Anna Maknoff set out from the Shetland Islands, in June 2019, and traveled 2,620 miles, equivalent to 100 marathons, to the finish line in Wimbledon, on Sunday. The bold explorer, who has previously toured all 50 states, seems obsessed with running without shoes.
Maknoff expressed her happiness, saying: "It was five wonderful, strange, difficult and extraordinary months." "I put my feet on waste and glass, even on dead rabbits." The adventure advised running fans to take this "first step", explaining, "I know that if girls can take these first adventure steps, they will see what they can really do."
Before starting the experience of running barefoot, Maknoff said: “I had been obsessed with the issue of moderation in running, for a few years, until now, since I read (Born to Run), and I spent time in New Zealand, where many children run barefoot.” "The foot is a very complex instrument, with more than 7,000 nerve endings and 26 bones in each foot," says the British lady.
"This adventure is a huge experience and I look forward to seeing if I can really convince my feet to do their job," says Maknoff, "after a period of living in shoes." The parents of the explorer were professional athletes, and she wanted to follow in their footsteps.
But due to injuries when she was 20 years old, the athlete decided to retire and start a new life as an adventure, traveling around the world in search of new and exciting challenges in endurance, and writing two books on her experiences.
A central part of her mission is "to show young women, in Britain, that there is more power in them than they envision." Groups of Girl Guides all over the country exchange Maknoff with an experience of "adventure and the great outdoors". "I wanted to make it clear to the girls that they could do anything, and that's why I ran in the UK on my two-footed feet to show the girls that taking risks or doing exciting things, big or small, could be great," she says.
- He was a parent
The explorer,
Professional athletes,
She wants to follow
Their footsteps.