Around the World in 80 Marathons
A photographer snaps a photo as Laurie Copeland crosses the finish line of a marathon in Miami Beach last February. A wide smile lights up her face as she grabs the finish line ribbon, raising it triumphantly over her head. Looking at Copeland, you would never guess that this exuberant woman had just completed 183.4 miles of running in perhaps the most grueling marathon challenge on the planet. Selected as one of 62 runners from around the world to compete, Copeland had just finished the Great World Race—a marathon challenge consisting of seven marathons on seven continents in seven days.
“I saw an ad [for the race], and I reached out to the owner and said ‘I hear you are doing this race in January. Do you have a waitlist?’” Copeland recalls. The race did have a waitlist, but in December Copeland got an email telling her she had been added to the roster. “I had to pack my clothes and get on a plane to Capetown at the end of January. So, I wasn’t
as prepared as other people.” True to her nature, Copeland entered the race determined to enjoy yet another incredible running adventure. “I was very relaxed and just very happy to be there,” she says.
A graduate of Florida State University (FSU), the Jensen Beach native was a trapeze artist in the FSU Flying High Circus as a student. “After college, I tried to go off and join the circus, but I decided that I needed to get a real job,” laughs Copeland. She became an accountant. Running became a way for her to unwind after sitting at a desk all day. In 1985, she met her husband, Jim, who was training for an Ironman Triathlon. The couple bonded over their love of running and adventure. “We ended up getting married and had adventures all over the world running in triathlons since then,” Copeland says.
Her first major race was the Disney Marathon in 1997. She qualified for the Boston Marathon and competed in Boston the following year. In 2000, she completed her first Ironman Triathlon in Panama City, Florida. Since then, she has gone on to run 80 marathons and complete 15 Ironman races. Now, at 66 years old, Copeland has been running for almost three decades. Her love for the sport is matched only by her love of travel and adventure. One of her most memorable races was a 100-mile stage race in the Himalayas. “Over five days, we ran 100 miles up through the mountains,” says Copeland. “It was definitely one of my all-time favorite places to go. It was beautiful.”
Along the way, Copeland has encountered her fair share of hurdles. The day after finishing the Great World Race last February, doctors found a sarcoma in her leg. She underwent four operations with skin grafts to remove the sarcoma. “That put a damper on my 2025 racing schedule because I had to go through rehab,” she says. “I have to go back every three months and make sure that the cancer is not coming back, but I seem to be doing pretty good.” Copeland sat on the sidelines to heal for three months, but by May of last year she was back training for a marathon at the North Pole. “We went in on an icebreaker ship. It took us five days to get there through the ice,” says Copeland. “Then they had to find a block of ice that was big enough for a marathon course. We did 50 laps.” Asked how a Floridian trains for a race on ice, Copeland is characteristically nonchalant. “It just all works out. Running in the slush is like running in the soft sand.”
While Copeland has accomplished more than most runners can even dream of, she has many more races on her bucket list. At press time, she was training for the Long Haul 100, a 100-mile-long race at Colt Creek State Park in Lakeland. This year she is registered for marathons in Little Rock, Arkansas; Missoula, Montana; London; and Cape Town—plus the Boston Marathon again in April and the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii in October. Eventually Copeland would like to run a marathon in all 50 states (she has 18 left).
Running can be a solitary sport, but Copeland runs with several Martin County-based groups. “We have a big running community here in Stuart. Any day you can find people to run with if you want to,” she says. “We just have such a great time, and we motivate and challenge each other. I think what really keeps me running more than anything is my friends. They are the best!”
Who Runs the World?
Laurie Copeland shares her highlights from seven continents.
Africa: “Africa is hot! I ran in the summer, and I think their ozone layer is very thin. The people are very nice. I love Africa, and I’m planning to go back.”
Antarctica: “If you can make it to Antarctica, those marathons are really stunning. Kind of like being in the desert, but being cold.”
Australia: “New Zealand and Australia are incredibly beautiful, and the people are very outdoorsy.”
Asia: “I ran in Tokyo. The people are so polite that when you race there, they don’t really clap. It was a very quiet race, which was interesting.”
Europe: “I have done a bunch of races in Europe. Racing in Europe is very competitive. The Europeans race hard and there are not a lot of women racing.”
North America: “There are endless racing opportunities in North America from small to big races. The big ones like New York City, Boston, and Chicago with 50,000 people are really exciting, but the small races can be just as fun.”
South America: “Part of the Great World Race was in Fortaleza, Brazil. It started at six in the morning, and all the running clubs were all out running. There were thousands of runners who weren’t racing. They were just out for their Sunday morning run. They are really into running there.”
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