian jersey on. If the cold is my problem, I got bigger problems to handle.

So I look forward to seeing it, if nothing else. And then I can get my special medal of having done all seven continents and the North Pole. It would be fun. When you cross that finish line, it'll be something else. I will be following you along as you do this. It's great. I mean, again, pushing yourself is a really powerful thing. And pushing yourself as you get older is really important as well.

Best of luck and one foot in front of the other. Matt, thank you so much for the time. And I'll be cheering Canada the whole way. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be the number one Canadian in the race. So that's exciting too. The only Canadian and the number one Canadian. Marcel Kassimovich is the only Canadian competing in the 777 World Marathon Challenge, hopes to complete seven marathons in seven days on seven continents he starts next week in Antarctica

and ends up in Miami. This has been the current podcast. You can hear our show Monday to Friday on CBC Radio 1 at 8.30 a.m. at all time zones. You can also listen online at cbc.ca.ca slash the current or on the CBC Listen app or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening.

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