World ARC 2025-26 participant makes history with superhuman running in Saint Helena

World ARC participant, Victor Thiele, put in a mind-blowing display of fitness as he took on a unique running challenge during a World ARC stopover in the remote island of Saint Helena.

The German sailor ran a marathon and subsequently completed the climb up the iconic Jacob’s Ladder- a 699-step staircase culminating with beautiful views of the South Atlantic island. 

While individuals have completed marathons on the island, as well as climbs of Jacob’s Ladder, this is the first record of someone completing these feats as part of a continuous run. 

Victor began his challenge at 6am, running the Sugar Loaf Hiking Trail. This is an extremely challenging route for runners as there is a large amount of elevation and big sections of the trail lack coverage from vegetation meaning that Victor was completely exposed to the full brunt of the 25°C heat. 

Victor said: “After setting off on the challenge, the pure nature along the route was amazing but it was very challenging terrain.”

Naturally, a 9-day sail to the location of a marathon is not typical for most runners and Victor highlighted this as a unique difficulty of the challenge. 

He said: “Before leaving for Saint Helena, I was able to do one long 27km run, as well as some interval sessions but I would have preferred to do more running closer to the start. While on the boat, I didn’t have the luxury of ‘tapering’ my training, so I had to focus on some strength exercises to maintain my fitness levels. 

“Some of the fleet thought I was crazy, but they were very supportive and joined me for short sections of my training runs in Namibia.”

Victor’s World ARC experience

Victor joined the World ARC fleet in Namibia, sailing onboard Mulan. He says that crossing the Atlantic was a “bucket list” experience for him and after completing university, it was the perfect opportunity to take on the challenge before starting full-time work. 

The 26-year-old added: “I don’t want it to just be a holiday. I want to be part of an adventure!

“Since becoming part of the fleet, I’ve been made feel very welcome. Everybody has been so kind to me.”

The next stop for the World ARC 2025-2026 fleet is Recife, Brazil- a journey of 1785NM. Victor will depart the fleet in Brazil but along his World ARC journey he will have made countless memories as well as forming some fantastic friendships.