ABOUT NIK TOOCHECK

Nik Toocheck is an American marathon runner, world record holder, and philanthropist. He has run marathons on each of the seven continents and in each of the 50 states while raising money for Operation Warm and the Seva Foundation. Nik began running for fun with his father. He ran his first 5k at the age of five and his first marathon at the age of nine.

SEVEN continents

Nik began his quest to become the youngest person to run a marathon on all seven continents at the age of nine. In December 2012, he ran his first marathon in Lewes, Delaware. In 2013, he ran in Chile, Antarctica, and Australia. In 2014, he ran a second marathon in Antarctica, as well as marathons in Zimbabwe, Switzerland, and the Republic of Georgia. After completing his seventh continent on September 6th, 2014, in Kazbegi, Georgia, Nik set the record as the youngest person to run a marathon on all seven continents at the age of 11. By doing this, he broke the record held by 14-year-old Winter Vinecki, although this record has since been broken. He is currently the youngest person to run a marathon in Antarctica, which he did at the age of nine. He did another marathon in Antarctica the following year at the age of ten, setting an additional world record as the youngest person to run a marathon in Antarctica twice.

fifty STATES

In September 2014, Nik began a new pursuit to become the youngest person to run a marathon in each of the 50 states and Washington, DC. Though the first of the state marathons was the Delaware marathon run for the seven continent goal, the first marathon run in pursuit of the 50 state goal was in Annandale, VA, on September 25, 2014. After just two and a half years, Toocheck completed his goal and set the new world record at 14 with the final marathon in Springfield, VT, on May 16, 2017. In running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC on October 30, 2016, he became the youngest person to date to finish the race. He currently holds the record as the youngest person to run a marathon on all seven continents and in each of the 50 states.

Charitable Efforts

Through his seven continent journey, Nik created a philanthropic campaign called Running the World for Children. He set a goal to raise money and awareness for Operation Warm, a non-profit organization that his grandfather founded in 1998, whose mission is to provide warmth, confidence, and hope through basic needs programs that connect underserved children to community resources they need to thrive.

In conjunction with his fifty state objective, Nik raised money and awareness for the Seva Foundation, a non-profit organization that raises money to prevent and treat blindness. Through both fundraising campaigns, Nik raised more than $50,000.

Nik realized at a young age that “you don’t have to be big to make a difference” and that taking something you love to do and helping others through that is something everyone is capable of. These two philosophies became his guide for his running campaigns, and they have inspired him to begin his next project. In this new chapter, Nik is climbing the seven volcanic summits of the world, again to help underprivileged children in partnership with Operation Warm.