Lubbock man completes Great World Race; Seven marathons, in seven days, on seven continents

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Seven marathons, in seven days, on seven continents – it sounds nearly impossible, but a Lubbock man has done it. Mike Rogers, with the USA FIT Lubbock run club, completed the Great World Race in November.

The Great World Race began in Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica, on a glacier in below freezing temperatures.

“They all think I’m crazy. My friends, my family, my church, everyone thinks I’m insane,” Rogers said.

The adventure of a lifetime then took him to Cape Town, South Africa, Perth, Australia, and Istanbul, Turkey, where he ran 26 miles through the middle of the night in freezing rain.

“So, I got some blisters after that and some black toenails, but that’s OK. I had a good time,” he said.

In some pain and with little to no sleep, he ran another half marathon in the Asian part of Istanbul, followed by another half marathon in 100-degree weather in Cartagena, Columbia. He then flew home to the United States for his final marathon in Miami.

“I had a great time. I met a lot of wonderful people,” he said. “And we hopefully raised some money for a lot of charities and it was a lot of fun.”

Running has brought him a whole new community of people over the years, including those who were there to welcome home “More Miles Mike” at the Lubbock airport. They say he’s always going the extra mile for others.

“It was wonderful to have that kind of support and those kind of prayers. I needed their prayers to carry me through some of those tough moments during the runs,” Rogers said.

After running a few marathons in high school, one of those friends got him back on his feet to train for another in his mid 50s.

“It was the worst time I ever had in my life. It was a horrible experience, but a few days after it was over, I came home from work, put on my running clothes and started running again. So, big thanks to that good friend.”

Now at 71 years old, he’s no longer prediabetic, he’s controlled his blood pressure and his asthma.

“As long as I’m running, I feel great,” he said.

While he has plenty, he doesn’t run for the medals, but for the memories. Competing in the Great World Race was actually his wife’s idea.

“She decided to do this, thinking this was the penultimate, and then I would retire after that. But unfortunately, that’s not going to happen.”

Rogers says he ran about 15 to 20 miles a day, four to five times a week to prepare for the race. While it’s definitely a challenge, he says in time, anyone could do it.

”Everyone can do this. It just takes a little bit of determination,” he said. “You don’t have to do it fast. You can do it at an easier pace. I know people that can walk 26 miles. You just have to be patient.”

Rogers was one about about 55 people to complete the Great World Race. Organizers host it once a year.

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