Helen
Ryvar
Guinness World Records Holder and Ultimate Endurance Athlete from Wrexham.
Helen first came to our attention in September when she was featured on a BBC Radio Wales programme with Ben Sheppard called Running Wales. After connecting online, Helen popped in to see us at the Visit Wrexham offices to share her story.
Originally from Wrexham, Helen studied Fine Art and Fashion Marketing both at Newcastle and Northumbria Universities.
She most recently went on to complete a PGCE to teach Art as well. Helen came to fame during 2020 when she started to run to help her rebuild her life. At the same time, she launched her own business and through sheer hard work and determination started on a quest that has now made her achievement world famous.
Helen has ran in charity treks in remote locations such as Petra, and other famous locations around the world.
2 Guinness
World Records
With two Guinness World Records to her name, we sat down over a foundry coffee to get to know her and understand what motivates her to achieve what she has. A proud mum of three she has a huge level of energy and a complete can-do attitude – overcoming all adversities life has thrown at her.
The scale
of her
achievement
Still recovering from her achievement from only last year, she shared with us her unbelievable endurance run of running half marathons back-to-back, every single day, continuously for one thousand days solid. No rest days. Waking 4am every day, she was running by 4:15. Back home by 6.30am to start the working day. Every. Single. Day. To put that into perspective, this is further than running from the North Pole to the South Pole and doing this whilst working full time and raising her children.
The First World Record
Before she started this streak, the world record was set at just 75, and Helen had that target in mind. She had no idea that when she started, she was going to start something that would add her into the history books as one of the world's greatest endurance runners. Initially stopping at a streak of 111 half marathons, with the first World Record in the bag, Helen told us how long it took to first apply and then get verified as the world record holder first time around.
Then later, out of the blue, an individual called Mika Shevit, based in Florida, reached out to Helen.
Mike had surpassed 400 half marathons and asked if Helen could join him remotely to encourage him, as he was aiming for 1000 days. He actually completed 1078 days but never went for an official Guinness world record title, and as both men’s and women’s records are separate regardless, it had no impact on Helen’s title or ambitions.
Helen has run in some stunning locations worldwide, sharing her inspiring story.
Challenge
Accepted.
Helen accepted the challenge and used this fellow endurance runner based on Sunny Isles Beach Florida to first target 222 then 250 then 333 and then onto 444 - having no idea when she would stop.
What it
meant.
“I never set out to reach 1000 days. But as I progressed and became fitter, the habit became habitual and I kept pushing the bar further. Every day I would ask myself “Can I run today?” if the answer was “yes” then I ran. Ironically, on Day 1001 I got bursitis of the knee - a common runners problem from over use. The doctors were shocked I had not sustained it sooner, nor had I had any sort of injury during my streak. The key was always listening to my body, and adapting my route and pace accordingly. I always said I would stop of I got injured. So I stopped. If I had not been injured, my next goal was to get to 1111 consecutive half marathons! Reflecting back on my journey now, 1000 days was definitely the right time to stop to allow my body time to recover.”
Inspired
Friendship.
Mika also proved to be an inspiring friend for Helen, and later using her own funds flew out to Miami to join him on the Miami Half Marathon and was featured in the Miami Herald. To this day, Helen holds the official world record for a 1000 half marathon streak and sits at the very top of what is possible for human achievement.
Driven.
Fundraiser.
Role Model.
Helen has travelled the world running whilst raising money for important charities along the way. She has run in the Great North Run, the Malta Marathon, and ran on a charity fundraising trek in Petra, running over some very rough terrain. To date she has raised over £10,000 for Cancer Research and MIND and said this to us why she does it;
“Yes, I am a stoic person. I have proved that you can re-wire your brain at any point in life to do anything. I love running. I love what it brings, it gives so much back.”
Helen has demonstrated immense mental and physical strength and is a role model for the sport of running and helping the world learn more about the people of Wrexham. We so much look forward to sharing more of her plans for the future and proudly welcome her to Visit Wrexham.