If you see this guy tomorrow, bear in mind that he just ran Helsinki marathon Saturday. Does he look tired? Probably not. Does he smile? Yes indeed.

Wojtek Machnik from Poland is not an ordinary marathon runner. Running is his passion together with travelling, which he combines and has managed to visit 41 countries and run 41 marathons since august 2018.

Tomorrow his well-travelled feet will run the streets of Copenhagen and in august 2019, he will have visited 62 countries and run 64 marathons. Let´s take a deep breath here.

In order to reach his goal, Wojtek must run more than one marathon a week. In March he completed 9 marathons which 5 of which were in the same week. This challenge is a Guinness world record official attempt for “most marathons run in different countries in one year”.

Telenor Copenhagen Marathon is number 42 on Wojtek’s list. But there is more to come. On a bigger scale Wojtek Machnik aims for “one marathon in every country in the world”, a project named 249challenge.

“I like to inspire people, there is a lot of motivation involved in this project. People are watching me, and they say; Oh, I like what he is doing, and then they go running the next day.”

The adventure runner

Wojtek is running because he likes it. He completes his marathons within 4.30 – 5 hours, with plenty of time to stop at the hydration station, take pictures, make videos for his YouTube channel and talk to people. So far, he has managed to get through without any injuries.

“If I feel pain in my muscles or my knee, I just slow down a bit. My limit is always six hours, I don’t run too fast, so I don’t exploit my body too much”, he explains.

When Wojtek travels, he stays in hostels, where he meets new people and sometimes run with them.

“The most valuable thing is people I have met on my way, also runners’ and people who help me a lot e.g. picking up my race number, because I have a busy schedule. I have friends all over the world.”

Flight-diet and protein bars

Since Wojtek is always travelling, a lot of this fuel comes from flight meals, airport sandwiches, hotel breakfasts and protein bars. He has gained three kilos since he started.

“I try to stay healthy but it´s difficult, I don´t have the time to keep a healthy diet that is why I gained three kilos. My body has been very confused these 8 months. When I started last year I flew to Hungary, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Every week I was in a different time zone. Now I am in Europe since it is European season for marathon, and the time zone is stable.”

The previous recordholder gained twenty kilos, so Wojtek still feels good about himself.

Spectacular races

The most spectacular marathon in teams of view and level of difficulty was in Pakistan. The Pakistan army was involved and brought the runners to the mountains where the race took place. Wojtek thought the view was amazing, but the most colorful marathon was in Indonesia.

Flying in directly from Helsinki on Sunday morning, we wish Wojtek a safe trip and a great marathon.