Once upon a time, Jeremy Lin earned the nickname "Linsanity" with his brilliant performances on the NBA stage. Recently, another "Linsanity" figure has appeared in the U.S. — 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden released her "Crazy April" plan for this year. The dense race schedule, ultra-long distance challenges, and extreme race conditions make the plan seem almost unimaginable.
two-time U.S. Olympic marathoner and women's 50 km world record holder,42 year-old Lindenannounced she plans in April 2026 three-week period, crossing between ultramarathons and road marathons, taking on three marquee races back-to-back——
Marathon des Sables,
Boston Marathon,
and the London Marathon.
She said on social media that she will first take part in this week's Black Canyon 50 km ultra-trail race to prepare for the spring's main event, the Marathon des Sables.The six-day, 250 km Marathon des Sables stage race is Linden's key race for the first half of the season.
Stage distances for the Sahara Desert Ultramarathon
This event traverses the Sahara Desert for its entire course, requiring competitors to carry their own food and gear, which makes it considerably more difficult than pure running competition. Lin Dengwill compete in the event from April 3 to 13 .
After completing 250 kilometer journey, she will fly from the east coast of the Atlantic back to the west coast of the Atlantic, to Boston — the place where she claimed her career Grand Slam title — to complete this year's Boston Marathon campaign, and then, without pause, fly to London, UK, returning to the east coast of the Atlantic to race the London Marathon.
In 2025, Lin Deng retired from the professional marathon circuit，later she announced she would move into trail running and ultramarathons. Although she said goodbye to the full-time road marathon scene, she made it clear she has never stopped challenging herself.
She believes that after retiring she has opened up opportunities to explore new race formats that she didn’t have the chance to experience during her previous traditional marathon career. Perhaps for Linden, regardingApril's three events are, rather than about chasing victories and times, more about experiencing different race environments and exploring her physical potential — which she values more.
Before Linden completed her crazy April plan, a group of people earlier this month completed their own audacious feat——Seven consecutive days: completing seven marathons on seven continents, i.e. 777 World Marathon Challenge .
This year the athletes completed a sequence of seven consecutive marathons across the globe: Antarctica, Cape Town in Africa, Perth in Oceania, Dubai in Asia, Madrid in Europe, Fortaleza in South America, and Miami in North America. Bitter cold, extreme heat, high humidity, cumulative fatigue and travel-related wear on recovery became successive challenges the competitors had to face during the events.
According to the official website, this year there were globally 54 athletes who took part in 777 challenge; Chinese athletes totaled 16 in total. One male runner competed in the half marathon experience group with his father; the others all participated in the full marathon.
For the vast majority of participants, taking part in the 777 Challenge is more about the experience of finishing; shortly after the start,the contest for positionswas mainlyfocused on the well-known American ultramarathoner Michael Wardian and the two Chinese runners Wang Shengxian and Ni Yusheng.
Michael Wardian during the race
In the most demanding opening race at the Antarctica stop,Wang Shengxian faced severe challenges including low temperatures, strong winds, and intense UV, and took first with 3:28:24.Michael Woden, nearly 7 minutes behind, finished second in the full marathon,Ni Yusheng finished third in the full marathon in 3:40:33.
In the following six races held in "non-extreme" conditions,Michael Woden gradually began to show strong form, taking four victories,Wang Shengxian andNi Yusheng each took one victory. In the end,Michael Woden claimed the overall title with an average time of 3 hours 04 minutes 56 seconds across seven races,Wang Shengxian and Ni Yusheng finished second and third overall.
Wang Shengxian and Michael Woden engage in a fierce battle
In this extreme challenge,competitor Bal Joshi also incidentally picked up a Guinness World Record, becoming the first runner to complete the 777 challenge wearing Nepalese traditional attire, adding a lot of light-hearted fun to the arduous journey.
In addition, another Chinese competitor also drew attention: the well-known academician Li Jian'an completed the 777 Challenge, accomplishing this "crazy feat" at the age of 74.
Behind these seemingly “crazy” acts is, on one hand, humanity’s desire to explore the self and unlock potential; on the other, the runners’ exceptionally thorough preparation.
Professional athletes like Lin Deng need no introduction; recreational runners also underwent gradual, thorough preparation. The participation of Academician Li Jian'an in 777 surprised many, making it feel as if he had suddenly transformed from a marathon enthusiast into a “miracle maker”.
Academician Li Jian'an during the 777 Challenge
But that's not the case — he shared his 777 journey on social media. From initially thinking he could never complete 777, to using the National Day holiday to try seven half marathons in seven days, to circumnavigating Taihu in 2021 to complete 7 days, 7 full marathons, and finally arriving at completing it across seven continents 7 days, 7 full marathons.
He moved toward his goal step by step as his abilities steadily increased; he was by no means someone who, on a whim or in a momentary burst of enthusiasm, would take on "impossible tasks". Lacking planning and preparation"Madness", at best, is merely rashness, and the result will almost certainly be poor.
Running is an energizing pursuit; that energy gives runners confidence and courage, allowing them to bravely explore their untapped potential. At the same time, running is a sport that embodies the principle "you reap what you sow" — aiming too high or rushing in impulsively will only bring hardship.
Dream boldly without limits, build your preparation steadily with your feet on the ground, and after finishing one goal, set the next—this continual cycle has become the most beautiful story between running and runners.
# Regarding running, have you ever had any 'crazy' ideas — did you later make them happen? #
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