Texas resident becomes youngest woman to complete 1,000 marathons

Angela Tortorice of Dallas, Texas, has accomplished one of the world’s toughest running records. She has become the youngest woman to complete 1,000 marathons, at 54 years old. She finished her 1,000th marathon at the Irving Marathon in Irving, Texas, on April 2.

Tortorice lined up for her first marathon in support of her former husband, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1997. Since then, she has taken part in 999 marathons across North America and all 50 U.S. states.

For the past 25 years, Tortorice has averaged 40 marathons a year. She also holds the Guinness World Record for most marathons run by a woman in a single calendar year: 129, between Sept. 1, 2012, and Aug. 31, 2013.

For the most part, Tortorice chooses to walk/run a majority of her races – completing them between six and seven hours (nine and half minutes per kilometre). Her personal best time is five hours.

Throughout her marathon journey, she has raised over $170,000 for MS.

“I’m not stopping at 1,000, I am in it for the long run,” Tortorice told local news. Her life goal is to make a difference in finding a cure for MS.

Tortorice works as an accounting specialist for Vistra Corp., a Texas-based energy subsidiary, whose headquarters are based out of Irving. The new Guinness World Record holder finished her 1,000th marathon in seven hours and 11 minutes to become the first woman in the U.S. and the youngest woman in the world to now complete the feat.

posted Sunday April 10th
by Running Magazine