A mum-of-eight from St Ives is no stranger to running around, but she faced her toughest challenge yet after completing her 100th marathon last Sunday.
After six hours and 57 minutes, Carol Goodwin, 58, crossed the finish line at the Thetford Iceni, greeted by cake and champagne – a milestone run which has taken her just four years to achieve.
“It went very well and the weather was perfect,” she told The Hunts Post.
“It was a trail route through Thetford Forest and there was lots of different terrain so it was quite difficult and there was lots of sand and tree routes so I was very pleased I didn’t fall over.”
After hearing about the 100 Marathon Club over dinner, Carol became set on joining.
“I didn’t start off to do 100 marathons, but I was doing one in Dorset and I met a lady at a meal, and there was a man there doing his 100th marathon,” she said.
“I asked her what the 100th Marathon Club was and she said some people do
52 marathons in 52 weeks and things like that. I’d done about 15 by then and
told my husband I wanted to get into that club and I went from there.”
In fact, Carol asked Jane Steadman – who introduced her to the club – to run with her and present her achieve-ment at the end of the race.
Documenting her runs, Carol has compiled a spreadsheet of all her achievements, starting with the London Marathon in 2012. It also includes half-marathons, ultra marathons, and one which spanned 70 miles.
She’s even travelled abroad to tackle the tracks, running in Dubai, Malta, Berlin, New York, Marrakech, Singapore, Istanbul, and Disney World in Florida, where she completed the Goofy Challenge - a half-marathon one day and a full one the next.
“I liked all the camels in Marrakech and running past them,” she said.
“The weather is lovely so I can sunbathe straight after. You do a marathon then put on your bikini.”
In fact, Carol has another 10 to do this year, with one in Lanzarote booked for December, as well as others in Gran Canaria and Cyprus before heading back to Marrakech in 2017.
She’s even entered the ballot to run in Tokyo.
“Some of my family think it’s a bit crazy,” she confessed, “but my 20-year-old daughter Sophie has done 25 of them with me so she’s got the bug now.”
Sophie joined her mother for her milestone race, but her husband, who has done 35, and her other daughters who have also run marathons, half-marathons and even a 160-mile race, have all done their fair share, too.
With so many achievements, it’s no wonder their kitchen is covered in her medals, which have to be stored each year to make way for new ones.
“I can see myself getting to 200,” she said.
“Next year I’m going to do 10 marathons in 10 days, and in April I’m doing a 100-mile non-stop marathon in Wales along the Pembrokeshire Coast.”
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