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His dad was less worried but still
apprehensive, mainly wondering
how his son would manage his time
between school, training and the
race.
“You naturally have some con-
cerns as a parent, but I felt like this
was a huge growth and develop-
ment opportunity, not just from the
running perspective, but to be sur-
rounded by a very diverse group of
like-minded people. I thought it was
an excellent opportunity for him to
develop on so many levels,
” he says.
Chernett knew the race would
be hard but didn’t expect it to be as
challenging as it was. For example,
the course in Antarctica consisted
of four snow-covered loops. Half of
the loop had the sun hitting them
directly, making the temperature a
balmy 50 degrees. The other half was
the polar opposite; windchills dipped
between -20 and -30 degrees without
the sun.
The temperature variations made
it tricky, according to Chernett,
because they would sweat in the
sunshine, and then the sweat would
freeze. Almost everyone, including
him, got frostbite on their lips.
The Cartagena marathon, the
sixth of the seven races, was also

brutal. With a heat index of 105
degrees, 100% humidity and no
shade, he and many runners experi-
enced some degree of heat stroke.
Part of what kept him going
throughout the week was knowing
the challenges of the other race par-
ticipants.
“Everyone has these crazy stories
of what they’ve been through, what
they’re going through and what
they’ve overcome. It’s really inspir-
ing,
” Chernett says. “You have a guy
there who’s got terminal brain cancer
and less than a year to live. You have
a guy who’s got one lung and has
had cancer three times. They’re out
there running with you, and you see
they’re doing it and not complaining.
That motivated me to keep pushing
forward whenever I struggled.
”
Australia, he says, was the prettiest
of the 26.2-mile courses. That race
began at 6 p.m., and watching the
sunset and experiencing the area at
night was breathtaking.
Istanbul, on the European side,
was his favorite. Not only was the
view incredible, but the weather, in
his opinion, was perfect. It was 55
degrees and raining, but Chernett
loved running in those conditions.
Finishing at 4:04, it turned out to be
his best race.
His parents and brothers Brevin,
20, and Jonah, 17, were in Miami
to cheer him on during the seventh
marathon. At that point, his feet
and ankles were so swollen that he
had to run in shoes that were a size
bigger than what he typically wears.
He expected swelling and brought
four pairs of running shoes. What he
didn’t expect were the hairline frac-
tures in his feet.
When his family met the other
race participants, they kept hearing
about what a great kid Merrick was.
They listened to stories about how
he helped carry luggage for some of
the older participants, and because
of that, they nicknamed him The
Sherpa.
“We were thanking them for look-
ing out for Merrick, and they were
thanking us for Merrick looking out
for them,
” says his dad.

Merrick after finishing
the last race in Miami

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