Jacqui Pettersen knew she was in line to receive her Six Star Medal after completing all six major world marathons.
But she did not figure her running prowess would get her into the Guinness Book of World Records.
The 51-year-old Prince George neurologist became the 238th Canadian women to earn the marathon six-pack award March 5 when she finished the Tokyo Marathon, completing a list that includes Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
Michael Wells of Prince George also raced in Tokyo and he added his name to the list of 281 Canadian men and 11,151 people in the world who have raced all six majors and he was not alone. A total of 3,049 runners in Tokyo earned their Six Star Medals – the most at one marathon – which made it a world record-setter.
“It was an amazing experience to finally hold that Six Star Medal in my hand, it’s been a long time coming, extra long with the pandemic, so it felt extra sweet getting that medal, at the end,” said Pettersen. “Over 3,000 of us got our Six Star Medals that day and that made it worth the wait.”
This is the second time Pettersen has won Guinness World Record recognition for her running. In 2020, Pettersen ran the virtual London Marathon, which set a record for most runners in a remote marathon in a 24-hour period – 37,966.
After placing sixth in her age category last year at the London Marathon, Pettersen is qualified for the 2023 world age-group championships and plans to race that event in Chicago in October.
