Retired pro cyclist Jens Voigt has announced his latest charity challenge – and while, as ever, he’ll be employing his catchphrase “Shut Up Legs!” it won’t be while he’s pedalling, as the German sets himself the task of running seven marathons in seven days.
Supported in his effort by Fitbit, the 46-year-old will be raising funds for Tour de Cure, which was also the beneficiary of his successful attempt to ‘Everest’ Berlin’s Teufelsberg in January this year, when he raised more than €28,000 for the cancer charity.
> Video: Jens Voigt completes challenge to ‘Everest’ hill in Berlin
Entitled Jensie’s Marathon Madness, the challenge will take place from 2-8 January 2018 on a 7.1 kilometre course in the German capital’s Grunewald.
That means that Voigt, who will be running the course between 12 noon and 4pm each day, will have to run just shy of six laps to complete the 41.195-kilometre marathon distance, and 42 laps over the week as a whole.
“After my Everest Challenge a while back, which was already a special achievement, this is something I want to do for two reasons,” he said.
“First and foremost, I was overwhelmed by the positive feedback for my Everest Challenge in the beginning of the year.
“I want to raise as much awareness and funds as possible for the fight against cancer.
“The second reason is that I love to challenge my limits.
“I love to go above and beyond, trying to see what my body and mind are capable of. And what’s a better way to do this than running seven marathons within a week?
It will possibly be the challenge that embodies my motto ‘shut up legs’ like nothing else I’ve ever done before.“
“Of course, people might think I’m crazy to do something like this,” he added.
“But hey, I never said I wasn‘t.”
Anyone who finds themselves in Berlin and fancies sticking their trainers on to join him for a lap or three during the challenge is invited to so.
Donations to Tour de Cure can be made here, while you can follow Voigt on Strava here.
50 thoughts on “Jens Voigt to run seven marathons in seven days for charity”
Seems a bit pointless. As he
Seems a bit pointless. As he says, he’s going to jog around at 6.5mph each day. That still leaves him 20 hours each day to eat and rest. It’s not even that difficult – most squaddies do stuff far more challenging during basic training.
Surely the real challenge is overcoming the boredom of covering the same ground hour after hour.
Eton Rifle wrote:
Probably won’t see you out there doing it, tough guy.
Easy to make with the yak while you’re parked at a keyboard.
reliablemeatloaf wrote:
Probably won’t see you out there doing it, tough guy.
Easy to make with the yak while you’re parked at a keyboard.— Eton Rifle
As I’ve pointed out, it is not that difficult. Interesting that you can only make feeble ad hominem insults instead of refuting what I’ve said.
Eton Rifle wrote:
Even your ‘average’ infantry squaddie doesn’t run or prepare to run marathons, yes the training is intense (I wasn’t infantry) and there are lots of extreme situations you wouldn’t find yourself in on a marathon course but each persons endeavour is a challenge for themselves.
Why has this irked you so much, does it really matter if it isn’t something that is really out there on the limits of endurance physically, maybe he just wants to do something that he knows he is capable of finishing whilst being a good challenge for him, maybe he doesn’t want to push himself to the max anymore and maybe he just wants to help someone else out through his efforts.
Sorry but you’ve lost the plot with your ramblings and attack on him and for no reason other than you personally don’t think it’s difficult enough.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
“The second reason is that I love to challenge my limits.
“I love to go above and beyond, trying to see what my body and mind are capable of. And what’s a better way to do this than running seven marathons within a week?
It will possibly be the challenge that embodies my motto ‘shut up legs’ like nothing else I’ve ever done before.“
He clearly does want to push himself to the max and is prepared to talk about it far more than the charity he is fundraising for.
Simboid wrote:
Well, if you ever get down from Mt Literal you can tell us all about how Jensie boffed your Mrs or weed in your coffee or something.
Eton, I’ve heard that running
Eton, I’ve heard that running a marathon is difficult.
alansmurphy wrote:
I’ve heard it compared to cycling 100 miles.
Grahamd wrote:
I’ve heard it compared to cycling 100 miles. — alansmurphy
Running a marathon is a lot harder than cycling 100 miles.
Jackson wrote:
I agree, though it all depends on how hard you push yourself. I’ve not run a marathon, but at the end of a lumpy 200km (124miles) at 20-24km/h, I feel fairly drained, but nothing like I imagine a marathon would feel like.
Jackson wrote:
Each to their own, I’d disagree.
Oh FFS,
I’m the same age, a bit fat and hardly run at all and I could do that— barbarus I’m pretty sure that you couldn’t. Try running just one marathon, tomorrow. Nice and slowly. Then see whether you fancy another the next day.— SimboidShrug. I’ve done 10 in 10 and I’m not a professional athlete, let alone one who’s come from a background of day after day of long suffering in the saddle.
