Mt. Lebanon Runner To Complete 7 Marathons On 7 Continents
PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - Next week, Mt. Lebanon native Peg Pardini will run a marathon in Antarctica, but that's not the most impressive part of her story.
Pardini will also complete the challenge of running a marathon on each of the seven continents.
The 51 year-old personal trainer says she started running 10 years ago after one of her clients motivated her to run a marathon.
"I called my brother in New York City who ran numerous marathons in the 80s...it was going to be one and done...then we decided to try another and another and he's a worldly traveler...and after about three continents we said, 'Okay, let's go for all seven,'" says Pardini.
Only 100 people are allowed on to the continent of Antarctica at a time so she will need to basically get off the boat, run the marathon, and get back on the boat.
To get there, the runners need to travel from Buenos Aries and go through Drakes Passage, which is known for its choppy waters.
She says while traveling, "People get violently ill and we don't dock so you have to anchor."
Pardini adds they take small boats to the mainland, where a course will be mapped out the day before.
If completed, Pardini will become one of only a handful of women to complete a marathon on Antarctica. She says runners have six-and-a-half hours to complete the race and the terrain is very challenging.
"It's very icy, it's very snowy, very muddy. People have been known to lose their shoes in the mud and they can't get them out. [Then,] there's the wind, it can be upwards of 50 miles per hour," says Pardini
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