This woman ran marathons on every continent dressed as fruit

By Athena Stavrou via SWNS

A runner named Sally Orange is the only person to run marathons on every continent dressed as fruit.

Sally, 48, has completed 80 marathons all over the world and says she began running as fruit to "break down the stigma around mental health."

The former army veteran has run over 20 marathons as food, including being a watermelon in Washington, a pear in Antarctica and a chili pepper in Mongolia.

She was medically discharged from the army in 2019 after struggling with her own mental health.

She has now raised over half a million pounds for several charities by running after the sport "saved her life."

Sally, from Salisbury, Wilts., England, said: "I served for 22 years in the Royal Army Medical Corps, but was medically discharged due to my mental health and I'm really passionate about breaking down the stigma of mental health.

"I'm the only person in the world who's ran a marathon on every continent dressed as a piece of fruit.

''I do that to make people smile and also when people ask why, it opens up a conversation.

"I've dressed as all sorts - apples, bananas, aubergines, pears - it really gets people talking and brings joy.

"We've got a global mental health crisis going on, and I want to get people smiling, moving and healthy."

The 48-year-old completed the 7-7-7 challenge earlier this month - where she ran seven marathons, in seven days, over seven continents.

Sally ran marathons in Antarctica; Cape Town, South Africa; Perth, Australia; Dubai; Madrid; Fortaleza, Brazil and Miami.

She is the first female veteran and fifth British woman to finish the World Marathon Challenge, running 183 miles in 168 hours with 68 of those hours spent in the air, which was the only opportunity to sleep.

Sally has raised over £10,000 ($12,012) for several different mental health charities from the challenge and over half a million over the years.

She ran the first race in Antarctica dressed as frozen peas, and said she hopes to return to the North Pole in a few weeks dressed as another vegetable.

Sally said: "It was a pretty grueling challenge, the hardest I've ever done. There's different temperatures, different time zones and you can only ever sleep on the plane on your way to the next marathon.

"Sometimes you didn't even have time to shower after one of the marathons, and unfortunately due to a plane delay we had to do the last three marathons all within 36 hours."

The weather conditions in Antarctica were so dangerous that the course had to be altered so participants could only run one mile out and back.

Even though visibility was poor, Sally said everyone could still recognize her dressed as a frozen pea.

Sally had expected Antarctica to be the most challenging race, but was surprised to find Madrid to be the most grueling in the heat as she was also suffering from a stomach bug.

She said: "I really thought Antarctica would be the hardest, or somewhere like Dubai, but for me it was Madrid. It goes to show you just can't predict what you're going to find difficult.

"Some races started off awful and got better, some were the other way round - it's like a week in the mind of someone who's struggling with their mental health.

"Some of the races I literally had to break it down to 'run one lamp post, walk one lamp post', to make it manageable.

"I can relate that back to struggling with your mental health, you just have to break things down. Something that seems totally unmanageable can be done if you break it down into tiny little bits - one foot in front of the other.

"It doesn't have to be a marathon to apply that. Sometimes getting out of bed and having a shower is the marathon.

"I try to be as open and honest about my struggles on social media, I posted a video of me crying during the Madrid marathon when I was so tired.

"I want to inspire people, open up a conversation and help them break a smile."

Sally's next marathon will take place at the North Pole in seven weeks.

You can find out more about her and donate to her fundraisers here.