A super fit Scottish schoolboy is working to break a world athletics record, but to achieve it he will have to wait until he turns 60.
When Seb Jellema11 years old, learned that the English runner Ron Hill ran every day for 52 years and 39 days, He decided he wanted to get over it.
Since January he has run at least 3 kilometers every day, including on school trips, ski holidays and in the sweltering heat of France.
Hill, who competed in the 1964 and 1972 Olympics and died in 2021, ran at least a mile a day from Dec. 20, 1964, to Jan. 31, 2017, before ending his career at 78. years.
To beat that record, Jellema will have to run every day until early 2075, when he will be 62 years old.
“I started 16 years before Ron, so I hope it's possible to beat his record. I have that dream,” said the boy, who is named after fellow British Olympic middle-distance runner Sebastian Coe.
Neither illness nor weather stops him
“The hardest thing so far was when I was sick in November, I had to keep getting out of bed to run,” he said.
“I felt dizzy and it was very difficult, but I encouraged myself to keep going because I didn't want to break my challenge and also because so far I have raised US$2,025 for charity,” he added.
Jellema's longest run was on his birthday in August, when he covered 15 milesacross the seven hills that surround the city of Edinburgh (the capital of Scotland) in less than four hours.
“He did that and then he had his birthday party, that's how crazy he is,” said his mother Claire Jellema, 40.
“When he was sick I felt like a terrible mother when he went running.“, said.
However, he immediately clarified: “We have never pressured him to do this and I wish he would take a day off, but he is really committed.”
“When we went skiing in the Alps I thought this venture would end but no, he managed to run up and down the roads that were free of snow and ice,” he recalled.
The weather hasn't stopped him either, said the young man's mother.
“In France, in the summer, it was scorching hot and he almost died running, he couldn't breathe, he was sweating and he barely moved,” he said.
Following the example
The late English runner Ron Hill, born in Lancashire, ran even when he suffered serious chest injuries in an accident in 1993.
Determined to maintain his record, the athlete defied doctor's orders and escaped to run more than a kilometer with a broken sternum.
“When my mother and wife went out to do their weekly shopping, I walked quickly to a flat stretch of road nearby, ran two kilometers there and two kilometers back and was back in the saddle before they returned,” he said in one chance.
Hill even ran in a cast more than a mile a day for six weeks after foot surgery.
A unifying mission
Despite suffering a bad fall in February, Jellema has been relatively injury-free all year.
His mother said that she and her husband, Nick, take turns going running with their son.
“What has been wonderful is that at the races he talks to us and opens up,” he added.
“Before he didn't tell us any details about school or anything, but when he runs he doesn't get distracted by the things that happen at home, so he tells us things,” the mother explained.
“He is much more talkative and relaxed, he has been very sweet,” he concluded.
The challenge has meant that Jellema has had to adjust the schedules of his other commitments and hobbies.
His scout leader took him running every day during a camp and so did a teacher during a school trip to Lagganlia in the Scottish Highlands.
So far, Jellema has run 13,000 kilometers and plans to do another 50 kilometers before the end of the year.
“It seems like it's been a long road. I'm very proud of myself. The secret is to keep running,” he said.
“All my friends have been cheering me on and I would love to thank my friends Harrison and Amos for how they have encouraged me to keep going,” he concluded.
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BBC-NEWS-SRC: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cg6w53k7e07o, IMPORTING DATE: 2023-12-30 11:37:04
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