Richard Holmes has battled through the gruelling metre-high granite steps of the Inca trail.
He added spikes to his running shoes to cross glacier ice sheets in Greenland.
He’s traversed high-altitude peaks on ancient trails in a remote part of Mongolia, inhabited almost exclusively by nomadic eagle hunters on horseback.
Armed soldiers kept him company during the Moscow race. In Kenya, he crossed Maasai plains in the presence of zebra herds.
In Antarctica, he donned a penguin suit to run among actual penguins.
The prettiest race was closer to home, skirting the California coast at Big Sur with the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs providing a soundtrack to his foot steps.
The toughest, and the most emotional for an ex-military man, was the Bataan Memorial Death March in the high desert of New Mexico – which he completed with an 18kg pack on his back in honour of World War II veterans who carried their comrades across an even more gruelling route at Bataan, a province in the Philippines.
During his 60s, the decade when many people are easing towards a comfortable retirement, he completed an average of more than one marathon a week for ten years.
This weekend’s race in Grand Cayman will be his 812th marathon, or ultra marathon, overall. It’s his second time competing on the island, so it is already on the list of 129 countries where he has contested such events.
He will have to wait for races in Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Liechtenstein next year to add to his tally. As of now, he has notched up enough miles to circle the earth four times.
Holmes collects marathons like other people collect stamps.
As the founder and president of the ‘Marathon Globetrotters’ he has seen almost every corner of the world.
The only place he won’t run is North Korea, he says, telling the story of a friend, a former army veteran who travelled for the Pyongyang Marathon and never returned.
Despite the dangers, his hobby, which he admits may have “turned the corner to addiction” is infectious.
His wife, Jeanne Holmes, has competed in half-marathons in 63 countries.
They ran their first race together in 1978.
When they returned to compete again recently, their original singlets still fit.
When Holmes, who lives in North Carolina, explains his reasons to run, his health is number one. From a family history of heart disease and early mortality, he made a commitment to cardio to help ensure he was alive to see his grandchildren.
Now, at 73, and with those goals and many more notched off he is determined to keep going.
The miles don’t come as easy any more. He had a full knee replacement last year and the challenge of going 26.2 miles in the Caribbean heat is daunting.
His goal is simply to make the six-and-a-half hour cut off and avoid a ‘DNF’ for not finishing the race.
“There’s no fountain of youth, but I will give it my best shot,” he said.
- The Compass ‘Why we run’ series aims to celebrate the personal stories of those who compete in the Cayman Islands Marathon. If you have an interesting or inspiring story about the race, email us at [email protected].
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