Prairie Series 7 Marathons in 7 States in 7 Days, July 16-22, 2017

Tania Diener and Jan Steenkamp have done it again! Last year they amazed us with their feat of doing seven marathons in seven states in seven days: this year, they equalled that accomplishment, but with some additional challenges. The event started with a marathon in Wahpeton ND, and successively moved through Breckenridge MN, Baltic SD, Sioux City IA, Sioux City NE, Hiawatha KS, and St Joseph MO. Tania and Jan ran together, posting identical times every day that ranged from Day 1's 5:52:35 to Day 6's 7:35:57. The courses were generally out and backs - often the couple had to complete 10 or 20 out and backs to complete the distance. But the repetitiveness of the courses were not matched by the people they met, including world record holder Larry Macon! The biggest challenge, as might be expected of races in the US prairies in July, was the heat. Day 1 was a not-too-horrible temperature of high-20's, but Day 4 in Sioux City actually reached 43 C!

Tania also reached her 50th marathon on Day 4 on that hottest day! Congrats to Jan and Tania!!!