Northland defence lawyer Shannon-Leigh Litt has completed 503 ultra-marathons and is still going strong.
Northland defence lawyer Shannon-Leigh Litt has completed 503 ultra-marathons and is still going strong.
Record-breaking runner Shannon-Leigh Litt has completed more than 500 consecutive ultramarathons and is “well over halfway” to her ultimate goal.
The Northland athlete recently finished her 503rd ultramarathon, the Trek Trail & Fish 50km Ultra in the Bay of Islands, where she was the third-finishing female with a time of five hours.
Litt has been running 51km every day since January 2024 – that’s 503 days straight as of May 19 – and the inspirational Northlander is still going strong.
“[Paihia] proved my body is still coping okay, I was able to run at speed on the trail run, which was very hilly,” she said.
The criminal defence lawyer, who works out of Whangārei and Kaikohe courts, set out on her epic mission on January 1 with the aim of beating previous world record holder Candice Burt, from Colorado, who ran 200 ultramarathons in 200 days, finishing in May 2023.
Shannon-Leigh Litt, pictured being paced by Gemma Salvigny, came third out of the female runners at the Trek Trail & Fish 50km Ultra.
She quickly accomplished that; by September, she had unofficially smashed the Guinness World Record for running the most consecutive ultramarathons.
Litt now plans to submit the data and video footage of her remarkable feat on the day she finishes, to make the record official.
When that will be, however, is a mystery.
Though completing 600 ultras is her next goal, Litt is remaining tight-lipped on her ultimate goal and exactly when she will have a well-earned rest from running.
“I have a specific date in mind, but I’m not saying.
“All I will say is that I’m well over halfway.
“I’ve committed to a number; I’ve got a specific day I’m going to finish, and that’ll be it.”
Since she began, Litt has completed runs in Kerikeri, Rotorua, Hamilton, Mount Maunganui, and the Dome Valley trail in Warkworth.
She ran the Tarawera ultra trail in Rotorua and overseas ultras in Thailand, Australia, Singapore, Dubai, and Austria.
Shannon-Leigh Litt’s remarkable journey has seen her run 503 ultra-marathons since January 2024.
Though she doesn’t have a specific routine, Litt will often get up about 2am to fit running into her schedule if she has to appear in court.
She runs for five to six hours each day to complete each ultramarathon, defined as any running event longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195km.
Common ultra distances include 50km, and Litt is doing at least 51km a day.
The Paihia resident then works into the night considering applications from lawyers and does some work online.
She recently downloaded an app that allows her to upload documents she can listen to anywhere, at any time.
“I’m often listening to legal documents for four hours a day when I’m running.”
Litt began running for fitness as a teenager.
She got involved in half-marathons and marathons in her 20s and, by her early 30s, was running ultras because she found it beneficial for her mental health.
Running long distances was a “personal challenge”, which has inspired many people along the way, she said.
Some who have seen her out running have decided “to get out and do a bit of exercise each day”.
“It allows me to connect with other people,” she said.
“And it’s motivated a lot of others ... to take on an ultra-challenge or a different goal, not necessarily running or sport.
“It shows people, if you work hard at it, they can do it.”
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and animal welfare issues.
