African-American Sets New World Record for Females Finishing 26.2-Mile Marathons on Seven Continents

Celeste Bell finishes a marathon on all seven continents in just seven days
 
 
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NEW YORK - Feb. 14, 2018 - PRLog -- Celeste Bell broke the women's world record by six minutes for completing 26.2-mile, public marathons on all seven continents, including Antarctica, in a time of seven days, twenty-four minutes, fifteen seconds. Shalisa (Lisa) Davis set the previous record on January 31, 2017. Celeste also set a record for finishing marathons on eight continents in a time of eight days, four hours, forty-one minutes, forty-six seconds. The eighth continent is the newly discovered Zealandia.

The road started at the Eighth Continent Marathon in Auckland, New Zealand on January 23. The next stops were Australia Day Marathon (Oceania; 1/24), the Singapore Beach Marathon (Asia; 1/25), Marathon Cairo (Africa; 1/26), Amsterdam's Sri Chinmoy Marathon (Europe; 1/27), NYC's Icebreaker International Marathon (North America; 1/28), Chile's Southern Cross Marathon (South America; 1/29) and White Continent Marathon (Antarctica; 1/30).

Celeste, native of Charlotte, NC, said, "I have always been into sports. After college, I pursued long distance running because I'm a goal-oriented person. After running my first marathon at the 2004 Miami Marathon, I decided to see the rest of the country on foot. Eleven years later, I crossed the finish line at the 2015 Maui (HI) International Marathon and completed running a marathon in all fifty States plus Washington DC."

She did not repeat a marathon in a state until she completed them all. After reaching this goal, she took a break to focus on renovating her home and her work at Major League Baseball in New York City. She took on the eight day challenge to support Play Like a Girl. This non-profit organization encourages young girls to participate in sports.

She is a member of several running clubs, including the National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA). Tony Reed, the NBMA's Executive Director and a 2007 seven continents marathon finisher says, "I was impressed with Celeste when we ran the 2012 Freedom's Run Marathon together. Running one marathon takes a lot of physical and mental stamina. Running eight marathons in eight days on eight continents, while living on airplanes, is extremely challenging."

She went on to say, "Now that I've run a marathon in every state and eight marathons back to back around the world, I can confidently say that marathons don't EVER get easier to run. You just learn how to run smarter and manage your mind when your mind and body wants to stop. This eight-day marathon adventure is absolutely the most challenging thing I've ever done mentally and physically. However, in accomplishing this goal, I now truly believe I can do anything I set my mind to do. "

She will be recognized for her accomplishment at the NBMA's Fourteenth Annual Summit at the Baltimore Running Festival. For additional information about the National Black Marathoners Association visit http://www.BlackMarathoners.org.

Contact
Paris Coleman
***@blackmarathoners.org
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