After more than a year of training and a lifetime of running, local runner Bruce Allen is preparing for the race of a lifetime — seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
The 2024 event, known as The Great World Race, is a global marathon challenge that pushes both elite and amateur runners to their limits. The race kicks off on November 15 and ends on the 21st. About 60 runners, including Allen, will board a chartered plane that will take them to locations including Antarctica, Cape Town, Perth, Istanbul, Cartagena, and Miami. Participants will face varying weather, terrain, and time zones, making the challenge not just a test of stamina but a truly unique global journey.
Allen, who has already completed a marathon on each continent, says the challenge goes beyond physical endurance.
Running, Allen said, offers him “time to think, time to pray, time to be yourself, time to be stress-free and not worry about anybody else.”

He runs purely for enjoyment.
“It might be the endorphins running through your body, but it gives me time to look at things differently. I also like to run because it allows me time to listen and feel my own body.”
This upcoming challenge will be grueling, but Allen feels ready, despite a recent ankle injury. He’s been biking up to 50 miles a day to give his ankle some rest.
He knows that completing seven marathons in seven days across seven continents will take incredible strength and stamina — he’s determined to finish.
The race includes runners with a variety of personal and charitable goals. Allen is running to raise awareness and pray for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives. He already has a list of names he prays for but is asking anyone with a missing or murdered family member to reach out to him on Facebook. He wants to learn their stories and include them in his prayers throughout the journey — and in the months and years to come.
Runners will need to adjust to unique conditions. Some will have the luxury of business-class seats for sleeping and getting massages, while others will sleep in coach or lie across seats. Showers are still uncertain, Allen said, and the first race in Antarctica is expected to be the toughest due to extreme cold and harsh conditions.
In Istanbul, where the city straddles both Asia and Europe, runners will stay in a motel for the night before walking across the river the next day to race again.
The series is hosted by Ice Cap Adventures, which manages travel and event support across continents.