Marie Debont-Booth has been running in support of Winston’s Wish since 2019. She quickly got the taste for not only taking on marathons but multiple back to back runs (running 2 marathons in 2 days), even running 100 miles in one ultra-marathon. Since she started Marie has run an unbelievable 99 marathons. We caught up with her to find out more about her road to 100 marathons, motivation and what’s kept her going through lockdown, rain and shine.

Tell us about your running journey from starting the “12 in 12” to marathon 100!

After taking on the 12 in 12 (running 12 marathons in 12 months) my best friend Lisa was coming up to her 100th marathon, so I joined her on the latter part of her journey. She’s another “wrongun” and made me believe I was capable of more! So, the day after her 100th she suggested I join her on her 101st. This was my first back to back marathon. It was incredibly hard doing 2 back to back, but it sparked a desire to do more and so it seemed every weekend I was running 2 marathons up until lockdown hit.

Roll forward to July and running events were back and very different to before, but my love for marathons came back stronger than ever. In September I did my first planned ultra-marathon and ran 50 miles in just over 11hrs. I couldn’t believe I’d actually achieved this and I also knew a bigger race was taking place the next month.

I ran my first 100 mile run in high wind along the top of Dover cliffs, completing it in 28hrs 56 minutes. My 50th marathon for my 50th year was planned for December, then the night before another lockdown came into effect. I was totally gutted and didn’t want to run for a few weeks, but then I was reminded that I had completed 32 marathons, a 50 miler and a 100 miler. I popped my trainers on a started training hard. I knew if I was going to reach my goals I needed to be strong.

April 3rd 2021 came and races were back! Time to get my 50th marathon completed. It was so good to run with friends again and then my running became fast and furious. I ran my 2nd 100 miler at the end of May and loved it once again.

Running doubles at the weekend led me to want to achieve my next challenge: 12 marathons in 12 days was extremely tough, but I got it done, and even ran another 3 days later. At the end of this spell I was up to 92 marathons. I knew I had it in me to run the last 8, so here I am with 99 completed and a rare weekend off soon so that I’m ready for my 100th.

Why have you chosen to support Winston’s Wish?

Whilst on the 12 in 12 a good friend’s sister in law passed away and she remembered how I ran for Winston Wish. She contacted your charity and they gave her great advice to help her niece, who is just 4 years old. I knew I needed to support the charity again as the care provided helped a good friend. It’s only a little thing I’m doing, to give back and try to help another family.

How did you find fundraising?

I’ve been amazed how kind a generous people have been, especially in these difficult times. I might not achieve the full fundraising target but I will do my best.

How did the pandemic affect your training, events and plans?

Lisa and myself decided early into the 2nd lockdown to run locally and find new paths, so we made the most of a bad situation. We trained hard so we would be ready for when the races were back on.

What have you enjoyed the most and what has been the worst part of the experience?

Wow, the journey and the memories I’ve made have been amazing! The best was completing the 12 marathons in 12 days – I found inner strength I didn’t know I had. The worst would be doing a marathon on the hottest day of the year, I struggled so badly and it was the first time I’ve ever thought to quit a marathon, but with the help of friends I got it done.

Update: Marie has now completed her 100th marathon, that’s an incredible total distance of 2,621.88 miles! She’s raised £2,406 for Winston’s Wish since 2019, an absolutely staggering achievement. Marie, you’re a superstar!