Title: From Zero to 100 Marathons: Running India’s Historic Hedge Route in 100 Days

The battered soles of Hannah Cox’s trainers are a testament to her extraordinary journey. Caked in dust and repaired with patches of car tire, these shoes have traversed far more than a single marathon distance. While most marathon runners dread the mere thought of running another 26.2 miles the day after their race, Cox faced the prospect of repeating this feat 99 more times. For 100 consecutive days, she ran across India. The feat is even more staggering considering that just 18 months prior, she had never run at all. This epic, emotional odyssey is literally stamped into her footwear.

Cox, now 41, had long harbored a desire to traverse a specific 4,200km route in India. Her interest deepened after her father’s death in 2011, leading her to explore her Indian heritage. She became fixated on the path used by the British in the 19th century to enforce a controversial salt tax, a customs barrier marked by the Great Hedge of India. In the summer of 2024, a friend asked if she was "still obsessed with that hedge," prompting Cox to finally commit to the journey. However, she did not anticipate his suggestion: "I think you should run it."

That comment planted a seed. Cox joined a local running club in Manchester, beginning with 30-minute sessions three times a week. As her fitness improved, her distances grew from 5Ks to 10Ks, and she began training for consecutive running days—a necessity for her success in India. She tested her endurance with challenges such as the "20 20 20" (running 20km daily for 20 days) and completing seven marathons in seven days across the UK from coast to coast. These feats convinced her that "Project Salt Run" was viable. She assembled a support crew, secured a van, and set a fundraising goal of £1m for environmental charities.

Despite her physical and logistical preparation, Cox was unprepared for the chaos of Indian roads and the severe illness that would plague her. "Everyone tried to put me off at first—people just didn’t believe I would actually do it," Cox recalled.

On October 26 of last year, she launched from the Attari-Wagah border between Pakistan and India, heading toward Kolkata, located just miles from where her father, Deric, was born. Sticking to the historical route meant enduring varying terrains. Some days involved running 42km on monotonous highways, described by Cox as "boring as hell," while others took her through nature reserves, along canals, and through agricultural fields.

The environment was hazardous. Drivers frequently used the wrong side of the highway, and the roads were shared with cows, snakes, and goats. Cox sustained a scar on her right leg from a collision with a motorbike. In areas notorious for fatal tiger attacks, she even required police escorts. The weather was often hot, dusty, and smoggy. Although she spent two weeks in a heat chamber to acclimatize, the conditions were unlike anything she had previously experienced.

Illness also took a heavy toll, causing Cox to lose over 10kg during the challenge. One severe episode coincided with a surreal meeting at the Taj Mahal. "It was day 24 and we met Richard Branson at the Taj Mahal," she explained. Branson was in India to host a charity cycling event. "He had invited me for dinner the evening before at a really expensive hotel. I had one sniff of an Old Fashioned cocktail and I was like: 'oh my god, I'm going to be sick'. I had to run to these really fancy toilets and I was sick everywhere."

The next day, Cox was scheduled to run a marathon. Five participants from Branson’s charity event joined her, but she was ill all day, staying by the side of the road. "I was sick all day that day by the side of the road but I just knew I had to finish," she said. Cox would rise early each day to accumulate miles before the

Source: BBC News Generated at: 2026-04-27 05:43:32 UTC