“Our bodies are capable of far more than we realize,” a belief that not only surprised English native Paul Holborn but also saved his life. Having been stuck in a decade-long cycle of physical stagnation, heavy drinking, and depression, Paul transformed himself completely, going on to win the World Marathon Challenge — seven marathons, on seven continents, in seven days — at the age of 41. Now, he’s living proof that change is always possible.
Paul grew up active, falling in love with boxing at age ten and becoming a professional boxer and International Masters Lightweight at age 25.
He then moved to Canada and soon became busy building fiber-optic networks, throwing his health to the wayside. “I was working and traveling a lot,” he explains. I was so unhappy; I was drinking daily from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and not exercising at all, and I was sleeping a lot during the day. Looking back, it was laziness, really. I needed a challenge.”
Paul searched online for the ‘hardest challenge in the world,’ and the 7-7-7 World Marathon Challenge popped up. “I thought, that’s impossible. I have never even run a half marathon. But I knew if I signed up, I could not pull out or walk away from it; I had to be 100% in,” Paul thought.
He consulted sports nurse and family friend Sonrisa Garcia, who created a 20-week training plan for him. Paul started with short two- to three-mile runs, gradually increasing his mileage on weekend runs. He also did Peloton strength training workouts and cycled on non-run days.
“I went from the couch to running my first marathon in just five months,” Paul chuckles. After completing marathon races in Texas and Florida within a few months, he shifted to trail running, winning five consecutive races. His momentum continued as he signed up for the Memphis Big Buffalo 50-mile race — and won that as well.
In January 2025, Paul claimed victory in the World Marathon Challenge, completing marathons in seven continents — Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, UAE, Spain, Brazil, and the United States — within seven days. However, the journey was anything but smooth. On day one, he suffered a painful ankle injury, followed by intense quad soreness the next day. He hit another wall in Brazil at the six-mile marker, with the extreme humidity hitting him hard.
“My body just showed up for me that week,” he says. “I couldn’t believe the way it kept recovering,” carrying himself to finish lines and first place.
“People say things go downhill after you turn 40, and I am here to prove that wrong. As I get older, I am becoming quicker and stronger and building up my base miles. I see people older than me at 45 and 55 doing amazing run times. Wherever you are at, just know that your body will adapt,” he insists.
This summer, Paul plans to run the World’s Coolest Marathon in the North Pole, while smashing three world records. “I want to beat the race’s completion time of three hours and 12 minutes, continue my run, and hit 50K, and then run for a total of eight hours in one day.”
Paul is very grateful for his body in this new season of life and for all the people who helped him raise 4,000 British pounds for Age UK, Sunderland Charity.
Paul now splits his time between living in Texas and Memphis, running at Shelby Parks whenever he is in town. Keep up with his adventures on Instagram: pauly_holborn. You can also help support his North Pole Marathon run at Gofund.me/193eb3e4.
By Shlomit Ovadia
Photo by Tindall Stephens
