Yes, several people have literally run around the world, with British runner Robert Garside recognized by Guinness World Records as the first person to run around the world, completing his journey in 2003 after starting in India. Other notable examples include American Polly Letofsky, the first woman to walk around the world (ending 2004), and Australian Tim Franklin, who recently completed a 26,000km run for charity in 2024.
Robert Garside (born 6 January 1967), calling himself The Runningman, is a British runner who is credited by Guinness World Records as the first person to run around the world. Garside began his record-setting run following two aborted attempts from Cape Town, South Africa and London, England.
Based on our information, the first person who can legitimately claim to have been to every country – as the countries stood at the time – is Finnish journalist and writer Rauli Virtanen (recipient of NomadMania's Lifetime Achievement in Travel Award 2023).
For the last 27 years, Karl Bushby has been walking around the world, clocking more 30,000 miles from South America up to the United States, across Russia and through Europe. Now, he's only 2,000 miles away from his hometown of Hull, England.
From October 12-15, 2005, Dean Karnazes ran 350 miles (560km) across Northern California without stopping. He didn't stop to sleep or to eat - he ran for 80 hours, 44 minutes without a break.
Usain Bolt from Jamaica ran the 100m in 9.58 seconds, setting the current world record at the 2009 World Athletics Championships in Berlin, a record that still stands today.
The first athlete to run more than 20 kilometers in one hour was Emil Zátopek, in September 1951. Zátopek also set the 20,000 metres world record in the same race.
Explore More with Gaia GPS. In spring 2006, Karl Bushby crossed the Bering Strait from Alaska to Siberia, walking on shifting ice floes and swimming gaps of open water. It was an audacious endeavor, to say the least. Bushby and his partner, Dimitri Kieffer, towed 200-pound sleds through a rubble heap of fractured ice.
Karl Bushby has been walking around the world over the last 27 years. Karl Bushby was 29 when he left his home city of Hull, England and took off for the adventure of a lifetime.
According to brilliantmaps, the journey would take 4,492 hours to walk, meaning 187 days. However, this is assuming you were walking non-stop. If we assumed a walking pace of 8-hours per day (no rest days!), the journey would actually take 562 days.
Yes. I think it's possible to do with a limited budget with good planning over a lifetime. So as long as you optimised your time and money while you were there. Keep us in the loop over the years as you achieve this cool task Op.
The Castilian ('Spanish') Magellan-Elcano expedition of August 1519 to 8 September 1522, started by Portuguese navigator Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan) and completed by Spanish Basque navigator Juan Sebastián Elcano after Magellan's death, was the first global circumnavigation (see Victoria).
France is consistently ranked as the #1 tourist country in the world, welcoming over 100 million visitors in 2024, followed by Spain, the United States, and Italy, due to its rich culture, iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, diverse landscapes, and world-class cuisine. While France leads in arrivals, the United States often generates the highest tourism revenue.
The 80/20 rule in running is a training principle suggesting you should spend 80% of your training time at an easy, conversational pace (low intensity) and only 20% at a harder, more intense effort (high intensity), like tempo runs or intervals, to build aerobic fitness, improve performance, and prevent burnout. Developed by exercise physiologist Stephen Seiler, it combats the common mistake of running too many days in a moderate "gray zone," which hinders adaptation, and helps runners build a stronger aerobic base to support faster speeds.
Roger Bannister. Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and finished in fourth place.
From Azerbaijan, Bushby then went to Turkey to cross the Bosphorus Strait into Europe. In June 2025, Bushby was in Armenia waiting for a visa to enter Turkey to complete his challenge. At that time, he hoped to continue his trek in August 2025 and estimated he would return home to Hull by 2026.
With training, many walkers can finish a 26.2-mile walker-friendly marathon in about seven hours, with no breaks. That suggests that if a walker is well-trained and takes breaks, they can walk 20 miles in a day. If a walker doesn't take breaks and is going fast, they may be able to cover 30 miles in a day.
Yes, Karl Bushby is still walking and is in the final stages of his 27-year, round-the-world trek, the Goliath Expedition, expecting to reach his home in Hull, England, by September 2026. He began walking from Punta Arenas, Chile, in 1998, aiming to circumnavigate the globe on foot without transport, and is now nearing the end of his journey through Europe after crossing the Americas, Asia, and the Bering Strait.
Hunter-Gatherers (20,000 BC) Modern studies of Hodza tribesmen's daily step count for prehistoric hunter gatherers. Accelerometer data: 15,000–17,500 steps/day, with higher peaks.
The island was originally inhabited by Yupik Eskimos. During the Cold War all local population was forcibly moved to Chukotka in order to prevent contacts with American Little Diomede island Inupiat inhabitants. Unable to assimilate or live among Russians, they have perished.
Defeat in the Crimean War further reduced Russian interest in this region. Russia offered to sell Alaska to the United States in 1859, believing the United States would off-set the designs of Russia's greatest rival in the Pacific, Great Britain.
Located in the center of the Bering Straight and separated by the International Date Line, two tiny islands show how close Russia and Alaska truly are. A thick fog typically blankets the islands. However, on a clear day, one can stand on the shore of Little Diomede and see Russian territory in the horizon.
Yes, it's generally true that less than 1% of the world's population has ever completed a marathon, with some estimates suggesting it's even lower, around 0.1% or less annually, making it a relatively rare achievement despite running's popularity. While millions finish marathons each year, the total number of unique individuals over time is small compared to the global population, highlighting the significant effort and dedication required, notes this Reddit thread.
Research indicates that moderate-intensity running (short or long distances) and high-intensity running (sprints, hill runs, interval training, or HIIT combined with running) significantly reduce belly fat—even without dietary changes.
The 5-4-3-2-1 running workout is a fartlek (speed play) interval session, involving running segments of 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 minute at progressively faster (or goal) paces, with recovery jogs in between, typically 60 seconds, to build speed and endurance for races like the 5K or half marathon. It includes a warm-up and cool-down, with the key being to maintain intensity during the fast parts and use the shorter intervals as a mental boost as fatigue sets in, making the end feel manageable.