Guinness Recognizes GB Radio Guest

Posted June 22, 2008, 5:25 pm in Extreme by Growing Bolder


Last year, Growing Bolder radio interviewed Marathon runner and mountain climber Jeanne Stawiecki a few weeks after she successfully climbed Mount Everest. That climb made her the oldest woman in history to complete the "Seven Summits," the highest mountains on each continent. She had also recently completed running a marathon in Antarctica. It was her 7th marathon on 7 different continents in just 114 days. No woman in history had ever complete marathons on all 7 continents in a single year.

Both feats have now been recognized and honored by The Guinness Book of World Records.

Stawiecki's extraordinary achievement is made all the more amazing by the fact that, until about age 40, she was a stressed out, two-pack-a-day smoker working three jobs who couldn't even run to the end of her street. She had no interests, no hobbies and no passions. Life seemed predictable, until she discovered the amazing power of the way one thinks. She attributes her great success to the power of the mind.

"I want people to know I am an ordinary person doing something extraordinary," Stawiecki says. "The way you think makes all the difference in the world. If you think and believe you are a success, you will be."

After 16 years of running, Stawiecki wanted something more. Rock and ice climbing lead Stawiecki to mountain climbing, which she began at age 52. After completing six of the "Seven Summits," Stawiecki returned to Mt. Everest on March 29, 2007, to complete the one climb that eluded her.

When not participating in grueling outdoor events, Stawiecki works as a certified nurse anesthetist in the operating room at UMass Memorial Hospital.

Stawiecki is writing a book about the many difficulties and obstacles she has faced in her personal life and how she was able to overcome them and achieve all she has. By telling her story, she is hoping to inspire other women to take risks and embark on any challenge, despite its difficulties and obstacles.

To listen to Jean's interview on the Growing Bolder Radio Show -- click here.

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