Last updated: 08-Sep-17
The day has finally come. Mimi Anderson, better known as Marvellous Mimi, set off today on 7th September 2017 at 6am to attempt a new Female Guinness World Record for running across America.
The 2,850 mile journey begins on the steps of the City Hall in Los Angeles, and finishes on the steps of the City Hall in New York. The aim is to run across America in 53 days. That will smash the current Female Guinness World Record, set in 1979 by Mavis Hutchinson, which is 69 days 2 hrs 40 minutes.
Mimi, who grew up in an army family in Edinburgh, came to running at the age of 36 when she taught herself how to run on the treadmill in the gym. At the beginning, she couldn’t run for more than five minutes without gasping for breath.
Her speciality is ultras and she is now a multi-title winner and multi-record winner. She says of herself, “I’m often asked why I run. The answer is simple, because I love it. Running makes me feel happy, gives me space to have my own thoughts, the freedom to explore otherwise forgotten places and remote landscapes. Running gives me more energy to face the day and makes me feel alive. Why do I run? I run because I can.”
Follow her record attempt here
