Marathon running Guiness world record holders to meet on the Gold Coast

Gold Coast based marathon runner Erchana Murray-Bartlett will come face to face with the Belgian born ultra runner who smashed her world record when 55-year-old Hilde Dosogne heads to the Gold Coast, Australia to add another marathon to her growing list of achievements.

Remarkably, Dosogne ran a marathon (42.195km) every day in 2024 and being a leap year that meant 366 consecutive days, a total of 15,544 kilometres, burning close to 2600 calories each day of the run and raising almost $100,000 for breast cancer research.

The herculean effort earnt Dosogne a Guiness World Record and surpassed Murray-Bartlett’s previous world record for most consecutive marathons when she ran an amazing 150 marathons in 150 days from August 2022 – January 2023.

The two world record holders have already shared a special relationship from afar, with Dosogne making a point of contacting Murray-Bartlett for advice prior to her world record attempt.

However, their first meeting on Gold Coast soil will be a more intimate affair as Dosogne gets to show her appreciation to the Australian in the flesh.

“I’m looking forward to meeting Erchana at the Gold Coast Marathon,” said Dosogne.

“Indeed I was inspired by her. In fact, I contacted her before I started with the marathons and she was so kind to support me.

“Both Erchana and I dedicated our marathon journeys to charitable causes: hers focused on wildlife conservation, while mine supported breast cancer research.”

Dosogne will make her first trip to Australia in almost a decade when she takes part in the ASICS Gold Coast Marathon, having previously travelled to Queensland on holidays in 2016.

It will be a similar blend this time around with her travels being a mix of business and pleasure alongside her husband Bruno Van der Jeught, who is on business travelling to the Bundaberg Sugar factory as part of his role as technical director for Finasucre.

“It (the Gold Coast Marathon) happened more by chance, I had planned for a long time to join my husband (in Australia) for a month in July,” she said.

“He has to be there for work and I was looking for a marathon to run there.”

After her marathon efforts during 2024, Dosogne has planned a somewhat quieter year of competition in 2025 as she focuses on two main targets.

The Gold Coast Marathon will be the first of those and a significant stepping stone in her program towards the Spartathlon - a 246 km (153 miles) ultramarathon in Greece from September 27-28 2025.

“This trip to Australia is a combination of vacation and work.

“I’ll be working remotely while also taking some time off. In my free time, I’ll mainly be training for the Spartathlon and enjoying some cycling with my husband.”