TOPACCOLADE NEWS

A one legged cancer survivor in South Africa has completed her challenge of running 104 marathons in 104 days, averaging 1 marathon per day.

Afrikaner runner Jacky Hunt Broersma, who lost her left leg to cancer in 2002, has completed her goal of becoming the Guinness World Record holder of the most consecutive marathons ran.

Broersma stated that: “My cancer didn't stop me from running, it gave me a good way to expel the anger and sadness built up after the doctors told me that I had cancer and that the only way to remove it was to amputate my leg”.

She started full time running in 2016, buying a special prosthetic leg used by disabled athletes like fellow disabled Afrikaner runner Oscar Pistorius.

She has since competed in marathons across the world, such as the London Marathon in the UK and the Boston Marathon in the United States.

Via her charity work she's raised over R1,418,806 ($88,000 or £70,000) for Amputee Blade Runners, a non-profit charity aimed to give disabled athletes running blades like Broersma's.

She's also amassed a following on social media, with thousands of followers across Facebook and Twitter.

Broersma announced that she's training for the Moab Footrace: An agonizing 386km (240 Mile) running event in the deserts of the American state of Utah this October.

When asked about the difficulties faced by disabled runners like herself, Broersma stated: “Running has made such a difference to my mental state after my leg was removed, but it has it's costs.

I have to wear special liners and sweat socks when wearing my leg, I also need to use a foam roll and an ice pack on my stump daily.

I want to find a way for amputees like myself to no longer require these blades to run, rather a synthetic human foot, but the science for that is way ahead of our time”.