It’s good that he’s raising money for charity, and I love the character of Jens Voight but 7 in 7 for someone like him really is no outlandish feat.
Grahamd wrote:
I’ve heard it compared to cycling 100 miles.
— alansmurphy
I have cycled 100 miles on a brompton and ran my first marathon last year. I can confirm that running a marathon is a lot harder from my perspective as a 17 st man.
Comparing cycling 100 miles
Comparing cycling 100 miles with a marathon is not wildly inacurate. They are both long physical challenges that can be done more or less easily, depending on how fast you want to be. However, increasing distance in running is not like increasing distance in cycling. Most cyclists who could cycle 50 miles could take that up to 100 with just a bit more food as long as they were prepared to travel more slowly. Most runners who could run a HM would need a lot more training to complete a marathon. It’s just the impact on your body. I hope Jens has done enough mileage in preparation because even he will struggle to get by on willpower alone, no matter how steady he takes things.
It will not be easy.
Good points. You have to
Good points. You have to reckon he knows how to put his body through pain,on the e other hand he’s trained for a different sport and quite a niche element of it.
The fact is he’s using his personality to raise both awareness and money should be celebrated.
SHUT UP LEGS & ETON
Oh FFS,
Oh FFS,
I’m the same age, a bit fat and hardly run at all and I could do that, to be honest you wouldn’t even have to run as it’s not that far.
I really can’t be doing with people publicising a fairly average ‘achievement’ which is actually a personal goal then fobbing it off as a charitable act.
Just seems like an opportunity to boast about something twice, if not more. If you want to be taken seriously as a person who’s concerned about the suffering of others try doing something that doesn’t tick one of your bucket list of selfish goals while making you look like a superman.
He’d get far more respect and money from me if he sat in a bath of baked beans for a week.
As for ‘Everesting’ anything except…erm…Everest, just no. Did you have to ride past the corpses of people who’d tried before? Did you have to pay Kenton Cool half a million to hold your hand? Did you have to wait weeks for a weather window and then use supplemental oxygen? No, no and no. You just did one easy thing repeatedly, you ‘Everested’ nowt.
There are hundreds of people doing far more imressive things than this bloke all the time who barely mention it even to their friends because they’re not egomaniacs and are smart enough to know it’s a selfish thing done for their own sense of achievement, which is enough.
In years to come is he going to look back on how he helped a charity (which he could have done by quietly volunteering) or how far he ran in a certain time?
Simboid wrote:
I’m pretty sure that you couldn’t. Try running just one marathon, tomorrow. Nice and slowly. Then see whether you fancy another the next day. Your other points are debatable.
barbarus wrote:
Oh FFS,
I’m the same age, a bit fat and hardly run at all and I could do that— barbarus I’m pretty sure that you couldn’t. Try running just one marathon, tomorrow. Nice and slowly. Then see whether you fancy another the next day. Your other points are debatable.— Simboid
I think Simboid is being ironic, and to some extent taking the piss out of the first reply. I bloody well hope he is anyway!
Good luck Jens!
Barbarus,
Barbarus,
Over a long period of time with huge gaps in between I’ve run lots of marathons, none of them even remotely fast though some were very hilly. The only difficult ones and the only ones where I didn’t feel fine the next day were the mountain marathons because of the terrain.
Running a marathon fast is a very different story but simply getting to the end at a gentle pace only requires moderate fitness and conditioning. As this guy has been an athlete for decades, will be starting with a very high level of fitness and is running on a flat, springy track he should have no difficulty at all in jogging for 4 hours a day for a week.
When my brother in law ran JOGLE with me cycling in support he ran 50-55 miles a day across all sorts for over 2 weeks, now THAT was hard, way beyond me. He was only one year younger than Jens is now.
Dassie,
I wasn’t being ironic. A marathon is a challenge for someone of low to average fitness and not to be sniffed at but Jens should be able to do it in his sleep. It’s great that he’s raising money but his reasons are 90% selfish and personal.
Have you read about Ben Fogle and Victoria Pendleton’s coming attempt at Everest? Same thing, personal goals and more than a little celebrity face time. That attempt will most likely cost over a million in supplies, flights and fees. Kenton alone charges half a million per attempt as a guide. If your true motivation is raising funds for a worthy cause you don’t start by spending that sort of money.
Simboid wrote:
That’s nice hun.
Simboid wrote:
*swoons*
Simboid wrote:
Sounds easy, reckon I could do that carrying you and your bike!
I see you’re doing a charity
I see you’re doing a charity hole dig!
