QUT postgraduate student Alexander Gibson has spent the past year researching endurance performance as part of his exercise science masters degree – and now he’s over half way through his own endurance challenge to run 12 marathons in 12 weeks.
Alexander had never run a marathon distance (42.2km) before starting his challenge – but his mother’s cancer diagnosis has spurred him to hit the pavement (and trails) in a bid to raise $12,000 for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
“I haven’t done anything like this challenge before – the longest previous run I had completed was 36km,” he said.
“This challenge will certainly be kicking it up a notch, running at least 42.2km every weekend for 12 weeks.
“The first of my marathons was a 50km ultra-trail marathon at a local event named ‘The Guzzler’ where I placed 36th out of 524 overall and 4th in my category (18–29 year-old) in a time of 6:11:22.
“This was the longest and hardest of the 12 I plan to do, as it was on the trails with 2000m-plus of elevation gain.
“My marathons since then have all been run in under four hours.”
All things going well, Alexander’s 12th and final marathon will be on October 14.
“Having now completed eight of the 12 marathons, I am finding a rhythm and looking forward to hitting the back half of this challenge strong, and raising as much money as possible for breast cancer research,” Alexander said.
“The rest of my marathon runs will be across flat ground along the Brisbane River, starting from Milton and running to Hamilton and back.”
Alexander completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science with QUT in 2021 and then began a research masters degree with the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences in QUT’s Faculty of Health to investigate performance in elite Olympic distance triathlon athletes.
He’s drawing on some of his research to give him the best possible chance of completing his marathon challenge.
“One of the areas I’m investigating is the effect of ambient air temperature on running performance in triathlons,” he said.
“I’ve scheduled my runs for early mornings – starting at 4am – to allow me to run during the cooler hours of the day and maintain a higher level of performance, reducing my risk of heat stroke and dehydration.”
Alexander said he was lucky to have plenty of people supporting him over the 12 weeks.
“With the high demands I will be putting on my body, it has been vital to stay healthy and as injury-free throughout as possible,” he said.
“Luckily, I have a wonderful team of family and friends who are supporting me along the way. My physio Dalibor Bendzala from Performance Physio got me to the start line of this challenge and is continuing to support me throughout the 12 weeks.”
In addition to his masters degree studies, Alexander also works as a research assistant at QUT.
To donate to his fundraiser, visit National Breast Cancer Foundation - 12 For 12 (nbcf.org.au).
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- Mechelle McMahon, media@qut.edu.au
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