New Zealand woman runs 1000 ultramarathons in 1000 days

September 25, 2026

Shannon-Leigh Litt has burned through over 90 pairs of shoes in her quest to run an ultra-marathon every day for 1000 days in a row.

The 47-year-old criminal barrister has trotted through flooding in Malaysia, sweated in 40+ degrees on trails in Thailand and was borderline hypothermic during -10 degree days in Austria.

She’s hallucinated during super long runs (the furthest stretch was a 37-hour, 249km King Backyard Ultra this year) in which trees morphed intro dragons and ghosts appeared in front of her eyes.

Three battles with severe flu this year were some of the hardest days to push through – but on Saturday afternoon Litt will crack an ice-cold Corona at a pub in Whangarei where she lives and celebrate reaching 1000 ultramarathons in 1000 days.

Before locking in on the extreme goal, Litt had 20 years’ experience in long-distance running. She qualified for the 100k World Championships in 2023 in the speedy time of eight hours, 29 minutes. But she sat it out, having committed to this record-breaking mission. RNZ