Jeff Maher plans to run 183 miles across all seven continents in one week, starting Jan. 30, 2027, in Antarctica.

The 59-year-old Overland Park resident, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2020, is training for the World Marathon Challenge, a seven-day race that sends runners around the globe on charter flights between back-to-back marathons. The Johnson County Post reported about 50 runners from around the world are expected to compete. Maher is also raising $50,000 for the Susan Hurley Fund, a charity honoring his late friend and CharityTeams founder Susan Hurley, who died Nov. 1, 2025, of ovarian cancer.

Maher told the Johnson County Post that having never run back-to-back marathons, preparing for seven in a row on little sleep will require a completely different approach.

The route begins at Ultima Basecamp in Antarctica, then moves to Cape Town, South Africa; Perth, Australia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Madrid, Spain; Fortaleza, Brazil; and ends in Miami on Feb. 5. Participants spend about 68 hours in the air between legs, according to the World Marathon Challenge website. The entry fee alone is $50,700.

Maher first ran a marathon in 2007 at age 40, starting with the Chicago Marathon alongside his wife. She was "one and done," but Maher kept going. About a month later, he ran a marathon in Oklahoma with coach Eladio Valdez and finished in 4 hours and 11 minutes, two hours faster than his Chicago time.

He retired from marathons in 2019, turning to golf. That changed after his MS diagnosis in 2020, when his neurologist told him diet and exercise would be critical. He resumed running and reported no MS flare-ups. He has since completed all seven Abbott World Marathon Majors races, including London and Berlin in back-to-back weekends in 2022, Tokyo in 2024 and Sydney with his son Matthew.

Valdez, Maher's longtime coach at The Runner's Edge of Kansas City, is helping him prepare through a two-phase training plan. Phase one ends with back-to-back marathons in Kansas City and Des Moines, Iowa, this fall. Phase two will add a sixth running day to Maher's weekly schedule, building toward four consecutive days of double-digit miles.

"I'm very proud of him, I'm very happy for him, and I'm very scared for him; those are all in the same breath," Valdez told the Johnson County Post.

Maher is running on a charity bib donated in Hurley's memory. Hurley founded CharityTeams in 2008 to help nonprofits raise money through athletic events. The platform helped raise $42 million for nonprofits before her death. The Susan Hurley Fund, established in 2026, supports nonprofits and community programs in her name.

Supporters can donate at jeffmaherruns777.com.