Christian Brown-Johnson completes a 50K run in Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica last week. Photos via Brown-Johnson's Facebook page

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Brown-Johnson is currently working as a Realtor. It also misstates the amount raised for Parkinson’s research.

Christian Brown-Johnson of Madera recently set a Guinness World Record for completing an ultra-marathon on every continent in seven consecutive days while raising over $10,000 for Parkinson’s research.

He ran a 50-kilometer course on each continent, totaling over 217 miles before his final run in Miami on Nov. 21. Half of all funds raised went to the Michael J. Fox Foundation as part of his partnership with Project 5077. 

Johnson said he chose the challenge after watching his grandfather battle Parkinson’s

“I’m doing this to bring awareness to Parkinson’s disease and to help find a cure, as I’ve watched my grandpa endure this disease now for a few years,” he said on a Gofundme page, which is ongoing.

He completed the global itinerary through The Great World Race, calling the experience transformative. 

 

The Great World Race is a seven-day event where people from all over the world compete on seven continents in seven days. The locations were Wolf’s Fang, Antarctica; Cape Town, South Africa; Perth, Australia; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Algarve, Portugal; Cartagena, Columbia and Miami. 

Only 60 people are allowed to sign up every year and travel together to run marathons and half marathons. 

Johnson was the only one who ran ultra-marathons. 

“Choosing to chase Guinness World Records with The Great World Race was the right decision,” Johnson said on his Facebook, noting that the company made special accommodations to officiate his 50k distances.

Johnson also credited the community of runners he met along the way. 

“Being able to run alongside incredible people… was so heartwarming,” he said.