At 14, She Set the World Record for a Marathon on Every Continent

"Never give in. Never give up. Despite the critics, the naysayers, those who say it's impossible, you can't, you won't — never give in!"

Winter Vinecki trains in Park City, Utah, and has been racing triathlon since age five. By nine, she was already competing at the Olympic distance — a race typically reserved for seasoned adults. She first saw triathlon as a way to raise awareness of childhood obesity. That changed on a spring morning in 2008, when she found her true calling and founded Team Winter, a nonprofit, to race in honor of her father.

That May, Winter faced the defining moment of her young life: after a series of medical tests, her father, Michael, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of prostate cancer. The grim prognosis was met with sadness — and determination. Winter vowed to do everything she could to help end prostate cancer, so other families wouldn't face what hers was facing. Team Winter became her vehicle for funding research and raising awareness worldwide.

After her father's death in 2009, Winter's resolve only deepened. While maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA through Stanford University's online high school program, EPGY, she traveled almost every weekend to races, spreading the word about Team Winter alongside her three brothers and her mother, Dr. Dawn Estelle. She ran a Team Winter booth at expos, spoke at schools through her "Winter's Inspirational Talk Series," and raced every event with unmatched passion. A two-time IronKids National Triathlon Champion, she sends every first-place trophy she wins to someone affected by prostate cancer — trophies she values more for whom she gives them to than for winning them. She served as the IronKids Ambassador from 2010 to 2012, traveling to youth triathlons nationwide to encourage kids toward active, healthy lifestyles and introduce them to racing for a cause larger than themselves.

Team Winter has grown just as quickly as Winter herself. At 14, her foundation counted sponsors including Newton Running, TYR, Louis Garneau, and Rudy Project, all supporting her prostate cancer awareness work. She has trained under respected coaches including Simon Lessing, the legendary triathlete, and Karlyn Pipes-Neilsen, holder of multiple FINA Masters world swim records; her running coach, Mark Hadley of Charlotte, North Carolina, is a pioneer in youth endurance coaching. Many professional triathletes and retired legends count Winter as a friend, and her story has drawn wide attention — in 2011, golf legend Annika Sorenstam presented her with the Annika Inspiration Award at Billie Jean King's Annual Salute to Women in Sports Gala in New York City.

But for Winter, it was never about the attention — it was about answering the disease that took her father, one that will affect one in six men. She gives up the ordinary luxuries of childhood to chase that goal every day. It might be hard to believe a 14-year-old could accomplish all this, but for her, it was only the beginning: she set out to run a marathon on all seven continents before turning 15, to raise global awareness of prostate cancer, and has helped raise close to $500,000 for the cause along the way.

Winter ran her first marathon in Eugene, Oregon, finishing in 3:45:04 — four minutes short of the Boston Marathon qualifying time many runners chase their whole lives. Her second marathon, in Kenya, saw her finish third overall among a field of elite Kenyan runners. In Antarctica that March, she set her first world record: youngest person ever to run a marathon there. When a planned race in the Galápagos Islands was cancelled, she was invited instead to one of the hardest marathons in the world — the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu — a route that takes most hikers four days to cover. Winter finished it in 9 hours and 15 minutes, winning the race outright, her first overall marathon victory. She followed that with a second-place finish at the Sunrise to Sunset Marathon in Mongolia, then raced the Wharf to Wharf Marathon in New Zealand in memory of local hero Barry Mouat. On November 10, 2012, she completed her tour with the original Pheidippides route, from Marathon to Athens, Greece — becoming the youngest person, male or female, ever to run a marathon on every continent. That same day, her mother, Dr. Dawn Estelle, crossed the finish line beside her, making them the first mother-daughter pair to complete the feat together.

At the 2011 Annika Inspiration Award ceremony, Winter met Olympic aerialist Emily Cook, who encouraged her to try out for Park City's Fly Elite Freestyle Aerials team. Recruited soon after as its youngest member, she made the USA World Aerial Freestyle Team in her first season of competition. In 2013, she received the first annual Sarah Burke Scholarship and worked alongside Rory Bushfield to help carry on Sarah Burke's legacy in freestyle skiing. After qualifying her double jump on Park City's water ramps, she earned a shot at the National Team, won the 2014 Junior National Aerial Championship, and represented the U.S. Junior Freestyle Team in Italy, finishing fifth. She has her sights set on the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, where she'll be 19. Winter has lived and trained year-round in Park City since July 2012.

Winter was featured in the December 2013 issue of Runner's World and the December issue of Sports Illustrated Kids. Learn more about her achievements, media appearances, and race results at her personal website, wintervinecki.com, or support her foundation at teamwinter.org, where an online store (store.teamwinter.org) offers youth triathlon and running gear — sized for even the youngest athletes and designed with the blue ribbon of prostate cancer awareness.