Mark's Story: Running Across the Globe

Mark Lowder, 56, grew up athletic and played sports throughout his entire childhood. When he started college, he came to the realization that he needed to find a new way to stay in shape. As a result, he decided to take up running and quickly became addicted.

Today, Mark has completed more than 60 marathons on all seven continents, earning him a spot in the Seven Continents Club—an honor that only 417 other men have achieved. This journey has taken him everywhere from Antarctica and Japan to Morocco and Brazil. But for Mark, that wasn't enough. On May 29, he embarked on his newest challenge: running the Everest Marathon. This race has been dubbed the highest marathon in the world.

As vice president of international sales at Octane Fitness®, a Nautilus, Inc. brand, Mark is constantly on the road. Despite having a travel-heavy job, he still finds time to make training a priority. He runs three to four days a week, with half of those runs taking place on the zero-impact Octane Fitness® Zero Runner® machine. During the winter, the Minnesota resident likes to cross-train with skiing.

With a goal to maintain a total number of marathons completed that matches his age, finding low-impact training solutions and preventing injuries are essential to Mark's running career.

"I enjoy running and want to be able to run for the rest of my life," Mark explains.

Looking to the future, Mark hopes to run the world's lowest elevation marathon next—the Dead Sea Marathon in Jordan. He also hopes to continue participating in adventurous marathons, such as the Inca Trail Marathon to Machu Picchu in Peru.

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