A huge achievement for cancer research.
At the end of an intense week of running, travelling and meeting new people, Pit Van Rijswijck left his mark around the world. The Luxembourger achieved the extraordinary feat of coming second in the World Marathon Challenge: running 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents.
Day after day, from Novo Station in Antarctica to Miami, via Cape Town, Perth, Dubai, Madrid and Fortaleza, Pit showed his endurance and regularity, finishing each marathon in less than 3 hours 45 minutes. This was quite a performance considering that some of the fifty athletes registered for the event were not at their first World Marathon Challenge.
I am always looking for new challenges, and the World Marathon Challenge particularly attracted me, because you leave your footprint in less than a week on all continents. And I’m someone who doesn’t give up on a project until it’s a success!
Pit Van Rijswijck
For a good cause
Of course, this was not Pit’s first race, having already run many classic or more “exotic” marathons in the past, notably in Norway, Morocco or Greenland.
However, Pit did not choose this challenge only for the effort and the beauty of the sport. Indeed, in 2020, when his father Tun, to whom he was very close and with whom he ran regularly, died of a brain cancer called glioblastoma, Pit promised him to participate in a race to support cancer research. In 2021, he signed up for the “World Marathon Challenge” and created his “Running against cancer” page to communicate and raise funds.
Surrounded by his family and his friends, and supported by many individuals and companies, including Foyer Group, where he works, and BCE, where his father worked, but also Grosbusch, Peters Sports or RTL, Pit has collected some €100,000, entirely donated to the Fondation Cancer, which has accompanied him throughout his project.
On January 31, 2023, after almost two years of preparation, the time had come for Pit to embark on his incredible journey. During this crazy week, we followed him with passion. On his side, he had to face the long plane trips and the temperature changes between the different continents. On February 6, 2023, Pit finally crossed the finish line of the last event in Miami, finishing on the second step of the podium. No doubt Tun was there to watch him too.
Congratulations Champion.
