S

even marathons on seven conti-
nents in seven days. Let that sink
in for a minute.
Merrick Chernett, an 18-year-old
University of Michigan freshman from
Bloomfield Hills, accomplished this
incredible feat and broke a world record,
becoming the youngest person to com-
plete this multi-marathon race.
Beginning on Nov. 14, Chernett
and 59 other ultra-endurance athletes
from around the globe participated in
this unique annual event, appropri-
ately named the Great World Race, by
running marathons in Wolf’s Fang,
Antarctica; Cape Town, South Africa;
Perth, Australia; Istanbul (one in Europe
and another in Asia); Cartagena, South
America; and Miami, North America.
Chernett left Ann Arbor on Nov. 12,
landing in South Africa at midnight
the following day. He was supposed to
have a day to recover before heading to
Antarctica, but the start of the race was
moved up due to bad weather, giving him
just four hours before his next flight.
“The idea of going to and running on
seven continents; it’s insane to be able to
say you did that,
” Chernett says. “It was
draining, and you’re worried about your
health. It could be stressful at times, but
at the same time, it was such a cool expe-
rience, and that’s what I signed up for.
”

Chernett, an avid runner, a former
high school tennis player, and previous
participant in three ultra-endurance
events called the Toughest Mudder,
described the Great World Race as an
incredible learning experience and the
most challenging thing he’s ever done.
“I believe that when you do things that
are so hard, you get outside of your com-
fort zone, and it makes you better. You
maximize your potential, and you grow. I
knew it would take discipline and deter-
mination to train and then do the race.
I’ve never pushed myself so hard, never
had to dig that deep mentally,
” he says.
Chernett used the race as an oppor-
tunity to raise money for Innovation:
Africa. This organization uses solar and
water technology to bring clean drinking
water, electricity and internet access to
African villages. He chose it because he
believes access to these basic necessities
can “transform communities, improve
health, and create opportunities for
growth and development.
”
Chernett learned about the Great
World Race just last summer and started
training immediately. Initially, he ran
about 80 miles a week until September,
when he increased his weekly distance to
100 miles, making sure to run the equiv-
alent of a marathon on the weekends. At
the peak of his training, he ran 20 miles a

day for six straight days and then tapered
the distance as the race got closer.
“I’ve never had to be so focused and
disciplined with my time,
” Chernett
says. “I’m doing three business clubs at
Michigan (including TAMID, a profes-
sional development business organization
that connects students to Israel’s econ-
omy) and balancing that with getting
good grades, maintaining a social life and
training for this race. I’m also pledging a
fraternity. It’s been extremely tough, espe-
cially working in my 100-mile week.
”
While most of his professors were
understanding, Chernett still had to carve
out time during the race for schoolwork.
After finishing a marathon at 2:30 a.m.,
he spent the next three hours in the hotel
lobby doing homework.
Leading up to the race, his parents,
Stacy and Jorey Chernett, had their con-
cerns, particularly his mom. She even
tried to talk him out of the race on the
way to the airport.
“I didn’t understand why he wanted
to do this or how it was even possible. I
think one marathon is very hard on the
body and requires a lot of training,
” she
says. “He’s a freshman in college. It’s his
first semester. He’s in three business clubs
and a fraternity, he cares about his grades,
and it required extensive training for
months.
”

18-year-old from West Bloomfi
eld
runs seven marathons in seven days.

THE GREAT
WORLD
WORLD
RACE
RACE

JENNIFER LOVY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

OUR COMMUNITY

20 | DECEMBER 12 • 2024
J
N

Merrick Chernett captured
footage from the marathons
on a GoPro camera and plans
to continue sharing what he
recorded on his Instagram
account, @Merrick_Chernett.

MERRICK CHERNETT

Merrick snapped this
selfie in Antartica

Merrick and medals

Merrick running
in the Cartagena
marathon, the sixth
of the seven races

THE GREAT WORLD RACE