A marathon swimmer and ultrarunner: surviving cancer, breaking records

After cancer, one woman swam farther than anyone ever had in a lake. Another ran 104 marathons in 104 days on a carbon-fiber running blade. Marathon swimmer Sarah Thomas returned to the water following aggressive breast cancer and went on to complete multiple record-setting open-water swims.  And Jacky Hunt-Broersma lost her leg to bone cancer, then redefined endurance one marathon at a time. Their stories are about ambition, adaptation, and the audacity to ask the body for more.   Suggested episodes: From wingsuit BASE jumping to record-breaking South Pole expeditions with Ellen Brennan Frat and Liv Arnesen What a runner’s high feels like when you’re 105 years old What it’s like to be allergic to water Below the surface: The stories behind underwater world records    GUESTS:  Sarah Thomas: marathon swimmer who holds multiple world records for the longest current-neutral swims ever completed, including a 104.6-mile swim in Lake Champlain. After aggressive breast cancer treatment, she returned to the water and became the first person to complete four consecutive crossings of the English Channel Jacky Hunt-Broersma: an ultrarunner and amputee who lost her left leg to bone cancer at age 26. In 2022, she ran 104 marathons in 104 consecutive days on a carbon-fiber running blade, setting a Guinness World Record and raising nearly $200,000 to help other amputees access running prosthetics. Her memoir, Duct Tape and Determination: A True Story of Turning Devastation into Grit, is coming out in August 2026  Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.