Welsh runner Helen Ryvar will continue to extend her Guinness World Record this morning when she will be on the starting line of the La Valette Marathon.
Ryvar has an extraordinary story as the mum of three has been running a half marathon every day following the death of her former husband in 2020 to inscribe her name into the Guinness World Record books when completing 111 consecutive races.
Despite reaching this feat, Ryvar continued to run a half-marathon every day and has now reached the 670 mark as of February 29, 2024 but is targeting to run 1,000 half marathons by January 25, 2025.
“I am really looking forward to continuing my adventure in Malta at the La Valette Marathon,” Ryvar told the Times of Malta.
“I was invited to race in this year’s edition when I was contacted by the organisers last year and I immediately accepted as it’s an opportunity to reach out and empower more people.
“I’m a long distance runner who has raced in all sorts of conditions and I am happy to have included Malta in my journey.
“I don’t see myself as an elite runner but a normal person who wants to empower and inspire people. I started running after losing my ex-husband and since then I have been doing this for various charity organisations.”
Ryvar said that following the death of her former husband she had a lot of challenges to face and road running turned out to be a great tool to help her face every day life’s challenges with more determination.
“Running has been a very important ingredient in my life as my mental wellbeing benefitted a lot from practising sport,” Ryvar said.
“This is the main message that I want to send to everyone and encourage them to start practising sport because it keeps them healthy not only from a physical point of view but more importantly from a mental part too.”
Thijs Mathisen Nijhuis has his eyes firmly set on setting a new record at the La Valette Marathon today.
The Danish runner is racing for the first time in Malta and says the race will be a perfect preparation for the Copenhagen Marathon in six weeks.
“I was contacted by the organising committee who invited me to race in the La Valette Marathon,” Nijhuis said.
“I have never been to Malta but I really love the race route. Dillon Cassar encouraged me to come and take part in this race.
“It’s a different marathon and offers me a new challenge which I always love to undertake.
“This race will be the perfect preparation for the Copenhagen marathon and will allow me to test a number of things.”
Another Danish resident on the starting line is Sylvia Mmboga Medugu.
The Kenyan-born runner is also in her first race experience in Malta and said the race will be a great challenge for her.
“Dillon Cassar spoke to me a lot about this race and I decided to take on this challenge,” Medugu said.
“I believe that this race will be a great training exercise for me in different conditions that I’m used to normally. There is no forest or soft surface here so for me it’s going to be a great challenge and something different to what I normally do.”
