Written Off. Then Patient. Then Unstoppable.
7 marathons, 7 continents – Sheri’s unstoppable journey with PUMA gear
February 5, 2026
From shattered bones to seven marathons on seven continents, amateur marathoner Sheri Kanter proves that resilience can redefine what’s possible. And through that process, one constant remained: PUMA.
In April 2015, Sheri Kanter’s life changed in an instant. A freak cycling accident left her leg shattered. “I kind of blacked out. I remember lying there knowing straight away that something was really, really wrong,” Sheri recalls. It required multiple surgeries and a complex reconstruction of her knee and tibia.
Doctors warned she might never walk normally again, running was out of the question. For someone who had completed 39 marathons, the verdict – and the thought of retiring her beloved PUMA shoes – was devastating. “It was just soul-crushing hearing when I was told I would never run,” she says.
Doctors warned she might never walk normally again, running was out of the question. For someone who had completed 39 marathons, the verdict – and the thought of retiring her beloved PUMA shoes – was devastating. “It was just soul-crushing hearing when I was told I would never run,” she says.
“You could say it was almost like losing a full-time job, because running really structured all of my days, and really my whole life in a way nothing else did.”
But Sheri refused to surrender. Her focus shifted from racing to regaining basic mobility. Five months in a wheelchair and relentless physiotherapy marked the start of a journey defined by discipline and patience.
PUMA: A Constant Through Change
Post-injury, PUMA became more than footwear. It was continuity in chaos. “I wasn’t thinking about racing or performance,” Sheri recalls. “I just needed things I could trust.” In a world where everything else had changed, wearing her PUMAs offered stability.“I had always loved PUMA as a brand and so had worn PUMA gear, and now, even after my accident and as a physical wreck, I kept wearing it because it just felt familiar and dependable at a time that everything else around me had kind of been taken away from me, and my life had been forced to change completely.”
Progress was painfully slow. First came shuffles, then baby steps, and eventually short walks. Years of controlled effort allowed Sheri to reclaim her independence. Cycling became her lifeline. Low impact, yet powerful enough to rebuild cardiovascular strength. By 2021, she was riding an astonishing 2,021 miles (~3,250 km) per month. In 2023, she was powering through Peloton’s toughest sessions.
Running, however, remained a distant dream. Until a quiet question began to surface: Could her reconstructed leg tolerate even light running?
Running, however, remained a distant dream. Until a quiet question began to surface: Could her reconstructed leg tolerate even light running?
The Chicago Experiment
In 2024, Sheri decided to find out. She entered the Chicago Marathon. Not to chase time, but to test endurance. Training was cautious: short distances, gentle pace, and obsessive monitoring. The goal was repeatability, not speed.On race day, Sheri’s only question was whether her leg would hold up for hours. It did. She crossed the finish line in disbelief – with a Boston Marathon qualifying time.
“The margin was razor-thin, just 43 seconds above the cut-off. But I made it, I officially earned my spot in the Boston Marathon.”
The achievement was extraordinary, yet Sheri knew it wasn’t enough. To secure her place beyond doubt, she needed to get faster without risking her fragile leg.
From Comfort to Competitive: PUMA’s Role in Sheri’s Comeback
By 2025, Sheri’s trust in PUMA gear evolved into performance. For the Faro Marathon in Portugal, she chose the newly launched PUMA Fast-R NITRO™ Elite 3, a carbon-plated racing shoe designed for elite runners.“The shoes felt firm but soft at the same time,” she says. “As the miles went on, instead of feeling worse, I felt stronger. It honestly felt like the shoes were helping me maintain my form.”
“As the race went on, I didn’t feel like I was fighting the shoes or my body. I felt like everything was working together.”
The result? Sheri finished 11.5 minutes faster than in Chicago. For an athlete once told she might never walk again, the progress was staggering.
Seven Marathons. Seven Continents. Seven Days.
Sheri didn’t stop there. In November 2025, at age 61, she became one of only 14 women to complete the Great World Race, seven marathons on seven continents in one week. The challenge was staggering: from the sub-zero winds of Antarctica to the heat of South Africa , then on to Australia, the deserts of the UAE, the hills of Portugal, the vibrant streets of Colombia, and finally the humidity of Miami. Each course demanded something different – mental grit, physical adaptability, and relentless focus.Sheri conquered them all, finishing eighth overall among women and earning nine medals, a testament to endurance and preparation. For someone once told she might never walk again, this was more than a race – it was a statement.
“I learned that feeling scared doesn’t mean you should stop. It means you should focus – and as the famous book says, feel the fear and do it anyway.”
And she’s not done. Her next goals? The Boston Marathon in April and Chicago in October, where she hopes to challenge her personal best of 3:24:25, set nearly 15 years ago at age 46. For Sheri, the finish line is never the end—it’s the start of the next pursuit.
The Finish Line – and Beyond
Once, her goal was to walk again. Today, it’s about managing marathon cycles with precision, rebuilding physical capacity step by step, and chasing the next finish line. Her PUMAs have been with her through every stride—not promising miracles, but simply removing variables that could have counted against her.From the outside, Sheri Kanter’s story is often framed as heroic resilience: walking again when it was uncertain, running again when it seemed implausible, and competing in marathons when none of it was ever supposed to happen.
But Sheri sees it differently: “It was never about proving anyone wrong,” she says. “It was about discipline, patience, and doing the hard work every single day.”
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