Hilde Dosogne – Marathon Woman 366: Running 366 Marathons in a Year at Age 55 to Break a Guinness World Record
- Tough Girl
- Sep 16
- 5 min read
At age 55, Belgian runner Hilde Dosogne set out to break boundaries — and did just that.
In 2024, she ran 366 marathons in 366 days, earning her the title of Guinness World Record holder for most consecutive marathons in a year.
What makes Hilde’s journey so extraordinary is not just the distance she covered, but the relentless dedication she showed while working part-time and managing her daily life with laser-focused discipline.
Known as Marathon Woman 366, Hilde didn’t grow up in a sporty family. In fact, she didn’t seriously take up running until her 40s. But once she did, she never looked back — moving from her first marathon with her husband in 2013 to ultra events like the Marathon des Sables and the legendary Spartathlon in Greece.
Inspired by endurance runner Candice Burt, who ran an ultra a day, Hilde set a goal that was bold yet (just) manageable alongside her career — a marathon every single day for an entire year.
From battling injuries and illness, to running through Belgian storms and even dislocating a finger mid-run, Hilde’s story is one of mental toughness, resilience, and unwavering self-belief.
In this episode, Hilde shares:
Why she decided to take on this incredible challenge
How she structured her days and managed recovery
The highs and lows of running every single day
The mental strategies that helped her keep going
Her thoughts on aging, performance, and redefining what's possible at 55
The deep sense of joy and freedom she finds in running
Hilde’s story is a reminder that it’s never too late to start something extraordinary — and that the only limits are the ones we place on ourselves.
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Show notes
Who is Hilde
Living in Belgium
55 years old
Married with 4 children aged between 18 and 26 years old
Working in a chemical company and being passionate about running
Being known as Marathon Woman 366
Not growing up in a sporty family and not being encouraged to do sports when she was younger
Getting into running after her children were growing up
Being focused on building up her career and raising her children
Reaching 40 years old and wanting to lose some weight and deciding to run a marathon with her husband in 2013
How her running progressed and wanting to run more marathons and then wanting to run faster and then further
Getting a lot of satisfaction from achieving her goals and pushing her limits
Deciding to run the coastline of Belgium - 74km
Wanting to know what else she could do
Deciding to run the Marathon des Sables in Morocco
Struggling with sleep in the open tent, and dealing with the sandstorm and the noisy people in the tent
Running Spartathlon Ultra Race
Running from Athens to Sparta - having 36 hrs to complete the race
Needing to qualify for the Spartathlon
Running 170km in 24 hrs in 2022
Running the race again in 2023 and running 1 hr faster than the year before
Being inspired by Candice Burt running an ultra marathon everyday
Realising that running an ultra marathon a day would take up too much time everyday
Deciding to run a marathon everyday and break a world record
Feeling that running a marathon everyday would be achievable while working at the same time
Starting to plan for the event in summer 2024 - wanting to run with other people
Applying to Guinness World Records and figuring out the logistics for evidence
The time commitment involved and trying to run with other people
Being commitment to the hours she was running
The hard days, especially when she was feeling sick
Dealing with stomach pain and covid.
Falling while running and dislocating her finger
Dealing with bad weather especially at the start of the year
Struggling with her sleep and feeling too excited from the running both physically and emotionally
Sleeping during her lunch break
Needing to have her days very strictly scheduled
The time commitment of running, social media and the info for Guinness World Records
The mindset of taking on a daily challenge like this
Her resilience coming from having a strict childhood and being very disciplined
Seeing her running as a job
Feeling gratitude for while she was running
Raising funds for breast cancer patients
Being supported by the people who ran with her and also supported via social media
Daily recovery strategies - having a recovery shake, baths, stretching and a massage 1x per week
Being supported by her husband in the house
Getting to the end of 366 marathons
Running the last week in pain, due to a hamstring injury
Preparing an event for the last day
Her body was telling her to stop running
Stopping running on the 1st January 2025
Feeling very happy that it was over!
Getting back into running/walking 10 days later
Wanting to do the Spartathlon for the 3rd time
Becoming the 24hrs running Belgium Champion
Listening to podcasts and music to pass the time
Not experiencing many affects from perimenopause and menopause
Nutrition and fuelling while running a marathon everyday
Which is harder running a fast 5k or running a longer distance?
Stretching, foam rolling, core stability exercises and bike riding
The biggest lessons learned from taking on this challenge
Why the human body can do much more than what we think
Doing this challenge at 55 years old
Running an average time of 4hrs 5 mins for each marathon
Why you can start running at any age
Training for the Spartathlon 2025 with a running coach
Running coach Benny Fisher
How to connect with Hilde on line
Words of advice for runners
The mind is stronger than the body
If you think you can’t anymore, you have to think you can do it. Even if you are at a low point in a race. You need to know that it can get better.
Why the only reason to stop is if you have a serious injury.
Believe that it can get better
Think about how you will feel when you give up
Think about the people that support you and they will be very happy that you finish and disappointed if you don’t
Do it for a charity, so you know you are not only doing it for yourself.
You have to be strong psychically and mentally
Prepare yourself for the difficult moments in the race and think through all the different scenarios that could happen
Social Media
Website: www.hildedosogne.be/en
Instagram: @marathonwoman366
Facebook: @marathonwoman.2024
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