Janette Murray-Wakelin and Alan Murray ran a record 366 marathons in 366 days after a diet of raw plant foods ‘cured’ Janette’s cancer.
In 2014, we published this account of Janette’s story in True Natural Health. In our next webinar series, which starts on September 14, we will be speaking with Janette again to talk about her amazing health journey. Join us for what will be an inspirational and informative night.
Throughout the year 2013, the husband and wife team, Alan and Janette ran together around Australia, covering 15,782 kilometres by running 366 marathons each day for 366 days, an average of 43 km per day.
They started in Melbourne, Victoria, on 1st January 2013 and followed Highway 1 around the perimeter of the country on a route that took them through every State capital city, including Hobart. They finished back in Melbourne on 31st December 2013 after running 365 marathons in 365 days. Then to cap it off and doubly confirm a world record, Alan and Janette ran one more marathon along the Yarra River Trail to their hometown of Warrandyte, north-east of Melbourne.
They set a new world record for running the most consecutive marathons. In addition, they did this as the oldest and only couple to run around Australia, and, still more astonishing, is the fact that they were fueled entirely by fruit and vegetables and wearing ‘barefoot shoes’.
Why would anyone take on such an awesomely difficult task? They did it because they wanted to inspire and motivate other people to make more conscious lifestyle choices, to promote kindness and compassion for all living beings and to raise environmental awareness for a sustainable future.
INCORRIGIBLE TRAVELlERS
Janette and Alan have spent most of their lives travelling together worldwide. They married and their two children were born while still in their early twenties. In search of a healthy lifestyle for their family, this adventurous couple left their home country of New Zealand when their children were very small and sailed throughout the South Pacific.
“It was fun home-schooling our children, and as a family, we grew very close. It was a carefree life with very little stress. Our food was mostly fresh fruit and vegetables and our environment was pretty clean and green.”
Next, they worked a freight boat on the inland waterways of Europe, then settled in Vancouver Island, Canada, while their children furthered their education. After this, it was back to France to take guests on health-oriented canal cruises, before eventually returning to New Zealand
Alan and Janette are runners at heart. They have collectively participated in more than 60 international marathons and ultra-runs. To celebrate both the year 2000 and Janette’s 50th year, they ran the length of New Zealand, covering 2,182 km by running 50 marathons in 50 consecutive days.
JANETTE’S BREAST CANCER
The next chapter in their lives created the greatest challenge of all. At 52, Janette was diagnosed with breast cancer. The tumour was three cm across and the cancer had spread into the chest wall and the lymph nodes. The prognosis was only six months to live or possibly a year with conventional chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
As a mother of two and grandmother of one, Janette was not willing to accept this prognosis.
“I had lived a very healthy lifestyle, eating vegetarian for 25 years and vegan for the last 15 years,” Janette explains. “I have also been extremely physically active all my life, so I was quite shocked by this unexpected diagnosis.
“However, the power of intention is far greater than that of fear, and I had every intention of staying around for a long time!
“I was not overly perturbed. In fact, apart from a bout of scarlet fever and measles as a tiny child, I have never been sick in my life. I have never had so much as a cold and I’ve never taken any drugs, not even an aspirin!
“My intuitive response to the recommended treatment was that it did not make sense to compromise the body’s system further. It seemed obvious to me that I should be helping my body to rejuvenate and rebuild, thereby reversing the problem.
“My instinct told me that treating just the symptoms would not address the cause. I was also convinced that I was not meant to die of cancer, so I treated the diagnosis as a challenge,” Janette continued.
OVER-EXPOSURE TO TOXIC CHEMICALS
It was difficult for Janette to think what might have been the cause of her cancer, considering the healthy lifestyle she had been living. However, during a maintenance refit of the sailboat, she had suffered an accident, which exposed her to a high dose of toxins.
“I was painting the boat when the scaffolding collapsed under me,” she recalls. “It happened so fast that I was still holding the can of paint when I hit the ground! I was completely covered in marine paint that has toxic anti-fouling properties; it was in my hair, eyes, nose, ears and mouth. I ingested quite a bit and most of my skin was covered in paint. It took three months before my normal skin colour came back.”
