VOA新闻杂志2022--截肢女运动员挑战102天跑102个马拉松

Woman with One Leg Seeks to Run 102 Marathons in 102 Days

A woman who lost one leg to cancer is seeking to break a world record by completing 102 marathon-length runs in 102 days. A marathon is a race that goes 42 kilometers.

Jacky Hunt-Broersma, who lives in the western American state of Arizona, set her goal in mid-January. And every day since then, she has been running the distance of a marathon.

Most of the time, she runs on roads and trails near her home in Gilbert, Arizona. Sometimes she completes her runs on a running machine called a treadmill¹. Hunt-Broersma averages just over five hours to complete the runs.

If she keeps successfully completing marathon-length runs every day, she will reach her goal by April 28. She would then hold the world record for completing 102 back-to-back marathon runs.

The current world record of 101 marathons was set April 10 by British runner Kate Jayden. The 35-year-old Jayden does not have a disability.

Hunt-Broersma, a native of South Africa, lost the bottom half of her left leg to a rare form of cancer in 2001. "The biggest struggle was accepting that part of my body was gone," she told The Associated Press.

Hunt-Broersma said that until five years ago, she was not very active. But then she looked into running and decided² to give it a try. The sport ended up being quite costly³. Currently⁴, she runs on a prosthetic leg made out of a strong, light material known as carbon fiber⁵. The carbon fiber blade she uses, which is designed specifically for running, costs about $10,000.

But Hunt-Broersma says her investment has been well worth it. "Running really changed my life," she said. "It helped me accept myself as an amputee. It gave me a sense of freedom. I fell in love with the process of pushing my body further just to see what I could do."

However, she has faced both physical and mental difficulties during her record-breaking attempt. On one recent day, Hunt-Broersma said she felt near collapse⁶ at 24 kilometers and began to cry. In that moment, she felt like her planned goal might not happen at all.

"I had a total emotional breakdown⁷. I was like, ‘I just can't do this. What was I thinking?'" she said. "The trick for me is just to break it down into little goals, she added.

One of her recent runs was the world-famous Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts. She finished that race, held April 18, with a time of 5 hours, 5 minutes.

Hunt-Broersma's main support team is her husband and their two young children. She is documenting her progress online and has also gained a large social media following.

As she nears the end of her goal, Hunt-Broersma is hoping to inspire a single thought in others, regardless of their own physical limitations. She tells people, "You're stronger than you think — and you're capable of so much more."

Words in This Story

trail – n. a path through the countryside, often where people walk

prosthetic – n. an artificial body part, such as an arm, leg, or foot, that replaces a missing part

blade – n. a flat, sharp piece of metal that can be used as a tool or weapon

amputee – n. a person who has had an arm or leg cut off

inspire – v. to make someone want to do something

capable – adj. able to do something

1 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

5 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 breakdown   

n.垮，衰竭；损坏，故障，倒塌

参考例句：

• She suffered a nervous breakdown.她患神经衰弱。
• The plane had a breakdown in the air,but it was fortunately removed by the ace pilot.飞机在空中发生了故障，但幸运的是被王牌驾驶员排除了。