- A man has run 72 consecutive daily marathons with his border collies.
- Aaron Robinson runs a marathon every day to raise money for a charity that combats human trafficking.
- Some critics have questioned if it’s safe for the dogs to run 26.2 miles every day.
Inca and River may be unlikely marathon runners, but what the two border collies have done every morning for the past 72 days is no small feat: The dogs have logged 26.2 miles daily with their human, Aaron Robinson, in tow.
In the dark of the English morning, the trio hits the trails near their east London home just after 3 a.m. In the end, Robinson and his companions have completed a full marathon in about five hours. “It’s basically a five-hour walk for them,” Robinson, 40, told The Daily Mail about his energetic companions’ daily undertaking.
While the marathon endeavor initially started as a fundraiser for Robinson’s Hope for Justice, a charity that combats human trafficking and modern slavery, the incredible philanthropic effort could land him—and his dogs—a place in the record books.
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On February 18, 2023, when Robinson ran his 63rd consecutive marathon, he unofficially broke the Guinness World Record for most consecutive days to run a marathon distance by a male, a record officially held by Vishak Krishnaswamy, 62, who ran the marathons in Maharashtra, India, from September 1 to November 1, 2022. (A Guinness World Records spokesperson said the organization looks forward to receiving evidence from the attempt to review.)
Although his dogs view their daily outing as more of a “fun run,” Robinson finds his efforts to be “hard work” and has to fuel up accordingly, consuming more than 6,000 calories daily to help offset the 3,500 calories burned during each run. (No word on how much kibble Inca and River take in each day.)
While the pups predictably get a nice nap each day, “it’s quite hard to get enough sleep, get enough calories in, and then go to work afterward,” Robinson told South West News Service. “You don’t really recover 100 percent before you start the next one.”
Still, even though the exertion and other ailments, like stomach troubles, have taken a toll on Robinson, he says he stays motivated by thinking of the fact victims of human trafficking are unable to escape their suffering.
“It is tough, but what I think about a lot is I can stop this at any time,” Robinson explained. “The victims of modern slavery and human trafficking—they can’t run away. They sometimes have their passports stolen, they’re threatened, they’re beaten.” Robinson’s runs have earmarked more than £3,000 for his organization.
Despite some recent criticism, Robinson says that he hopes to continue his marathon run of marathons with Inca and River for as long as he can.
“There were some comments from people about it being cruel for dogs to run a marathon,” Robinson wrote on Instagram. “For some dogs maybe, but for other dog breeds, especially working dogs, they’re made for it. All dogs aren’t the same, just as all humans aren’t the same. And I know my dogs better than anyone.”
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
