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Rebecca Pizzi (born 1980) is an American
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
runner from
Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a western suburb of Boston and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, its population was 27,295, an increase of 10.4% from 2010. H ...
. In 2016 she was the first American woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge, a series of seven marathons on seven continents in seven consecutive days, for which she holds the current record. She finished each race well ahead of all the other four women runners, and ahead of nine of the eleven men competitors. In 2018, she became the first woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge twice, again winning the women's overall race, and six of the seven individual marathons. Starting running at age six with her father, Pizzi ran her first race that year and her first
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
at age seventeen. She had run it fifteen times by 2015, as well as 45 marathons in 27 states. After college, she started the Belmont Track Club.


Early and professional life

Pizzi credits her father, who ran competitively for the
University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the Public university, public university system of the Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes six campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell ...
, for her running inspiration. She started running with him at the age of six, completing her first race that same year. She graduated Belmont High School in 1998, and Mars Hill College in 2002, competing in
track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...
and
cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and soil, earth, pass through woodlands and ope ...
in both institutions. Her 2000 Mars Hill cross country team was the first such team from Mars Hill to compete at the NCAA National Championship meet. She was part of a
South Atlantic Conference The South Atlantic Conference (SAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the southeastern United States. The SAC was founded in 1975 as ...
championship team for each of four years, serving as the team captain during her senior year. After college, she was a coach for the
Team In Training Team In Training (TNT) is the flagship fundraising program for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. TNT is the only endu ...
leukemia fundraising marathon program. She ran her first
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
at the age of 17, her longest race before college, and had run it 15 times by 2015. Her running goal is to run a marathon in every state, and she had run 45 marathons in 27 states by 2015. Before the World Marathon Challenge, she had never had an injury in 30 years of running. Pizzi returned to Belmont after graduation, where she started the Belmont Track club. She runs weekly with the Boston Bulldogs Running Club, an addiction recovery support group. Pizzi works two jobs, owning a
day care Child care, also known as day care, is the care and supervision of one or more children, typically ranging from three months to 18 years old. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), childcare typica ...
and managing an ice cream parlor. She was a single mother of a young daughter (she continued to run while pregnant, until 2 days before giving birth). Following in her footsteps, her daughter ran her first race at the age of six.


2016 World Marathon Challenge

Pizzi says that as soon as she heard about the World Marathon Challenge, she knew she had to run it. Only one American, Timothy Durbin, and only one woman, Marianna Zaikova of Finland, had completed the series of seven marathons on seven continents ( Union Glacier,
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
;
Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
;
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
;
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
;
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...
,
Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
;
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
; and
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
) in seven consecutive days. Pizzi had never been to any continent besides North America. She first consulted her daughter, receiving criticism from her daughter's friends. Her daughter approved, saying: "Mom, finish strong." In preparation, which she started January 1, 2015, Pizzi ran 70–100 miles a week before her daughter woke up, then did further training at nighttime, including yoga and cross-training that totaled 30 hours a week. She also continued to work at the ice cream parlor and day care. By the time of competition, she got more sleep on the plane flights during the challenge (seven hours per night), than during her preparation (five hours). Her race preparation received national and international coverage. The entry fee was $36,000. Pizzi had to ask for additional time in order to find sponsors to help cover the cost. Ultima Replenisher, a maker of
electrolyte-replacement drinks Oral rehydration therapy (ORT) also officially known as Oral Rehydration Solution is a type of fluid replacement used to prevent and treat dehydration, especially due to diarrhea. It involves drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salt ...
, Dr. Cool ice wraps, and Lyon-Waugh Auto group, a local car dealership, together covered 75% of the cost. The first two also provided their products to help her run. A Belmont bank hosted an autograph signing session for her departure, donated money in her name to the Belmont Food Pantry, and followed her progress via its website. On the first marathon, January 23, on a glacier in Antarctica, the sub-zero temperatures made Pizzi's
iPod The iPod is a series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices that were designed and marketed by Apple Inc. from 2001 to 2022. The iPod Classic#1st generation, first version was released on November 10, 2001, about mon ...
freeze and burst. She would later say it was her least favorite run because of the cold, but also her favorite and most memorable run because of the beauty and silence. Her standard running partner, a Boston attorney, ran with her in Chile. In the North American marathon, in Miami, Pizzi was watched by friends, including the owner of the ice cream shop she manages, and her running coach from Mars Hill. She ran the last six miles with a nine-year-old girl whom she has mentored. After her finish, Pizzi watched the other competitors come in for over an hour before she rested or ate. In Madrid, she was surprised to meet Zaikova, who joined her for half the race. The Marrakesh race was difficult, because it took place only 12 hours later, but she was bolstered by her running partner biking beside her. In Dubai she suffered her first running injury ever, falling and suffering a groin muscle tear during the second mile. To overcome the pain, she thought of
New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He spent his first 20 seasons with the New Engla ...
, and his quote "I didn't come this far to just come this far." She completed the race, though running her slowest time of the seven marathons. By the time her plane landed in Sydney for the final marathon, her groin was black and blue and swollen to the size of a
softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
. She still completed the last race and her boyfriend greeted her at the finish line. Pizzi finished an average of an hour ahead of all four of the other women competitors in all seven races. Her cumulative time of 27:26:15 hours (an average time of 3:55:11 hours) was declared a world record for the event. Her cumulative time was better than those of nine of the eleven men competing. A fellow American, Daniel Cartica, a U.S. Marine Corps captain from Chicago, won the men's marathon, also in world record time; only he and another U.S. Marine finished faster than Pizzi.


