When Mark Walton crossed the finish line of the Queenstown Marathon in New Zealand in November, he also completed another spectacular feat: running a marathon on every continent. 

“I’ve now done about 30 marathons,” says Walton, a professor in the department of Surgery and the vice-dean of Faculty Affairs with McMaster University’s Faculty of Health Sciences. 

“The most recent one was to get my final continent, Oceania, with a race in Queenstown, New Zealand. It was a beautiful and really wonderful place to visit and complete this milestone.” 

Walton has run on just about every terrain imaginable, from the sandy tracks of Madagascar to the icy vastness of Antarctica, where runners had to be ferried over in groups after crossing the rough waters of the Drake Passage. 

“You’re brought to this peninsula where all the international research stations are located,” Walton says.  

“The weather was pretty favourable when we did it and we essentially ran on a gravel lava trail. It consisted of six loops on a seven-kilometre trail.” 

Walton has also run the New York City Marathon, the London Marathon, the Tokyo marathon and — twice — the Boston Marathon and Chicago Marathon. 

Running in the family 

Marathons take endurance, dedication and a sprinkle of stubbornness to cross the finish line, all skills Walton has accumulated over years of running.  

He started running to stay in shape when he was training to be a pediatric surgeon. 

“My older brother was also running at that time, and he did a marathon,” Walton says.  

“Not that I am competitive, but I thought, if he can do a marathon, I should be able to do a marathon too.” 

Since then, Walton has run marathons with both his brothers, including a memorable journey to Germany. 

“We all went to Berlin for the Berlin Marathon, which is famous for fast records. We were there just to finish and we actually all finished together. It was kind of a cool experience.” 

Walton has also been able to share his love of running with his son. The pair have competed in Hamilton’s Around the Bay Race. 

Above all, it is his wife who has been a faithful cheerleader across his globetrotting runs. 

“She puts me in my place and tells me to run faster.” 

Endurance events: Running and med school  

As running took him around the world, it also brought Walton closer to a community. 

Over the years, he has seen and met with hundreds of people. Some encouraged him on his path across the seven continents. Others shared tales of their own journeys, including runners who have participated in hundreds of races. 

“It’s quite a community. They really are well-meaning people that are full of energy and enthusiasm to do runs and lots of other fun things.” 

Walton compares the perseverance needed for a marathon is similar to the determination needed to get through years of medical education. 

“Medicine is a long road, especially in some of the specialties and sub-specialties. Some medical specialties are very much daytime activities, some are very much nighttime activities. So it does speak to a bit of a mindset.” 

You don’t need to be a good runner to run, says Walton, who doesn’t even consider himself a good runner. The keys to success are perseverance, encouragement and that dash of stubbornness. 

“You’ll realize that some people run amazingly well, others don’t, but they’re just enjoying it.”