Told She'd Never Walk, Australian Runs 551 Marathons

At 12 years old, Kaz Thorburn had a steel rod fused to her spine and heard doctors say she'd never play sports, work a job, or have children. Today, the Queensland mother of three holds the Australian record for most marathons completed by any runner: 551.

Thorburn was a Little Athletics age champion before scoliosis changed everything. The major surgery and grim prognosis left her believing she "couldn't do anything."

But when she unexpectedly became pregnant and gave birth despite medical predictions, something shifted. "Well, if I can have children, surely I can do other things," she remembers thinking.

She started by loading her one-year-old into a running pram and jogging around the block "just to see if I could." She could.

After completing Sydney's 14-kilometer City2Surf three years running, friends suggested she try a marathon. Her first attempt on the Gold Coast in 1999 felt like a miracle just crossing the finish line.

Fast forward to 2024, and Thorburn ran 70 official marathons in one calendar year, an Australian record for women. That's one marathon every five days.

She's completed the prestigious "six star marathons" in Tokyo, Chicago, London, Paris, Berlin, and Boston. At 55, she qualified for Boston three times, something she never imagined possible.

Thorburn now organizes a Townsville event where competitors run 30 marathons in 30 days, covering 1,265 kilometers. Runners fly in from around the world to tackle the challenge.

Between marathons, she learned to swim and completed eight Ironman triathlons. She balances 70 to 100 kilometers of weekly training with full-time work, two things doctors said would never happen.

Why This Inspires

The steel rod still fused to Thorburn's spine has become her secret weapon. It keeps her posture upright and efficient during long races, and she doesn't get back pain like many runners.

"The very thing that was the big issue has been the thing to push me through to where I am today," she says. Running gave her mental health back after scoliosis took so much away.

Fellow marathon legend Rick Patzold, who has completed over 450 marathons himself, recently ran alongside Thorburn in Sydney. It marked the first time two Australian runners competed together with more than 1,000 marathons between them.

Her next goal is 750 marathons, then maybe 1,000 if her body cooperates.