Post marathon

When Pizzi returned home, Belmont held a parade in her honor, and declared February 4 "Becca Pizzi Day". She received certificates of accomplishment from the Massachusetts House, Senate, and Governor. U. S. Representative
Katherine Clark Katherine Marlea Clark (born July 17, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as House Minority Whip since 2023 and is currently in her seventh term as the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 5th congressional district, hav ...
read a tribute to her into the
Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...
. The "Becca Pizzi Family Fun Run", a
5K run The 5K run is a long-distance road running competition over a distance of . Also referred to as the 5K road race, 5 km, or simply 5K, it is the shortest of the most common road running distances. It is usually distinguished from the 5000 me ...
, was named after her, and first run in Belmont on April 10, 2016, by 200 people. The ice cream parlor she manages named a flavor after her, "Becca 7", with seven ingredients. She was awarded a "Globie" New England sports award by the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
''. Mars Hill University named her one of two alumni of the year for 2016. Pizzi continued her 100-mile per week training pace for the 2016
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
. Before the marathon, Pizzi was honored along with Boston Marathon legends
Bobbi Gibb Roberta Louise Gibb (born November 2, 1942) is an American former runner who was the first woman to have run the entire Boston Marathon (1966). She is recognized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) as the pre-sanctioned era women's winne ...
and Meb Keflezighi by the
Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit dedicated to organized sports, with a focus on running, in the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Mar ...
. On April 17, 2016, the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
let her throw out the
ceremonial first pitch The ceremonial first pitch is a longstanding ritual of baseball in which a guest of honor throws a ball to mark the end of pregame festivities and the start of the game. Originally, the guest threw a ball from their seat in the grandstand to ...
, but before she did so, her boyfriend of five years made her the first woman proposed to on the
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
pitcher's mound A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...
; Pizzi accepted. In 2017, Pizzi ran 10 marathons, including pushing with Team Hoyt in the
Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...
Marathon in September, and running the Volcano Marathon in Chile at 14,000 feet in November 2017. She injured her calf, and received deep tissue massage from Tom Brady's TB12 sports therapy center for two months, while preparing to run the World Marathon challenge again.


2018 World Marathon Challenge

In 2018, Pizzi became the first woman to run the World Marathon Challenge twice. She was the fastest female racer in six of the seven marathons, and in the overall race, and set a new overall time record. She won the women's races in
Novolazarevskaya Station Novolazarevskaya Station () is a Russian, formerly Soviet, Antarctic research station. The station is located at Schirmacher Oasis, Queen Maud Land, from the Antarctic coast, from which it is separated by Lazarev Ice Shelf. It was opened on Ja ...
, Antarctica;
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
, South Africa;
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Australia;
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, United Arab Emirates; and
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
, Portugal on consecutive days on January 30 through February 3. She came in second in the women's race in
Cartagena, Colombia Cartagena ( ), known since the colonial era as Cartagena de Indias (), is a city and one of the major ports on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region, along the Caribbean Sea. Cartagena's past role as a link in the route ...
after taking a wrong turn, then recovered to win the last women's marathon in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, United States, on February 5. She said Miami was her most memorable race; she had her telephone stolen with all her photos, but that was made up for by having her husband and family there to cheer her on. She crossed the last 100 yards and the finish line running alongside her daughter, and the race director Richard Donovan gave each a gold medal.


Continuing running

In 2020, Pizzi published an autobiographical children's book, ''Becca's Feat on Feet'' (,
Mascot Books Mascot Books is a full-service, multi-genre, independent book publisher and distributor. It is a hybrid publishing company headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, USA. The company publishes a variety of genres, including fiction, nonfiction, childre ...
), about her running of her first World Marathon Challenge. Her father contributed the title. On December 14, 2022, Pizzi returned to Antarctica for a third time to run the Antarctic Ice Marathon, winning the women's race with a time of 4:24:15. On April 17, 2023, Pizzi coached former
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
hockey captain
Zdeno Chára Zdeno Chára (; born 18 March 1977) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, and Washington Capitals between 1997 a ...
in running the
2023 Boston Marathon The 2023 Boston Marathon was a marathon race held in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 17, 2023. It was the 127th official running of the race, and 125th time it was run on course (excluding the virtual event of 2020, and the ekiden of 1918). It a ...
, his first marathon. They ran the race together, finishing hand-in-hand in 3:38:23. In November 2023, Chára and Pizzi ran the
Feaster Five Road Race The Feaster Five Thanksgiving Day Road Race, more commonly called the Feaster Five, is a 5-mile road race held annually in Andover, Massachusetts, United States, on the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day. It is one of the Bay State's ...
, with Chára as the official race starter. On May 13, 2023, Pizzi, with Chára encouraging her, ran her first
ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...
, the Watuppa 50 kilometer race, in Fall River, Massachusetts. She won the race in 3:59:11, beating the women's course record by 35 minutes. Pizzi completed her goal of running a marathon in all 50 US states on September 24, 2023, by running, and winning, the
Jackson Hole Jackson Hole (originally called Jackson's Hole by mountain men) is a valley between the Gros Ventre Range, Gros Ventre and Teton Range, Teton mountain ranges in the U.S. state of Wyoming, near the border with Idaho, in Teton County, Wyoming, T ...
Marathon in
Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...
. She brought a support crew of 50 people for her 50th state marathon, including her husband and daughter, and finished in 3:15:41 as the fastest female, and the 10th fastest overall, out of 601 runners.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzi, Becca American female marathon runners 1980 births Living people Mars Hill University alumni Belmont High School (Massachusetts) alumni 21st-century American women