Have you set up a justgiving page yet?
IanMunro wrote:
I’m well aware how unpopular my view of these things is. That’s a good thing really as if everyone shared my opinion then raising money for charity would be a long, boring suffer-fest with the only sense of achievement being in the funds raised. It’s only possible to have my opinion because others have a different one.
It would be nice though if someone doing one of these things was a bit more honest and said at the start “I’m a massive big-head and want you all to be impressed with me, watch me do something you probably can’t, I’ll pick a random charity and you can pay for it.” That kind of honesty would get me donating.
So how fast is slow on the
So how fast is slow on the flat, Simboid? I agree that if you are basically walking then yes, pretty much anyone can “run” 26 miles. But even from what it seems to be saying, Jens is looking at 4hrs day after day. That isn’t slow. It’s not fast either, but for a non runner it isn’t slow. Plenty of recreational runners go slower than that. Sub 4 marathons 7 days in a row will take a toll because running is much higher impact than cycling.
Jens is a top bloke. Hope he
Jens is a top bloke. Hope he raises a ton of money for charity.
Barbarus,
Barbarus,
4 hours is almost exactly average and is the most commonly run time (4hrs, 4mins in this year’s London marathon). So not fast, but not walking, a comfortable bimble for a fit man.
alansmurhpy,
alansmurhpy,
Is this you?
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10672918.Freezer_jolly_good_fellow/?ref=arc
No, his name is Tony.
No, his name is Tony.
I’m interested now, anyone
I’m interested now, anyone fancy sharing their marathon times? Lots of talk here…
barbarus wrote:
Best 3:03… If I had to do one right now, I reckon I’d be happy with 3:45, and am resigned to probably never breaking 3 🙁
Comparing riding 100 miles with running one is a bit daft – you could blast or jog either. To repeat over 7 days, I’d probably take the riding; I’d agree with the point about the impact taking its toll (even in proper running shape, I feel a HM jog the next day).
@Simboid, you know ‘Everesting’ WRT cycling refers to doing hill repeats to the tune of 8848m, not actually climbing Everest?
[/quote] @Simboid, you know
[/quote] @Simboid, you know ‘Everesting’ WRT cycling refers to doing hill repeats to the tune of 8848m, not actually climbing Everest?[/quote]
Yes, I know that.
Do these ‘Everesters’ understand the difference between numbers ticked off and actual altitude? Climbing a very high mountain involves risking your life in a place where living more than a few days is physically impossible, it’s not the numbers but the place that’s hard.
Pretty sure there are no corpses of failed summiters frozen to the side of a rubble pile in Berlin. The comparison to Everest is misleading, a little insulting and shows a flippant lack of understanding, but sounds really impressive until you think about it.
Simboid wrote:
Do these ‘Everesters’ understand the difference between numbers ticked off and actual altitude? Climbing a very high mountain involves risking your life in a place where living more than a few days is physically impossible, it’s not the numbers but the place that’s hard.
Pretty sure there are no corpses of failed summiters frozen to the side of a rubble pile in Berlin. The comparison to Everest is misleading, a little insulting and shows a flippant lack of understanding, but sounds really impressive until you think about it.
Do you get second invite to parties?
don simon wrote:
Do you get second invite to parties?— Simboid
Does he get first invites ?
fukawitribe wrote:
Do these ‘Everesters’ understand the difference between numbers ticked off and actual altitude? Climbing a very high mountain involves risking your life in a place where living more than a few days is physically impossible, it’s not the numbers but the place that’s hard.
Pretty sure there are no corpses of failed summiters frozen to the side of a rubble pile in Berlin. The comparison to Everest is misleading, a little insulting and shows a flippant lack of understanding, but sounds really impressive until you think about it.
Do you get second invite to parties?
— don simon Does he get first invites ?— Simboid
Not if I can help it.
barbarus wrote:
I’ve done 3:02
The way I look at it, I could run for 3hrs at 85% max heart rate or cycle for 5 hours at the same… no question the marathon will leave you more flogged afterwards. Even running it easy is going to be tough to back up the next day. And yes I’ve done (more than) 7 consecutive 160km rides (at a leisurely pace).
Lance reckoned it was the hardest thing he’d done… I think he went deep sub 3 without a lot of training.
How many on here have done 7
How many on here have done 7 consecutive 100 mile rides?
PRSboy wrote:
Only 5, but have not been an elite athlete at any time.
Grahamd wrote:
To be fair, he’s a retired elite athlete, and elite fitness would disappear quickly if not trained. Also, he is a cyclist, not a runner and he’s a big fella relative to long distance runners.
