Love of running

SHE has pounded kilometres of endless road, from the south of England to the north of Scotland.

There have been tears, laughter, cheeky pints and, of course, persistent rain. And barring an emergency, former Geelong woman Nikki Love will today set a world record.

A self-described average runner with an above-average level of determination, Nottingham-based Love is just over 42km away from finishing her 63rd marathon in as many days.

She has already secured the record for most consecutive marathons for a woman, beating the mark of 60 set by English woman Alice Burch in 2015.

And the extraordinary mark has been achieved with an extraordinary absence of blisters.

The former Corio North student’s unparalleled odyssey was borne out of dual motivations. One is to raise money for the Huntington’s disease Association, after a friend was afflicted with the terminal disease.

The other is just as personal. After running seven marathons in a week in 2010, Love had the urge to set her sights higher.

She cites a saying that has influenced her — “Don’t downgrade your dream to match your reality. Upgrade your conviction to match your destiny.” Now 50, she is not holding back. “My goal is to encourage and inspire others to think big, then do, by y showing the way and sharing my experience,” Love says.

The marathons have been run in 63 different locations, with the final one being held in Leicester.

The sports therapist left Australia for the UK about 18 years ago.