Arlington's Jill Jamieson Aims To Run 7 Marathons In 7 Days

ARLINGTON, VA — Watch out, Michael Wardian! One of your Arlington neighbors is trying to claim the title of Arlington’s top long-distance runner.

Arlington resident Jill Jamieson is planning to participate in the World Marathon Challenge, an event that takes runners to Antarctica, Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, South America and North America to run seven marathons in just seven days.

Jamieson, 56, told Fox 5 that she will be one of several dozen runners traveling on a chartered airplane at the end of January to participate in the marathon challenge. Participants will be sleeping on airplanes, instead of in hotels, as they travel to the starting line of each marathon.

Six years ago, Wardian, a fellow Arlingtonian and a local legend in road racing and ultra-running circles, won the World Marathon Challenge in a record time. He ran the seven marathons on the seven continents, averaging just under 2:46 for each 26.2-mile race.

As part of the World Marathon Challenge, Jamieson hopes to raise awareness and money for research into Alzheimer’s disease. She told Fox 5 that her father died because of Alzheimer’s.

The money that Jamieson raises ahead of the World Marathon Challenge will go to the Alzheimer’s Association.