So, anyone here going to match him, 7 in 7 days?… post up your Just Giving page…
Best comparison I can offer
Best comparison I can offer is that running a fast marathon (well, as fast as I could manage at 3:09 in 2016) trashed my body about as much as riding Paris-Brest-Paris (1200km/750miles, 3 days), and definitely a lot more than a fairly hard sportive such as the Chiltern 100 (110 miles, 6.5h, 2000m of climbing).
Trashed in a different way, though. Cycling typically leaves me tired but not broken, whereas marathons offer both pleasures at the same time, especially walking downstairs 2 days later…
flobble wrote:
:)) yes, I don’t think any ride has made me walk down the stairs backwards.
As I thought, the fast people
As I thought, the fast people are not the braggers… 3.15 for me.
barbarus wrote:
When I was young? 2:46. When I did 10 in 10? I ranged from 3:58 to 5 hours.
I retired from football when
I retired from football when I was in my late 30s and took up distance running. I could run a half marathon in 85 minutes but couldn’t manage a sub 3 hour marathon, 3:05 was my best.
30 years later I did my first 100 mile bike ride and expected to suffer in the last few miles like I did in marathons, to my surprise I felt stronger as the ride progressed.
So for me a marathon is a much harder challenge than a 100 mile ride and I couldn’t do 7 consecutively.
Good luck to Jensie anyway.
and no one mentions Eddie
and no one mentions Eddie Izzard, 27 marathons in 27 days? Not enough for you? How about 43 in 51 days? Now that is pushing yourself beyond any limit!
But I don’t think how many Jens is doing is the point, the main thing is he is raising awareness and money for a worthy charity. He doesn’t have to do it, most wouldn’t, it will hurt him and he gets no gain (except good PR of course).
Some will donate if he gets his shoes on the right feet others won’t unless he cripples himself. Think it says more about them then him.
A fella I have ridden with,
A fella I have ridden with, well in the opposite direction to, friend of a friend; Everested the killer mile of Mow Cop. About 53 repeats from memory. Hell of an achievement and he said coming down was the most scary bit as his body and mind started to tire!
Marathon time for me 3hrs53, I was only going to try and break 4 hours and NYC is hot.
I hated running for the sake
I hated running for the sake of it, when I was a NIG way back when I knew that I was never going to be able to run great BFT times or be a distance runner, even though I was fit I was hardly a spindle at 87kg back then. However running through fear, fear of failure/fear of letting people down does push you on but I would never want to run that hard ever again (fortunately never had to run away from being in fear of my life).
For me back then in my fitness heyday cycling 100 miles was something I could knock out not quite as a run of the mill thing but compared to how I thought it would be to run a marathon (mainly based on how I endured company runs) I would choose riding 100 miles hard every single time as the ‘easier’ option. I don’t think my mind has changed in that respect almost 30 years on
Running 7 marathon’s in 7 days is a fantastic feat and for someone to denigrate it as being too easy simply because that person was a former pro athlete (in a different discipline) and that they aren’t pushing themselves enough on some imagined scale frankly makes them a dumb fuck who should simply shut up.
BehindTheBikesheds wrote:
Had they said any of that you may have a point. Some dumb fucks should just shut up and read a thing as many times as is required to understand it.
Simboid wrote:
Physician, heal thyself.
Good job running uses muscles
Good job running uses muscles in the same way that cycling does, equally a good job that Eddie Izzard didn’t do any traing prior to his feat, and equally Lance Armstrong never had a history of running prior to, and probably during, his cycling career. His fitness will transfer, muscle usage won’t. But we all knew that, didn’t we?
It’ll be a piece of piss for Jensy boy, or indeed, anyone else.
don simon wrote:
I’ve run many marathons. Many 100m bike rides. I ran with Izzard too.
I do Ironman triathlons as well so I feel able to judge how Marathons compare to bike rides.
A Marathon is much harder than 100m on the bike and much much harsher on the body. After my first Marathon my knees locked with the impact of the running and I couldn’t bend them to even cross the road. Never had that from cycling.
Running and cycling is completely different. Different muscles. They compliment each other but you really need to get your body used to the effort. It’s not your cardiovascular system that lets you down as much as your legs will.
I’ve walked the Marathon in 6.5 hours with a pal who couldn’t run. It wasn’t easy and my feet were in no fit state to do anything the next day let alone repeat it.
This is a tough challenge. I’ve no doubt he’ll do it though but it’s not to be underestimated. Izzard had a big back up team fixing him and he didn’t do any fast days. I’m sure Jens will be running faster.
Eton rifles is talking absolute rubbish. Come to see the London Marathon and check out the people coming in 6 and 7 hours. A lot of them in tears. It’s not a bloody bimble.