Further, after their stint of sailing the waterways of Europe, Janette was also exposed to toxic fall-out from the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine. Looking back at these two poisoning events, Janette realised that her body must have been highly compromised. She was sure that the toxic load in her body predisposed her to the cancer.
“Once I had established the cause,” she declared, “I felt more empowered to do something about it.”
The family promptly researched all they could about breast cancer – the possible causes and treatments, as well as looking into natural wholistic therapies and positive lifestyle changes. This research gave them the confidence to know that they were making the right choice.
NATURAL WHOLISTIC THERAPIES
With the help of her naturopath, Janette established a regime that focused on the wholistic approach of mind, body and spirit. This intensive regime included:
Intravenous immune therapy;
Infrared detoxification therapy;
Increasing the amount of oxygen to the body through ozone treatment, conscious breathing and aerobic exercise;
Visualisation, meditation, positive thinking and spiritual awareness;
Maximising the amount of nutrients taken into the body through juicing, wheatgrass and living food nutrition.
For the six months after receiving the diagnosis, Janette spent three hours a day, five days a week at the naturopathic clinic having therapy to help boost the immune system.
She increased her level of exercise, incorporating yoga and long-distance running. “With yoga I was able to reunite with myself,” she said. “I came to know my inner self and to love myself unconditionally. My running became more meditative.”
The daily sessions in the infrared sauna maximised the detoxification process. “I could feel the body ridding itself of toxins,” she said.
“My nutritional intake took a huge leap when I began juicing in earnest. It made sense that I could consume more nutrients by juicing because I wouldn’t be able to eat an equivalent amount of food. I think I was close to consuming a truckload of carrots every week during those six months! My hands turned carrot-coloured, but I didn’t care! I was alive and running!
“I also began taking wheatgrass. When I learned that one ounce of wheatgrass juice has the equivalent nutritional value of two pounds of green leafy vegetables – which is more than most people eat in a week – I never hesitated.”
Apart from supplying all the vitamins and most of the minerals the body needs to be healthy, wheatgrass juice also has all the amino acids, making it a complete protein. Like all greens, wheatgrass is also very rich in chlorophyll. The juice goes directly into the bloodstream, oxygenating the blood and the whole body.
“I knew from the research we had done, that this was a crucial factor in stopping the mutation of cancer cells,” Janette explains. “Cancer cannot survive in an oxygenated environment, therefore the more oxygen I could pump into my body through exercise, conscious breathing and drinking wheatgrass, the better!”
Although Janette had been eating vegetarian or vegan for most of her life, she decided that she was going to ‘give it 100%’ and would also eliminate all cooked food, thereby obtaining the best quality of nutrition from her food.
“I couldn’t believe the difference” and a clean bill of health
“I couldn’t believe the difference in the way I felt within only one week of changing to 100% raw food,” she exclaims. “My clarity of mind was intensely heightened.”
“I lost 15 pounds in the first month of eating 100% raw food, which took me to just below the recommended weight for my height.
“I also found I had much more energy than before and that it lasted longer. It was especially evident during my long training runs, and my physical performance level increased,” she said. “There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that consuming 100% raw food made a huge difference to my recovery time and my overall healing.”
It is interesting that although the lifestyle changes Janette made were minimal, the positive results were profound. The change to 100% raw food for her was not that great, but the change to her overall health was huge.
Within the six months that Janette was ‘given’ to live after her diagnosis, she received a clean bill of health. There was no longer any sign of cancer cells in her body. She concluded the immune therapy regime but has continued with all other aspects of her raw lifestyle.
Janette is quick to point out that those crucial six months were also filled with love, laughter and lots of support from her family and friends.
Janette Murray-Wakelin is just one of the five amazing speakers we have lined up for you this series, we hope you can join us in learning and being inspired to live happier, healthier lives.
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