7 Continents, 7 Days, 7 Marathons.

Malibuite Moritz Baier-Lentz and his friend, Joel Butler will run 7 full-distance, 26.2 mile marathons, one on each of the 7 continents, on 7 subsequent days, within an amazing 168 hours. Their herculean undertaking aims to test the limits of their physical and mental grit. However, more importantly, they are undertaking the challenge to raise money to fund Johns Hopkins’scientific studies aimed at defeating treatment-resistant depression.

All told, they will journey for approx - imately 65 hours in a dedicated charter plane. Carbon offset payments will be made for all flights.

The pair will start in Novo, Antarctica on January 31st. Then, they travel to Cape Town, South Africa; Perth, Australia; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Madrid, Spain; Fortaleza, Brazil; finally finishing in Miami, representing the final leg in North America. Each race is professionally administered and involves approximately twenty-five runners. The series, dubbed The World Marathon, is one of the most grueling athlet -

ic activities on Earth.

For Baier-Lentz, Malibu’s beaches and mountains provide great places to train. His regimen includes running . . . and running . . . and running a lot more. . . on Zuma and Broad beaches as well as training at Malibu Fitness with Malibuite Michael Galate three times a week.

“We will embark on this once-ina-lifetime challenge to support the most promising research to cure treatment-resistant depression,” Baier-Lentz states on the Go Fund Me page the pair has established. Their goal is to raise

$250,000 to fund three research efforts by Johns Hopkins’ psychedelic research unit. All donations and sponsorships will directly fund the depression treatment research.

“Having experienced the impact of depression in our families, we’re dedicated to being part of the solution,” Baier-Lentz said. “Today, an estimated 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, and it can lead to issues like alcoholism, dependency or suicide.”

Just how does one prepare for such a grueling race? Butler is a 156-mile Sahara Marathon des Sables ultra finisher. That ultra marathon through the Southern Moroccan desert is approximately the distance of 6 marathons, and is often regarded as the toughest foot race on Earth given its arduous terrain and self-sufficiency challenges: athletes are isolated from civilization and tote a backpack with everything necessary for a week in the desert: food, shelter, clothing, com - pass, headlamp, and approximately 100 weight-optimized items from medication to technical gear such as a venom pump to treat scorpion stings and snake bites. Sharing any items among runners immediately disqualifies a participant.

Impressively, the Sahara Marathon was Butler’s first entry into the endurance sports world! Baier-Lentz has competed in Ironman competitions and is an ultra-distance runner who has completed more than fifty marathons. He began his endurance career in 2011, starting with sprints, graduating to Ironman competitions and marathons and ultimately making his way into various lengthy triathlons. He’s completed about 50 endurance races.

During the Sahara Marathon, Butler met Baier-Lentz and together, they supported one another as they ran in the sand and in 100-degree heat through some of Morocco’s largest dunes, including Erg Chebbi which features inclines and downhill slopes equivalent to a 115-story building. Runners often take more than 20 hours to complete the longest phase of the race which stretches for more than 50 miles. In 2019, Butler and Baier-Lentz were among the 680 runners who completed the race.

The pair are tenaciously training to build the endurance to complete the World Marathon. Butler is averaging running more than 60 miles a week and knocks out a half marathon in the early morning. Baier-Lentz’ endurance sports experience and his previous Ironman training helps to prepare him.

WORLD MARATHON CHALLENGE Over 168 hours, the pair will run 7 complete marathons, one on each continent, starting in Antarctica and ending in Miami.

However, as a venture capitalist who works 80 to 90-hours a week, including some hours on the weekend, the time commitment and consistency needed for training for the World Marathon presents a challenge. Nevertheless, he trains assiduously and meets with a personal coach for strength and conditioning training sessions to ensure he builds a hyper-optimized focus when training. Baier-Lentz completes the equivalent of an organized marathon every month.

Of course, preparing for - and getting through - the World Marathon’s 7-day challenge is not only a physical endeavor. It’s also a matter of building up one’s mental toughness. In Butler’s words, “there is no way through but to finish.”

Although there’s no doubt the pair will encounter many trials and tribulations throughout the marathon journey, Butler addressed such obstacles by saying, “you get out there, you start and you’re going to find a way to finish. It’s just getting from place to place.” Striving to overcome the grueling challenges of the arduous World Marathon, Baier-Lentz sums up the duo’s motivation for undertaking the effort, “Our Challenge - We run to help those who can’t.”

Although there is no live feed of the race, Netflix has plans to produce a special highlighting the race. MM

ANI DERMANJIAN A Malibu Douglas

Elliman realtor, Ani Dermanjian has built an incredibly successful career in Malibu being in the top 5% of Douglas Elliman agents company-wide, all while giving back to the community and raising her family.